• Say weak enforcement mechanisms, poor platform accountability leaving millions of children vulnerable to online abuse
James Emejo in Abuja
Child rights advocates and digital safety experts yesterday mounted pressure on Senate to urgently pass the Child Online Protection Bill (HB244), warning that continued delay is leaving millions of Nigerian children dangerously exposed to online predators, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and other digital harms.
The call came during a webinar convened by Gatefield and Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre, ahead of this year’s Children’s Day celebration.
Stakeholders accused regulators and global digital platforms of failing to adequately protect children operating in the country’s rapidly expanding online space.
The Child Online Protection Bill, which scaled through the House of Representatives in December 2025, is currently awaiting Senate action.
Speakers at the event cited data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showing that nine out of every 10 Nigerian children had experienced at least one form of online risk, while more than half of young internet users had suffered direct exposure to online abuse, including cyberbullying, grooming, and exploitation.
The experts warned that the scale of exposure reflected a major regulatory failure and a widening gap in platform accountability, especially as millions of Nigerian children gained internet access without corresponding safety protections.
They also raised concerns over growing cases of “digital trauma,” saying repeated exposure to harmful online environments can have devastating long-term effects on children’s mental health, emotional development, and learning outcomes.
According to insights shared during the webinar, harmful materials often remain online long enough to spread widely before any intervention occurs, while as much as 31 per cent of reported child exploitation content is never removed from digital platforms.
They argued that the situation underscored the urgent need for stronger legal safeguards and tougher obligations for technology companies operating in Nigeria.
They specifically called on Senate to accelerate consideration of HB244, insisting that the proposed legislation would, for the first time, impose enforceable responsibilities on digital platforms through mandatory time-bound content removals and child safety-by-design standards.
The stakeholders further demanded compulsory 24-hour takedown rules for child sexual abuse and grooming materials, stronger age verification mechanisms, establishment of locally based moderation teams, as well as coordinated national digital literacy campaigns focused on child safety.
Advocacy Lead at Gatefield, Shirley Ewang, stressed that Nigeria could no longer afford to delay action while children continued to face unchecked abuse online.
Ewang said, “With millions more children entering digital spaces every year, every second counts. Delays in addressing online harm can have lasting consequences for children, and Nigeria cannot afford to ignore that.
“We cannot celebrate Children’s Day while ignoring the reality that children are being actively exposed and insufficiently protected online, as global platforms continue to operate with little to no consequence in our market.”
Similarly, Chief Operating Officer of Cece Yara Child Advocacy Centre, Esther Udoh, described the Child Online Protection Bill as critical to establishing clear legal obligations for digital platforms and improving response times against harmful content.
Udoh said the rapid evolution of the digital landscape required urgent and decisive government intervention to protect vulnerable children from irreversible harm.
According to her, every child deserves a safe digital environment where they can learn, interact, and grow without fear of exploitation or abuse.
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