Bauchi Explains Rationale behind Non-domestication of Child Right Act

Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

The Bauchi State government has explained why it has not domesticated the Child Right Act in the state, saying that there are some grey areas in the law that are still stirring some controversies.

The state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Child Development, Asabe Hamma Mohammed, stated this Friday while fielding questions from newsmen on the achievements of her ministry, at the state Secretariat, Bauchi.

She said that the ministry had already passed the bill to the state House of Assembly, but there were still some sensitive areas of the law such as the age for marriage for a girl.

According to her, “The document contains a lot of controversies, more especially for us here in the northern part of this country. There are things in the document we are finding it difficult to accept for instance the age for marriage for a girl.

“The Child Right Act law states that the stipulated age for a girl to get married is 18 years, but here in the north, we find girls who are 15 and 16 years given out in marriage. Secondly, a child who commits a crime cannot be reprimanded in prison, hence the difficulty in domesticating the law.”

Details later…