By Ifeoma Ezenyilimba
The 8th Anambra State Children’s Parliament, has called on the State Government to establish Juvenile Correctional Centre in the State so as to have an ideal place where juveniles who are in conflict with the law would be kept for their proper rehabilitation, correction and reintegration into the society as better citizens.
The Parliament also advocated for the establishment of Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law Commission, to ensure proper justice for victims of gender based violence and punishment,for offenders.
Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Rt Hon Victory Iruoma Ekwunife, made the call when the Parliament had a joint plenary with the 8th Anambra State House of Assembly at the Legislative Chambers, Awka, Anambra State, this week Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
Rt Hon Ekwunife, who cited the case of a 15-year old boy, who was kept in police custody for eight months, and was brought to court from the police station, observed that such unlawful detention was able to take place in Anambra State because of non-existence of a Juvenile Correctional Centre in the State.
Pointing out that the Correctional Centre is the right place where juveniles who are in conflict with the law should be kept in accordance with the law, the Children’s Parliament Speaker appealed to the State House of Assembly to help the parliament reach the State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, so as to make the project actualisable soonest.
According to her, there was urgent need of the Juvenile Correctional Centre which would serve as a place of proper rehabilitation of the children who were convicted of crimes so as to keep them away from corrupting the innocent children in society, and being corrupted by the adult prisoners.
This was even as she regretted that some police men atimes increase the ages of the children so as not to be held responsible for their illegal detention.
While noting that in the course of their advicacy, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC) Program, had agreed to support the building of the Correctional Centre, the Speaker calked on the Anambra State Government to provide a conducive land so as to make the project achievable.
Responding, the Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Somtochukwu Udeze, promised that the State Legislature would help the Parliament pass its resolutions into law, so as to make the establishment of the centre and the Commission achievable.
The members of the Children’s Parliament where accompanied by the Coordinator, Child Protection Network (CPN), Anambra State, Mrs Eucharia Aniekwe and the Chaperone, Children’s Parliament, Anambra State, Obianuju Nwude.
