The revelation of a
40-year-old man that raped a four-year-old girl to death was made by the State
Coordinator of Child Protection Network, CPN, Mrs Mariam Kombo-Ezeh.
Officials of United Nations
Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and other stakeholders in the protection of the rights
of the child were shocked, yesterday, to hear of the case of a 40-year-old man
that raped a four-year-old girl to death in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area
of Bayelsa State.
She also revealed two other
cases of child abuse, which occurred in the state, including the death of a
seven-year-old girl of complications from HIV/AIDS after being raped and
infected by a man, and another 13-year-old girl gang-raped in Yenagoa, the
state capital.
Speaking on Advocacy
Engagement with Policy Makers on Domestication of Child Right Act in Bayelsa,
Mrs. Kombo-Eze said cases of child abuse and inhuman treatments were on the
rise in the state.
She said: “It is pathetic
and the cases are on the high side. There is the need for speedy passage of the
bill on Child Rights into Law.”
In her speech at the
stakeholders meeting organized by the state government in collaboration with
CPN, with the support of UNICEF, Enugu Field Office, the state Commissioner for
Women Affairs and Social Development, Ms. Nengi Rufus-Spiff, said the present
administration was shocked by the revelations and would never support child
abuse under any guise.
According to Ms. Nengi
Rufus-Spiff, children in Bayelsa State will be properly protected under the
proposed Bill, adding “the parents too should rise 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.”
In her message at the
event, Chief Field Officer of UNICEF, Enugu office, Mr. Nwanaka Chude Onwurah,
commended the state government on the existing policies on the protection and
welfare of Bayelsa children.
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