Jigawa Governor Signs N177bn Budget, Child Protection Bill Into Law

Jigawa State Governor, Badaru Abubakar, has signed the state’s 2022 Appropriation Bill, as well as the Child’s Protection Bill into law.

The governor signed the two bills into law on Wednesday at the Government House in Dutse, after the Speaker and other principal officers of the State House of Assembly presented the bills to him.

The 2022 Appropriation Bill was presented to the State House of Assembly last month with the education and health sectors gulping almost half of the entire N177.7bn budget.

Meanwhile, the Child’s Protection Law which seeks to protect children’s rights, has now proscribed the death penalty for sexual offenders on children below the age of 10.

The law comes without the option of life imprisonment or any alternate punishment.

In his remarks, the House Chairman Committee on Judiciary, Muhammad Jallo, explained that the lawmakers invited stakeholders before the passage of the bill.

The move, he noted, was to ensure that the law did not contradict the religion and culture of the people of Jigawa.

“Because of the misconception people have on the bill, we invited religious leaders and we deliberated on the bill and where there’s need for amendment, we did,” Jallo said.

The law also criminalised traditional marks for children and sets aside community service as punishment for offenders.

However, the law is silent on underage marriage, which according to the lawmaker, will contradict Islamic culture that permits marriages before the age of 18.