Nigeria adopted the Child Rights Act to domesticate the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2003, however, some states are yet to pass it into law amidst rising cases of child abuse. In this report, KEHINDE OSASONA examines how laws and other instruments of the law effectively protect the Nigerian child from abuses.
The Children’s Rights Act of 2003 expands the human rights bestowed to citizens in Nigeria’s 1999 constitution to children. Although this law was passed at the federal level, it is only effective if the State House of Assembly in the 36 states of the federation also codify the law.
As at the last count, the 11 states of Kebbi, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Zamfara, Bauchi, Yobe, Gombe, Borno and Adamawa states were yet to domesticate the Act.
The bill was first introduced in 2002, but did not pass because of opposition from the Supreme Council for Shari’a. The act was officially passed into law in 2003 by former President Chief Olusegun Obansanjo as the Children’s Rights Act 2003, in large part because of the media pressure that national stakeholder and international organisations put on the National Assembly.
A recent report by UNICEF listed Nigeria as having the highest number of child marriages in Africa, with 23 million girls and women married in childhood.
While corroborating the report by the UN agency, a report by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Save the Children International (SCI), Nigeria, said the prevalence of child marriage is highest in the North-west zone with 76 per cent and lowest in the South-east with 10 per cent.
By ratifying the Child’s Rights Convention and African Children’s Charter, the Nigerian government has the overall responsibility of ensuring its implementation in a uniform and coherent manner.
Not only that, by those provisions, the government is expected to discourage religious, cultural, customary or traditional practices that are inconsistent with the Charter.
Katsina joins crusade
While commending the Katsina State House of Assembly for passing the Child Protection Bill recently, Girl Champion, Save the Children International Nigeria, Purity Oriaifo, described the move as overwhelming.
She said, “I am overwhelmed with joy. I am happy because this anticipated news is giving us full assurance and hope for a better Nigeria. I am pleased to witness the eyes of our leaders being opened to see the reason why every last child should be protected and not left behind.”
Blueprint Weekend reports that the Act was passed 17 years after the Child Rights Act (2003) was first presented to the House to be domesticated.
SCI Nigeria, a leading child rights organisation headquartered in the UK, alongside its partner organisation, had through a project, Better Life for Girls, led an advocacy and campaign towards the domestication of Child Rights Act for several years.
According to SCI Nigeria, with implementation of the Act, steps to stopping the war on children have just been taken, saying children can now realize and release their full potential.”
While presenting the recommendations of the Committee on the need for an immediate passage of the Bill, which was reintroduced as an executive bill by Governor Aminu Masari on March 3, 2020, the Chairman, Katsina House of Assembly Committee on the Child Protection Bill, Musa Nuhu, said the bill sought to end the prevalence of child rape, child labour, forced and underage marriage in the state.
Katsina state is reported to have one of the highest prevalence of child marriages and street children also kniwn as almajiri in the country.
It is worth noting that the first article of the Act, which awaits the assent of the governor to become law, gives the Sharia law supremacy over the child protection law.
It states that the Sharia will take precedence if any matter in the new law concerning a Muslim child goes against the religious law.
The Act, nevertheless, covers key aspects of the lives of children and adolescents including survival rights, development rights, participation rights, and protection rights.
Child Right Protection Act defines a child as a person below the age of 18 and should by that definition be considered underage can still marry.
Child rights advocacy
Meanwhile, as a way of intensifying campaign and advocacy bordering on the child rights was re-echoed at a public hearing on two bills christened: Rights and Privileges Bill 2020 and Child Rights Act, 2003 amendment Bill 2020, at the National Assembly.
The public hearing which was organised by the Senate Committee on Women Affairs had the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen in attendance.
Addressing the lawmakers, the minister said efforts were being made to ensure that the Child Rights Act was domesticated in all the states in Nigeria.
Tallen said meetings have been held with governors and lawmakers at Houses of Assembly in the various states to ensure the needful was done.
She said, “I am still not too happy that we still have 11 states that are yet to domesticate the act. However, I am reaching out. I just returned from an advocacy tour of some of the states and I am still moving on until I cover the 11 states.
“But the good news is that we are making some progress. Out of the 36 states we now have 25 states that have domesticated the Act.
“I have just returned from Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe states. The three states have assured me, because I addressed the Houses of Assembly of the three states and had public hearings with stakeholders.
“I have said it that the girl-child is instrumental to the development of Nigeria. When you train a child, a girl-child, you are not only training a child, you are training a generation.”
She said both bills will help in reducing rape cases and gender-based violence.
While speaking during the session, sponsor of the Bills and senator representing Ogun Central, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said the legislation seek to ensure that women and children are protected from sexual, physical and other forms of abuse.
“This bill further gives protection to the Nigerian child against sexual violence and abuse suffered in the hands of caregivers and others, whom for lack of appropriate legal restrictions, have found themselves in positions that give them an undue advantage and access to the children,” he said.
In a related development, during a two-day media dialogue on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at 30, recently in Lagos, the Child Protection Specialist, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Sharon Oladiji, regretted that some states including Kano, Sokoto, Kaduna, Kebbi, Jigawa and Adamawa, Bauchi, Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Gombe, and Katsina were yet to pass the CRA into law.
She identified religion and cultural belief inherent in these states as some of the set back hindering the passage of the law.
In the North-west, Kaduna passed a similar law in 2018, while Kano, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara are yet to do the same.
On its part, Jigawa State passed the Child’s Right Act, but later repealed it in 2012. However, the same Bill was reintroduced in September.
While justifying its action, the lawmakers in Jigawa this medium learnt repealed the law due to inadequate input from citizens also, citing ambiguous sections that needed explanations.
They also alleged that the Bill, a domestication of the Federal Act, was signed into law by the then secretary to the state government, saying it was not the right procedure.
Kano state government came out to state earlier in the year that the Bill had been forwarded to the State Assembly for further legislative action.
Way forward
In a chat with Blueprint Weekend a child rights activist Ruth Amoren noted that every child was crucial to the future and development of his or her immediate society.
She described them as the most vulnerable in the society, saying regrettably that their voices are rarely heard and their rights are being violated every second globally.
“I think it behoves all stakeholders to do the needful and stop foot-dragging on taking legislative action especially on issues bordering on the child, so as not to be a laughing stock before the comity of nations,” Amoren stated.
