The Child Protection Network (CPN) has called for the establishment of a Family Court and a Child Protection Committee in Kano State to strengthen child protection mechanisms and ensure justice for vulnerable children.
The Kano State Chairman of the CPN, Muhammad Ali Mashi, made the call during a one-day stakeholders’ training and capacity-building workshop on the implementation of the Child Rights Law 2023, the creation of family courts, and the establishment of effective child protection structures.
Mashi explained that the workshop focused on improving children’s access to justice, promoting the full adoption and implementation of the Child Rights Law, and preventing the trafficking of children out of the country.
According to him, the training was designed to strengthen the capacity of CPN members by educating them on best practices, the dos and don’ts of child protection, and the importance and techniques of fostering. He noted that the aim was to build a standardised and sustainable framework for fostering in the state.
In a paper presentation titled “Child Protection and Foster Training for Community Members,” Dr Samir Halliru of the Centre for Gender Studies, Bayero University, Kano, said global social and economic pressures have placed families and communities in difficult situations, often leaving children as the most affected victims.
Dr Halliru stressed that, based on the Child Rights Law signed by the Kano State Government in 2023, a strong and credible committee made up of people of integrity and proven capacity should be established to manage and effectively implement child protection laws.
He urged government authorities, stakeholders, non-governmental organisations, and the media to ensure thorough background checks, financial stability, and good character before allowing any individual to foster a child, in order to protect children from abuse and exploitation.
The training was attended by representatives of various non-governmental organisations, members of the judiciary, directors from the Kano State Ministry of Women Affairs, Children and the Disabled, officials of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), and journalists.
Khadijah Aliyu
