A non-governmental organisation, the Child Protection Network (CPN), Oyo state chapter, in collaboration with all child rights advocates and human rights stakeholders in Oyo State last week staged a peaceful protest to decry the incessant and wanton kidnapping of children across Nigeria, following the kidnap of almost 200 children in Kaduna State.
The organisations in unison condemned the constant kidnap of children in schools in various states across Nigeria, especially in the Northern region.
The protesters, which included organisations like Child Protection Network, Association of Orphanages & Home Operators In Nigeria (ASOHON), Association Against Child & Sexual – Based Violence (AACGBV), Association for Orphans & Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (AONN), Association of Women Orientations for Sustainable Development in Nigeria (AWON), Network Against Child Trafficking & Labour (NACTAL), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Civil Society Network for Peace and Restorative Justice (CSNPRJ), Community Chest Council (CCC) and National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), gathered at the Total Garden area of Ibadan, to register their displeasure over the worrisome menace of insecurity bedeviling the country.
Government agencies that were part of the protest were the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the National Orientation Agency.
The protesters, using Kaduna and Ekiti as examples, decried continuous issues of abduction involving schoolchildren while Nigerian security agencies seem ineffective and kidnappers continue to thrive in their illegal acts.
They stated that “we are using this medium to call on Northern Governor’s Forum, Northern Senator’s Forum, Nigeria Governor’s Forum and the Presidency to compel Nigerian security agencies into immediate action. It is imperative to swiftly stem the tide of kidnapping and general insecurity in Nigeria, which has tarnished the nation’s dignity and integrity. We also urge the Governors of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos states to address the escalating insecurity in the South-West states, which poses a growing threat to the safety of our children and families.
“In the current Nigerian context, where families already grapple with economic challenges, the burden of insecurity is intolerable for our children. We implore well-meaning Nigerians to join us in our demands and help eliminate kidnappings and insecurity, issues that could be effectively addressed by appropriately equipping security agencies
“Furthermore, we propose several protective measures, such as deploying security officials in all schools, establishing safety clubs in schools, implementing information alert systems and establishing early warning systems in all schools,” they said.
While speaking with newsmen at the protest ground, the CPN state coordinator, Mrs Oluwatoyin Ogedengbe, explained that the safety and security of children which has in recent times been continually tampered with birthed the protest, adding that the organisation decided to speak up against the aberration, calling on major stakeholders, including the government, public-spirited individuals, religious/community leaders and families to rise up to the occasion of saying no to the menace of kidnapping.
She also particularly called on the government to do more in increasing the budget and allocations of funds geared towards providing efficient and effective equipment for combating terrorism and kidnapping, using the case of Chibok school girls’ abductors, who are yet to be apprehended as a yardstick.
Also speaking at the event, a representative of National Human Rights Commission, Mr Babatunde Onilari, lamented that the pressure of existing or impending kidnapping is becoming unbearable for families and beckoned on the Northern Elders Forum, Northern Governors Forum and the Northern Senators’ Forum to speak out against it.
In her own submissions, the Executive Director of Youth Care Development and Empowerment Initiative, Dr Adefunke Ekine, believed that the economic benefit inclined with the nefarious practice is what is still keeping it going, advising the government to nip kidnapping in the bud.
Also, Alhaji Iskil Yusuf, who is the Executive Director of Child Development and Concern Foundation, said the recurrence of child kidnapping 10 years after that of the Chibok schoolgirls was alarming and a clarion call for the government to wake from its slumber and ensure necessary actions are taken to bring kidnapping to amend in Nigeria.
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