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President Tinubu Demands Stiff Enforcement Of Child Protection Laws

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President Tinubu Demands Stiff Enforcement Of Child Protection Laws

  • Launches national action plan on violence against children
  • Hints at creation of child protection and development agency

By: Our Reporter

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has launched the National Action Plan on Ending Violence Against Children in Nigeria, with a call for stiff enforcement of the Child Rights Act and other child protection laws that guarantee the safety, dignity, and future of Nigerian children.

He outlined practical steps being taken by his administration to achieve this, including the establishment of a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency, launch of the Universal Child Grant to reduce household poverty and children’s vulnerability; creation of a National Child Protection Database and a Child Well-being Index, to track the government’s progress and uphold accountability.

The President stated this on Thursday during the first regional meeting of the Africa Pathfinder Countries of the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

President Tinubu who was represented at the event by his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, declared his administration’s commitment to “establishing a dedicated Child Protection and Development Agency to ensure coherent coordination of all issues relating to the Nigerian child.”

The president noted that while each day comes with a reminder of the dreams of Nigerian children, the conditions into which they are born, and whether these conditions protect or betray them, are also critical issues to ponder.

He said, “Our legal frameworks reflect our conviction. From the Child Rights Act to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, Nigeria has laid down the statutory foundation for the protection of children. But legislation alone does not shield the vulnerable—it is the will behind those laws, and the systems that enforce them, that make the difference.

“That is why our national strategy also embraces prevention and early intervention. We are strengthening families and communities through programmes that promote positive parenting, challenge harmful social norms, and provide targeted support to vulnerable households.”

President Tinubu assured that relevant government institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, are armed with the required training and resources to spearhead the protection of the Nigerian child across all levels of government, even as he maintained that it is a crusade for which sincerity and honesty are required.

“But we must be honest with ourselves. We cannot protect the child by merely reciting the anthems of their struggles or romanticising their vulnerability.

“The real hope lies in action—concrete, deliberate action. Our commitment must run deep, reaching into the very architecture of our education and health systems. This is the soul of our human capital development strategy,” he stated.

To ensure stiff enforcement of child protection laws in Nigeria, President Tinubu said his administration is “strengthening existing institutions and laws, and launching national campaigns to promote awareness and drive behavioural change.”

The President underlined the importance of the first regional meeting of Africa’s Pathfinder Countries under the Global Alliance on Ending Violence Against Children, pointing out that “it breathes new life into the bold declarations made at the First Global Ministerial Conference on Ending Violence Against Children held in Bogotá.”

Earlier, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, Dr Najat Maalla M’jid, urged African leaders to move beyond commitments and implement concrete actions to protect children from violence and exploitation.

Dr M’jid also charged delegates to the meeting and other participants to focus on peer learning, effective strategy sharing, and collective actions in addressing common obstacles to ensure child protection efforts are sustainable in Africa.

On her part, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Hon Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, highlighted the country’s commitment and the progress made since the Ministerial Conference in Bogotá, Colombia, in November 2024, noting that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu is strengthening legal frameworks, scaling up the Safe Schools Programme, expanding parenting interventions, and increasing budgetary allocations to child protection systems.

“Through our renewed national child policy framework now under review, and our adopted National Strategy and Costed Action Plan to End Child Marriage in Nigeria, we are laying the foundation for more accountable, inclusive, and data-driven action,” she said.

In separate remarks, the heads of delegation to the regional meeting from Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Burkina Faso, stated the recommitment of their various countries to the global alliance to ending violence against children as declared in Bogota in November 2024.

They presented progress reports from their respective countries, commended the leadership provided by Nigeria and urged all stakeholders to be intentional about ending violence against children and not to pay lip-service to the programmes and policies designed to actualise the objectives.

Also present at the meeting were the wife of the Deputy Senate President, Hajiya Laila Jibrin Barau; Minister of Women, Family and Children from Cote d’Ivoire, Hon Nasseneba Toure; Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare from Zimbabwe, Edgar Moyo; Minister of Gender and Children Affairs from Sierra Leone, Hon Isata; Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Nigeria, Dr Maryam Keshinro, and representatives of development partners and heads of agencies, among others.

President Tinubu Demands Stiff Enforcement Of Child Protection Laws

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

By: Michael Mike

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.

The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.

In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.

The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

By: Michael Mike

The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.

A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.

“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”

According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.

The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.

Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People


…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp

By: Michael Mike

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.

“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.

“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”

Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.

“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”

She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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