• Experts warn of rising online harm against children, urge passage of Protection Bill
• Nigeria’s future is in captivity, group warns, decries student’s abductions

As the country celebrates yet another Children’s Day, which coincides with this year’s Eid-ul-Adha, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has stressed the importance of recognising that the boundless joy and impactful future of every child lie in the decisions and sacrifices their parents and political leaders make today.

Similarly, public health experts raised concerns over the growing scale of online harms affecting Nigerian children, warning that weak platform safeguards and gaps in existing laws leave minors increasingly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and harassment online.

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, Amazing Grace Children Rights Foundation (AGCRF), described the incessant attacks on schools and the kidnapping of students as a dangerous trend mortgaging the country’s future.

Atiku, through his Media Office in Abuja, yesterday, reiterated his famous quote: “Education is the bedrock of a nation,” reminding the leaders that investing in the education of the younger generation, especially the children, “remains the viable path to a secure and assured future of any nation.”

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain stated: “So, as we celebrate with our children today, let us honour them by pledging to keep them safe in schools, get them busy with books in their hands, and dreams in their hearts, by investing in their education.

“When we teach a child to read, we give them a voice. When we help them to learn, we give them power. Let’s build and uplift individuals, families, communities and the entire nation by giving them voice and power through investments in their education.”

THE concerns by public health experts were raised yesterday during a Children’s Day webinar organised by Gatefield and Cece Yara Child Advocacy Foundation, where experts urged the Senate to urgently pass the Child Online Protection Bill (HB244).

Speaking during the webinar, Team Lead at Gatefield, Shirley Ewang, said digital platforms were becoming unmonitored breeding grounds for abuse, with harmful content involving children often remaining online for days without removal.

Presenting the paper, ‘Children Caught in the Web’, Ewang cited a National Communications Commission (NCC) data that showed the gravity of the situation with many experiencing at least one form of cyber risk, including cyberbullying, peer harassment, sexual exploitation and exposure to harmful content.

According to her, about 89 per cent of children had been exposed to unsolicited sexual content online, with girls disproportionately affected.
Ewang warned that Nigeria’s expanding Internet population could worsen online abuse if stronger safeguards were not introduced.

She also criticised the reduction in local content by major platforms, warning that automated systems often fail to detect context-specific harms in Nigeria’s multilingual environment.

“When harms are exposed in local contexts, and there are no local moderators to understand the language and culture, harmful content slips through,” she said.

SPEAKING ahead of the Children’s Day celebration today, the Founder/Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Mrs Grace Adeyemi, noted with concern that over 100 students had been kidnapped this month alone, questioning why governments at all levels had yet to secure their release.

She highlighted recent tragic incidents, including the May 15 abduction of 47 students and teachers from nursery, primary and secondary schools in Oriire Local Council of Oyo State, a similar mass abduction of roughly 50 students in Borno State around the same period, and separate school attacks in Katsina and Zamfara states that resulted in the capture of numerous students and educators.

In a statement entitled ‘Nigeria’s Future in Captivity’, Mrs Adeyemi emphasised that the implications of this ugly trend extend far beyond the immediate trauma inflicted on the abducted children, their families and teachers.

She warned that the recurring violence is already instilling deep fear in Nigerian children and educators, stripping them of the peace of mind required to attend school.

However, AGCRF called on the government to use the occasion of this year’s Children’s Day to decisively address the crisis, secure the immediate release of the captive children, and reassure the nation that it has not been overwhelmed by the insecurity threatening the country’s corporate existence.