Safety and legal protection remain a nightmare to many children in conflict with the law. They are often battered, obscenely abused and tortured physically and psychologically right from the time of arrest until they are introduced in courts of law. In the courts of law, some child suspects get traumatized by lawyers who ask deplorable questions without consideringthe children’s mental ability to handle certain questions.

The violation of offenders rights goes on to the prisons where they are sometimes detained in chambers with adult inmates of all criminal backgrounds who may inflict countless abuses upon the children. They are beaten up by the adult inmates, sexually abused and exposed to more awful behaviors including sodomy, hard core robbery among others.

As if this is not enough, children are made to stay in prisons for longer periods than what is prescribed in the law. The law only mandates the courts to remand a child for a maximum period of six months in cases punishable by death and three months in all other cases, after which the child would be released on bail pending trial. On conviction, a child is supposed to be committed to a rehabilitation centre and not a prison per se. It is therefore a gross violation the children’s rights to remand them for more than six months or to commit them to prisons meant for adults.

There is need for the government to increase investment in child protection by constructing more detention centers and family and children’s courts to ensure that children in conflict with the law access right services. The government should also bring to book and punish prisons officers and other law enforcers who torture and abuse inmates.