The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has announced ratification of Executive Order establishing a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy as a catalyst for driving awareness and commitment of all stakeholders towards protection of children.

The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that the Programme was developed to prescribe management systems in place to create and maintain a safe environment for children, adding that the policy also articulates procedures to be adopted when disclosures of abuse are made.

Kazeem said the Executive Order which was signed by the Governor on December 16, 2016 highlighted emphasis which present administration placed on protecting lives of all children in the State.

The Commissioner for Justice, who said the order applies to state government organisations, public and private schools, child-centred institutions, and orphanages in the state, stressed that the policy also provides steps that must be followed in case of a disclosure, role of Designated Child Protection and Safeguarding Officer, and process of reporting and dealing with allegations of abuse against members of staff.

He said the Executive Order now makes it mandatory for Child Protection policy to be integrated into the induction programme of newly recruited staff into child-centred institutions.

“As regards employment of staff, it is now mandatory for all child-centred institutions to conduct detailed background checks.

“Ultimately, the ratification of this Executive Order, would reduce and possibly eliminate incidences of child abuse, establish a culture of early identification of trends and effective intervention to limit the occurrence of cases,” he said.

The Attorney General added that in the next coming months, the state government would drive adoption of the policy to ensure that all child-centred institutions adopt and adhere strictly to provisions of the Order, while electronic copies would be made available on the State’s Website and other relevant social media platforms to ensure proper dissemination.

“The State Government therefore uses this medium to sound a very clear warning to all child-centred institutions both public and private, that it would no longer tolerate negligence in ensuring safety of children under their supervision.

“Failure to adhere to the content of the policy would warrant significant repercussions varying from withdrawal of licenses to filing of criminal charges due to negligence,” Kazeem warned.