The Nigeria Police Force ( NPF)said that children who come in contact with the law requires child friendly procedures that are sensitive and responsive to the specific needs and circumstances of children
The Inspector General of Police Alkali Baba who spoke at the official launch of the Standard Operating Procedures ( SOP) for Handling Children in Contact with the Law on Thursday in Abuja while addressing the media stated that the way children are coming in contact with the law sometimes is prearranged
According to him, the activity of children that will bring them in contact with the law include child abuse in different forms where the child is supposed to be the complaint or the government is supposed to come to the aid of the child
He stressed that a lot of researches still have to be made to take care of such situations
Alkali further said that the NPF is pleased with the type of positive intervention they are having from the European Union
The Deputy Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun noted that NPF have benefited immensely from the robust support especially in helping to develop capacity of Gender desk Officers and equipping them with specialized children unit
The Project Manager Human Right and Gender Democracy of the European Union Esme Stuart noted that the launch is a part of the original partnership between United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the European Union that aims to provide access to justice for children on the move and other vulnerable children
Also speaking the Chief Child Protection of UNICEF Ibrahim Sesay mentioned that the main objectives of the SOP is to provide guidance in dealing with the child that is in contact with the law to ensure the best interests of the children are observed throughout every procedure
