President Bola Tinubu on Thursday called for the strict enforcement of the Child Rights Act and other child protection laws that safeguard the safety, dignity, and future of Nigerian children.
Represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu made the call during the inauguration of the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria, in Abuja.
He said his administration was strengthening existing institutions and laws while launching national campaigns to raise awareness and drive behavioural change.
Tinubu revealed that his government had established a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency and introduced the Universal Child Grant to reduce household poverty and protect vulnerable children.
He added that a National Child Protection Database and a Child Well-being Index had been created to monitor government progress and promote accountability.
“Our legal frameworks reflect our conviction. From the Child Rights Act to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, Nigeria has laid the statutory foundation for child protection
“But legislation alone does not shield the vulnerable, it is the will behind those laws, and the systems that enforce them, that make the difference,” he stated.
He stressed that the national strategy also included prevention and early intervention through programmes aimed at supporting families, promoting positive parenting, and challenging harmful social norms.
Tinubu assured that key institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, had been equipped with the necessary training and resources to lead efforts to protect Nigerian children at all levels of governance.
“This is a crusade that demands sincerity and honesty.
“We cannot protect the child by merely reciting the anthems of their struggles or romanticising their vulnerability. The real hope lies in action, concrete, deliberate action,” he said.
He also noted the significance of the first regional meeting of Africa’s Pathfinder Countries under the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children.
He described the meeting as a renewed push for the implementation of the commitments made during the First Global Ministerial Conference in Bogotá.
Earlier, Dr Najat M’jid, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children, called on African leaders to move beyond verbal commitments and take concrete action to protect children from violence and exploitation.
She urged delegates and participants to prioritise peer learning, strategy sharing, and collective action as ways to overcome common challenges and ensure sustainable child protection efforts across Africa.
Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Ms. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, reaffirmed the country’s commitment and outlined progress made since the Bogotá conference in Nov. 2024.
She highlighted that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu was strengthening legal frameworks, scaling up the Safe Schools Programme, expanding parenting interventions, and increasing budgetary allocations to child protection systems.
“Through our renewed National Child Policy Framework, currently under review, and our adopted National Strategy and Costed Action Plan to End Child Marriage in Nigeria, we are laying the foundation for more accountable, inclusive, and data-driven action.”
