Katsina passes Child Protection bill into law after 17 years

The Child Right Protection bill which has been lying dormant at the Katsina State House of Assembly since 2003 has finally been passed into law.

Chairman of the Committee on Child Right Act, Alhaji Musa Nuhu Gafia, informed newsmen soon after the passage of the bill into law that the “Child Protection Bill 2020’’ was re- submitted as Executive Bill by Governor Aminu Bello Masari on March 3, 2020.

Gafia highlighted some of the provisions of the law to include: the provision of adequate care and protection for children, especially in the areas of basic education, protection against sexual harassment by their teachers in schools as well as care for the less privileged and the vulnerable.

He explained that the new law, which is expected to be forwarded to the governor for his assent, also provides for the reduction of menace of drug abuse, under-age marriage, and other social vices in the society.

He recalled it was only this year that the governor reintroduced it to the house, having been lying dormant and unattended to in the House of Assembly since 2003.

Gafia pointed out that his committee consulted widely and held several public hearings before factoring in all divergent views leading to its passage.