AGF Urges Governors, Legislators To Adopt Child Rights Act Reforms, Inaugurates Review Committee

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has challenged the 36-state governors and State Houses of Assembly to key into the proposed reforms of the Child’s Right Act, 2003, and domesticate same in the interest of creating a uniform national framework for the protection of Nigerian children.

The AGF who spoke on Wednesday at the inauguration of the Committee on the Review of the Child Rights Act (CRA), 2003, in Abuja, stated that, “new realities demand urgent reform”, in the over two decades old law.

The Child’s 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 September 2, 1990) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 1990 (ACRWC, that entered into @force in 1990).

The enactment of the Child Rights Act in 2003 marked a historic milestone in Nigeria’s legal development, as it domesticated key international and regional instruments to safeguard the rights and welfare of the Nigerian children firmly. 

Speaking at the inauguration, Fagbemi listed emerging threats to include 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.”

Fagbemi 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 our review work and these include: Right to life and dignity; protection of the Girl-Child; adoption framework; sexual and Gender-Based Violence; Child Justice Administration; uniform standards and constitutional backing, among others.

Meanwhile, the AGF assured that the selection of Justice Eberechi SuzzetteNyesom-Wike as the 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 member of the committee cut across various stakeholders in the justice sectors 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, said that some gaps created by the Child’s Rights Act 2003, are adversely affecting the well-being and justice for children.

The Court of Appeal Justice, lamented that inconsistent enforcement of the Act in the autonomous states, means that many children still lack real protection, adding that Section 29 (4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which deems any marriageable 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.

While disclosing that reported child abuse cases have risen from 3,943 in 2021 to 9, 279 in 2024, she lamented that, “only few perpetrators were convicted in these cases, across the entire five-year period.

In another sordid revelation, the jurist disclosed that an approximate population of 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 their 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), who was represented by Dr. U.E. Okorocha; the UNICEF Child Protection Officer, Mona Alika, the Estu Kwali, HRH Luka Ayodoo among others.

Alex Enumah 

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