Child Protection in Nigeria's Digital Era: Socio-Legal Perspectives on Online Exploitation, and the Role of Social Work

The rapid growth in digital technology has open doors for children to access knowledge, information and social interaction. However, this poses a significant risk. Child protection in Nigeria’s digital era entails complex socio-legal challenges, especially online exploitation of children and exposure to harmful content becomes increasingly prevalent. This paper explores child protection in Nigeria’s digital era, through the socio-legal lens and the crucial role of social work. These perspectives underscore that online child protection is not solely a legal concern, but also a multidimensional issue involving social systems, platform governance, and frontline interventions. The discourse draws from Rights-based approach, Ecological systems theory, and Social learning theory (SLT). Despite Nigeria’s legal spine the Child Rights Act (2003), Cybercrimes Act (2024), Nigeria Data Protection Act (2023), and the National Child Online Protection Policy (2023). Several key challenges and barriers persist, these include stigma and underreporting of exploitation, digital divides limiting rural and low-income families’ safeguards, under-resourced social work systems, weak inter-agency coordination, and gaps in platform accountability. Social workers not only provide psychological support and advocacy for victims but also drive community sensitization, deliver trauma-informed case management, coordinate referrals with police and NAPTIP, and operationalize data-protection principles for children in schools and Educational technology (EdTech). However, scaling these functions requires full operationalization of the Nigerian Council for Social Work Act (2022) and continuous professional development. The paper concludes by recommending a strong collaboration between legal institutions social workers, educators and technology stakeholder to ensure safeguarding children online.