Nigeria reports 26,000 children enter custodial facilities annually

Nigeria's Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, reported that approximately 26,000 children enter custodial and remand facilities in the country annually. Speaking at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, the minister noted that over 122,000 children have entered these facilities over the last five years.

Data presented during the conference indicates significant systemic failures in the juvenile justice process. Approximately 74 per cent of these children are held in pre-trial detention without timely hearings, and 68 per cent lack legal representation from their initial contact with the justice system.

In response to these figures, government officials and child-protection advocates are discussing the implementation of diversion policies. These policies aim to steer children accused of offenses away from formal criminal proceedings and toward rehabilitation and community-based measures, as supported by the Child Rights Act and the 2024 Prosecution Guidelines.