Govt won’t tolerate maltreatment of children, says minister
The Federal Government and the police have warned those who employ underage domestic workers, maltreat vulnerable persons, and commit other forms of domestic violence to desist or face heavy sanctions.
They issued the warning when the police paraded an Anambra-based lawyer, Adachukwu Okafor, who was recently arrested for allegedly assaulting her 10-year-old housemaid.
Women Affairs Minister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye said the Federal Government would not tolerate child abuse, child labour, maltreatment, assault, and other forms of violence meted out to children.
The minister stressed that the government would severely punish perpetrators of inhuman treatment against children.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said apart from the domestication and implementation of the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act and related laws, the government would implement other strategies to stop the practice, which she said has become prevalent in many parts of the country.
She said: “Thank you, Mr. President, for the power given to me to be able to protect the rights of women and children. I am telling Nigerians: no more taking a child under 18 as domestic worker. We are launching all sorts of measures to protect women and children.
“As you employ a child under 18 years, the police will not rest, and I also will not rest until we stop all these societal ills and prosecute offenders.”
Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO) Olumiyiwa Adejobi, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), assured that the police would carry out a thorough investigation and prosecution of such related cases.”
Adejobi, who was represented by the National Coordinator, Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, Olabisi Okuwobi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), urged Nigerians to take the warning against employment of underage children as domestic workers seriously.
He said: “This should serve as a note of warning to those who use little children for labour in the first place. Also, it’s a note of warning to those who abuse vulnerable people or young people in our society.
“The Nigeria Police Force has zero tolerance for domestic violence and abuse of minors and vulnerable persons.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have domesticated the Child Rights Act of 2003.
Also, 35 states and the FCT have domesticated the VAPP Act of 2015 to strengthen systems for the prevention and response services against violence and other harmful practices affecting children.
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