The State of Child Rights in Nigeria Twenty Years After the Emergence of the Child Right Act 2003

ABSTRACT : Purpose – This article examines the state of child rights in Nigeria twenty years after the adoption of the Child Rights Act. The adoption of the Child Rights Act 2003 was the result of the domestication of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989.Prior to the domestication of the international legal instruments, Nigeria relied on the constitutional provision on human rights protection to assert the rights of children. Design/Methodology/Approach -The approach taken is a textual analysis based on evaluating the achievements of the authorities, the law enforcement agencies, as well as other stakeholders in protecting and promoting child rights in Nigeria. The critical analysis of the existing literature and the actions taken towards the protection and promotion of child rights in Nigeria.