UNILORIN Don Calls for Establishment of National Child Justice Database

 

A Professor of Law, University of Ilorin, Mariam Abdulraheem, has called for the establishment of a National Child Justice Database to strengthen child protection, improve justice administration and ensure that children who come into conflict with the law receive appropriate intervention and rehabilitation.

Abdulraheem made the call while call  during the 305th Inaugural Lecture, titled “Children in the Cage, Justice on Trial”, held at the University of Ilorin Main Auditorium on Thursday.

According to her, there is a need for a more humane and child-sensitive justice system, stressing that the circumstances surrounding a child’s encounter with the law must be properly understood before punitive measures are considered.

She noted that children who appear before the justice system often face a combination of vulnerabilities, including poverty, broken homes, school exclusion, neglect, loss of parents, exploitation and negative peer influence.

Prof. Abdulraheem said that the cage in the title is not only the prison cell, police station or custodial centre, but also that of poverty, parental neglect, weak institutions, delayed courts, poor age documentation, absent of welfare services and a legal imagination that sometimes sees the child before it sees childhood.

“When a child is arrested, detained, tried or punished without the tenderness of the law and wisdom of social protection, it is not only the child who is on trial, justice itself is on trial,” she said.

“when a child stands at the door of justice, the child may be frightened, defiant, hungry, ashamed or silent.”

“Behind that child may lie a broken home, lost school opportunity, death of a parent, exploitative adult, manipulative peer group, poverty, neglect or a moment of youthful foolishness.

“Before that child stands the state, armed with law, police, courts and custodial power. This is why the ‘child’ in this lecture is described as being in the cage,” she said.

The expert argued that the justice system must look beyond the offence to understand the circumstances that may have contributed to a child’s behaviour, insisting that rehabilitation, education and reintegration should remain central to child justice.

She said the absence of reliable and coordinated data on children in conflict with the law could undermine effective policy formulation, intervention and monitoring.

Abdulraheem further described every encounter between a child and the criminal justice system as a test of the humanity, competence and moral credibility of the state.

“Justice is on trial because every encounter between the child and the criminal justice system tests the humanity, competence and moral credibility of the state,” she said.

She, therefore, urged governments and relevant stakeholders to develop a comprehensive national child justice database capable of tracking cases, interventions, rehabilitation outcomes and the welfare of children throughout the justice process.

She also called for child protection budgets to be ring-fenced, publicly reported and independently monitored, saying adequate funding was essential to building a justice system that protects children and gives them a genuine opportunity to reform and reintegrate into society.

The legal expert warned that no child should be detained with adults. Custodial centres must provide education, healthcare, psychological support and reintegration planning.

“Schools, religious bodies, traditional institutions,  NGOs and professional associations should create local protection and reintegration networks, the lecturer added.

She stressed that protecting children in conflict with the law should not be viewed merely as a criminal justice responsibility but as a broader social obligation involving government agencies, families, schools, communities and civil society organisations.