President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned reported horrific acts at a ‘reform institution’ in Kaduna where about 300 children were rescued by the police.A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said that the President condemned all forms of rights abuses whether of adults or children.
While commending the efforts of the police for the discovery and subsequent arrest of operators of the horrific hub, the president said all children must be safeguarded and protected from all evil influences in the society.
The statement read in part: ‘‘In commending the police for their discovery of this horrific hub and arrest of suspected operators of the unedifying, so-called ‘reform institution,’ the administration of President Buhari categorically condemns rights abuses whether of adults or of children.
‘‘We are glad that Muslim authorities have dismissed the notion of the embarrassing and horrifying spectacle as Islamic School. The place has indeed been described as a house of torture and a place of human slavery.
‘‘The President holds the view that children will be safeguarded from roaming the streets and protected from all evil influences that assail idle hands and idle minds when they are sent to school.
‘‘When he inaugurated the National Economic Council for the year 2019/2023 at the Presidential Villa, in Abuja, President Buhari warned that keeping children away from school is a criminal offence. He also stressed the need to take seriously and enforce the statutory provisions on free and compulsory basic education.
