The reported flogging and torturing of street children in Calabar, Cross River State the other day, in the guise of sanitizing the streets, is condemnable. Certainly it is a most inappropriate way to treat the problem of street urchins, an issue that requires a holistic approach into failed parenting, lack of opportunities and failure of government.
On March 19, 2026, officials of the Calabar Urban Development Authority reportedly flogged and tortured street children in Calabar. The disturbing episode points to untruthfulness about why children end up on the streets. It indicates a government that has failed in its duty of accountability. With no viable offerings on child protection, education, rehabilitation, and long-term social planning, it unleashes brute force on hapless youngsters.
The children were reportedly seen “tied, lying on the ground and crying, while the officials flogged them with machetes.” Civil society groups that stepped in to secure their release were allegedly assaulted. The arrest amounts to barbarism. In societies that subscribe to decency and sanity, law enforcement officers do not make arrests without due process. Neither do they mete out corporal punishment, degrading treatment, nor prefer violence over policies promoting humaneness and rationality.
No child emerges from the womb muttering a desire to end up on the streets of Lagos, Kano, or Calabar. They are pushed there by poverty and broken homes. Treating them like offenders rather than as children in need of help simply worsens the situation. Childhood poverty is not a crime. A society that thinks otherwise risks throwing away its future and turning a problem it could have managed into a cycle of exclusion and resentment.
Section 17(1)(b) of the Constitution affirms the sanctity of human dignity and requires the direction of policies towards ensuring that every citizen is treated with respect. The Child Rights Act, adopted in many states, including Cross River in 2009, prohibits violence against children and sets out how a child in conflict with the law or in need of care must be handled, with welfare and due process at the centre. Flogging children with machetes or tying them to the ground and subjecting them to degrading treatment is an abuse of power and a breach of the state’s duty.
Children arrive on the streets following years of subjection to societal dysfunction. When government agencies mobilise task forces to “clear” streets, they chase symptoms and ignore the root. The state should first have sought answers to the hard questions of why those children were on the streets, decades after successive administrations have budgeted billions of naira in yearly appropriations. Why were they not in classrooms or with their parents at home? Relevant authorities should have undertaken intelligent debate on finding sustainable solutions rather than putting up a display of sheer brawn.
The condemnation by the wife of the state governor and the expression of commitment to pursue justice are commendable. However, the seriousness of the allegation demands more than dismay vented in the media. Legal instruments must be wielded to stop such incidences of impunity. Civil remedies should be explored, including actions against the relevant authorities or personnel for breach of fundamental rights and child abuse. A proper, independent investigation should establish the facts, name the officials culpable, and lead to diligent prosecution.
Yet, accountability will only suffice for the aftermath. A lasting response to the contradiction is the replacement of force with a system that demonstrates humanity. Steps should be taken to return street children to the embrace of a caring society through the provision of basic education, vocational training, and reintegration with their families, where that is possible. Where families cannot or will not take them, the state must explore community-based alternatives.
Parents and guardians bear the first duty of care. However, parental responsibility cannot stand in for state duty. There must be synergy on both sides. Where poverty, displacement, or other barriers weaken a family’s capacity, the state must step in with support, not punishment. A balanced framework recognises that families need help to do their part and that any move against neglect must come with access to services that make doing the right thing possible.
It is a fact that Nigeria’s population has grown without a corresponding expansion in schools, healthcare, housing, and jobs. This has put a strain on public services and narrowed opportunities. Most states across the federation still struggle with overcrowded classrooms, insufficient teachers, and poor social services. Under such circumstances, vulnerable children usually become the first line of victims. The nation needs a credible population policy, one that promotes informed family planning and brings demographic trends in line with the availability of resources.
Religious organisations and non-governmental agencies have a lot more work to do in breaking the shackles of long-held traditions and customs that are out of sync with contemporary socioeconomic realities. Family planning is neither a sin nor a taboo. It is the definition of what it means to be responsible.
Across the world, especially in the West, countries have shown what is possible when child welfare is prioritised. Almost every child has access to basic education and primary healthcare. Also, at-risk families have the opportunity to avail themselves of social programmes before things fall apart. The result is a system that stops hardship before it becomes full-fledged abandonment. Where a state invests early, there is less likelihood that someday, its law enforcers would storm the streets, brutalising children in a so-called clean-up operation. Ministries handling education, women’s affairs, and social welfare should run a statewide audit of out-of-school and street children, set up referral routes from the streets to services, and send out outreach teams trained in child protection. States should also make budgets with specific targets for enrollment, retention, and reintegration.
Every Nigerian child has a right to dignity, protection, and the chance to grow into a productive adult. When the state fails to provide that and then turns its violence on the very children it has failed, it adds cruelty to injustice. The Calabar incident should mark a turning point in the nation’s attitude towards childcare and reaffirm the worth of every child.
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