By ABUJAH RACHEAL

A new report has raised alarm over the growing scale of child online abuse in Nigeria, revealing that nine out of every 10 children have experienced at least one form of cyber risk, ranging from cyberbullying to sexual exploitation.

Ms Shirley Ewang, Advocacy Lead at Gatefield, disclosed the findings during the launch of a child online safety campaign organised by Gatefield, a public strategy and media group, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the report highlights a deepening crisis in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, where children are increasingly exposed to harmful content amid weak platform safeguards, limited regulatory protection, and inadequate enforcement mechanisms.

According to Ewang, more than 50 per cent of Nigerian children have suffered some form of online harm, while 89 per cent have been exposed to unsolicited sexual content, with girls disproportionately affected.

She warned that the trend was rapidly turning digital platforms into what they described as a “normalised space of trauma” for children.

“Platforms are fast becoming unmonitored breeding grounds for abuse, transforming children’s online experiences into a marketplace for exploitation,” she stated.

She said that the report further revealed that eight in 10 harmful online content involving minors remained online for more than 48 hours, even after being flagged.

“In addition, 31 per cent of such content is never removed, highlighting weak enforcement mechanisms by social media platforms and gaps in accountability frameworks,” she said.

She attributed the trend to the absence of binding regulations compelling technology companies to act swiftly on harmful content.

“Platforms currently prioritise engagement over user safety, exposing children to prolonged harm,” she noted.

According to her, the data showed that 34 per cent of reported online harms occur on X (formerly Twitter), making it one of the leading platforms linked to abuse incidents in Nigeria.

She said that the report also pointed to reduced local content moderation by major tech companies. In 2025, Meta reportedly scaled back local moderation capacity, increasing reliance on automated systems that often failed to detect context-specific harms in Nigeria’s diverse linguistic environment.

She said that with internet penetration rising rapidly across Nigeria, experts warn that the scale of abuse could worsen without urgent safeguards.

“Global projections indicate a sharp increase in internet users, raising concerns that predatory grooming networks could expand significantly if left unchecked.

“As access grows, so does vulnerability. Without strong safeguards, this could evolve into a full-blown epidemic,” she warned.

She said that the report identified four major categories of child online harm, including cyberbullying and peer harassment, sexual exploitation and grooming, exposure to harmful content, and child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a globally recognised criminal offence.

These abuses, she said, had been linked to school avoidance, declining academic performance, emotional distress, and long-term psychological trauma among affected children.

She warned that failure to act decisively could result in the unchecked spread of harmful content, increased grooming and exploitation by predatory networks, and weak case management systems for victims.

She also noted the absence of mandatory reporting obligations and transparency requirements for digital platforms operating in Nigeria.

“Child online abuse is no longer a distant threat, it is happening here, at scale, and demands urgent national response,” she said.

Meanwhile, Child protection advocates called for stronger regulatory frameworks to hold platforms accountable, the introduction of mandatory timelines for content removal, and improved investment in local content moderation systems.

They also emphasised the need for national systems to support victims, strengthen inter-agency coordination, and enhance tracking and reporting of abuse cases. (NAN)

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