Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Honourable Ify Obinabo, has declared war against perpetrators of child labour in the state.
This she made known in her office in Awka after a couple was reported for using their ward to hawk fruits in the market during school hour.
Honourable Obinabo, while cautioning them against the inhuman act, warned that excuses will not be tolerated for sending any child hawking during school hours and announced that her ministry has taken custody of the child pending when the guardians bring his biological parents.
The couple, Mr. Patrick Okechukwu, a commercial driver and his wife, Perpetual a trader, who were visibly in tears, explained that they were not aware that their ward has not been going to school because he usually does his assignment alongside their other seven kids at night.
Although the couple pleaded for pardon, they insisted that they have never sent any of the kids under their care to hawk during school hours.
The case was reported by a good Nigerian , who saw the ten-year-old boy hawking oranges at Sokoto Road, Main Market Onitsha, around half past two o’clock in the afternoon.
According to the eye witness, who interacted with the boy, he looked haggard, tired and hungry and from his statement, he only goes to school on Friday’s.
On his part, the boy disclosed that he makes between three thousand, five hundred naira to four thousand naira daily for the woman that do not give him breakfast but adequately provides for her own children.
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