Legal Impediments on the Practical Implementation of the Child Right Act 2003

Abstract

The general frameworks within which human rights are protected in Nigeria are enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chapter IV contains an elaborate Bill of Rights. The right guaranteed include: the rights to life, the rights to personal liberty, the rights to fair hearing and the right to freedom of movement among others. Section 42 prohibits unjustifiable discrimination on basis of “ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion.” As for penal infractions, Nigeria has two separate codes, one applying to Southern Nigeria (Criminal Code) and one applicable to Northern Nigeria (Penal Code). These provide for offences against persons, including homicides, assaults and different kinds of sexual and gender specific violations such as rape.