By Esther Onyegbula

Amid rising concerns over the surging rate of child sexual abuse in Nigeria, hundreds of child rights advocates on Thursday stormed the streets of Lagos in a public sensitization walk, demanding immediate action from law enforcement and judicial authorities to end the alarming trend of child rape cases being quietly “settled” instead of prosecuted.

Legal practitioner and founder of Gnosis Health Initiative, Olumide Kayode Omosebi, led the advocates, calling on the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, to mandate all police divisions in the state to transfer every reported case of child sexual abuse to the Gender Unit of the State Command in Ikeja for full prosecution.

During the walk, Omosebi said: “The alarming rate of child sexual abuse has overtaken other forms of domestic and gender-based violence. Children, some as young as four, are being molested and sodomized without consequence. We have 11-year-olds getting pregnant, and these crimes are often brushed aside as family matters. We say no more settlements. Prosecute the offenders. Sentence them.”

Emphasizing that defilement carries a life imprisonment sentence under Nigerian law, Omosebi urged enforcement agencies to stop enabling the recycling of pedophiles in society.

Describing child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” enabled by systemic negligence from both the police and judiciary, former Vice-Chair of the Nigerian Bar Association (Lagos Branch), Abiye Tam-George, said: “When government agencies fail to treat child rape cases with urgency, they are aiding abusers. The trauma from rape robs a child of their future, leaving behind scars that affect self-esteem, behavior, and ambition. We demand swift action and responsibility from the judiciary, police, and even negligent parents.”

She also called on parents to play a more active role in protecting their children, suggesting mandatory parenting classes to improve child safety.

Underscoring the need for plain language in discussing the crime, legal practitioner and General Secretary of the African Women Lawyers Association, Oluwatoyin Taiwo-Ojo, said: “Let’s stop calling it ‘defilement.’ It is rape. And it is killing our children slowly. The Lagos State government may be trying, but more must be done. It’s time we say enough is enough. Our children should be given pens, not penises.”

Condemning the culture of families settling rape cases out of court, Taiwo-Ojo insisted that collective societal action could reduce the prevalence of abuse. “We must reject silence, secrecy, and settlements. These children deserve justice, and if we all take a stand, this cycle of abuse can be broken.”

The demonstrators called on community members, religious leaders, and institutions to stop shielding perpetrators and instead support survivors by reporting abuse and demanding justice.

The awareness walk, which began at the Lagos NBA Secretariat, moved to Ikeja Under Bridge and ended at the State Police Command. Organized by Gnosis Initiative in collaboration with Mum2Mum Empowerment Foundation, Stop the Abuse Against Women and Children, Child Protection Network, African Women Lawyers Association, Legal Aid, and other advocacy groups, the event drew widespread attention as legal professionals, activists, and parents united to end the scourge.