Justice Inumidun Akande

Lagos Chief Judge worried about high number of street kids.

The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Inumidun Akande on Friday expressed concern over the rising number of street children in the state. Akande raised the concern while inaugurating a nine-man ad hoc committee on family courts saddled with the responsibility of preparing its rules and practice direction. The Chief Judge said the establishment of the committee became necessary in view of the importance of the courts to the family, the society and the nation as a whole. According to her, only the family courts have the exclusive jurisdiction to preside over cases-- both civil and criminal-- relating to children and for other connected purposes. According to Akande the committee, which is expected to complete its assignment within three months, will prepare necessary forms referred to in the Childs Rights Law, review the law and recommend amendments where necessary. She said they would also create a database and recommend data collation processing and reporting methods in the Family Courts. The Chief Judge reiterated the commitment of the state’s judiciary to the vigorous pursuit of the provisions of Children’s Rights within the ambit of the law and in line with the existing provisions. Also speaking, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, former Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Lagos State, disclosed that the ministry would establish a Child Rights Implementation Committee to work with the ad-hoc committee.