Nigeria

30.3% of girls in Nigeria marry or enter a union before age 18 and 12.3% marry before age15.

1.6% of boys in Nigeria marry before age 18.

Child marriage is most common in the North West and North East of Nigeria, where 52% and 51.1% of women aged 20-24 were married before their 18th birthday.

The state of Bauchi has the highest rate, 73.8% of women aged 20-24 who were first married before the age of 18, and are in polygynous unions and 49.2% of women in this state have spouses who are older by at least 10 years.

Child marriage is particularly common among Nigeria’s poorest, rural households and the Hausa ethnic group.

A 2017 World Bank/ICRW study estimated that ending child marriage could generate Nigeria an additional USD7.6 billion in earnings and productivity.

Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys.

In Nigeria, child marriage is also exacerbated by:

● Poverty: Girls are frequently married off as a way to lessen the economic burden for their families. In Nigeria, 58% of girls from the poorest backgrounds are married before the age of 18, compared to 4% of girls from the wealthiest background.

● Level of education: 71% of Nigerian women with no formal education were married before 18, compared to 13% who had completed higher education. Further education is almost impossible for some girls, who have little choice but to depend on their husbands for the rest of their lives.

● Political and economic ties: Some girls are married off by their parents to enhance political and social alliances with rich families or business partners and to improve their economic status.

● Harmful practices: “Prepubescent” marriage is very common in Nigeria. A girl is first married, and the man is expected not to touch her until she reaches puberty. Some Nigerian men reportedly prefer to marry children. Parents marry off their daughters at a very early age to ensure they marry as virgins and thereby retain the family honour. Girls are not accepted as equal partners within marriages, which contributes to a sense of low self-worth.

● Religion: Religion has been found to be a supportive frame for persistent cultural traditions that justify child marriage in Nigeria. There are strict religious taboos regarding female sexuality and purity, and preachers argue that under Islamic doctrines girls’ maturity for marriage is defined by physical appearance and menstruation. Some of the highest rates of child marriage are found in Sharia-legislated Kano State, where child marriages are justified on religious and traditional grounds with age of adulthood being determined by puberty. Similarly, in Christian jurisdiction, Imo State, girls’ are forced to marry if they have a child out of wedlock as it is viewed as dishonourable by the community.

● COVID-19: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on some of the poorest households and has exacerbated the vulnerability of children. The pandemic exposed vulnerable families to loss of financial income pushing them further into poverty and exclusion. School closures has exposed the vulnerability of Fulani girls in Nigeria, many of them being married off during the pandemic.

Humanitarian settings can encompass a wide range of situations before, during and after natural disasters, conflicts and epidemics. They exacerbate poverty, insecurity, and lack of access to services such as education, factors which all drive child marriage. While gender inequality is a root cause of child marriage in both stable and crisis contexts, often in times of crisis, families see child marriage as a way to cope with greater economic hardship and to protect girls from increased violence.

For 13 years, conflict caused by Boko Haram, a militant group, in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, Nigeria’s north-east BAY states, has led to one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. As of February 2023, there are approximately 8.3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and approximately 3.6 million people who are internally displaced. Women and girls remain the most vulnerable, exposed to sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking and survival sex. Conflict coupled with climate change, heavy rains, flooding, drought and cholera outbreak has exacerbated the humanitarian situation.

Nigeria has in recent years been gripped by escalating violence that has spread across some West and Central African countries. Clashes between government forces and armed groups linked to ISIL and al-Qaeda, including Boko Haram (a jihadist terrorist organisation based in North-eastern Nigeria), compromised the education and health systems, and forced thousands to flee their homes. This has led to increased rates of school dropouts and violence against women and girls, including child marriage. It is estimated that 3.4 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance, unaccompanied or separated as a result of the conflict, further increasing their vulnerability to exploitation and child marriage.

