NAWJN: Aisha Buhari, Justice Odili Decry Child Abuse, Involvement In Crime

Wife of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, on Thursday, called for the protection of children who have been abused, noting that such cases are increasing daily.

Aisha, who was represented by the Director General, National Centre for Women Development, Barrister Mary Ebere Ettah, shared her message at the National Association of Women Judges, Nigeria’s (NAWJN) hybrid virtual conference on “Protection of Child and Vulnerable Witnesses in Nigeria”, monitored by our correspondent.

She stressed that victims needed immediate justice as well as the enabling environment to speak out without fear of being victimized.

“These days, cases of abuses have skyrocketed due to factors including insurgency, banditry, and the covid-19 lockdown. For as many of the victims that have found justice, many more have remained traumatized and unsafe. Even those who have ventured to speak out have drawn… stigma from the community and lack of compassion for the system that is meant to protect them.

“I understand that some of the recorded barriers in delivering justice to victims include unnecessary and long delay in processing cases in court, hostile physical environment…It is my hope that these barriers will be addressed adequately by this conference,” she said.

But the President of the NAWJN, Justice Mary Peter-Odili, also warned that the court may treat a child like an adult if such child is caught committing crime alongside adults.

She advised that in other to avoid such scenarios, parents, guardians and those concerned must train their wards the right way.

“Concerning children who are involved in criminal activities, now we are not talking of the witnesses, I think this forum needs to make a point; when a child is involved in this criminal activities… if he is alone it is easy to give him a lot of shield  but children who participate with adults somehow lose the toga of the immunity that would be given to a child in trial because having operated with adults he is taken as one of them and the trial goes on with normalcy.

“So, our young children should note that when they operate illegally with adults, they become adults for the purposes of that trial. So, as we are grooming our young, we let them know their limitations to youthful exuberance,” she said.

On her part, Justice Nyako of the Federal High Court, noted that the judiciary needed adequate facilities so as to effectively administer justice in children and family related matters.

She called on the legislative and executive arm of government to provide funds in that regard.

“Do we have safe houses where we can keep these witnesses, do we have the capacity to give them different identities. So even though the legislature has done its own job and the courts are trying and thinking outside the box to try and do what is possible within the practice in Nigeria, the Executive that controls the purse has a lot to do, in fact they have the most to do as far as I’m concerned because you cannot send someone to probative centres and ask him to go and do community service.

“I would want to say that when we are coming up with our proposals , we need to put these things in place before we start talking about vulnerable witnesses protection ; even when we are doing our best, the facilities are not in place, so the executive really need to look at the possibility of bringing out more money.

“National Assembly, as you are budgeting, remember that we need more money in the judiciary to be able to do this things…,” she added.

In his own address, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Judiciary, Rep. Onofiok Luke, assured the conference that the House is committed to justice sector reforms.