Pedophiles is
becoming too much in Bayelsa State according to a revelation given from a
child protection agency to the officials of the United Nations Children
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and other stakeholders in cases of child
abuses, including the rape and death of a four-year-old girl at the
hands of a 40-year-old man in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA).
The shocking revelation was made
by the State Coordinator of the Child Protection Network (CPN), Mrs.
Mariam Kombo-Ezeh, who also revealed that two other cases of child abuse
that occurred in the state included the death of a 7-year-old girl from
complications of HIV/AIDS, which she contracted after being raped by a
man, and the gangrape of a 13-year-old girl in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa
State capital.
in her presentation, Mrs. Mariam
told the gathering of stakeholders on child protection, which was themed
“Advocacy Engagement with Policy Makers on Domestication of Child Right
Act in Bayelsa,” said the cases of child abuse and inhuman treatments
were on the rise in the state. “It is pathetic and the cases are on the
high side. There is the need for a speedy passage of the Bill on Child
Rights into Law.”
In her speech at the stakeholders
meeting, which was organized by the state government in collaboration
with the Child Protection Network (CPN) with the support of UNICEF, the
Enugu Field Office, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social
Development, Ms. Nengi Rufus-Spiff, said the present administration is
shocked by the revelations.
According to Ms. Rufus-Spiff,
children in Bayelsa State will be properly protected under the proposed
bill in the State House of Assembly. “The parents too should rise up to
the realities of training the boy child to respect the girl child. It is
a thing of regret to know that the rate of such abuses is high,” she
said.
In her message at the event, the
Chief Field Officer of UNICEF, Enugu office,Mr. Nwan aka Chude Onwurah,
represented by Charlse Zuki, commended the state government on the
existing policies on the protection and welfare of the Bayelsa Child.
“We are optimistic that the Child Right Bill in Bayelsa will soon be
passed into law,” he said.
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