The Youthhub Africa, an NGO advocating for the passage of Child Rights Bill has challenged the media to investigate unreported cases of child abuses and forced labours for effective reportage.
Mr Fisayo Soyombo gave the charge on Friday during his presentation at a three-day workshop organised for journalists in some of the non-compliant states in the North.
The States are Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kaduna.
He stressed the need for journalists to sustain advocacy toward the passage of the Child Rights Bill, saying that the reasons for any delay should be made known.
He stressed the role of the media in setting agenda for the society, saying it needed to explore the advantages of championing the cause of vulnerable segments of society.
Soyombo told the journalists that they would encounter series of obstacles in setting agenda, especially in area of policy implementation.
He tasked them to dig into unreported stories about child abuse, harassment and labour as well as stories concerning the welfare of children and urged them not to be deterred by any obstacles.
Soyombo advised journalists to be more sacrificial in pushing issues of human interests, saying that “history will definitely record their efforts’’.
The training organised by Youthhub Africa for Journalists in Kaduna is to help them to report on issues of child abuses and push for the Child Rights Bill in the states that are yet to pass it into law.
The states yet to domesticate and pass the bill into law are Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Gombe, Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa and Zamfara.
