Osun Govt Warns Against Child Abuse, Trafficking

Osun State government has sounded notice of warning  to the people of the state especially those who are in the habit of using underage children to hawk and beg for alms on the streets to desist from such practices describing them as “selfish individuals”.

This is contained in a statement issued by the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Adelani Baderinwa on Thursday and made available to CityMirrorNews in Osogbo

Baderinwa, who condemned the act said it an evidence of child abuse and an outright disregard to the dignity and rights of the children for their parents to release them or put them on the streets to hawk at a time when ritual killings and kidnapping is on the rise in the state.

According to him ” It has come to the notice of the State Government of Osun that some individuals are bringing underage children from the neighbouring towns and communities to Osogbo, the state capital to hawk on the street and collect alms”.

“The Government has it on good authority that these children usually brought to Osogbo in the morning and taken back to their various communities at evening time after they might hawked and collected alms for the impious individuals that brought them. This is a clear evidence of child abuse”, he said.

He added that it is unsafe for the underage children to hawk on the streets where there is heavy vehicular movement as they can be easily knocked down on the roads.

The Commissioner said children are an important element of development therefore, their welfare in the society is an index of social and economic development of that society.

He said the state government have put in place necessary laws to prevent child labour and street hawking and have equally domesticated the Child Rights Law.

Mr Baderinwa said law against Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition ) Law Enforcement and Administration Act has also been established and all these laws will be brought to bear full weights on it’s violators and offenders.

“As a government, we have put in place necessary laws to prevent child labour and street hawking, and we have equally domesticated the Child Rights Law. Also, the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act is in existence. All these laws will be brought to bear full weights on the violators and offenders”.

He said the state government is making frantic effort to make sure that people are aware of these laws through various awareness programme and public enlightenments.

Baderinwa urged security agencies in the state not to leave any stone unturned in ensuring that the violators of the laws are apprehended and brought to justice.

He however called on parents and guidance who engaged in such practices which he described as “babaric” to stop it saying the full weight of the law will be brought on anybody found culpable of such acts.