A brand new report by the Nigerian Communications Fee (NCC) has proven that 9 in 10 Nigerian kids face a minimum of one type of cyber danger, with many reporting instances of sexual exploitation and harassment whereas utilizing the web.
The revelation was made by Shirley Ewang, the Lead, Coverage and Advocacy at Gatefield, on Monday in Abuja throughout the Little one On-line Security Discussion board, organised by Gatefield in collaboration with Paradigm Initiative and Luminate.
Rising on-line threats to kids
In accordance with Ms Ewang, findings from the NCC report present that 97 per cent of Nigerian kids have skilled one type of sexual exploitation whereas utilizing the web, whereas 89 per cent reported receiving unsolicited sexual content material or requests.
She stated the figures spotlight the necessity for pressing motion to safeguard kids’s security on-line, warning that the web, although a software for studying and innovation, has more and more change into an area the place minors face bullying, grooming, and exploitation.
“We learn a report performed by the Nigerian Communications Fee which flagged severe youngster on-line issues of safety. 90 per cent of Nigerian kids are dealing with a minimum of one cyber danger,” she stated.
“Each half second {that a} youngster connects to the web for the primary time, they’re probably uncovered to those dangers.”
Ms Ewang described the scenario as a “rising epidemic” and referred to as for collective motion to guard younger web customers throughout the nation.
Extra knowledge
Past kids, Ms Ewang additionally introduced findings from Gatefield’s “State of On-line Harms Report”, a complete evaluation of Nigeria’s digital panorama.
The report discovered that fifty per cent of Nigerian web customers expertise on-line harms repeatedly, together with misinformation, hate speech, cyberbullying, and id theft.
It additional revealed that 58 per cent of those harms goal girls, particularly these in politics, media, or management positions.
In accordance with the research, X (previously Twitter) accounts for 34 per cent of reported on-line harms in Nigeria, adopted by Fb, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
She added that 33 per cent of Nigerians mistrust main tech platforms to maintain customers protected on-line, citing weak content material moderation, lack of native accountability, and absence of enforcement mechanisms.
Ms Ewang referred to as for the event of a complete on-line security invoice and stronger regulatory frameworks to make sure platform accountability.
She additionally beneficial digital literacy campaigns, gender-sensitive interventions, and the creation of a digital residents’ constitution to empower Nigerians to remain protected on-line.
Little one on-line security in Nigeria
Little one on-line security refers back to the safety of youngsters from dangerous or exploitative content material, interactions, or experiences within the digital house.
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s fertility price drops to 4.8 kids per girl — NDHS
It includes guaranteeing that kids use the web safely and responsibly, with out publicity to on-line bullying, grooming, sexual exploitation, or different digital dangers.
According to NCC, Little one On-line Safety (COP) is an initiative established by the Worldwide Telecommunication Union (ITU) in November 2008 to advertise kids’s on-line security globally.
The ITU issued its first set of COP tips in 2009, and following the rise in web use amongst kids throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, up to date them in July 2020 to handle rising dangers.
In Could 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported that President Bola Tinubu condemned youngster bullying in Nigeria and globally, citing research that present about 65 per cent of school-age kids within the nation have skilled some type of bodily or psychological abuse.
He stated the federal government had begun reviewing the Little one Rights Act (2003) and the Violence In opposition to Individuals (Prohibition) Act (2015) to develop safety for kids and strengthen nationwide enforcement.
He additionally famous that the Cybercrime Act was being leveraged to deal with cyberbullying, on-line exploitation, and associated abuses.
Regardless of these efforts, a latest report exhibits that Nigerian kids nonetheless stay more and more weak to harassment and publicity to dangerous on-line content material.
