The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has said emerging threats to the safety and dignity of the Nigerian child demand urgent reform of the Child Rights Act 2003.
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He therefore called on the 36 state governors and state Houses of Assembly to key into the proposed reforms and domesticate the Act accordingly to create a uniform national framework for the protection of the Nigerian child.
The Minister spoke on Wednesday in Abuja at the inauguration of the Committee on the Review of the Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003.
The Child Rights Act, enacted in 2003, was designed to domesticate Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which entered into force on 2 September 1990, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990 (ACRWC), which also entered into force in 1990.
Fagbemi observed that over the past two decades of its existence, new realities demand urgent reform, pointing to emerging threats such as child involvement with terrorist groups, grooming, sextortion, child pornography, cyberbullying and cyberstalking, which he noted were not anticipated when the Act was first promulgated.
He said for Nigeria to achieve meaningful and lasting progress, “we must be deliberate in protecting the dignity of every Nigerian child, safeguarding their welfare, and securing their future.”
The AGF said, “One accepted feature of a good law is that it must be dynamic and evolve with society. This review is not a routine amendment; it is an opportunity to implement far-reaching reform, potentially requiring the repeal and re-enactment of the 2003 Act to deliver a more robust, coherent, and responsive framework for child protection in Nigeria.”
He explained that several critical issues must guide the review work, including the right to life and dignity, protection of the girl-child, adoption framework, sexual and gender-based violence, child justice administration, and uniform standards and constitutional backing, among others.
The AGF explained that the selection of Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike as chairperson of the committee “is a product of careful and deliberate consideration, reflecting a rare breadth of experience at both the national and sub-national levels.”
Fagbemi thanked Justice Nyesom-Wike “for graciously accepting this responsibility, as well as for Your Lordship’s tireless advocacy and distinguished service in promoting family values and advancing the welfare of children across Nigeria.”
He charged members of the committee, drawn from various stakeholders in the justice sector, to be guided by the urgent need to move beyond statutory provisions in safeguarding the interests of Nigerian children.
In her inaugural address, the chairperson of the review committee, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, noted that some gaps created by the Child Rights Act 2003 are adversely affecting the well-being and justice for children.
The Justice of the Court of Appeal lamented that inconsistent enforcement of the Act across the autonomous states means that many children still lack real protection.
She specifically noted that section 29(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which deems any married woman to be of full age, “has allowed harmful practices like child marriage to persist under the cover of legislation that conflicts with the Child’s Rights Act,” and disclosed that reported child abuse cases have risen from 3,943 in 2021 to 9,279 in 2024, “yet only few perpetrators were convicted in these cases, across the entire five-year period.”
In another sordid revelation, she disclosed that approximately 20 million Nigerian children are out of school, even as the country continues to grapple with physical, emotional and sexual abuse, as well as genital mutilation.
Other dignitaries at the event who presented goodwill messages were the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; Chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Prof. Dakas C.J. Dakas (SAN), represented by Dr U.E. Okorocha; the UNICEF Child Protection Officer, Mona Alika; and the Estu Kwali, HRH Luka Ayodoo, among others.
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