AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 ON THE ALMAJIRI CHILDREN IN THE NORTHERN PART OF NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the legal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Almajiri children in the Northern part of Nigeria, with consideration of the current serious socio-economic and political challenges ravaging the peaceful existence of the region. The varying threats of insurgency, banditry, cattle rustling, ethno-religious crisis, and kidnapping that have substantially wrecked the Northern part of Nigeria in recent times make the Almajiri children a soft target to this novel pandemic. Factors such as overpopulation, paucity of funds, inadequate human and
material resources, and large-scale widespread ignorance in the region predispose Almajiri children to the devastating impact of COVID-19 regulations. It was observed that the current structural formation of the Almajiri system, which has blown out of proportion across the Northern states in Nigeria, is a serious concern that requires meticulous planning and a viable mechanism to avert a devastating catastrophe in the region. This paper is analytical and based on the survey of relevant available literature and verifiable reports. This paper thus asserts that the current overwhelming socio-economic and political quagmire in which the Northern part of Nigeria has degenerated makes the Almajiri children negatively affected by the COVID-19 regulations. This paper finally concludes that the cross-repatriation of the Almajiri children to their respective states of origin is not only a breach of their Constitutional rights as citizens of Nigeria but also an ill-conceived approach anathema to the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.