By Grace Udofia
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, has appealed to the Social Welfare departments in all 36 states of the federation to as a matter of urgency, enrol children rescued from traffickers in school.
The minister made the appeal during the opening ceremony of the 21st Regular National Council Meeting on Women Affairs held in Akwa Ibom state.
She regretted that violence against children was the most pronounced violation of Human Rights across the globe, “yet it is one of the less prosecuted offenses and has become the greatest threat to achieving lasting peace and sustainable development”.
“I wish to use this medium to appeal to those who want to adopt children, go through the right channel and stop patronizing baby factory operators and traffickers.
“Let me also appeal that all children who have been rescued from traffickers should as a matter of urgency be enrolled into schools, so that we are not breeding another set of criminally minded individuals.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria in 2017 became a path finding country within the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children in recognition of its commitment.
“It is disheartening to note that since the passage of the Child Rights Act in 2003 only 26 states have domesticated it, with 10 states still outstanding.
“Remarkable progress has however been made with the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 with 29 states that have domesticated it,” she said.
