The police in Ondo State have found children allegedly being held by the church at its premises in Ondo Town, Ondo State.

The children are reported to have been kidnapped and held at the premises of the church which is in the Valentino area of Ondo Town.

The Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in the state, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the development to Channels Television, saying the police had acted based on information received.

According to her, the children have been moved to the police headquarters and investigations are ongoing.

The pastor of the church and some members of the congregation were arrested and more updates are expected from the police on the matter.

Those arrested are currently being quizzed by the police at the Criminal Investigation Department.

It is unclear the total number of children involved but it is believed that they may be as many as 50.

Sources involved with the church are however saying that the children were not kidnapped and were part of a programme organised by the church.

The children are believed to have been in the church for up to seven days.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the 2021 International Day of the Girl Child, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has said that every girl-child should be given the opportunity to harness and realise their full potentials in life.

Senator Omo-Agege stated this in Abuja on Monday in his goodwill message to commemorate this year’s International Day of the Girl Child.

The event was organised by the Federal Ministry of Education.

The Deputy President of the Senate described the theme of the celebration: ‘Digital generation. Our generation’ as apt and encouraged every girl-child in the country to remain confident and focused in the pursuit of their goals.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Otive Igbuzor, the Delta Central lawmaker restated the commitment of the National Assembly to always make good laws meant to eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl-child..

“On the side of the legislature which I represent, we have not been resting on our oars. Firstly, Nigeria is signatory to typical international charters that seek to protect the girl child. These include the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) of 1979, among others.

“Secondly, we have a collection of statutes that address issues of discrimination and undue restriction of the girl. They include the Child Rights Act (2003) with specific clauses that protect the girl child; the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015), also with specific clauses that protect women from violence that could undermine their psyche and self-worth, among others.

“We are also aware of the popular Bill for an Act to prevent, prohibit and redress Sexual Harassment of students in tertiary educational institutions and for matters concerned therewith (2019), which I had the privilege to sponsor. As we know, the Bill has already been passed by the Senate and is now only awaiting the concurrence of the House of Representative,” Omo-Agege said.

The senator made a case for more girls to be part of the new technology culture, adding that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) should not be dominated by boys.

Commemorated on October 11 yearly, the International Day of the Girl-Child is a day set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the girl child while delibrating on issues affecting their development.

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to the protection of children in schools across the country.

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo made the pledge at a three-day intensive workshop on Advocacy, Girls’ Education and School Safety, organised by the Malala Fund, on Monday in Abuja.

Osinbajo, represented by Dr Fatima Waziri, Director-General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), renewed government commitment towards education development in Nigeria.

Osinbajo said that was why education had one of the highest allocation in the national budget.

He said the government was working hard to close the gap of equality created by COVID-19 that made it difficult for girls to go to school.

“Government is here to support the girl child in every way it can.

“COVID-19 reinforced many gaps in education and made it difficult for girls especially to access healthcare and education.

“The drop in income for most families around the world will mean that families making choices will almost make choices that will disfavour the girl child.

“As schools remained closed during the pandemic, students education suffered while girls are more likely to drop out of school and not return but government recognised that the best interest of a child is paramount,” he said.

The Vice President noted that the need by government to improve access to education especially for the girl child was recently demonstrated by the ratification of the safe school Declaration.

He said the government would put in place a national policy to guide its implementation to protect children from attacks in schools.

Osinbajo said that Nigeria would continue to enact laws and policies to ensure children were protected and have access to education.

Also speaking at the event, a coalition of girls assembled by Malala Fund and Partners called on the Federal Government and its parastatals, security agencies and states to take necessary steps to ensure adequate protection for girls while in schools.

Miss Ugbedeojo Agamah, from Oprite Christian International School, Kurudu, Abuja, and spokesperson of the group, said there was need for the government and other stakeholders to scale up efforts to ameliorate the plight of girls in Nigeria .

According to Agamah, the girls demanded that relevant personnel should be engaged to effectively manage times of conflict in a way that enabled schools to remain unaffected.

“We, therefore, demand that the Federal Government, Ministry of Education, Women Affairs, Defense, security agencies and NAPTIP take the necessary actions to scale up all security efforts.

“They should ensure that decision makers take immediate steps to provide alternatives to keep students learning.

“Investing in making the school premises safer for girls to remain in school unharmed and ensuring their safety while going to school, at school and returning from school.

“We decide to join forces to ensure we achieve safer schools for girls by 2030.’’

Agamah said that the girls believed that educating a girl child prepared her to face the reality of her society and empowered her to contribute positively to the nation .

She said that prior to COVID-19 and the recent increased attacks on schools, nearly two out of three, about 6.34 million of the country’s 10.2 million out-of-school children were girls.

She said that at the start of 2020, over 935 schools in the Northeast were closed due to attacks, adding that many more schools were now closed across the north due to insecurity .

She said that evidence showed that girls were more vulnerable in the face of prolonged school closures.

Agamah said that although Nigeria was a signatory to several regional and international human rights instruments that affirmed the rights to education, the country had no constitutional guarantee to access safe, free and compulsory education.

Also speaking, Ms Omojola Tamilore from the University of Ibadan, said that the workshop was aimed at enhancing girls advocacy capacity on socio-cultural issues affecting girls in Nigeria .

Tamilore said that the workshop with the theme “Advocating for Safer Schools for Girls”, empowered the girls to learn and lead. (NAN)