Health experts, child rights advocates and civil society organisations have described child online abuse as a growing public health emergency, calling for stronger laws, greater parental supervision and collective action to protect Nigerian children from harmful digital content.
The stakeholders made the call on Tuesday in Abuja during a Child Online Safety Media and Advocacy Roundtable organised by Gatefield and partners.
Dr Chioma Kanu, Executive Director of the MAMA Centre, said child online safety should no longer be viewed only as a child rights issue but as a public health concern with far-reaching implications for children’s mental health and development.
According to Kanu, children’s brains develop rapidly between the ages of zero and seven, making them particularly vulnerable to harmful online content during this critical stage.
“The media shapes culture. The media informs us, keeps us updated and can also drive action by helping people understand that this is a health issue.
“Children’s brains develop rapidly between the ages of zero and seven. Why aren’t we protecting them more during this critical period? We are facing a mental health pandemic, and we must act now,” she said.
She urged journalists to sustain advocacy through consistent reporting on child online safety, saying the media had the power to influence public attitudes and shape government policies.
Also speaking, Ms Christina Akintoye, Lead Campaigns and Communications Strategist at Gatefield, warned that millions of Nigerian children remained vulnerable to online abuse because of weak regulations and inadequate safeguards.
Akintoye said Nigeria, in spite of having Africa’s largest internet population, had yet to put in place adequate protections for children using digital platforms.
According to her, data from the Nigerian Communications Commission indicate that many Nigerian children have encountered sexual content online, while a significant number have experienced unwanted sexual approaches through digital platforms.
She said some harmful content involving minors had remained online for more than 48 hours before being removed, highlighting gaps in platform accountability and child protection measures.
She argued that the country’s digital ecosystem was not originally designed with children’s safety in mind, making stronger regulation and platform accountability imperative.
“A second is enough for a child to be exposed to harmful online content. That is why this campaign is called ‘Every Second Counts’.
“We should treat child online abuse with the same seriousness as previous public health emergencies because it affects children’s mental health and long-term well-being,” she said.
She said countries including the United Kingdom and Australia had introduced stronger online safety regulations that demonstrated governments could hold global technology companies accountable while protecting children.
According to her, Gatefield’s “Every Second Counts” campaign seeks to keep child online safety on the national agenda and mobilise parents, the media and policymakers to strengthen protections for children in digital spaces.
Mrs Emmanuella Iyayi, Convener of Chazown by Ella’s Bookclub, urged parents to play a more active role in supervising children’s online activities instead of allowing unrestricted access to internet-enabled devices.
Iyayi said her children were not allowed to use tablets, YouTube or social media platforms unless an adult was physically present to monitor their activities.
According to her, children should receive adequate digital literacy and online safety education before being exposed to internet-enabled devices.
She likened giving children unrestricted internet access to handing them “a loaded gun”, stressing that parental guidance remained the most effective safeguard against online harm.
Ms Amy Oninyechi Omara, Legal and Programme Officer at the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), said protecting children online required a coordinated response involving government, parents, technology companies, civil society organisations, community groups and faith-based organisations.
“It is a collective effort. Everyone has a role to play. There should be synergy, and everyone should understand and effectively discharge their responsibilities,” she said.
Omara said CISLAC had continued to advocate people-centred policy reforms, including the proposed Child Online Access Protection Bill, adding that the organisation would monitor implementation if the legislation was enacted.
She said the proposed law would promote greater transparency and accountability among technology companies while strengthening safeguards for children in the digital space.
Dr Nafisa Joy Kabir, Training and Development Specialist at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, said the government should enact and enforce clear laws to protect children from harmful online content, while technology companies should be held accountable for materials hosted on their platforms.
Kabir also advocated the inclusion of digital literacy and online safety education in school curricula to help children distinguish between safe and harmful online content and make informed decisions while using the internet.
“I believe it is a collective responsibility. Government has to put clear laws in place, technology companies should be held accountable, and schools should educate children on what is safe and age-appropriate,” she said.
Mr Ojugo Onyelukchukwu- Ojay, an Abuja-based development consultant and aspiring diplomat, also stressed that child online protection required a whole-of-society approach.
Onyelukchukwu- Ojay, urged the Federal Government to enact and enforce robust child online protection laws with clear sanctions for offenders, noting that countries such as New Zealand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and the United Kingdom had adopted stronger measures to protect children online.
“One person cannot protect an entire community or country. It has to be a collective effort. Government has to stand up and enforce the law because where there is no law, there is no punishment for violating it,” he said.
The stakeholders called on the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Child Online Access Protection Bill, saying the proposed legislation would strengthen accountability for technology companies, improve safeguards for children in digital spaces and provide a stronger legal framework for tackling online abuse.
They agreed that protecting children online should not be left to parents alone but should involve sustained collaboration among government, schools, technology companies, civil society organisations, the media and families to ensure safer digital spaces for Nigerian children. (NAN)