● Armed conflict and violence against girls: Ongoing instability and conflict continue to impact on the prevalence of child marriage. The abduction of 276 Chibok girls in 2014 was just one instance of a disturbing tactic used by Boko Haram where child marriage is used as a weapon of war. Christian and Muslim girls have been kidnapped and married off by Boko Haram in an attempt to dismantle communities and attract male recruits who are awarded “wives” if they fight. Some parents have been killed for refusing to marry off their daughters. In the context of Boko Haram violence, the practice of child marriage has also acquired further justification as a strategy for protecting girls from kidnapping, sexual assault and unwanted out-of-wedlock pregnancies.

Nigeria has committed to eliminate child, early and forced marriage by 2030 in line with target 5.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The government submitted a Voluntary National Review at the 2020 High Level Political Forum. This report highlighted the work that is being undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Development (FMWASD) in areas such as gender-based violence, intimate partner violence and child marriage. The FMWASD have been leading national campaigns to uphold constitutional provisions to prohibit child marriage and partnered with UN Women to target community elders to end harmful practices. The report acknowledged that there has been an improvement on two indicators: (1) gender-based violence and (2) child marriage before the age of 15.

During its Voluntary National Review at the 2017 High Level Political Forum, the government noted that most states in the North of the country manage a cash transfer programme aimed at reducing girls’ school dropout rates due to early marriage.

Nigeria has not submitted a Voluntary National Review in any High Level Political Forum since 2020.

Nigeria co-sponsored the 2018 and 2020 UN General Assembly resolutions on child, early and forced marriage. Nigeria also signed a joint statement at the 2014 Human Rights Council calling for a resolution on child marriage.

Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child has interpreted to recommend the establishment of a minimum age of marriage of 18, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985, which obligates states to ensure free and full consent to marriage.

In 2001 Nigeria ratified the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, including Article 21 regarding the prohibition of child marriage. In 2004 Nigeria ratified the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, including Article 6 which sets the minimum age for marriage as 18.

In 2013, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about the extremely high rate of child marriage among girls in Northern states. It urged the government to undertake awareness-raising programmes on the negative implications of child marriage among parents, state parliamentarians and traditional and religious leaders.

In 2017, the CEDAW Committee expressed concerns about the prevalence of child marriage in Nigeria. The Committee recommended Nigeria to:

● Take effective measures to prohibit and eliminate child marriage, including through awareness-raising efforts and by prosecuting and punishing perpetrators and accomplices;

● Ensure that the Child Rights Act of 2003, which sets the legal age of marriage at 18 years for both women and men, is applied throughout the country;

● Amend the sections of the Constitution and the Criminal Code which legitimise child marriage.

The CEDAW Committee also expressed concerns about the significant number of girls who were abducted by Boko Haram from Chibok and Damasak in Borno State in April and November 2014, respectively, who have not been rescued and continue to be subjected to rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage and impregnation by insurgents.

During its 2024 Universal Periodic Review, the Human Rights Council recommended that Nigeria continue efforts to eliminate FGM/C, trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence and child marriage.

During its 2018 Universal Periodic Review, Nigeria agreed to review recommendations to intensify actions to end child marriage, including by ensuring that the 2017–2021 National Strategy to End Child Marriage and the Child Rights Act are fully implemented in all states.

During its 2013 Universal Periodic Review, Nigeria supported recommendations to address child marriage by putting in place legislation clarifying the legal age for marriage.

In 2015, Commonwealth countries (including Nigeria) adopted the Kigali Declaration, which sets out a framework for action by National Human Rights Institutions on child marriage.

In 2016, Nigeria launched the African Union Campaign to End Child Marriage in Africa.

As a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in 2017 Nigeria adopted the Strategic Framework for Strengthening National Child Protection Systems under which protecting children from marriage is a priority. In June 2019, the ECOWAS Heads of State endorsed the ECOWAS Child Policy and Strategic Action Plan and the 2019-2030 Roadmap on prevention and response to child marriage.

