The plight of children in custodial institutions in Nigeria formed the core of the eighth (8th) Inaugural Lecture in the 2024/2025 academic session of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), which was delivered on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, by Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna.
Titled: “Caught in the Web: Rebuilding the Cradle”, the lecture sheds light on critical issues affecting the Child Justice system in Nigeria and called for urgent reforms with a view to protecting the rights and well-being of children within the justice system.
Evaluating A System That Fails Its Most Vulnerable
According to the Inaugural Lecturer, the phrase “Caught in the Web” serves as a powerful metaphor for the reality that many children face being ensnared in a system that violates their fundamental rights. She noted that, from arbitrary detentions, to inadequate legal representation, children in conflict with the law are often treated as criminals rather than individuals in need of care and rehabilitation.
Professor Nwanna disclosed that despite the existence of the Child Rights Act (CRA) of 2003, implementation remains weak. According to her findings, many children are detained in adult correctional facilities, exposed to physical and emotional abuse, and denied access to proper healthcare, education, and psychological support, conditions which does not only violate their basic rights but also contribute to the long-term marginalization of such individuals.
Beyond Child Justice: A Wider Human Rights Concern
While the focus remains on children within the justice system, Professor Nwanna averred that similar patterns of neglect and abuse extend to other vulnerable groups, including:
- People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV): Many continue to face social stigma and discrimination.
- Victims of Forced Evictions: Low-income communities are often displaced without due process, stripping them of their homes and livelihoods.
- Marginalized Populations: Individuals living in extreme poverty, including beggars and destitute persons, frequently experience unlawful detention and social exclusion.
She posited that addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that ensures justice, equity, and human dignity for all.
Rebuilding the Cradle: The Path to Reform
As a way out of the quagmire, the Professor of Child Justice and Corrections Social Work advocated the need to:
- Strengthen the political will to enforce child protection laws and human rights frameworks.
- Establish child-friendly structures within the justice system, including separate detention facilities for minors.
- Allocation of adequate funding to improve rehabilitation programmes and ensure proper legal representation for vulnerable individuals.
- Professionalization of social work within the justice system to provide specialized care and support for children in conflict with the law.
- Creation of special units within law enforcement agencies to handle child-related cases with sensitivity and expertise.
- Implementation of regulatory frameworks to safeguard the rights of marginalized populations and prevent discriminatory practices.
Professor Chinwe Nwanna solicited stronger collaboration among policymakers, legal practitioners, social workers, and the general public with a view to addressing these systemic challenges, which have, for decades, instigated the Child Justice System against the children it is meant to protect.
The Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola, OON, FAS, ably represented by Professor Bolanle Oboh, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Research), UNILAG, asserted that societies are ultimately measured not by how they treat the privileged but by how they protect the most vulnerable. She therefore called on the public to look beyond lauding the inaugural lecture delivered by Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna but also take collective actions to ensure that the principles of justice, equity, and human dignity remain at the core of every decision, ensuring a future where no child, or any vulnerable individual, is caught in the web of injustice.
Born on Wednesday, December 21, 1955 in Enugu State, Professor Chinwe Rosabelle Nwanna is a woman of many firsts: the pioneer female Professor of Social Work in the University of Lagos (UNILAG); the first female student and the third student to have a first class (Hons) in the Department of Sociology after 19 years of the Department’s inception; and the first PhD holder in the history of the Faculty of Social Sciences, UNILAG to be awarded the Best Ph.D. Thesis in the Humanities.
She was admitted into UNILAG where she obtained a Diploma in Social Development and Administration (SDA), Social Work, in 1983; BSc. in Sociology in 1986; Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) with particular reference to Social Policy in 1993; and Ph.D. in Sociology with a specialisation in Social Work in 2009.
In 1998, she joined the services of UNILAG as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences. She rose through the ranks to become Lecturer II in 2002; Lecturer I in 2007; Senior Lecturer in 2010; Associate Professor in 2016 and Professor of Child Justice and Corrections Social Work in 2019.
Author: Nike Ogunshakin
Photographer: Ayomide Oloyede
Article Editor: Gbenga Gbelee
