Anambra drafts adjudication guidelines for family courts

The 34 participants, including UNICEF  child protection specialist, Nkeiru Maduechesi, were drawn from the state Judiciary, Ministries of Justice, Social Welfare, Children and Women Affairs, the Nigerian Prisons Service, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, the academia and the International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA. In their resolution, the stakeholders recommended that the state government should properly designate family courts at Magisterial and High Court levels to adjudicate  children’s cases in the state. They also suggested that the Anambra state government should for 2018 fiscal year, make specific budgetary allocations for effective implementation of the child rights law, especially establishing, equipping and developing workforce capacity of the family courts and social welfare departments. The stakeholders also demanded as a matter of urgency, the 2004 child rights law in the state to be gazetted and produced for dissemination amongst people. Part of the communiqué read: “That the Borstal act should be reconciled with the provisions of the child rights law of Anambra state with emphasis on correctional homes or centres; the need to include child rights law in the training curriculum of police, prisons and other justice sector service delivery stakeholders. High level advocacy to the Governor, Chief Judge and other senior policymakers with a view to prioritizing child protection issues in the state in view of the socio-economic development of families and state in general.” The participants urged the Judiciary to give accelerated consideration and     endorsement of the draft adjudication guidelines for child offenders and registered appreciation to Unicef for the opportunity to enhance their skills and capacity in child justice.]]>