In continuation of its Lagos State Secondary School students’ sensitisation and awareness campaign, the Office of the Public Defender, OPD, has extended the Child’s Rights Law and sexual abuse campaign to students of Otta Ikosi Junior and Senior High School, Otta Ikosi in Agbowa Ikosi area of Lagos State.
A statement by the head of public affairs, OPD, Mr Hassan Mahmud, stated that the Deputy Director of Legal, Office of the Public Defender, Olajide Odusanya, enlightened students and staff of the College on the various provisions of the law on human rights and Lagos State Child’s Rights law, noting that the law was designed to safeguard their rights as children in the State.
According to him, the Office of the Public Defender was purposely established to offer free legal services to victims of such violation, especially children and other vulnerable members of the public, and to ensure culprits are punished for violation of any individual’s rights, irrespective of relationship, status and position in the society.
He urged the students to take advantage of OPD’s Ikorodu office or any of its offices to report any case of rights violation for immediate action, assuring them that such a case will be treated with dispatch and ultimate confidentiality.
Head of Social Workers Unit, OPD, Habeeb Dosunmu, spoke on what constitutes domestic violence and sexual abuse and how it can be prevented, adding that victims of such violence and sexual harassment not to undermined any individual when it comes to such issues. He told the them that many cases of rape and molestation are perpetuated by acquaintances.
Dosunmu, therefore, enjoined the students not to allow such individual, irrespective of relationship, to take undue advantage of their body because of age, sex and vulnerability or to exploit them sexually or physically, stressing that any such abuse should be quickly reported to the appropriate authority within the school or to the nearest office of the OPD.
The campaign team had earlier paid a courtesy visit to the palace of Oba of Otta Ikosi, His Royal Highness, Elias Adedapo Omoloro on the mission of OPD to sensitise members of the community on the functions and responsibility of the agency to provide free legal services to the disadvantaged people of Otta Ikosi and residents of the state in general.
The sensitisation and awareness campaign was part of the designed communication strategies of OPD to increase public awareness about the activities of the Office among the students and members of the public.
