Rivers
FIDA Chides Church For Abetting Child Abuse
The leadership of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDE) has expressed disappointment at the leadership of the Methodist Church in Rivers State, for allegedly encouraging and attempting to cover up a reported case of child abuse by teachers of the Methodist Girls High School, Harbour Road in Port Harcourt.
FIDA’s anger followed the unwillingness of representatives of the church’s prelate to volunteer information to the lawyers who had requested for a meeting on November 8, 2016, at FIDA Office, to reconcile grievances of parents of two minors brutally abused, assaulted and injured by teachers of its school in Port Harcourt.
Country Vice President, FIDA, Nigeria, Barrister Inime Aguma, criticised the church and school team for treating with levity the seriousness of the complaint against the school teachers, adding that the church’s attitude could spark an avalanche of irreconcilable differences and claims of damages by the victims and their family.
Mrs Aguma particularly expressed worry at the manner in which the prelate’s representative, and member, Chattered Institute of Arbitrators, Andrew Chukwuemere, SAN, spoke so condescendingly on the composition of the stakeholders, warning that copies of the official complaint on the issue were already before the wife of the governor, Hon Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike and the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo, and threatened the church and the school to take advantage of the reconciliation window to resolve the thorny and sordid issues, or face the full weight of the law.
Earlier, Chairman, Human Rights Committee, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Barrister Joseph Geoffrey, had suggested consultations with the prelate to discuss the issues openly in order to not to fan the suspicion of cover up, but the church declined to heed the advice, and rather requested postponement of the reconciliation meeting.
Also speaking, Chairperson, FIDA Nigeria, Rivers State, Mrs Tonia Osademe, confirmed that the prelate and the church had elected to go to court on the matter.
It would be recalled that complaints of child abuse, unlawful detention, threat to life and attempted murder perpetrated on a 12-year old girl, Miss Queeneth Ekpebulu-Harry and her brother, Daniel by one Samuel K. Uche and other teachers of Methodist Girls High School, Harbour Road, Port Harcourt, had been lodged by the family of Mrs Stephanie Ekpebulu-Harry to FIDA and the offices of the wife of the governor and deputy governor, respectively, seeking for meaningful redress.
The Ekpebulu-Harry family had complained that the untoward incident had occurred on June 13, 2016, at the school premises, and that efforts to compel the school authorities and the church to address the consequential implications of the incident have yielded not positive result.
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