Religious leaders in Gombe State have called on the state House of Assembly to work for the speedy passage of the Child Protection Act to ensure justice and save lives of innocent children.
Rising from a one-day stakeholders meeting convened by the Save the Children International, the clerics from both Islam and Christianity called for an end to the lingering debate on the child right act, which stalled its passage for years.
The state Secretary of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam, Saleh Danburam, said the debate which bordered around the religious and cultural point of views had been more harmful to the protection of children.
He, therefore, called for the immediate and amicable resolution of all issues and enactment of the law to put an end to various crimes against children.
On his part, Reverend Gaius Isuwa Bangus, from ECWA 1, called on all the stakeholders not to allow culture and belief override the rights of children in the state.
He said the domestication of the child rights act remained the only option to better protect children, saying culture, which is one of the major issues against the domestication of the Act should not be allowed to override the rights of children.
