TODAY marks World International Day for the Elimination of Child Labour. Themed, “Progress is clear, but there’s more to do: Let’s speed up efforts!”, UNESCO, among other advocates, have highlighted overlooked stories of child labour, drawing attention to the hidden struggles faced by vulnerable children across the country.
When Margaret Joshua’s parents living in Kebbi State agreed to send their daughter to Plateau as a domestic servant in 2021, fleeing from insecurity in her community, they were reassured by promises of enrolling her in a good school. They had no idea the decision would mark the beginning of a life-altering ordeal for their child.
On the cold night of November 2022, Nneamaka Nwachuku, Margaret’s guardian started confronting her with the claims that she caught her masturbating and forced her to sit in a container of hot water, which was said to have burned her buttocks.
Margaret ran out of the house in pains and didn’t come back until some neighbours saw her almost 24 hours later and took her to the Police station. Sadly, she was said to have given up the ghost hours after she was taken to the hospital on November 14, 2022.
Margaret’s case reflects the story of many other children in Nigeria that are trapped in child labour, as contained in data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2024.
The data established that 39.2 per cent of Nigerian children between 5-17 years were in forced labour.
According to NBS, child labour is endemic in Nigeria, with children aged five to 14 years accounting for 39.7 per cent of the incidences, while those aged 15 and 17 years accounted for 37.3 per of minors in forced labour.
The agency noted that the prevalence of child labour was higher in rural areas, where 44.8 per cent of children were engaged in the activity compared to 30.0 per cent in urban areas.
Call for concerted action
The United Nations Children’s Fund, in a statement , said that child labour still affects around 138 million children globally, with 54 million of them involved in dangerous occupations.
“In 2024, nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour. Though progress has been made, millions are still being denied their right to learn, play and simply be children. UNICEF and is urging governments to take action.”
In commemoration of the 2025 World Day Against Child Labour, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation,(UNESCO) President of Read and Earn Federation, Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan have called for a unified national and global action to end child labour.
He said the coincidence of celebration of World Day Against Child Labour with Nigeria’s Democracy Day on the same day, was indeed instructive and symbolic, saying both had same theme of rights and protection of the peoples right.
According to him, genuine democracy must prioritise the protection and empowerment of children.
“Today is more than symbolic, it is a call to action. Democracy must not only be about elections and institutions, it must protect the rights, dignity, and future of our children,” Oranmiyan said.
Similarly, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, called for concerted and concrete action against child labour, as Nigeria joins the global community to mark the World Day Against Child Labour.
“June 12 presents a critical opportunity to remember the plight of underaged children trapped in hazardous and exploitative labour conditions. Despite Nigeria’s ratification of key international conventions—including ILO Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age and Convention number 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour—millions of Nigerian children continue to engage in dangerous work, sacrificing their health, education, and future potential.
“Child labour not only robs children of their childhood, it erodes the foundation of national development. While we have made commendable progress, we must accelerate our efforts.
“We need to move from intention to action through stronger enforcement, greater investment in education, and robust support systems for vulnerable families.”
The Plateau State Coordinator and Director Legal, National Human Rights Commission, Kiyenpiya Mafuyai, recalled the case of an 8-year-old boy who was living with his grandfather’s sister that was subjecting him to physical abuse, despite making him work above his age.
“On this fateful day, she was beating him, neighbours intervened with her to stop but she didn’t and he eventually slumped,” Mafuyai said.
She explained that the boy was rushed to the hospital and his guardian claimed it was a fever but when he was undressed, there were so many marks of physical beating that the doctor suspected there might be internal bleeding.
“As they put him in a scan to check for internal injuries, he went unconscious and died. The incident was reported to the commission by the doctors and the commission ensured that she was arrested and is presently being prosecuted,” she revealed.
Similarly, in April 2024, an 8-year-old boy who was brought from Akwa Ibom State by his aunty to live with guardians in Jos, was reported to the commission.
“These guardians refused to send him to school and he was being maltreated. He was not given food and was sent to fetch water at night,” the coordinator said, adding that the female guardian beat the boy on every slightest provocation.
“Anonymous neighbours reported the matter to the commission. We invited the police to be involved and arrested the suspects who were later granted bail.-
The Coordinator said that the Plateau State office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has handled sixteen cases of child labour from 2024 to date.
Mafuyai said that the most common types of child labour the commission has encountered in the state include, domestic servitude, child labour in mining, hawking and begging for alms.
“You find children employed as domestic servants in homes, sometimes it is not even employment, they are not being paid, their parents are often sent the money, or in some instances are not even sent the money at all,” she said.
Mafuyai said that the World Day for the Elimination of Child Labour is significant for the humanitarian workers in the front lines to create awareness and amplify the voices of children.
“Many people don’t realise that what they have sent their children into is child labour. Many families that have children as domestic servants don’t realise that what they are doing is exploitation of these children,” she said.
She added that the exploitation of children through labour is punishable by law in Nigeria.
Mafuyai cited that Section 28 of the Child Rights Act 2003, makes it punishable to exploit children through labour, even as domestic help.
“The sanction for this crime is imprisonment for a term of five years, a fine of 50,000 or both. Section 30 of the Act also prohibits children begging for alms, or hawking.
“The Child Rights Act has been adopted as law in 25 states so far and Plateau enacted the law in 2005,” she added.
Meanwhile, the UNESCO leader also warned that the persistence of child labour undermined Nigeria’s development goals and the global commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 8.7, which targeted the elimination of child labour in all its forms.
Oranmiyan called for stronger political will while also urging President Bola Tinubu to intensify efforts under the “Renewed Hope” agenda by aligning national policies with the United Nations framework for sustainable development.
“Ending child labour is not merely a policy issue, it is a moral and democratic responsibility.
“We must invest in stronger educational systems, provide economic support for vulnerable families, and ensure every child is safe from exploitation,” he said.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.