Inadequate prosecution of abuse cases encourage paedophiles – Experts
Prosper
Posts: 1,432
Esther Ogwu
Taiwo Akinlami
Omololu Akinwande
Child rights activists say the attitude of some men of the Nigeria Police contributes to the increase in child sexual abuse cases in the country.
Lawyer and child protection specialist, Mr. Taiwo Akinlami, told Saturday PUNCH that even though the Child Rights Act 2003 and the Child Rights Law of Lagos specify that there should be a specialised police unit attending to children matters in every police division, those available in each state have been grossly inadequate.
He said, “There are an estimated 20 million people in Lagos State. In the entire state, there are only two specialised police units that are equipped to handle children matters. One is at Alakara Police Division, Mushin, while the other is at Adeniji Adele. What happens to people in other parts of the state?
“We have been saying the Child Rights Act should be included in the mainstream curriculum of the Nigeria Police but that has not been done. They are still teaching them with the Young Person’s Law that has been abrogated by the promulgation of the Child Rights Act.
“We have gone round police stations in Lagos and done a family system protection mapping, which was sponsored by the United Nations Education Fund in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development, the Lagos State Government and some international organisations.”
Akinlami explained that during the programme, many of the policemen in the human rights desks of stations visited did not even know what the law about child abuse says.
“When you find that kind of situation, you can’t blame them. You can only educate them,” he said.
Director of the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, also said if the police had been doing their job diligently, child rights activists would not have to bother putting pressure on them to see such cases through.
She said she had handled many cases in which the police have tried to sweep child sexual abuse cases under the carpet.
Ogwu said, “I have even handled many others where policemen collected money from the families of the rape suspects and released them. There was one I handled where officers advised the mother of the victim to let the matter go. ‘How would you be able to afford a lawyer?’ they told her. The parents end up getting scared in situations like this.
“I cannot really pinpoint what the problem is because the laws are there. Why not simply investigate the case and charge it to court? It is just a question of getting the victim to the hospital and doing everything necessary to get justice.
“But I have realised that money almost always exchanges hands in such cases. If you collect money from a rapist, what about other children out there, who are exposed to the criminal roaming free?
“If you keep releasing rapists and paedophiles, when would the crime stop? By giving them a slap on the wrist or releasing them, you are telling them to commit more of the crime.”
Executive Secretary of the Children Anti-Corruption Initiative, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, said the good efforts of the police on child abuse is being rubbished by many bad eggs in the force, who collect kickbacks to sweep sexual abuse cases under the carpet.
He said even when some parents summon the courage to report such cases to the police, only a handful end up being investigated.
Akinwande said, “It is when the police start prosecuting and child sexual abuse cases are taken to a logical conclusion that police efforts can be said to be worthwhile.
“That is why sexual abuse cases are on the increase. Our society is a peculiar society. Issues of the children are being handled with seriousness in many other part of the world. This is the country where a minor would be molested and the police would be informed and yet, nothing would come out of it.”
Via: PUNCH
Taiwo Akinlami
Omololu Akinwande
Child rights activists say the attitude of some men of the Nigeria Police contributes to the increase in child sexual abuse cases in the country.
Lawyer and child protection specialist, Mr. Taiwo Akinlami, told Saturday PUNCH that even though the Child Rights Act 2003 and the Child Rights Law of Lagos specify that there should be a specialised police unit attending to children matters in every police division, those available in each state have been grossly inadequate.
He said, “There are an estimated 20 million people in Lagos State. In the entire state, there are only two specialised police units that are equipped to handle children matters. One is at Alakara Police Division, Mushin, while the other is at Adeniji Adele. What happens to people in other parts of the state?
“We have been saying the Child Rights Act should be included in the mainstream curriculum of the Nigeria Police but that has not been done. They are still teaching them with the Young Person’s Law that has been abrogated by the promulgation of the Child Rights Act.
“We have gone round police stations in Lagos and done a family system protection mapping, which was sponsored by the United Nations Education Fund in conjunction with the United States Agency for International Development, the Lagos State Government and some international organisations.”
Akinlami explained that during the programme, many of the policemen in the human rights desks of stations visited did not even know what the law about child abuse says.
“When you find that kind of situation, you can’t blame them. You can only educate them,” he said.
Director of the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, also said if the police had been doing their job diligently, child rights activists would not have to bother putting pressure on them to see such cases through.
She said she had handled many cases in which the police have tried to sweep child sexual abuse cases under the carpet.
Ogwu said, “I have even handled many others where policemen collected money from the families of the rape suspects and released them. There was one I handled where officers advised the mother of the victim to let the matter go. ‘How would you be able to afford a lawyer?’ they told her. The parents end up getting scared in situations like this.
“I cannot really pinpoint what the problem is because the laws are there. Why not simply investigate the case and charge it to court? It is just a question of getting the victim to the hospital and doing everything necessary to get justice.
“But I have realised that money almost always exchanges hands in such cases. If you collect money from a rapist, what about other children out there, who are exposed to the criminal roaming free?
“If you keep releasing rapists and paedophiles, when would the crime stop? By giving them a slap on the wrist or releasing them, you are telling them to commit more of the crime.”
Executive Secretary of the Children Anti-Corruption Initiative, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, said the good efforts of the police on child abuse is being rubbished by many bad eggs in the force, who collect kickbacks to sweep sexual abuse cases under the carpet.
He said even when some parents summon the courage to report such cases to the police, only a handful end up being investigated.
Akinwande said, “It is when the police start prosecuting and child sexual abuse cases are taken to a logical conclusion that police efforts can be said to be worthwhile.
“That is why sexual abuse cases are on the increase. Our society is a peculiar society. Issues of the children are being handled with seriousness in many other part of the world. This is the country where a minor would be molested and the police would be informed and yet, nothing would come out of it.”
Via: PUNCH
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