Nigeria currently holds the lowest age of criminal responsibility in Africa, a status that has raised concerns among legal experts, child rights advocates, and international organizations. Under Nigerian law, only children under the age of seven are considered criminally irresponsible, a threshold that many argue fails to account for the developmental stage and understanding of minors.
Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, a prominent human rights advocate and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, has voiced strong concerns over this policy. According to Prof. Ezeilo, Nigeria’s age of criminal responsibility does not reflect a humane or just approach to juvenile justice. She highlighted that criminalizing children as young as seven disregards the psychological, emotional, and cognitive development stages unique to this age group.
“This threshold is a violation of children’s rights and fails to align with international standards, which suggest higher ages of criminal responsibility to ensure that minors are treated appropriately,” said Prof. Ezeilo. She noted that countries globally have shifted towards protecting young people by setting more reasonable ages for criminal responsibility, usually between 12 and 16 years, as advocated by international bodies like the United Nations.
Nigeria’s juvenile justice framework has long faced criticism for being outdated and inconsistent with child rights frameworks. While the Child Rights Act of 2003 aimed to align with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, it has yet to be adopted uniformly across Nigeria’s 36 states. Prof. Ezeilo emphasized that low age thresholds and the lack of a clear juvenile justice system expose young children to punitive measures, often placing them in environments that hinder, rather than help, their development.
Advocates are calling on the Nigerian government to raise the age of criminal responsibility to at least 12 years, in line with international recommendations. They argue that such reform would promote a more rehabilitative approach to juvenile justice, encouraging reformative measures instead of exposing young children to harsh penalties that can have lasting consequences on their lives.
This growing push for reform highlights the need for Nigeria to adopt a more child-centric approach in its legal system.