Nine out of every 10 Nigerian children have experienced at least one form of online abuse, prompting parents, child rights advocates, educators and civil society organisations to call for urgent action to make the country’s digital space safer for minors.

The concern dominated a stakeholders’ conversation organised by Gatefield yesterday under its “Every Second Counts” campaign, where participants urged the Federal Government, schools, technology companies and families to work together to strengthen online child protection through stricter regulations, improved digital literacy and greater accountability for digital platforms.

Speakers warned that millions of Nigerian children use the internet daily with little or no protection, while harmful content involving minors often remained online for more than 48 hours before being removed, increasing the risk of further abuse.

Moderating the discussion, Gatefield Campaign Lead, Christina Akintoye, said Nigeria’s digital environment had expanded rapidly without corresponding safeguards for children.

She noted that children now spend a significant part of their lives online, but safety measures had failed to keep pace with technological advancement.

Legal and Programme Officer at the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Amy Onyinyechi, urged parents to make deliberate efforts to protect children by using parental controls and child-friendly digital platforms.

She stressed that online abuse affects both boys and girls and could leave lasting psychological scars.

Director of the Youth in Parliament Forum, Ojugo Onyelukachukwu Ojay, recounted how his teenage daughter recognised the dating application Tinder after noticing it on his phone, an experience he said made him more vigilant about monitoring the digital content accessible to his children.

Medical practitioner, Dr Joy Nafesa Kabir, called for sustained public awareness campaigns involving influencers, religious leaders and community organisations to educate parents with limited digital literacy, stressing that advocacy should continue even after new laws were enacted.

Lead of Chazown by Ella’s Bookclub, Emmanuella Iyayi, said regular conversations with children about what they consume online have become one of the family’s strongest safeguards.

She warned that early exposure to harmful online content could have lifelong consequences, recalling her own experience of seeing explicit material at the age of four.

Iyayi added that families, schools, faith-based organisations, government institutions and technology companies all share responsibility for tackling misinformation and manipulated content online.

He further warned that excessive internet use was diminishing children’s creativity and urged the government to introduce stronger regulations compelling social media companies to remove harmful content involving children within 48 hours.

The stakeholders also expressed concern over the growing misuse of artificial intelligence, warning that AI-generated deepfakes and manipulated content are becoming increasingly difficult to detect and could further endanger children and undermine public trust, particularly during election periods.