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Tinubu Demands Stiff Enforcement of Child Protection Laws
•Launches national action plan on violence against children
•Mulls creation of child protection and development agency
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday launched the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria with a call for stiff enforcement of the Child Rights Act and other child protection laws that guarantee the safety, dignity, and future of children.
He outlined practical steps being taken by his administration to achieve this, including the establishment of a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency, launch of the Universal Child Grant to reduce household poverty and children’s vulnerability; creation of a National Child Protection Database and a Child Well-being Index, to track government’s progress and uphold accountability.
The president spoke during the first regional meeting of the Africa Pathfinder Countries of the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children at the State House, Abuja.
Tinubu, represented at the event by Vice President Kashim Shettima, declared his administration’s commitment to “establishing a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency to ensure coherent coordination of all issues relating to the Nigerian child.”
The president stated that while each day came with a reminder of the dreams of Nigerian children, the conditions into which they were born, and whether these conditions protect or betray them, were also critical issues to ponder.
According to him, “Our legal frameworks reflect our conviction. From the Child Rights Act to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, Nigeria has laid down the statutory foundation for the protection of children. 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.
“That is why our national strategy also embraces prevention and early intervention. We are strengthening families and communities through programmes that promote positive parenting, challenge harmful social norms, and provide targeted support to vulnerable households.”
Tinubu assured that relevant government institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, were armed with the required training and resources to spearhead the protection of the Nigerian child across all levels of government.
He maintained that it was a crusade for which sincerity and honesty are required.
“But we must be honest with ourselves. 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. Our commitment must run deep, reaching into the very architecture of our education and health systems. This is the soul of our human capital development strategy.”
To ensure stiff enforcement of child protection laws in Nigeria, the president said his administration was “strengthening existing institutions and laws, and launching national campaigns to promote awareness and drive behavioural change.”
Tinubu underlined the importance of the first regional meeting of Africa’s Pathfinder Countries under the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children.
He pointed out, “it breathes new life into the bold declarations made at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children held in Bogotá.”
Earlier, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, urged African leaders to move beyond commitments and implement concrete actions to protect children from violence and exploitation.
M’jid also charged participants to focus on peer learning, effective strategy sharing, and collective actions in addressing common obstacles to ensure child protection efforts are sustainable in Africa.
Minister of Women Affairs, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted Nigeria’s commitment and the progress made since the Ministerial Conference in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2024.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim stated that the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu government was strengthening legal frameworks, scaling up the Safe Schools Programme, expanding parenting interventions, and increasing budgetary allocations to child protection systems.
She said, “Through our renewed national child policy framework now 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.”
In separate remarks, the heads of delegation to the regional meeting from Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, stated the commitment of their various countries to the global alliance to ending violence against children as declared in Bogota in November 2024.
They presented progress reports from their respective countries, commended the leadership provided by Nigeria, and urged all stakeholders to be intentional about ending violence against children and not to pay lip-service to the programmes and policies designed to actualise the objectives.
