InFocus: Child Online Protection issues and regulatory safeguards in Nigeria

*Child protection advocates, industry stakeholders again, alert Nigerian regulators and young digital consumers to the increasing Internet penetration across the country, cautioning the scale of child online abuse, cyberbullying, sexual exploitation, and Child Sexual Abuse Material may worsen without urgent proactive regulatory safeguards

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Industry stakeholders have advocated an urgent need for communications sector regulators to further improve Child Online Protection (COP) safeguards or measures in view of a fresh report indicating that nine in 10 Nigerian children face online risks amid increasing abuse in the digital space.

ConsumerConnect reports the recurring issues of enhanced connectivity, digital access, and attendant online risks, as well as cybersafety measures to protect Nigerian children have dominated cybersecurity discourses in recent times.

Consumer Protection: Lagos introduces new tenancy bill to regulate rent, agency fees

A fresh report again, raised the alarm over the rising scale of child online abuse in the West African country’s digital ecosystem.

It revealed that nine out of every 10 children have experienced at least a form of cyber risk or another.

4 Major categories of child online risks, by Gatefield

The report also identified four major categories of child online harm, including cyberbullying and peer harassment, sexual exploitation and grooming, exposure to harmful content, and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), a globally recognised criminal offence.

Ms. Shirley Ewang, Policy and Advocacy Lead at Gatefield, disclosed this development Monday, May 26, 2026, while highlighting findings in the report at the launch of a Child Online Safety Forum, which Gatefield organised in collaboration with Paradigm Initiative and Luminate, in Abuja, FCT.

Gatefield, a public strategy and media group, said the COP-oriented report highlighted a deepening crisis in the emerging Nigeria Digital Economy environment.

It is equally noted that more children are increasingly exposed to harmful content amid comparatively weak digital platform safeguards, limited regulatory protection, and inadequate enforcement mechanisms.

Child Online Protection in Nigeria

Child online safety has been described as the protection of children from harmful or exploitative content, interactions, or experiences in the digital space.

The initiative involves ensuring that children use the Internet safely and responsibly, without exposure to online bullying, grooming, sexual exploitation, CSAM, or other digital risks.

The Nigerian Communications Commission also stated that Child Online Protection is an initiative established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) November 2008, to promote children’s online safety globally.

The ITU then, issued its first set of COP guidelines 2009, and following the rise in Internet penetration and use among children, especially during the disruptive COVID-19 pandemic, updated them July 2020 to address emerging risks in global cyberspace.

What NCC Report on COP reveals

It is recalled the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) released a fresh report in the Fourth Quarter (Q4) 2025, showing that 9 in 10 Nigerian children face at least a form of cyber risk or another with several  victims reporting cases of sexual exploitation, harassment while using the Internet in the ecosystem.

Referencing the telecoms sector regulatory Commission’s report, Ms. Ewang said findings from the NCC report indicated that 97 percent of Nigerian children have experienced a form of sexual exploitation while using the Internet, while 89 percent reported receiving unsolicited sexual content or requests.

Ms. Ewang stated: “We read a report conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission, which flagged serious child online safety issues.

“90 percent of Nigerian children are facing at least one cyber risk.

“Every half second that a child connects to the Internet for the first time, they are potentially exposed to these risks.”

She described the alarming situation as a “growing epidemic”, while advocating collective action to protect young Internet users across the West African country.

Ewang said the report indicated that well over 90 percent of Nigerian children have suffered some form of online harm, while 89 percent of them have been exposed to unsolicited sexual content, with girls disproportionately affected in the process.

The Advocacy Lead at Gatefield further warned that the trend is rapidly turning digital platforms into what some stakeholders described as a “normalised space of trauma” for children.

Insight into enforcement mechanisms, accountability frameworks

Highlighting some factors fuelling children’s exposure to more online risks in Nigeria’s digital space, Ms. Ewang stated: “Platforms are fast becoming unmonitored breeding grounds for abuse, transforming children’s online experiences into a marketplace for exploitation.”

According to her, the report noted that eight in 10 harmful online content involving minors remains online for over 48 hours, even after being flagged by authorities.

She said: “In addition, 31 percent of such content is never removed, highlighting weak enforcement mechanisms by social media platforms and gaps in accountability frameworks.”

The Advocacy Lead as well attributed the trend to the absence of binding regulations compelling technology companies to act swiftly on harmful content.

Ewang: Tech giants prioritising user engagement over online safety

Highlighting the local experience regarding cybersecurity, Ewang explained: “Platforms currently prioritise engagement over user safety, exposing children to prolonged harm.”

In further analysis of the situation report, she disclosed the data indicated that 34 percent of reported online harms occur on X (formerly Twitter), closely followed by Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, making it one of the leading platforms linked to abuse incidents in Nigeria’s digital environment.

The report also pointed to reduced local content moderation by major tech companies, she noted.

Meta, in 2025, reportedly scaled back local moderation capacity, increasing reliance on automated systems that often fail to detect context-specific harms in Nigeria’s diverse linguistic environment, according to report.

Ms. Ewang, however, cautioned Nigerian digital consumers, that with Internet penetration rising rapidly across the country, experts have warned that the scale of online abuse could worsen without urgent regulatory safeguards.

Menace of ‘predatory grooming networks’, spread of harmful online content

Reeling off certain global stats on rising number of Internet users, Ewang, Advocacy Lead at Gatefield, said: “Global projections indicate a sharp increase in Internet users, raising concerns that predatory grooming networks could expand significantly if left unchecked.

“As access grows, so does vulnerability. Without strong safeguards, this could evolve into a full-blown epidemic.”

She equally stressed the far-reaching impact of the four major categories of child online harm identified in the report, including cyberbullying and peer harassment, sexual exploitation and grooming, exposure to harmful content, and Child Sexual Abuse Material, said to be a globally recognised criminal offence.

Ms. Ewang stated these abuses also, have been linked to school avoidance, declining academic performance, emotional distress, and long-term psychological trauma among affected children in the country.

She warned that failure to act decisively could result in the unchecked spread of harmful content, increased grooming and exploitation by predatory networks, and weak case management systems for victims.

The Advocacy Lead lamented purported absence of mandatory reporting obligations and transparency requirements for digital platforms operating in Nigeria.

She asserted: “Child online abuse is no longer a distant threat, it is happening here, at scale, and demands urgent national response.”

NCC, NITDA, ONSA, NDPC urged to design stronger regulatory frameworks

Besides child online protection issues, Ms. Ewang also presented findings from Gatefield’s “State of Online Harms Report”, a comprehensive assessment of Nigeria’s digital landscape.

She revealed the organisation’s report as well found that 50 percent of Nigerian consumers experience online harms regularly, including misinformation, hate speech, cyberbullying, and identity (ID) theft.

The report also found that 58 percent of these harms target women, especially those in politics, media, or leadership positions in the country.

Therefore, as part of efforts at protecting Nigerian children online, child protection advocates urged industry regulators and stakeholders, including the NCC, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), for stronger regulatory frameworks towards holding digital platforms, particularly the Big Techs accountable.

They as well advocated the introduction of mandatory timelines for content removal, and improved investment in local content moderation systems in the country’s digital space.

Ms. Ewang equally urged stakeholders to develop a comprehensive online safety bill, and stronger regulatory frameworks to ensure platform accountability in the country’s digital environment.

She also recommended digital literacy campaigns, gender-sensitive interventions, and the creation of a digital citizens’ charter to empower Nigerian consumers to stay safe online.

There is also the need for national systems to support victims, strengthen inter-agency coordination, and enhance tracking and reporting of abuse cases, stated the child protection advocates.

Kindly Share This Story