The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has raised concerns over the detention of over 26,000 children in correctional facilities across Nigeria in the past five years, describing it as a violation of child protection laws.
Speaking at a high-level inter-agency stakeholder meeting in Abuja, Tunji-Ojo said children should not be kept in correctional centres but in borstal institutions where they can receive proper rehabilitation.
“The presence of children in custodial centres violates laws mandating their placement in borstal institutions so that they can undergo reformation in line with their age,” he said.
According to him, the number of detained children accounts for over 30 percent of the total inmate population in correctional centres, raising serious concerns about gaps in Nigeria’s criminal justice system.
A statement by the Director of Press in the Ministry of Interior, Ozoya Imohimi, quoted the minister as saying that the government was committed to reforming the correctional system, particularly in addressing the growing number of children in detention.
He also announced plans to establish a Nigerian Paramilitary Academy to train correctional officers in empathy and rehabilitation principles, stressing the need for inter-ministerial collaboration and state government involvement in tackling juvenile detention.
“The 2024 report on children and young adults deprived of liberty presents a sobering reality,” he noted.
“An alarming 26,000 children have been held annually in correctional facilities over the past five years.”
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Magdalene Ajani, also expressed deep concern over the situation, stating that the statistics represent real lives in need of urgent intervention.
“Between 2018 and 2022, an average of 26,000 children and young adults were held in custodial centres annually. These statistics are not just numbers, they represent vulnerable lives in urgent need of intervention,” she said.
Ajani called for a shift towards non-custodial measures and diversion programmes as alternatives to detention, in line with Article 37(b) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and Nigeria’s Child Rights Act of 2003.
“The meeting underscored that ending child detention is not just a moral obligation but a strategic investment in sustainable development, justice, and poverty reduction,” she added.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Women Affairs, and Humanitarian Affairs, as well as UNICEF and other development partners, as efforts intensify to protect the rights of children in Nigeria’s justice system.
