The Lagos State Government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have renewed calls for stronger child protection within the justice system.
Both institutions trained critical stakeholders on scaling up the state’s Diversion Programme for children in conflict with the law.
The three-day workshop had the theme: “Scale-up of Legal Aid for Children in Conflict with the Law and the Diversion Programme.”
It focused on correcting systemic gaps that expose vulnerable children to harmful detention practices and denying them adequate legal support.
Director of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Mrs. O. Adesomoju, said the training speaks directly to the urgent need to shield children from the damaging impacts of adult-oriented justice processes.
She said: “Children in conflict with the law remain among the most vulnerable in our society.
“Many come from backgrounds defined by poverty, trauma, neglect, or unstable family structures.
When the adult justice system becomes their first point of contact, it often deepens, rather than resolves, their challenges.”
Adesomoju emphasised that protecting children requires deliberate reforms, strengthened institutions, and a shift from punishment to rehabilitation.
She noted that UNICEF and the Lagos State Government share a commitment to expanding child-friendly justice and ensuring every child has access to legal representation.
“Every child deserves to be heard, understood, and supported,” she said.
She highlighted diversion as a critical protection tool, offering community-based solutions instead of detention and support services instead of lifelong stigma.
She explained: “Diversion is not an excuse for wrongdoing. It is an acknowledgement that criminalising childhood behaviour usually does more harm than good.
“When we divert a child, we give them the chance to learn, grow, and make amends without carrying a permanent criminal record.”
UNICEF Child Protection Specialist, Dennis Onoise, underscored the gravity of the problem.
He recalled that a 2016 UNICEF survey across six states found Lagos had the highest number of children in detention, some held for years alongside adults.
“Children cannot be allowed to spend two or three years in detention with adults who are strangers to them. It is unsafe and unacceptable,” he said.
The findings prompted UNICEF and Lagos State to develop the Diversion Programme and community rehabilitation centres, currently active in Mushin Local Government and Ojuwoye LCDA.
Over 200 children have already been rehabilitated and reintegrated through these centres.
Onoise urged more local governments to adopt the programme, stressing that protecting children from harmful detention is not only a legal obligation but a moral one.
