Former Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria for Democracy (NFD) in the 2019 general election, Dr. Asukwo Mendie Archibong, has condemned the recent sentencing of 13-year-old Omar Farouq to 10 years imprisonment with menial labour by the Kano State Sharia Court describing it as not only unconstitutional but wrong, illegal and beyond all bounds of decency.

The presidential candidate, who is also the national chairman of NFD, said the action further negates all core underlying principles of Child Rights and Child Justice that Nigeria, and by implication Kano State has signed on to.

“Most significantly, the sentence is in contravention of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Nigeria ratified in 1991. It is also a violation of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child which Nigeria ratified in 2001, and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act 2003, which domesticates Nigeria’s international obligations to protect children’s right to life, survival and development.

“This case underpins the urgent need to accelerate the enactment of the Kano State Child Protection Bill so as to ensure that all children under 18, including Omar Farouq, are protected and that all children in Kano State, and indeed in all parts of Nigeria, are treated in accordance with Child Rights Standards.

“Both the Federal Government of Nigeria and specifically the Kano State Government, are hereby reminded of their international obligations to ensure “child-sensitive judicial measures” for children who are alleged to have committed any offence. This should include ensuring quality legal representation and full implementation of “Child Justice Principles” all of which are geared towards reform, rehabilitation and reintegration of the child with their family and community.

“Consequently, the Kano State Government must immediately release Master Omar Farouq, who is only but a child, and reintegrate him with his family and the community at large,” the statement added.

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