160 Almajiri children rescued in Kaduna

The Kaduna government says it rescued 160 Almajiri children from improper schools and homes in the state.

The state government said some of the children are from 13 states in the north and south of the country while others are from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic.

The Almajiri system is a process where children go far away from their homes in search of Islamic knowledge.

In a statement on Friday, Muyiwa Adekeye, special adviser to Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna governor, said the places where the children were found violated regulations set out by the state.

“Officials of the Kaduna State Government Task Force enforcing COVID-19 related regulations have rescued 160 children from locations that are neither authorised and licensed as schools nor as children’s homes,” Adekeye said.

“By keeping children in unauthorised places, the locations were also in contravention of KDSG land use regulations and inconsistent with the policy of repatriating almajiri to their states and local governments of origin to continue their education under the care of their parents, and in properly registered and regulated schools.

“KDSG wishes to remind all non-governmental organisations, corporate entities, religious leaders and faith institutions that the state government has laws prescribing the free and compulsory education of all children in properly registered schools.

“The rights of the children described as almajiri to be treated with the dignity accorded all other children is a matter of fairness and equality of treatment that no responsible government should compromise.”

The spokesman said since March, 31,2020 Almajiri children have been repatriated to their states of origin.

“Since then KDSG has undertaken a continuous exercise to identify locations where these children are being kept and taken steps to rescue them from such places and reunite them with their patents to continue their education,” he said.

“As part of the implementation of this policy, Kaduna State has received 1,118 children from the state who were relocated from other states.

“The children confirmed to be bona fide citizens of Kaduna state will be relocated to their local governments of origin and handed over to the Local Government Council officials for documentation, registration and future enrollment into schools under the care of their parents or guardians.

“The children from ECOWAS countries will be handed over to the Nigerian Immigration Service for necessary attention.”

Adekeye added that citizens should take responsibility for the proper upbringing, welfare and care of their children.