There is something deeply troubling about a society in which parents must worry about their children’s safety even after entrusting them to institutions established to educate and protect them. Sending a child to school should come with reasonable confidence that the journey, the classroom and the relationships formed within that environment will be free from abuse. Yet, for many Nigerian children, the risks they face extend into the very spaces where adults have a responsibility to safeguard them.
The recent case in Sapele, Delta State, involving a 28-year-old school bus driver accused of abducting and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old pupil exposes this disturbing breach of trust. According to the police, the suspect allegedly demanded N503,000 from the girl’s father as ransom and threatened to kill her if the money was not paid. He was subsequently arrested, while the school’s principal and vice-principal were invited for questioning. The investigation must establish the full circumstances of the incident, including whether any institutional lapses contributed to the pupil’s exposure to danger.
The case deserves attention beyond the criminal allegations against the driver. It raises a fundamental question about how Nigeria regards the safety and rights of its children. Public debate on education understandably focuses on enrolment, examination performance, infrastructure and the millions of children still outside the classroom. These are pressing concerns in a country grappling with deep educational inequalities. However, the quality of an education system must also be judged by the conditions under which children learn and the safeguards available to them throughout their time in school.
The numbers offer little comfort. UNICEF’s February 2026 Situation Analysis of Children and Adolescents in Nigeria estimates that nearly 105 million Nigerians are below the age of 18. Six in every 10 children experience some form of violence, while one in four girls and 10 per cent of boys have experienced sexual violence. Perhaps more disturbing is the finding that fewer than five out of every 100 children who report violence receive any form of support.
These figures point to a child-protection system struggling to prevent abuse and provide adequate assistance to those affected. The locations where some of these violations occur make the situation particularly concerning. UNICEF’s analysis indicates that 15 per cent of girls and 25 per cent of boys reported that their first experience of sexual violence occurred at school. Educational institutions, which should provide an environment for intellectual and personal development, have themselves become places where children can encounter abuse. This should prompt serious reflection among school proprietors, education authorities and policymakers.
The problem is reinforced by attitudes towards children across the wider society. Physical punishment remains deeply entrenched in homes and educational institutions. UNICEF’s analysis found that 90.4 per cent of children under five experienced psychological aggression or physical punishment in 2021, while 80 per cent of children aged five to 14 experienced physical punishment. When violence is routinely accepted as an instrument of discipline, the boundary between correction and abuse becomes dangerously blurred. Children may consequently grow up believing that adults have an unquestionable right to their bodies, privacy and personal boundaries. Such attitudes create an environment in which abuse can be concealed, excused or dismissed, particularly when the perpetrator occupies a position of authority.
Economic deprivation further compounds children’s vulnerability. Millions of Nigerian children work to support themselves or their families, while poverty, displacement and insecurity expose others to exploitation, trafficking and early marriage. Findings from the International Labour Organisation’s 2022 Child Labour Survey in Nigeria reveal the scale of the challenge, with 35.3 per cent of children aged five to 14 combining schooling with economic activity. Many of these children carry responsibilities that should never fall on young shoulders, leaving them exposed to adults and circumstances over which they have little control. Child protection is therefore inseparable from the country’s broader failures in social welfare, education and household economic security.
Nigeria must consequently give child protection a more prominent place in public policy. A country cannot reasonably claim to be investing in its future while millions of its youngest citizens remain exposed to violence, exploitation and neglect. Children have limited capacity to determine their circumstances or challenge the authority of adults. Their safety depends on parents, schools, communities and government institutions establishing and enforcing boundaries that prevent the abuse of such authority. Where these institutions fail, children are left to bear consequences they are neither equipped to understand nor capable of preventing.
Schools, in particular, must accept a greater degree of accountability for the adults they employ and the services they provide. The recruitment of drivers, teachers, attendants and other personnel who regularly interact with pupils requires rigorous scrutiny. Identity verification, credible references, employment history and criminal record checks where available should be standard considerations before anyone is entrusted with children’s care. School proprietors must also take responsibility for the conduct of personnel engaged to provide services to their pupils. Where allegations of abuse arise, investigations should examine recruitment practices, supervision arrangements, reporting procedures and the institution’s response to any previous warning signs. The invitation of the Sapele school’s principal and vice-principal for questioning should therefore be followed by a proper examination of the school’s responsibilities, without prejudging their culpability.
Government has already established a framework upon which stronger enforcement can be built. The National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools and the Minimum Standards for Safe Schools provide guidelines for creating safer learning environments. The elevation of the former Safe Schools Unit to a Schools Safety Department in March 2026 also presents an opportunity for more coordinated oversight. Its responsibilities include school protection, child safeguarding, incident reporting and the monitoring of safety standards. These institutional arrangements are welcome, but their value will ultimately depend on whether they produce meaningful improvements in the everyday experiences of pupils.
The difficulty is ensuring that these structures reach individual schools, particularly low-cost private institutions and public schools operating with limited resources. Government must establish how consistently safeguarding standards are being implemented, how complaints are handled and whether institutions face consequences when negligence is established. Regular inspections and transparent reporting of compliance should form part of this process. The Child Rights Act must equally be supported by adequately funded social welfare services, trained investigators, accessible reporting channels and appropriate assistance for survivors. Laws that children and their families cannot effectively invoke offer limited protection in practice.
Parents also have a responsibility to discuss personal safety with their children in ways appropriate to their ages and levels of understanding. Children should know that they can report uncomfortable behaviour, refuse inappropriate demands and seek help from trusted adults. Schools should reinforce these lessons through age-appropriate safeguarding education, creating an environment in which pupils can speak about misconduct without fear of punishment or humiliation. Such conversations, however, must never shift the burden of preventing abuse from adults to children. The primary responsibility remains with those entrusted with their care.
Ultimately, the Sapele incident should prompt a reconsideration of what Nigeria considers an acceptable standard of care for its children. A school’s responsibility extends beyond teaching, just as government’s obligation goes beyond providing classrooms and announcing policies. Every institution that assumes responsibility for children must be answerable for their safety. This requires clear standards, effective supervision and consequences for those who neglect their duties.
A society’s treatment of its children reveals much about its priorities and its understanding of responsibility. Nigeria has repeatedly declared its commitment to human capital development, yet the protection of the people who constitute that future remains inadequately secured. We cannot continue to celebrate the expansion of educational access while overlooking the conditions under which children experience schooling. Their safety must be woven into the operation of our homes, schools, laws and public institutions. No child should have to endure abuse at the hands of someone entrusted with their protection, and no institution should be allowed to escape scrutiny when that trust is betrayed.
