Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take strong action against persistent child rights violations, specifically addressing abuses like unlawful detention and mistreatment of minors by police and other law enforcement agencies. Speaking at the NBA’s annual conference, Falana urged the association to leverage the law more aggressively to protect children’s rights, pointing out cases where law enforcement oversteps boundaries, often leading to children’s rights being undermined.Falana emphasized the need for the NBA to enforce the Nigerian Anti-Torture Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA). He suggested that NBA members should join monthly oversight visits to detention facilities to ensure humane treatment, prevent illegal detention, and support the rights of all detainees, including minors.
He also called for the NBA to work with state attorneys-general to ensure that only legally qualified personnel handle criminal prosecutions, which would prevent non-lawyers, such as police officers without legal training, from prosecuting cases involving minors.
