The Christian Association Of Nigeria (CAN), Kogi chapter, on Tuesday expressed full support for the prompt implementation of the Child Rights Law (CRL) act in the state.
The state’s CAN chairman, Apostle Adebayo Olaniyon, made this known when the Head of CRL Advocacy Custer, Elder Titus Alonge, led a team on an advocacy visit to his office on Tuesday in Lokoja.
Olaniyon stressed the need for adequate protection of child rights in the state through the formulation of child-friendly state policies.
He urged all adults in Kogi to be in the vanguard of child protection in order to stem rising cases of child abuse and pervasive child rights violations in communities across the state.
The CAN chairman decried the high incidence of child molestations under the guise of child adoption and fostering.
”There is a growing number of cases of child abuse in our homes that are going on unnoticed.
”I have made personal intervention to save some innocent children from abuse, torture and maltreatment in many instances.
”I have a child who stays currently with me because of the pathetic conditions the child had been subjected to in wicked circumstances,” he said.
The CAN chairman called on the people of the state to take active interest in child rights advocacy and protection.
He urged the people to form an enduring partnership with rights groups, like the international federation of female Lawyers (FIDA), CSOs and others.
This, he said, would enable the affected children to get legal representation for children in conflict with the law, in the interest of protecting humanity.
Olaniyon said the legal instrument with which to execute the war against child rights violations, had already been established in the state with the domestication of the child rights law.
He urged the people to take advantage of the law to prosecute offenders even before the full implementation of the child rights law in the state.
He added that with the CRL legal framework, the child rights advocates in the state and other citizens could file lawsuits against the ‘fragrant’ child rights violators and get justice for the abused child at little or no cost of litigation to the appellants.
He, therefore, appealed to the state authorities to implement the child rights law (policy demands) being pursued for the state.
According to him, it is in the best interest of the state to protect the rights of the child in any circumstances as CAN will not rest on its oars to get it fully implemented.
He stressed that CAN, being a formidable voice in the struggle for rights protection and the entrenchment of justice for all, would do everything to support the CRL.
Earlier, Head of CRL Advocacy Custer, Elder Alonge, appreciated the ‘immeasurable’ contributions of CAN and other religious bodies in the state for adding voice to the struggle for the formation of the state child rights law implementation Committee to drive home its policy Acts by 2023.
Alonge, who is the Teens Educational Development and Information Initiative (TEDiiN), thanked the CAN leadership for its supportive role in the collective efforts to fully implement the CRL document in Kogi. (NAN)