16 Days of Activism: 2,500 children abducted in 10 years – CSO

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS activities of 2025 16 Days of Activism commenced, Monday, a Civil Society Organization, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, disclosed that 2,500 children have been abducted in 10 years across the country.

In a statement signed by the National Director, Children’s Villages Nigeria, Eghosa Erhumwunse, the organization decried the poor protection of children and girls in schools and communities.

Erhumwunse said the safety of Nigerian girls, especially those without parental care, is facing a serious threat as the growing insecurity and targeted abductions is on girls and vulnerable children.

He said: “As the world observes the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria is deeply concerned about the growing insecurity and targeted abductions of girls and vulnerable children across the country.

“The safety of Nigerian girls, especially those without parental care, is facing a serious threat. What started as a crisis has now turned into a national emergency. Streets and schools are no longer safe. The digital space, which should provide learning and connection, has become a platform for exploitation, abuse, and fear.

“For over a decade, Nigeria has seen a troubling increase in school and community abductions. More than 1,680 children have been forcibly taken, and recent incidents bring that number close to 2,500.”

He also pointed out that, “Each abduction is not only a crime; it shows the failure of our child protection systems. It reminds us that the nation’s youngest and most vulnerable children are increasingly at risk.

“For those lacking stable parental care, the danger is even greater. They are less protected, less sought after, less heard, and too often forgotten. Such attacks harm families, disrupt education, and strip children of safety, continuity, and hope.”

Speaking on digital violence girls suffer, the organization said most Nigerians are negatively using the internet to harass girls with cyberbullying, impersonation and exploitation.

“However, physical violence is just one part of this escalating crisis. Nigeria is now facing another major issue: digital violence. Recent research reveals that 68.9 million Nigerians, nearly half of the country’s active internet users, suffer online harm, including cyberbullying, impersonation, exploitation, and abuse.

“Alarmingly, 58 per cent of these harms mainly target women and girls. Nigeria’s ranking as the fifth-highest cybercrime hotspot worldwide highlights how serious this problem is. Behind each manipulated image, hateful comment, threat, or non-consensual content is a real person, often a girl, whose dignity, identity, and mental well-being are violated.

“The combination of physical abductions and digital exploitation has a disproportionate effect on children without parental care, the group that SOS Children’s Villages aims to protect. For these children, trauma from loss now mixes with threats from online predators, grooming, identity misuse, and digital sexual exploitation.

“The vulnerabilities that once made them targets in the physical world are now exploited in the digital sphere, where some are groomed, trafficked through screens, and dehumanized for profit. A country that fails to protect its children, both offline and online, risks its future security, stability, development, and moral standing.”

While affirming the reality of digital violence as an evidence of deeper failure I’m child protection, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria, called for immediate, coordinated, and unwavering national actions; “The full enforcement of the Child Rights Law, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, and the newly launched Alternative Care Guidelines must happen in every state.

“Digital violence needs to be officially recognized and included in national security, protection, and gender-based violence reporting systems; Schools must be secured as safe places for learning; Online spaces need regulation and monitoring with real accountability; Survivors should be protected, and perpetrators must face justice.”

Meanwhile,the organization called on government for adequate protection of vulnerable children, prosecute abductors, parents and religious organizations should fight against digital violence against girls in collaboration with tech companies.

“During these 16 Days of Activism, SOS Children’s Villages Nigeria stands firm: We will advocate. We will protect. We will tirelessly work until every child, especially those without parental care, can live, learn, and dream in safety”, he added.

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