Child Rights Act: Lagos, Edo, Kaduna lead implementation

Child Rights Act: Lagos, Edo, Kaduna lead implementation

A News Analysis by Abiemwense Moru, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

In 2003, the Nigerian government enacted the Child Rights Act (CRA), a progressive and comprehensive piece of legislation designed to protect the rights of every Nigerian child.

The Act prohibits child labour, early marriage, sexual abuse, neglect, and all forms of physical or psychological harm.

It guarantees access to education, health services, shelter, and protection from exploitation.

However, more than two decades later, the full promise of the CRA remains unrealised.

Many states have either not domesticated the Act or fail to enforce it meaningfully.

Yet, a growing number of states, Lagos, Edo, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, and others, are beginning to show that meaningful implementation is not only possible but beneficial.

Their success stories serve as a call to action for the rest of the country.

Lagos is often held up as a model for other states, not only because of its economic prowess but for its increasing commitment to children’s welfare.

According to UNICEF, Lagos has integrated child-focused policies into its development plans.

With collaboration from the Lagos State Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB), UNICEF helped create a dedicated budget code for children.

This allows tracking of every Naira allocated and spent on child-related programmes.

“Every oversight in planning has ripple effects across generations,” said UNICEF’s Celine Lafoucriere at the 2025 Day of the African Child event.

Lagos has also launched feedback and monitoring systems to ensure funds are used as intended.

The state now tracks and monitors child protection spending, prioritising clean water, education, healthcare, and protection services.

This child-sensitive approach is a direct implementation of the CRA’s spirit: budgeting for children’s rights is no longer a ceremonial idea but a concrete, trackable part of Lagos State’s development agenda.

In a recent landmark case, the State Government prosecuted a 16-year-old boy accused of raping a 7-year-old girl.

Instead of ignoring or downplaying the incident, authorities ensured due process under the framework of the Child Rights Law, which treats both the victim and the offender as minors needing protection, rehabilitation, and accountability.

The minor perpetrator was not simply incarcerated but was processed through the state’s juvenile justice system, which focuses on correction, not punishment, in line with CRA guidelines.

This case highlights Lagos’s commitment to ensuring that justice for children is holistic, protecting victims while also upholding the rights and rehabilitation of child offenders.

Similarly, Edo has taken major steps to institutionalise child protection.

With widespread concerns over child trafficking and exploitation, the state has moved to strengthen its legal systems.

In partnership with civil society and organisations like FIDA and GAFA, Edo supports education campaigns, legal aid for abused children, and prosecutions of violators.

Family courts have been established, and awareness of the CRA is expanding across both urban and rural areas.

“There’s a difference between enacting a law and enforcing it.

“Edo is making deliberate efforts to ensure that children know their rights and have access to justice when those rights are violated,” said a social worker from FIDA Benin.

Through consistent public sensitisation and multi-stakeholder involvement, Edo is slowly but steadily shifting the culture around child rights, from passive awareness to active enforcement.

Kaduna is another standout example of how to implement the CRA effectively.

The state has domesticated the CRA and established specialised institutions for enforcement.

The Kaduna State Child Protection and Welfare Law, which aligns with the CRA, enables more efficient handling of child abuse cases and alternative care systems like foster care.

Through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Development, the state has prioritised vulnerable children, orphans, and those in conflict with the law.

“We need not only laws but institutions that ensure these laws translate to meaningful outcomes,” said a legal expert from the Kaduna State Legal Aid Council.

Community outreach programmes help bring the CRA’s provisions to the grassroots, where many violations, such as early marriage, child labour, and abuse, are still normalised.

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, recently highlighted the need for greater coordination among institutions such as the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).

At a workshop in Abuja, she called for stronger synergy in service delivery to civil servants and their dependents, including children.

The NHIA now offers insurance that covers children and their health rights under the CRA, while NSITF compensates children affected by work-related deaths of their parents.

These initiatives show that protecting children’s rights also means supporting the environments they grow up in, schools, health centres, and even workplaces where their caregivers are employed.

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Organisations like the Global Association of Female Attorneys (GAFA) and the Association of Orphanages and Home Operators in Nigeria (ASOHON) are proving crucial in pushing for implementation of the CRA.

At an event in Abuja, ASOHON’s National President Rev. Gabriel Oyediji lamented that weak enforcement hinders the growth of foster care systems.

This, is in spite of research showing that children thrive better in family environments than in institutions.

“Without full CRA implementation, foster care will remain underdeveloped,” he warned.

In states like Kogi and Nasarawa, which have domesticated the CRA, FIDA and other groups are now helping to set up family courts, create safe shelters, and offer legal support for vulnerable children.

Unfortunately, many states have yet to domesticate the CRA or are failing to implement it meaningfully.

Reports highlight persistent issues including; more than 10 million out-of-school children, rampant child marriage, and 44 per cent of girls married before 18.

Others are the inadequate child shelters and social workers, weak budgetary implementation.

According to UNICEF, while many states allocate budgets for children, actual spending and impact remain abysmally low.

“Budgeting must be more than a line item, it must reflect a moral and strategic priority,” said Muhammad Okorie, UNICEF’s Programme Manager.

Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, recently announced that the CRA is now domesticated in all 36 states and the FCT.

While this is a milestone, she admitted that enforcement and funding remain the next frontiers.

To this end, the Ministry has launched several initiatives, including the National Child Protection Database and a Child Protection Research and Information Centre to improve data-driven policymaking and coordination across states.

These tools are intended to help identify vulnerable children, track cases of abuse, and inform more effective interventions.

Additional efforts include the expansion of child-friendly courts, capacity building for child-focused social workers, and public campaigns like “See Something, Say Something, We Do Something”, which encourage community-level reporting and response to child rights violations.

She called for collective action across all levels of government and society, noting that children should not be “statistical afterthoughts” but “strategic priorities.”

The experiences of Lagos, Edo, and Kaduna show that implementing the Child Rights Act is not merely a legislative issue; it is a governance issue, a budgetary issue, and ultimately, a moral imperative.

Here are five actionable lessons other states can learn.

First is Budget Tracking: Like Lagos, states should develop child-specific budget codes to ensure transparency and accountability in spending on child-related programmes.

This enables governments to track where funds go and evaluate impact more effectively.

Second, states should invest in Family-Based Care by strengthening foster care systems and reducing over-reliance on orphanages.

Third, they must build solid Legal Infrastructure by establishing family courts and offering legal aid services for child victims, making justice more accessible for vulnerable children.

Finally, Grassroots Awareness is essential.

States should use media, schools, and religious institutions to spread knowledge about children’s rights.

They must also ensure Synergy with Federal Agencies by aligning efforts with bodies like the NHIA, NSITF, and the Ministry of Women Affairs to build comprehensive, child-centered support systems.

Twenty-two years after its passage, the Child Rights Act must evolve from text to transformation.

States like Lagos, Edo, and Kaduna have proven that implementation is both possible and beneficial. But their progress must not be isolated; it must become the national norm.

Children’s rights are not optional; they are foundational.

If Nigeria is to build a just, prosperous, and peaceful future, it must start by investing in its youngest citizens, today.