TACF CHILD ADVOCACY INITIATIVE – REPRIEVE FOR REJOICE DANIEL

Sometime in December 2017, the Foundation was alerted about the plight of a teenager who was in need of legal intervention. It is the case of Rejoice Daniel. Rejoice who does not live with her parents as a result of poverty puts up with some girls somewhere in Gwarimpa, a vast settlement in Abuja, with the responsibility of fending for herself.

Rejoice was arrested by the Police with other girls on charges of theft. The case against them was that they had conspired to steal large sums of money belonging to a woman with whom one of the girls was an apprentice. She was released on bail by the Police having been suretied by a good samaritan from the church she attends. Subsequent to her release on bail, criminal charges were preferred against the girls, including Rejoice. Her case was precarious because she had no legal representation as she could not afford one.

TACF decided to take up her case as she risked the danger of being remanded in prison custody without trial, which is a distressing feature of the criminal justice system in Nigeria. On the 5th day of December, 2017, which was her day of arraignment at the Rea Court, Dei Dei, FCT, TACF’s Counsel, Prince Amaechi Esq. was in court to provide her legal representation and ensure that justice was not only done, but was seen to be done. At the end of the proceedings, Rejoice was discharged and acquitted and saved the horror of being thrown into Kuje Prison.

There are many children in detentions and prison custodies across the nation who have no access to legal representation and whose future is in jeopardy as a result. The statistics confirm this. One of the items on TACF’s 5-point agenda is Child Advocacy. We shall continue to vociferously advocate for the rights of the child with a view to providing them with the promising future that they deserve.