Nigeria has begun a comprehensive review of the Child Rights Act (CRA) 2003, seeking to close the gap between legal protection and realities confronting children, including violence, trafficking, harmful practices, online exploitation, child labour and barriers to justice.
The three-day National Stakeholders’ Engagement, holding in Abuja from September 22 to 24, is convened by the Federal Ministry of Justice with UNICEF and International IDEA.
Representing the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, said the review was necessary to ensure the law remained responsive to contemporary challenges.
She said: “Our purpose here, therefore, is not simply to amend words in a statute. It is to ask whether the law, twenty-three years after its enactment, still speaks effectively to the lived realities of the Nigerian child and whether it is sufficiently equipped for the challenges that lie ahead.”
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Fagbemi said the review should strengthen child-sensitive justice for children who are victims, witnesses or in conflict with the law, including diversion, restorative justice, alternatives to detention, rehabilitation and reintegration.
He noted that the Ministry had developed Legal Aid Guidelines for Handling Cases of Children in Contact with the Law and Prosecutors’ Guidelines for Handling Cases Involving Children.
Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajia Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, represented by the Permanent Secretary Mrs Nko Asanye Esuabana, said the review was both a legal responsibility and moral obligation aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s child protection system.
She identified financing, trained personnel, coordination, data, monitoring and accountability as essential to implementation.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said child rights were integral to human capital development, national security and social stability, urging stronger Federal, State and Local Government collaboration.
She called for action on online exploitation, cyber risks, trafficking, child labour, conflict and displacement, disability inclusion, alternative care and psychosocial wellbeing.
Emphasising children’s participation, the Minister said: “Children are not merely recipients of government programmes. They are rights-holders.”
In her welcome address, Mrs Leticia Ayoola-Daniels, representing the Federal Ministry of Justice and National CRA Review Committee, said the review had produced the third draft of the CRA Amendment Bill after examination by six thematic groups and legal scrutiny.
She said participants from the 36 states and FCT would interrogate the draft, identify gaps and propose solutions before legislative processes.
Chairperson of the Review Committee, Justice Eberechi Suzette Nyesom-Wike, urged participants to contribute their practical experiences and expertise.
She said: “It is time for us to listen to all of you, because that’s why you’re here.”
The engagement is expected to strengthen child protection through implementation, coordination, accountability and access to justice.
Stakeholders are expected to examine how the amended framework can deliver measurable improvements for vulnerable and abused children, children with disabilities and those in contact with the justice system.
The review places the Nigerian child at the centre of a reform agenda designed to move the country from legal commitments to practical protection, services and opportunities ultimately across Nigeria today.
