By Josephine Solanke
Some legal practitioners have warned that individuals involved in child labour and trafficking risk prosecution, imprisonment and fines under Nigerian laws.
The lawyers spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, calling for stronger enforcement of child protection laws to curb the exploitation of children across the country.
NAN reports that child labour involves engaging children in work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their education, or exposes them to physical, mental, social or moral harm.
Common forms of child labour include street hawking and domestic service, while the worst forms include child trafficking, forced labour, forced begging, commercial sexual exploitation and recruitment by armed groups in conflict situations.
Although child labour is a global challenge, it remains prevalent in many low-income countries, including Nigeria.
Mrs Adeyinka Adeyefa, a legal practitioner with Hope Alive Educational Centre, attributed the persistence of child labour to poverty, economic hardship, lack of awareness, conflict and internal displacement.
“Struggling families rely on children to contribute financially, especially with the rising cost of living in the country.
“Some parents and employers may also not fully understand that certain forms of child labour are harmful or illegal,” she said.
Adeyefa warned that trafficking children from rural communities into cities for hawking, domestic servitude or other forms of exploitation was punishable under the Lagos State Child Rights Law.
She commended law enforcement agencies for carrying out rescue operations involving children found in illegal factories, domestic servitude and trafficking networks.
However, she said more needed to be done to protect children from exploitation, noting that many were still engaged in hawking and domestic work instead of attending school.
Similarly, Mr Vincent Aminu, a legal practitioner, said that in spite of existing laws protecting children from exploitative labour practices, enforcement remained weak.
He attributed poor implementation of child labour laws to institutional challenges, including a shortage of labour inspectors, overstretched welfare systems and inadequate funding for child protection agencies.
“The effectiveness of child labour laws depends largely on proper enforcement, which remains weak due to inefficiencies within the police and other law enforcement institutions,” he said.
Mrs Nnenna Eze, Chairperson of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ikeja Branch, emphasised the need for collective action in tackling child labour.
According to her, the popular saying that “children are the hope of tomorrow” will remain a cliché unless society deliberately obeys and enforces child protection laws.
She urged citizens and communities to play active roles in identifying and reporting cases of child exploitation, noting that government agencies alone could not monitor every household, workplace, market or street.
Eze said community participation was critical to the early detection, reporting and prevention of child labour.
She advised members of the public to watch for children frequently absent from school, exposed to dangerous environments or showing signs of abuse, neglect, exhaustion or malnutrition.
She also urged communities to report suspected cases to child protection authorities, the police, school authorities, community leaders, social welfare officers and local government officials.
Eze further advocated awareness campaigns, monitoring of vulnerable children, economic support for poor families and an end to the employment of underage domestic workers.(NAN)
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