By Imelda Osayande
As Nigeria observes the 2025 International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, the Edo Government has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting children’s rights and enforcing relevant labour laws.
Mr Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin.
Itua noted that the Edo Government had implemented various initiatives to ensure a safe and nurturing environment for children in the state.
“Some of the initiatives include the domestication of the Child Rights Act, to provide a legal framework for protecting children’s rights,” he said.
He also mentioned the inauguration of a Family Court in 2017 to handle all matters pertaining to children, ensuring speedy trials and protection from undue exposure and exploitation.
According to Itua, the state government prosecutes parents and guardians of out-of-school children found begging on the streets during school hours, aligning with the “every child in Edo must be in school” directive.
The CPS, who could not immediately provide the accurate number of those prosecuted, noted that the Ministry of Education, under the current administration of Gov. Monday Okpebholo, had embarked on a campaign aimed at combating sexual abuse.
He said the campaign also aimed at combating other vices against young girls, including creating counselling departments in schools to educate students on gender-based violence and facilitate timely reporting of abuse.
Itua highlighted efforts to promote youth development and create job opportunities through initiatives like EdoJobs, designed to reduce the vulnerability of young people to illegal migration, human trafficking, and child/forced labour.
On her part, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development in Edo, Chief Olabisi Idaomi, said the ministry had launched a comprehensive initiative to address the issue of street children in the Benin metropolis.
According to her, “Recognising the vulnerability of these children, the ministry has identified two main categories: Children Living on the Street and Street Children Beggars.”
She said that the ministry, in collaboration with NGOs, had conducted sensitisation programmes in strategic locations to reach out to these children.
Idaomi emphasised the ministry’s commitment to developing and protecting women, children, and vulnerable persons, providing psychosocial support, trauma healing, and monitoring of registered orphanages and crèches.
She also noted that the Edo Government was working with national and international bodies like NAPTIP and IOM to combat human trafficking and child labour.
She said that the ministry had also collaborated with NGOs like Girls’ Power Initiative to strengthen grassroots action against child trafficking and abuse.
Mr Pius Oiwoh, the former Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Benin Branch, highlighted the progress made in combating child trafficking in the state.
He, however, emphasized the need for improved enforcement and government intervention to address child exploitation.
Oiwoh praised the state government’s improvements in combating child trafficking for slave labour, particularly the strictness of family courts regarding adoptions.
He expressed concern about the lack of enforcement regarding street children used for begging, street vending and other exploitative labour.
Oiwoh called for government intervention, including providing shelters, education and prosecuting those involved in exploiting children, citing the area around Holy Cross Cathedral in Benin City as an example of widespread child exploitation.
“From my observation, the Edo State Government remains committed to safeguarding children’s rights and future,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Augusta Uchediunor/Joe Idika
