Who Is A Child?

The Child Rights Act (CRA), defines a child as a person below the age of 18 years. This legal definition forms the cornerstone of all protections enshrined in the Act.

Legal Protections Under The CRA

The Child Rights Act (CRA), outlines key protections relating to health, education, freedom of expression, protection from abuse, and access to information of children. However, it was created in 2003 (a largely analogue era), prior to the widespread adoption of the internet and smart devices in Nigerian households. As such, the Act does not explicitly contemplate the digital experiences, risks, or opportunities now shaping children's lives.

Although passed at the federal level, its enforceability depends on state-level domestication. As such, the inconsistencies in implementation and enforcement remain a challenge, particularly in rural or under-resourced communities.

While the CRA does not explicitly reference the internet or artificial intelligence (AI), several of its provisions can and should be interpreted to extend to the digital world. Let’s take a look at some of these rights:

• Section 8 (Right to privacy) – A child has the right to a private life, which reasonably extends to protection from invasive data collection, digital surveillance, and unauthorised use of personal information. This provision offers a constitutional basis for demanding stronger data protection mechanisms.

• Section 11 (Right to dignity of the child) – Protects against physical, mental or emotional injury, abuse, neglect or maltreatment, including sexual abuse and attacks upon his honor or reputation. This can be deemed to extend to cyberbullying, online harassment, body shaming, and digital manipulation. This right underpins the moral and legal responsibility to ensure safe, respectful digital environments.

• Section 14 (Right to parental care and protection) – Establishes the duty of both parents and guardians (legally recognised in the Act) to act in the best interest of the child, which includes regulating and supervising online exposure.

• Section 15 (Right to free and compulsory basic education) – Must be interpreted in today's world to include access to digital learning tools, equitable connectivity, and safe e-learning platforms.

• Section 32 (Protection from sexual and other exploitative abuse) – Though originally framed for physical settings, this provision must be extended to address online grooming, sextortion, and digital exploitation.

The CRA recognises both parents and guardians as responsible parties in ensuring a child's welfare, giving legal standing to non-biological caregivers and those entrusted with a child’s day-to-day protection e.g caregivers, teachers etc.

Section 1 of the Act also states that: In every action concerning a child, whether undertaken by an individual, public or private body, institutions or service, court of law, oradministrative or legislative authority, the best interest of the childshall be the primary consideration. This enunciates the importance of a multi stakeholder approach towards fostering the protection of a child.

Despite these strong provisions, the CRA remains silent on modern challenges like AI enabled exploitation, and targeted advertising that preys on children’s online behavior. Given the rise of AI tools that can simulate identities, manipulate media, and automate surveillance, these gaps are no longer theoretical, they are urgent.

The Digital Realities of the Nigerian Child

Digital technologies are transforming childhood. In urban areas across Nigeria, children as young as two or three are engaging with tablets, smartphones, smart TVs, and gaming devices. They watch content on YouTube, communicate via messaging apps, play online games, and even participate in virtual classrooms.

While these technologies offer immense opportunities for learning, creativity, and connection, they also expose children to a range of risks:

• Cyberbullying

• Online grooming and exploitation

• Exposure to inappropriate content (violence, pornography, misinformation)

• Excessive screen time and behavioural impact

• Invasion of privacy and data harvesting by platforms

Importantly, many children access the internet in unsupervised, unregulated contexts through shared devices (with many children using their parents phones), data bundles etc.

_{Institutional and Policy Gaps - What Needs To Change}

Nigeria’s child protection framework remains underprepared for the digital age. The CRA, passed over two decades ago, was never updated to reflect the internet’s impact on childhood.

Key gaps include:

• Absence of a National Child Online Protection Policy that outlines regulatory, educational, and technological measures.

• Weak enforcement of data protection rights, especially under the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), despite children’s data being classified as "sensitive."

• Limited awareness and training for frontline educators, law enforcement, and social workers on digital harms and responses.

• Lack of child-focused cybercrime reporting channels, digital abuse hotlines, or support mechanisms.

• Inadequate inclusion of digital safety within the national curriculum, teacher training, or public school ICT strategy.

Although discussions have emerged around reviewing the CRA to reflect contemporary issues, no formal amendment bill has been passed yet. More disturbing is the growing integration of artificial intelligence into content creation, digital profiling, and even online learning, creating the urgency for a comprehensive update.

Roles and Responsibilities: Parents, Government, Platforms

Creating a safe online environment for Nigerian children requires a multi-stakeholder approach that bridges law, technology, education, and community care.

Parents and Guardians:

• Must become active participants in their children's digital lives (Honestly, what is Roblox?..my nephews have explained it to me and asked for money for it severally but I still don’t get it.)

• Should use device-level parental controls, limit screen time, and regularly review browsing histories.

• Must initiate open conversations about online trust, digital red flags, and respectful online behaviour.

• Should model responsible use of technology and avoid digitally overexposing their children.

Government and Regulatory Bodies:

• Must update the CRA and associated laws to reflect 21st-century digital realities.

• Should develop a national framework for child online safety that coordinates efforts across education, ICT, justice, and social services.

• Need to empower the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to enforce child-specific data use obligations.

• Must ensure that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) integrates digital literacy and safety into school curricula.

Technology Platforms and Digital Content Providers:

• Must adopt age-appropriate design standards.

• Should implement transparent content moderation policies localised for Nigeria.

• Must provide easy to access reporting and complaint mechanisms designed for both children and caregivers.

• Should collaborate with regulators and civil society to enhance online safety education and response systems.

AI developers and social media companies should also disclose how their systems use and potentially exploit children's data, ensuring that products do not become unintentional tools for manipulation or harm.

Recommended Reforms:

• Update the CRA to include a chapter on digital safety, children’s data rights, and technology company responsibilities.

• Define digital harm in legal terms (e.g. cyberbullying, online luring, data abuse).

• Establish a dedicated Child Digital Safety Task Force.

• Integrate child online protection into national cybercrime, education, and ICT policies.

• Promote partnerships with civil society and tech firms for co-regulation and training.

Conclusion

The Nigerian child is already online. Hence, legal protections must evolve accordingly.

The CRA, in its current form, provides a good ethical foundation but is not equipped for today’s digital risks. Until the law is updated, the burden of protection lies with parents, educators, and the wider society. However, the state must act decisively. Children deserve to thrive in safe, empowering online environments and it is our collective duty to ensure that happens.

True digital safety for Nigerian children will be achieved not just through technology, but through thoughtful law, proactive parenting, and inclusive policy.

▶ Download the Child Rights Act 2003: https://www.nigeriarights.gov.ng/files/childrightact.pdf

▶ View the Unicef Guide on Protecting Nigerian Children in the Digital World

https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/protecting-children-digital-world