Mrs Buhari speaking at the workshop

The wife of the President Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has expressed concern over lack of commensurate punishment for  abuses being meted out to children in Nigeria, citing the case of a six-month-old baby, Khadijah who was sexually abused in Kano.

Mrs Buhari who spoke on Saturday while delivering her speech at the National Workshop on War against Abuse organized by her NGO, the Future Assured programme in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Abuja lamented that judgment was not done in the case.

“Even though, judgment had been passed in the case, the incidence is still fresh in our minds.

“In delivering the judgment, the acting Chief Judge grants all the reliefs and awarded a sum of ten thousand naira as compensation being social damages for the expenses so far made by the baby’s family on her health since the occurrence of the unfortunate incidence,” she said.

Mrs Buhari said that there was need to review such judgments with stiffer penalty to serve as a deterrent to perpetrators of such act.

According to her, that would adequately address the violation of the fundamental human rights of such victims.

She urged stakeholders to make concerted efforts towards eradicating all forms of abuses in Nigeria.

The wife of the President said that the workshop was organized to sensitise the general public on issues related to all forms of abuse in Nigeria.

She also said, the workshop was intended to proffer workable solutions to address the adverse effect of series of abuse on women and in Nigeria.

Mrs Buhari said that human rights abuses such as physical, sexual and emotional abuse are alien to the laws of Nigeria.

She expressed dismay over the recurrence of the cases of child abuse especially child marriage, human trafficking, domestic violence against women and children as well as the elderly remain major source of concern in Nigeria.

“Base on my experience working with relevant organization, it is reasonable to assume that most cases of abuse occur as a result of inadequate information and lack of self confidence among the general population” she said.

The wife of the President also advocate for education and raising awareness on prevention and report of incidences of abuse to law enforcement agencies.

She also called on the victims of abuse to always speak out to stop the rising incidents of abuses.