Protect Your Children from Pedophiles, NAPTIP Charges Parents 

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has charged parents to ensure the protection of their children.
NAPTIP also urged parents to go all out to protect their wards from all adversaries, especially pedophiles.

Speaking in Kwali Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Director General of the agency, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, gave the charge at a one-day community dialogue and advocacy on Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
Waziri-Azi also charged the parents not to shield perpetrators of SGBV on their children, saying such act is a crime in the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act.

She noted that: “The Child Rights Act (CRA) is a strong law that protects the children, their interest should take prominent place in the heart of the parents.
“Grievous cases of SGBV like rape, incest should not be covered up, we must always learn to do the right thing in reporting these cases to law enforcement officers, or NAPTIP.

“Preservation of evidence in these cases must be guided well so that NAPTIP can prosecute the matter, such offences is not allowed to be settle at the community level.
“Everybody must ensure victims are protected, while perpetrators are brought to book, settling grievous SGBV cases at the community level is doing injustice to the victim.

“NAPTIP has started sending a strong message to parents who try to shield perpetrators of SGBV, or hide evidence, it is a crime that attracts a jail sentence,” she stressed.

The Chairman of Kwali Area Council, Mr. Danladi Chiya, pledged his readiness from henceforth to support NAPTIP in watching out for SGBV crimes,
Represented by Mr. Mathew Yakubu, the Acting Head of Social Welfare of the council, the chairman charged communities in Kwali to also support NAPTIP and report all SGBV cases happening in their vicinity.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Kwali, Mr. Mohammed Kwainanga, disclosed that a lot of SGBV cases are recorded by the division, while blaming the various chiefs and parents on some of the rape cases happening in Kwali.

He said, “We receive such complaints a lot, parents are compromised when it comes to reportage, this is not helping matters, parents in Kwali communities must wake up to their responsibilities.”