President Tinubu Demands Stiff Enforcement Of Child Protection Laws

President Bola Tinubu has launched the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria.

Naijaonpoint reports that the President demanded stiff enforcement of the Child Rights Act and other child protection laws that guarantee the safety, dignity, and future of Nigerian children.

He outlined 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 the government’s progress and uphold accountability.

The President stated this on Thursday during the first regional meeting of the Africa Pathfinder Countries of the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, he 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 noted that while each day comes with a reminder of the dreams of Nigerian children, the conditions into which they are born, and whether these conditions protect or betray them, are also critical issues to ponder.

“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,” he said.

Tinubu assured that relevant government institutions, including the Ministry of Women Affairs, are armed with the required training and resources to spearhead the protection of the Nigerian child across all levels of government.

“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,” he stated.

Earlier, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children,  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 delegates to the meeting and other 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.

On her part, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted the country’s commitment and the progress made since the Ministerial Conference in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2024, noting that President Tinubu is 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 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,” she said.