Lawyer Wants Child Rights Law Implemented

A Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Mr Chijioke Agi, has said that unless reasonable care is taken by law enforcement agents to enforce the Child Rights law of state, children of school going age will continue to loiter the streets.
Mr Agi who stated this while speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt at the weekend described the Child Right Law as one of the most overlooked laws.
He said, children of school going age were often in the streets doing menial jobs, yet no parent has been arrested for violation of any child’s right.
He remarked that the police must do the right thing in order that the society would be better for it.
He noted that the law which was enacted to tackle menace of child rights abuses had remained dormant since it came into force.
Agi said the child abuses have been on the increase in recent times and attributed it to negligence on the part of the law enforcement agents.
He also noted that child trafficking was on the increase and pointed out that with the way things were going, many school age children would be denied access to formal education.
According to him, ” all hands must be on deck to ensure that children of school going age were not used as domestic servants.
The Port Harcourt-based lawyer urged the state government to do something urgently to stem the spate of child rights abuses.

By: John Enyie