Stakeholders have decried disturbing escalation of child abuse, child labour, child stealing, abandonment, suspected trafficking and defilement of young children.
They said it was dangerous for the nation to watch while its “future” is being molested and abused.
According to the Head of Department of Child Protection and Development, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Ebonyi State, Emmanuel Nkwuda, the number of reported cases of children that have been sexually abused, defiled, maltreated, abandoned and deprived have seen a significant surge.
He regretted that children as young as eight or six years old and even age one, two or three have fallen victim to these despicable acts in the state, leaving a trail of trauma and devastation in their wake.
The child rights and protection advocate expressed deep concern over the situation and emphasized the need for swift and decisive action to tackle the root causes of such atrocities and to ensure justice for the innocent victims.
According to him, the ministry is poised to its commitment to addressing the issues head-on; as plans are underway to strengthen child protection mechanisms, enhance public awareness campaigns, and provide support services for victims and their families.
He opined that profiling of all children, especially house-helps in the state would go a long way to ensure proper monitoring and protection of the defenceless children.
Nkwuda said, “My appeal is, let us allow these children to grow up normally without being exposed to all sorts of abuses, for a better tomorrow.”
He expressed worry over nonchalant attitude of people towards reporting cases concerning children, disclosing that the ministry recorded and attended to only 17 cases of child abuse in 2023 despite the prevalent rate in Ebonyi.
The advocate called for proper upbringing of all children in the state irrespective of origin and threatened to ensure justice for any abused child against defaulters.
“My blueprint as the new Head of Department Child Protection and Development in Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development is to give all children in the state the required protection and improve on their welfare so that they will develop and advance to useful adults in future.
“There are so many cases of missing children, child abuse and neglect, child labour in Ebonyi State. I am appealing to all Ebonyians to allow these children to grow normally without abuses, because anybody caught maltreating any child in Ebonyi State will go in for it. We will not spare the person. We will make sure that the maltreated child gets justice no matter who is involved. The state government has put in place the entire enabling environment to promote and protect the rights of all Ebonyi children.
“We have a specialized police unit; in all divisions, we have gender units including the state CID. We have family courts, CSOs and many other key stakeholders who are promoting and protecting the rights of children in Ebonyi State. Even if you are not an indigene but live in Ebonyi State, we are mandated to protect all children resident in the state irrespective of origin.
“My appeal is, let us allow these children to grow up normally without being exposed to all sorts of abuses. Children are presumed ignorant of the law. Experience has shown that many people because of one thing or the other a child would do to them, they discipline and punish them harshly to the point of inflicting injuries on their bodies.
“We have recorded so many cases like that. I use this medium to advise our people that if you are living with any child, please protect him or her. If you can no longer cope with the child’s bad attitudes, please take them back to their biological parents. If you are living in any house, please be a whistleblower to Ebonyi State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. Give us information so that we can rescue that child being abused in your neighbourhood. My appeal as the new HOD is that all hands must be on deck to guarantee a bright future for our children,” he said.
As one of the ways of tackling the menace, Nkwuda added that, “We need to have a database; if you are living with any child in this state, especially as housemaids, we (the ministry) needs to know you are staying with that particular child so that we will monitor you and when it is obvious you can no longer stay with the child, we advise you to take the child back to the parents. Some people do come here to give reasons to justify the maltreatment of their maids. Before the law, it is not advisable. Any treatment that amounts to under development of the child will not be accepted. We will do everything humanly possible to give that child the needed support and protection. Some people used to go to villages and bring people’s children to town with a promise to get them enrolled in school but later refuse bluntly to fulfill it.
“Most times cases of abuse against the children are not reported to appropriate authorities for possible interventions. This first quarter of 2024 only 3 has been officially reported to the ministry whereas the abuses are prevalent. Last year, we got report of only three cases for child abandonment, child abuse/neglect was eight, rape/sexual abuse was three and suspected child trafficking matters was three. Because rape is a criminal matter, we do refer them to police for investigations and prosecution. Some are still pending at the court of law.
“The children are the only assets we have, if we do not give them the needed training and protection that means we have all failed.”
Lamenting rampant cases of child abuse, a human rights activist, Citizen Lola Wey, urged state Ministries of Justice to be up and doing in giving legal advice on time and prosecuting cases without delay.
