The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), the national body of paediatricians and child health physicians saddled with the responsibility of child advocacy in Nigeria, shares the grief of parents and families who had experienced child abduction from various locations across the country. As child advocates, we in PAN understand the pain children go through when they are unjustly treated and we commiserate with them. Further, PAN wishes to register her utmost displeasure over the recent wave of abduction of children in some parts of the country.

PAN wishes to call the attention of the general public, civil rights organisations and the government at various levels, to the fact that abduction of children is a violation of the right of children to freedom of movement and association, which among others are enshrined in the Child Rights Act. Children need to be protected from harm rather than being the subject of deliberate harm. Systemic failures and security glitches that allow children to come to deliberate harm, like in abduction, are in themselves accessories to the act of violation of the relevant laws that prescribed the protection of children.

PAN is aware of the various efforts of the government, aimed at decimating the security challenges the nation currently faces in form of insurgency, banditry and kidnapping for ransom. In spite of these efforts, every case of child abduction is a national malady. Therefore, all government functionaries involved in the protection of the Nigerian child are encouraged to intensify efforts in quenching the menace of child abduction.

Beyond the physical and emotional trauma of sudden and forceful relocation, abduction also comes with separation from parents, peers and the disruption of family settings and schooling which are essential for child development. Physical injuries and psychological distress such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder associated with abduction may also persist into adulthood.

Therefore, PAN hereby calls on the government at all levels to urgently review the nation’s security situation and come up with lasting solutions, based on the identified immediate and remote causes of the upsurge in cases of child abduction. State governments are strongly encouraged to prioritize and actively implement the Child Rights Act. There must be specific budgetary allocations targeted at issues bordering on the safety, security and general well-being of children in their immediate spaces, homes, recreational facilities and schools, in the minimum. Security arrangements within the community, particularly in the hinterlands and rural areas, need to be fortified. The security agencies are encouraged to revise their strategies and operations in view of the new pattern of security challenges, as far as children are concerned. For rescued victims of abduction, intensive rehabilitation should be provided to mitigate the adverse short-term and long-term psychological consequences and improve their global outlook in life. Parents, families and communities should be directly engaged to encourage security consciousness in their children.

Long live the Nigerian Child.

Long live PAN.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.