Judge asks Akwa Ibom to establish, maintain data on children in alternative care

A judge of the Akwa Ibom State High Court, Theresa Obot, has called on the state government to establish a comprehensive database of children in alternative care and regularly monitor their welfare to prevent abuse and exploitation.

Mrs Obot made the call on Saturday in Uyo while delivering the keynote address at the Akwa Ibom Alternative Care Conference organised by Street Mentors Network.

Alternative care for children refers to the care and protection provided to a child who cannot, temporarily or permanently, live safely with their biological or usual family.

It includes arrangements such as kinship care, foster care, guardianship, family-based care, and, where necessary, residential or institutional care. The primary aim is to ensure that the child has a safe, stable, supportive and nurturing environment while their rights and development are protected.

The conference, themed “Mobilising Families for Alternative Care of Vulnerable Children,” also marked the fifth anniversary of the Street Mentors Network.

Speaking on “Every Child Deserves a Safe Family: The Law, Our Responsibility and the Way Forward,” the judge said the absence of reliable data on children in alternative care posed a major protection risk.

“There is no data on how many children are in alternative care, hence there is a threat that so many things can happen to them,” she said.

Ms Obot said alternative care arrangements must be properly structured, adding that the government should be intentional about documenting children placed in alternative care and following up regularly to ascertain their welfare.

She also called for a change in how law enforcement agencies handle children, alleging that some officers sometimes manipulate children’s ages to enable their detention in correctional facilities.

“I have had situations where police increase the age of a child to put them in prison so that they are not put in alternative care,” she said.

‘Child’s best interest must remain paramount’

Ms Obot commended the Akwa Ibom State Government for enacting the Child Rights Law in 2008, saying the legislation provides a framework for protecting children from abuse and exploitation and for addressing family disputes involving children.

She said the state was probably the only state in Nigeria with a law expressly prohibiting the branding of a child as a witch or wizard.

The judge said the justice system must place the safety, stability, dignity, belonging and development of children at the centre of family-related cases.

“The question before a Family Court is what environment will allow this child to become whole?” she said.

Ms Obot said family preservation should not mean maintaining a harmful environment for a child, just as separation should not automatically become the first response where safety could be achieved through support, protection and rehabilitation.

She noted that family disputes often come before courts as conflicts between adults, including husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, guardians and parents or relatives.

“But beneath the pleadings is often a child living the consequences of the dispute,” she said.

According to her, children caught in such disputes may experience emotional trauma, domestic violence, neglect, parental alienation, poverty, disruption to their education, sexual abuse, physical punishment, abandonment, trafficking and exploitation.

She said they may also lose contact with parents or siblings or experience repeated movement between homes.

She called on Family Courts to ensure that the interests of children do not disappear beneath legal contests between adults.

‘Custody is not a prize’

Ms Obot said children should not be treated as the property of either parent, adding that custody should not be used as a reward or an instrument for punishing one parent.

“The child is not the property of either parent. Custody is not a prize. Access is not a favour. Maintenance is not charity.

“And the child must not become the instrument through which one parent punishes another,” she said.

She said courts, when determining the best interests of a child, should consider the child’s physical safety, emotional wellbeing, education, healthcare, nutrition, relationships with parents and siblings, and the stability of the proposed living arrangement.

The judge also highlighted domestic violence as a major concern, noting that a child does not have to be physically assaulted to be harmed by violence in the home.

She said a child who repeatedly witnesses violence could experience fear, anxiety, emotional insecurity, disrupted schooling and behavioural difficulties.

‘Report child abuse’

Ms Obot called on members of the public who witness the abuse of children to report to the police or approach the Family Court.

She said members of the public could be guided on the appropriate steps to take and that the court could record complaints and issue restraining orders where necessary.

She said the challenge was no longer simply the enactment of laws, but ensuring that legal protections translated into actual safety for children.

She identified effective laws, competent courts, child-sensitive procedures, responsible parents, effective social services, professional lawyers, responsive government and protective communities as necessary components of a functional child protection system.

‘Akwa Ibom should not have children on the streets’

The Executive Director of Street Mentors Network, Anita Michael, said the conference was convened to examine how vulnerable children could be protected when they could not be raised by their biological parents.

“We can’t continue to sit on the fence and watch children wander without a future,” Ms Michael said.

She cited Nelson Mandela’s observation that the way a society treats its children says much about the society itself.

According to her, children are particularly vulnerable because they have not attained the mental, emotional and physical strength to protect themselves.

“There are families that are led by children because the adult and society have failed,” she said.

Ms Michael said Street Mentors was not seeking to apportion blame but to encourage stakeholders to examine what happens when children cannot be raised within their biological families.

“What is ideal is that the child be raised with parents, but what happens when that does not happen? What can we do for that child to become a responsible person in society?” she asked.

“Akwa Ibom State should not be a state where children are still in the street.”

Stakeholders seek stronger family support

The Executive Director of Theolight Foundation, Helen Ubit, said her organisation partnered with Street Mentors because of its work with vulnerable children.

She said stronger families were necessary to prevent children from ending up on the streets and exposed to further risks.

Ms Ubit said Theolight Foundation had implemented interventions including psychosocial support for girls with unplanned pregnancies, training and placement of domestic caregivers, and assistance and placement of children from disadvantaged families in homes where they could access basic necessities under structured and monitored arrangements.

She said the interventions were designed to reduce the risks of forced labour, abuse, maltreatment and trafficking.

Also speaking, the Chief Magistrate of the Chief Magistrate Court, Eket, and a sitting magistrate in the Family Court, Helen Umana, said the courts handled several cases involving custody, maintenance and family breakdown.

“We have cases that span through custody and who pays for education. We have a lot of cases of women wanting to leave their marriages,” she said.

Mrs Umana said some children were eventually pushed to the streets when families broke down, with girls particularly vulnerable to harassment.

She said Street Mentors’ work could complement the efforts of the courts and other institutions, but warned that removing children from the streets without a rehabilitation plan could create another set of problems.

“While taking them off the street, have a plan for them, else they will also become a problem for you,” she said.

A representative of the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Margaret Effiong, called on parents to encourage children to speak up when they encounter abuse or other forms of danger. She reaffirmed the ministry’s support for Street Mentors.

Stakeholders reject witchcraft labelling

A stakeholder panel at the conference, titled “Building a Safe Family-Based Alternative Care System in Akwa Ibom State: Who Must Do What?”, also examined factors that expose children to abuse, neglect and separation from their families.

Participants agreed that children should not be branded as witches and charged families and communities to investigate the causes of children’s behaviour rather than subjecting them to stigmatisation.

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The panel identified some religious organisations as part of the concern, noting that allegations of witchcraft against children could be accepted by parents or guardians based on claims made by religious figures.

Participants said such labelling could cause children to internalise the stigma attached to them.

Step-parenting was also identified as a challenge, particularly where one child is preferred and receives better treatment than others in the same household.

From the child’s perspective, participants said, love and acceptance from parents or caregivers remained fundamental to a safe family environment.

The conference brought together stakeholders from the judiciary, government, civil society and child-protection organisations to discuss ways of strengthening family-based alternative care for vulnerable children in Akwa Ibom State.