The Kano State government said the child rights act will soon be passed into law before the end of the year, 2022.
The Director, of the Citizen Rights Department in the Ministry of Justice, Muhammad Musa Suleiman stated this during a dialogue meeting organized by National Orientation Agency in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund, UNICEF to commemorate the 2022 Children’s Day in Kano.
Suleiman said the delay in the passage of the act was a result of the necessary amendment being perfected on the document.
He however assured that the Kano State government places significant priority on the rights and privileges of the children.
“The child rights act is presently before the House of Assembly. We are putting some finishing touches on it. Before the end of the year 2022 it will be passed into law,” Suleiman said.
The Director who decried the needless trial of children at the regular courts said the state government is perfecting plans to establish three additional juvenile courts in the state to accommodate the influx of minor crime.
He however kicked against the tradition of remanding underage at the correctional centre instead of the remand homes.
In a swift reaction, the spokesperson of the Kano State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, DSC Musbahu Kofar-Naisa debunked the allegation insisting that the service doesn’t admit underage in the correctional facility.
Kofar-Naisa explained that the service has Borstar training institutions where underage persons were been admitted.
However, in his remarks, the UNICEF Communication Specialist, Samuel Kaalu explained that the dialogue was organized to sensitize security personnel and media practitioners on the best practices in handling issues relating to children without exposing the children to unnecessary injuries in the society.
