When Child Protection Exists Only on Paper

By Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D

A government’s commitment to protecting children is not measured by the number of policies it approves or the declarations it signs.

It is measured by whether a child in danger can find help, whether a survivor is treated with dignity, whether an offender is brought to justice, and whether the responsible institutions have the resources and resolve to act.

That is the test now facing Nigeria after the Federal Executive Council approved three national instruments on child protection, menstrual health and social care.

They are the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children, the National Policy on Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management 2026 to 2030, and the National Care Policy and Implementation Plan 2026 to 2030.

Together, they recognise that violence, exclusion and inadequate care are not private misfortunes but public responsibilities.

The Action Plan is expected to strengthen child protection across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory through a Pathfinder State Model.

The menstrual health policy targets the barriers that keep girls out of school for lack of sanitary products.

The care policy recognises unpaid caregiving and proposes standards for childcare, elderly care and adoption.

These are commendable objectives. But Nigeria has never lacked commitments.

The harder question is whether these approvals will change the realities facing those who need protection most.

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, recently acknowledged that Nigeria has only 52 sexual assault referral centres for more than 200 million people.

Such scarcity means access remains uneven, especially in rural communities.

A survivor’s access to justice should not depend on where an assault occurs, whether the family can afford transport, or whether a nearby centre has the staff and resources to help.

Yet these are precisely the barriers that decide whether protection is real or merely theoretical.
The problem goes beyond numbers.

A centre that exists in a directory but lacks trained personnel, medical supplies, forensic capacity or reliable funding cannot deliver what its name promises.

A survivor who is shuttled between offices, made to repeat a traumatic account or charged for services that should be free experiences the system as another abandonment.
Nigeria’s legal framework has made real progress.

The Child Rights Act has been domesticated in all 36 states, and most states have adopted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act. But domestication is only the beginning.

Laws must be enforced through functioning institutions, trained professionals, accessible reporting channels and a justice system that investigates and prosecutes without undue delay.
The gap between having a law and enforcing it is not academic.

It decides whether an abused child is protected or left at the mercy of family pressure, community silence and institutional indifference.

It decides whether a survivor is encouraged to report or persuaded to withdraw a complaint to protect family reputation.

It decides whether perpetrators face consequences or learn that influence, delay and intimidation can defeat justice.

Nothing illustrates this more painfully than the case of the late 14-year-old Keren-Happuch Aondodoo Akpagher.

She was a boarding student at a private secondary school in Lugbe, Abuja, when she died in June 2021. Medical findings indicated that she had been raped.

Her death provoked protests across the FCT, and the police opened an investigation and collected DNA samples.

More than five years later, no one has been held to account.

Her mother and gender advocates have accused the authorities of stalling. Keren-Happuch died from rape and her demise was followed by a conspiracy of silence and official inaction.

Her case is a scar on our national conscience. For her family, the wound remains fresh after over 5 years.

The approval of a costed Action Plan is welcome, but Nigerians must be told what it will cost, how funds will be allocated and what measurable outcomes are expected.

What minimum services must each state provide? What happens when a state fails?

Without clear answers, the plan risks becoming another document whose ambitions exceed its reach.

The Pathfinder State Model must not leave children in other states waiting indefinitely.

Every state should meet a minimum standard of child protection, with extra support for communities facing greater risk and weaker institutions.

Unpaid care work, much of it done by women, has long gone unrecognised.

The new care standards are welcome, but regulation must come with investment.

Minimum standards mean little if care centres cannot afford qualified staff, safe premises and proper services.

The menstrual health policy must likewise move beyond announcements.

The proposed Pad Banks and support for local production of sanitary products could help vulnerable girls, but distribution must be transparent and sustained.

Girls should not miss school over a basic biological need.

Social attitudes that enable abuse must also be confronted. Child protection cannot be left to government agencies alone.

Families, schools, religious institutions, traditional leaders and community groups must understand that protecting a child is not the same as protecting the reputation of an accused adult or institution. Silence shields offenders.

Victim-blaming deepens trauma and discourages others from seeking help.

The announcement should therefore be treated as a beginning, not a conclusion.

Nigerians need public implementation timelines, clear budget commitments, reliable data on services and regular reporting of outcomes.

The National Assembly, civil society and the media must be free to monitor progress.

An abused child does not need another declaration of government concern.

That child needs a safe place, competent care, protection from intimidation and access to justice.

A girl who misses school because she cannot afford sanitary products needs a reliable solution, not a commemorative speech.

These policies will not be judged by how impressive they sound at launch, but by whether they change the lives of those they are meant to protect.

For Nigeria, the challenge is no longer to promise protection. It is to make protection work.

Dr Lemmy Ughegbe, FIMC, CMC
Email: lemmyughegbeofficial@gmail.com
WhatsApp ONLY: +2348069716645