Advocates urge N’Assembly to fast-track Child Protection Bill

Child rights advocates are pressing Nigeria's National Assembly to fast-track a crucial bill aimed at criminalizing online abuse and enhancing protections for children in the digital space. They warn that millions of minors remain susceptible to cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, grooming, and other internet-related dangers.

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So every Nigerian, whether you are a biological parent or not, whether you are an aunt or an uncle, whether you are a child or an adult, you should be interested and should support this bill.

The call comes during a stakeholders' roundtable on the proposed Child Online Access Protection and Online Violence Against Nigerian Child Bill. This legislation seeks to establish a legal framework to shield children from cyberbullying, cyber abuse, and extortion, while also imposing obligations on digital platforms to improve child safeguards. Advocates stress the bill's necessity as internet access among Nigerian children continues to grow.

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When we talk about online harms that children are exposed to, it ranges from issues around cyberbullying, grooming, child exposure to sexual violence, and sexual abuse.

According to Angela Uzoma, Country Director of Lawyers Without Borders in Nigeria, the proposed law is vital for the safety and well-being of Nigerian children. She noted that increasing access to digital devices has exposed children to a wide array of online threats requiring urgent legislative intervention. "So every Nigerian, whether you are a biological parent or not, whether you are an aunt or an uncle, whether you are a child or an adult, you should be interested and should support this bill," Uzoma urged.

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We have children being groomed, we have children being threatened online. We have predators pretending to be children and targeting children. We have sextortion going on; children are being tricked into exposing intimate parts of their bodies to adults who are hiding and pretending to be children.

Uzoma detailed the range of online harms, including grooming, threats, predators posing as children, and sextortion, where children are coerced into exposing themselves. She emphasized that with children increasingly using smartphones and tablets, the need for robust legal protections has become more pressing than ever. Studies indicate that approximately 90 percent of Nigerian children encounter some form of online risk.

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So everyone in Nigeria should be interested in joining their voices to call on the Nigerian Senate to pass this bill.