In addition, in July 2019, the ECOWAS First Ladies signed “The Niamey Declaration: Call to End Child Marriage and to promote the Education and empowerment of Girls”, calling Member States to initiate legislative, institutional and budgetary reforms to implement the Roadmap.

In 2019, at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, Nigeria committed to achieve zero gender-based violence and harmful practices against women, girls and youth and implement the National Strategic Plan to end Child Marriage and the Act on Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) at all levels.

Nigeria is one of the countries where the Spotlight Initiative (a global, multi-year partnership between European Union and United Nations) is supporting efforts to end all forms of sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls. Between 2019 and 2020, the European Union invested $35 million USD. The funds were distributed as follows:

Policy: Identifying gaps and strengthening legal and policy frameworks at both federal and state levels by advocating and increasing capacity of key stakeholders such as parliamentarians, justice system and government agencies. Initiative provided support to Human rights organizations to monitor and report on violence against women and girls, HIV and sexual and reproductive health rights.

Institution: Prevention and response on sexual and gender-based violence, harmful practices and sexual and reproductive health rights remain weak at community, state and federal levels. Initiative built capacities to ensure coordination between key actors and support institutions to plan, fund and deliver evidence-based programmes.

Prevention: Change social norms and behaviours at individual, community and family levels by advocating with religious and political leaders to engage them as positive influences of non-violence.

Data: Strengthen and modernize the collection, analysis and usage of data relating to violence against women, sexual and reproductive rights and harmful practices by building capacity the capacity of the national statistics bureau and health facilities. Initiative used data to inform laws and policies.

Women’s movement and civil society: Strengthen capacity of women’s human rights groups to enhance their capacity for public engagement, programme implementation and monitoring to address violence against women.

Nigeria is one of the countries where the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)/DREAMS Initiative is working to reduce rates of HIV among adolescent girls and young women.

Nigeria is a pathfinder country for the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and partner country of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

In 2022, Kano State Assembly, voted to adopt a Child Protection Bill guaranteeing girls adequate protection and recognizing that 18 years as the age of majority set out in both African and international law. However, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has yet to assent to it.

In November 2020, the Katsina State House Assembly passed the Child Protection Bill which demonstrates commitment and will towards ending child marriage.

In 2016 the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development launched a National Strategy to End Child Marriage 2016-2021. The strategy’s vision is to reduce child marriage by 40% by 2020 and end the practice entirely by 2030. The strategy aims to, among others, change harmful cultural norms and support community programs that increase access to girls' education and provide young women with economic opportunities. This Strategy has been evaluated

However, the National Strategy has not been costed nor broken down into an actionable work-plan. It appears that limited progress has been made since its launch.

A Technical Working Group on Ending Child Marriage was formed at the end of 2015. The Group is composed of over 30 members, including UN agencies and Girls Not Brides members, and aims to raise awareness, encourage behaviour change and monitor and evaluate laws and policies.

At the Conference on the Social Protection of the Girl Child organised by ActionAid Nigeria in 2016, the Emir of Kano announced he would bring in renowned Islamic Clerics from all over the world to discuss this issue at an international conference.

There are several different laws related to the minimum legal age of marriage in Nigeria.

Under the Marriage Act 1990 the minimum legal age of marriage 21 years for girls and boys, although they are able to marry before this with written consent from a parent or guardian.

Under the Child Rights Act 2003, the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 years. However, out of 36 Nigerian States, there were still 12 (11 of which are located in the north of the country) that have not included the Child's Rights Act 2003 in their internal legislation. It follows that in those States local laws are applied, most of which are Islamic Law provisions, and the minimum age of marriage in some of those States is as low as 12 years.

In 2013, the government stated that efforts have been made to sensitise states about the Child Rights Act in order to improve enforcement.

There is also a lack of harmonisation between the Child Rights Act 2003 which sets 18 years as the minimum age of marriage and the Sexual Offences Bill 2015 which sets the minimum age of sexual consent at 11 years.