Abuja – Some parents in the Federal Capital Territory have called on the National Human Rights Commission to extend its monitoring of human rights abuse to primary schools.
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mrs Franca Ajogo, a stay at home mother, said the call came as a result of recent complaints by some parents.
She said that at a Christmas party, organised by parents in her neighborhood, three mothers complained that their young children were saying strange things that their teachers said to them.
“When three to 10-year old children tell parents things like; ‘’ my teacher said my bom bom is very big’’, that parent needs to take it up immediately.
“ If a teacher did not say such a thing, why will a child think of something like that?
“ And if the teacher said it, whether this teacher is male or female, what is the intention behind it?
“So, I will advise such a parent to report such a complaint to the commission for immediate investigation’’.
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Ajogo said this was a typical case of a potential child abuse waiting to happen and if ignored, it could be dangerous for the child in future.
Mrs Martina Audu, a businesswoman, also told NAN that she heard her four-year-old son telling his sister things that a four-year-old should not be saying.
Audu said on further inquiry, her son told her it was a teacher in his school that always said such words to them.
“When I heard him say such a thing. I became alarmed and quickly told his father about it too.
“When we asked why he said it, he said it was an uncle in his school that says it to them.
“We quickly took the matter up with the school and we are happy that the school handled it but it shows that there could be other cases that have not been discovered.’’
Mr Raph Egwuonu, a father, also noted that ignoring such utterances by children could be a potential bomb waiting to explode.
He urged the commission to once in a while send its officials on surprise visits to schools to ensure that children were not been abused while trying to get basic education. (NAN)
