The Cross River State Government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has launched a massive grassroots campaign to train 500 community members across 50 localities to combat child abuse, trafficking, and neglect.
The initiative is being driven by the state’s Ministry of Justice, the Centre for Citizens’ Rights, and the Office of the Public Defender.
The first phase of the training kicked off on June 16 and concluded on June 20, structured across five distinct community clusters. Each cluster brought together representatives from six neighboring communities to build localized defense networks for vulnerable children.
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Speaking on the strategic objective of the programme, Victor Atuchukwu, a Child Protection Specialist with the UNICEF Enugu Field Office, emphasized that safeguarding children requires a shift from reactive measures to proactive community policing.
“Sometimes when we talk about the protection of children, it’s only when we become adults that we start noticing what a child is going through in terms of violence, neglect, abuse, trafficking, and harmful practices,” Atuchukwu said. He reminded participants of the lifelong psychological toll of early trauma: “One thing that happened to you as a child… if you remember it now, it still pains your heart.”
To ensure deep-rooted community compliance, participants were carefully selected from influential local demographics, including traditional and religious leaders, women’s groups and youth leaders (both male and female), community development associations and vigilante groups.
Notably, the programme has identified select participants to serve as “auxiliary social workers.” These individuals will undergo advanced, specialized training to provide long-term, professional social work services directly within their rural communities.
Facilitators for the sessions were drawn from a pool of experts within Cross River and across Nigeria. The official opening ceremony was hosted on Wednesday, June 17, at the Obubra Local Government Council Headquarters.
While ministries like Justice, Women Affairs, and Education play distinct roles in child security, Atuchukwu noted that the State Ministry of Social Welfare and Community Development remains the primary body overseer. The current training serves to bridge the gap between these high-level government ministries and the traditional structures on the ground where children face daily risks.
