OGUN State Government has revoked the provisional licences of 20 private orphanage homes operating in the state.
According to Punch, the state commissioner for women’s affairs and social development, Adijat Adeleye, made this known on Friday, August 30, during a meeting with private orphanage owners in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The orphanage homes were shut down due to non-compliance with regulations and laws aimed at ensuring the well-being and safety of vulnerable children.
Adeleye expressed displeasure over some private orphanage owners’ activities, stating that the state would not tolerate shady practices involving illegal adoption, child trafficking or maltreatment of children in their care.
The commissioner said the state government’s actions aim to protect vulnerable children and maintain the integrity of orphanage services.
“About 20 orphanages with provisional licences were affected but not all of them were involved in various sharp practices like not following due guidelines on child adoption among other contraventions.
“But we have withdrawn the provisional licences of these 20 orphanages. We want to take our time to dig deeper and ensure that they are all doing the right things,” she said.
She added that the affected orphanages have been asked to reapply after a month and additional guidelines had been offered to those with permanent licences to ensure that the standard is not compromised.
Last month, the Imo State government also shut down ten substandard orphanage homes and revoked operational licenses.
The closure was done after a comprehensive accreditation process and thorough inspections.
The ICIR reports that many orphanages in Nigeria engage in child trafficking. In 2022, this organisation reported how an Air Force officer confessed to buying children from orphanage homes.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.