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ABSTRACT
This work analyzes the rights of children in Nigeria and its effectiveness in application. It also examines the international laws on protection of children which Nigeria is a party to. This work also provides the definition of a child according to the Child’s Right Act. The research methodology adopted in this work is the doctrinal approach which examines primary and secondary sources of law. This research aims to examine the acts of child labour, child marriage and child trafficking and the laws that prohibit them. It seeks to examine the laws created to protect children and how effective these laws have been in achieving their purpose. This research finds that although laws like the Child’s Rights Act exist, their implementation and enforcement pose an issue. One of these issues is that Nigeria is a federal state and laws must be ratified by the various states. In the case of the Child’s rights Act, 12 out of the 36 states are yet to ratify it and these states do not apply it as law. This study also finds that poverty is one of the causes of child labour and that the practice of child trafficking not only affects the mental and physical health of a child but also the nation as the process of people benefitting from the act, either through cheap labour, sex or wealth, encourages organised crime. Based on the findings of this study, this research recommends that the government should tackle one of the root causes of child labour and trafficking which is poverty by providing employment to its citizens and to encourage school attendance of children through strategies such as subsidising school bills.
