Five missing children recovered in Ebonyi

From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki

Five missing children, all male, have been recovered in Ebonyi State.

The children were recovered by the police and handed over to the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

They are currently looking for their parents.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Felicia Nwamkpuma, disclosed that the children were seen roaming aimlessly and picked up from different locations in the state by the police and handed over to the ministry for investigations and possible reunion with their parents or relatives.

Nwamkpuma, who was represented by the Head of the Child Development Department of the ministry, Emmanuel Nkwuda, during the press briefing at the premises of the state juvenile remand home, Ugwuachara, in the capital city, advised parents to give birth to only the number of children they can adequately cater for, considering their economic strength and schedules, describing children as precious gifts from God which they ought to guard and guide jealously.

The commissioner, who said the five lost-but-found children are between the ages of 14 and 3, called on people looking for their missing children to visit the ministry as soon as possible for an interview, identification and reunion.

She warned that if the parents of the lost-but-found children are not seen within a reasonable period of time, the ministry will be compelled to place the children for adoption or fostering so as not to deprive them of adequate parental care and love, dignity, education and a name.

“These vulnerable children were found missing by men of the Nigerian Police Force, Ebonyi State Command, on different dates at different parts of the state and handed over to the Ministry of Women Affairs to enable us to trace their families and reunite them.

“Some of them have stayed here up to four years, some two years, some a year, and the youngest among them has stayed with us for just two months. We resolved that it’s important to let the public know that children of these ages are in our Children’s Centre.

“Parents whose children are missing should come with evidence for the interview, identification and possible reunion.

“Last year, after briefing the press on a similar incident, we handed over one Devine Nwankwegu and Uche Nwankoro to their parents. These children have long overstayed here. They cannot continue staying here.

“This is a remand home, not a transit camp. Ordinarily, they are not supposed to stay here for more than one month or two months because they can even cause security risks to underage suspects under our custody.

“The ministry oversees the welfare, promotion and protection of children’s rights. What I mean by protection is that every child has the right to a name. That means if we wait for a more reasonable period of time and the parents are not found, then they cannot continue to be here.

“We don’t have a school here; we don’t have a skill acquisition centre where we can engage the children for self-reliance here. If we allow them to grow up here without meaningful engagement, the implication is that we are raising terrorists for the state.

“We shall invoke section four of the Ebonyi State Child Rights Law, which makes the interest of the child our paramount concern. Their best interest at these ages is that they should be in a home. Meaning people should come for either fostering, custody or outright adoption if the courts find them worthy. They cannot continue staying here. They should be able to have what is called the right to name. They need to be protected.

“I advise parents to give birth to only the number of children they can adequately cater for, considering their economic strength and schedules, and be security-conscious. Imagine what happened at the Nkwagu axis of the state some weeks ago, where some ladies tricked some women and disappeared with three of their children.

“When an unknown person(s) offers to go along with your children to buy biscuits for them, you should be able to make good use of your senses,” the commissioner stressed.