Handle children with care, AbdulRaheem-Mustapha charges Police
By Abubakar Imam
A former Head of the Department of Public Law, University of Ilorin, Prof. Mariam Adepeju AbdulRaheem-Mustapha has appealed to officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force to always handle children brought before or apprehended by them for any offence with caution, professionalism and restraint, saying that children should be handled in a way far different from how adult suspects are handled.
Prof. Mariam Adepeju AbdulRaheem-Mustapha made the appeal last Thursday (August 13, 2026) while delivering the 305th Inaugural Lecture of the University, titled “Children in the Cage, Justice on Trial”, at the University Auditorium.
The Inaugural Lecturer, who is also a Member of the Governing Council of the University, advised that every Police Command should operate trained Child Police Unit that would monitor arrest, interview, referral and diversion procedures.
The don also encouraged the harmonisation and implementation of the Child Rights Act across all states as she said that courts and agencies should adopt one enforceable national standard in the best interests of the child.
Prof. AbdulRaheem-Mustapha, who is also the founder of the Network for Vulnerable Persons in Nigeria (NVPN), said that no Nigerian child should enjoy fewer protections because of state boundaries. She said that minimum safeguards must apply nationwide.
Functional Family Courts, according to the Inaugural Lecturer, should also operate in child-friendly spaces with trained personnel and compulsory social inquiry reports.
Prof. AbdulRaheem-Mustapha, who was also a pioneer Member of the Governing Council of Abiola Ajimobi Technical University, Ibadan, also said that diversion should be the normal response for suitable minor cases through counselling, education, restitution, community service and family conferencing.
The seasoned legal luminary also advised that no child should be detained with adults. She stressed the need for custodial centres to provide education, healthcare, psychosocial support and reintegration plans for all their inmates.
The Inaugural Lecturer, who is also a Consultant to the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies, Abuja, said that birth registration and reliable age determination must become justice priorities as she also said that schools, religious bodies, traditional institutions, NGOs and professional associations should create local protection and reintegration networks.
Prof. AbdulRaheem-Mustapha equally advised stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria establishes a national child justice database to track arrest, detention, diversion, trial delay, release and re-offending.
She also said that young female offenders require dedicated borstal institutions or equivalent gender-responsive rehabilitation programmes whenever necessary.
Child protection budgets, according to the Inaugural Lecturer, must always be ring-fenced, publicly reported and independently monitored.
Speaking on personal experience, Prof. AbdulRaheem-Mustapha encouraged well-to-do individuals to render assistance to those who need their assistance, particularly younger ones. She said that she is what she has become through the sacrifices and efforts of those who mentored her in the course of her life.
The Inaugural Lecture, which was presided over by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, was attended by Principal Officers of the University, friends, relations, colleagues and students of Prof. AbdulRaheem-Mustapha from far and near.
