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The viral picture of an 11 year-old boy wearing a police uniform paraded by the Nigerian Police for allegedly partaking in the attack on police stations and carted away with their uniforms, is a violation of child’s rights. This was the view of Olakunle Sanni, a Child Protection Specialist and Founder at Childhood Advancement Response and Empowerment Initiative.
To Sanni, the Police has done wrong by parading the boy, a minor who, in this case, can be referred to as a Child Offender. Equally, social media users are so guilty as the Police for sharing the picture.
“Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003 is very clear on how to handle child offenders without exposing them to risk or any form of abuse. Section 205 (Protection of Privacy) of the CRA frowns at dissemination of any information that could wholly or partly reveal the identity of a child offender,” he said.
The said child, in the words of Sanni, “has the ample opportunity to retrace his steps and become a better person in future.”
“What if this child grows up and aspire to be someone great in life? Don’t you think seeing picture of himself in this manner could discourage and kill his desire? It will surely affect his emotions and he can go as far as committing suicide. Sharing that picture is more or less like labeling this boy, the boy can then look for other ‘badly behaved’ boys and associate with them because he would believe the group will appreciate him more (labelling theory).”
He further urged members of the public to be sensitive about matters relating to children. Dissemination or sharing of pictures of child offenders must stop, so as to avoid destroying the child’s future, and also saving oneself from violating the law. As much as it is important to discipline a child offender, the safety and well-being of the child must be put into consideration.
BlackBox Nigeria gathered that the boy in the viral picture whose name is Gift has been released by Concerned citizens, who secured his release had undertook to rehabilitate and reform him.
Ganiu Oloruntade
