NAN-S-1
Molestation
By Vezi Isike
Lagos, Dec. 7, 2016 (NAN) Following the recent allegation of sexual molestation of players, sports officials on Wednesday said that child molesters should be sentenced for the heinous crime that could destroy the career of upcoming sportsmen.
Some sports officials, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, described the act as a criminal offence, adding that enacting stiff laws would restrict offenders from engaging in such acts.
Seyi Akinwumi, First Vice-President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said that molestation was not peculiar to football as seen in recently, but was prevalent in all sports and indeed all sectors.
According to him, concerned authorities should switch gears in dealing with molestations by enacting policies to correct such ills as well as scare people from engaging in it.
“Molestation has been around for a long though not very talked about or rampant in our society.
“These recent cases that we are dealing with now came up because the kids involved were bold enough to speak up.
“It is a criminal offence and everyone caught indulging in it should be treated as such.
“We launched our youth football policy late last year and there already exist a policy dealing with molestation and we will ensure it is followed to the letter,’’ he said.
Akinwumi urged victims of molestation to speak up with valid claims to empower the appropriate authorities to ensure measures were taken to deal with such situations as they arise.
The Chairman, Technical Committee of Lagos State Football Association (LSFA), Dotun Coker, told NAN that parents had a major role to play by investigating officials they consider as handling their wards in their absence.
He said that making enquiries would help parents to determine what organisations and individuals were best to handle their wards.
“It is important for parents to have full details of whoever they leave their children with if they love to protect their kids.
“You have to find out if the adult is a qualified coach, if he is affiliated to any coaching association so that they are convinced of the moral standing of such adults.
“The Nigerian Football Coaches Association, Lagos chapter, has claimed that they do not know the alleged child molester, Frank Darlington,’’ he said.
However, he added that the leadership of the coaches association was working hard to deal with the situation.
“There is great synergy with concerned football authorities at the moment, putting measures in place to ensure this never repeats,’’ he said.
NAN reports that Frank Darlington, the Manager of Lagos-based Soccer Warriors Football Academy, has been arrested for allegedly molesting three teenagers.
Darlington allegedly took the victims to his house on separate occasions after training and sexually assaulted them by penetrating the victims’ anuses.
Meanwhile, a foreign-based former professional football player, Andy Woodward, recently granted a foreign media interview, exposing years of childhood sexual abuse by his coach, which destroyed his football career. (NAN)
VOI/ENN/PDE
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(Edited by Edwin Nwachukwu/Peter Ejiofor)