A prominent child rights advocate and convener of #OperationSaveNigerian Children, Comrade Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho has petitioned the ECOWAS Commission, the National Assembly and the Attorney-General of the Federation seeking urgent intervention over the controversial Delta State Child Rights (Amendment) Law, 2024.

He is also calling for a nolle prosequi in a criminal case filed against him by the Delta State government.

In the petition addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Aghogho also copied Comrade Omoyele Sowore and the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, thus lending civil society weight to the call for action.

The petition further seeks the discontinuation of criminal proceedings in the case FGN v. Ighorhiohwunu Aghogho (FHC/WR/92C/2022), which stems from his advocacy against systemic child trafficking and illegal adoption practices in Delta State.

Describing the charges – filed under the now-repealed Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act – as malicious and retaliatory, the petitioner noted that the Facebook posts at issue have since been validated by the recently enacted Delta State Child Rights (Amended) Law, 2024 acknowledging the very abuses he exposed.

He said, “The Delta State Child Rights (Amendment) Law, 2024, confirms the systemic trafficking of children between 1991 and 2022 – corroborating my claims and justifying my public interest disclosures.”

Aghogho emphasized that the amendment signed into law by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori violates Section 12(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as it attempts to alter federally enacted and treaty-based legislation such as the Child Rights Act, 2003 – raising serious constitutional questions.

He called on the AGF to exercise his powers under Section 174(1)(c) of the Constitution to withdraw the charges and defend the rights of whistleblowers and civic activists.

Aghogho, who endured over 600 days in unlawful detention at both Ogwashi-Uku and Warri Correctional Centres accused Delta State officials of abusing prosecutorial authority to suppress advocacy and evade accountability.

In the parallel petitions to the ECOWAS Commission and the National Assembly, Aghogho demanded federal and regional intervention “to investigate the illegal adoption of thousands of children in Delta State over three decades.”

He urged the ECOWAS Human Development and Gender Department to invoke regional instruments such as the ECOWAS Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the ECOWAS Declaration on the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons.

He added, “The legislative overreach by Delta State is not only unconstitutional but may be a calculated attempt to cover up historical trafficking crimes,” Aghogho stated adding that “this amendment serves as a legislative shield for perpetrators within state institutions.”

He therefore called on the National Assembly and the AGF to probe the legality of the Delta State Child Rights (Amendment) Law, 2024, revoke the state’s prosecutorial fiat, and mandate forensic audits by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission into ECO Bank, Zenith Bank, and other accounts allegedly used to facilitate illegal adoptions in the state.

He further urged the retrieval of the alleged missing Delta State Adopted Children Register from the National Population Commission, the release of records and location of children unlawfully transferred by the Delta State Commissioner of Police to the Ministry of Women Affairs, and the disclosure of findings from the DSS investigation into judicial officers accused of enabling illegal adoptions.

Additionally, he demanded that the Director of Child Development in the Ministry of Women Affairs produce verified addresses of all prospective adopters and adopted children from 1991 to 2022.

Specific agencies he asked to be mobilized include the Nigeria Police Force, the EFCC, the NPC, the SSS, and the Ministry of Women Affairs in Delta State.

He enthused, “This petition is not just personal – it’s a cry for thousands of trafficked children whose identities were erased. Nigeria must honor its obligations under ECOWAS and United Nations treaties to protect these children and prosecute those responsible.”

He reaffirmed his willingness to cooperate with all lawful investigations, insisting that only justice and transparency can restore public confidence in Nigeria’s child protection framework.

Reacting, the Delta State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, SAN noted that “the provisions introduced by the amendment do not conflict in any material way, shape, or form with the Child Rights Act, which Delta State domesticated in 2009.”

He told South-South PUNCH, “Rather, the amendment was made to accommodate our local circumstances.

“The amendment is aimed at facilitating proper and effective implementation of the law in our state.


https://punchng.com/activist-petitions-ecowas-others-over-deltas-amended-child-rights-law/