Lagos records 1,437 child abuse cases, over 5,700 protection interventions

By Adeola Ogunrinde

The Lagos State Government says it has intensified efforts to tackle child abuse, trafficking, neglect and abandonment, recording 1,437 child protection cases and carrying out more than 5,708 interventions across the state within the review period.

Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, disclosed this on Thursday during the 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held in Alausa, Ikeja, to mark the third year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.

Ogunlende said the interventions were part of the state government’s efforts to strengthen child protection systems and safeguard vulnerable children from abuse, exploitation, violence and neglect.

According to him, the ministry’s Child Protection Unit handled 1,437 reported cases involving child abuse, trafficking, abandonment, neglect and other welfare-related issues across Lagos during the period under review.

He added that the ministry carried out more than 5,708 child protection interventions, including rescue operations, investigations, counselling, legal support, rehabilitation, placement services and psychosocial assistance for affected children and families.

“A total of 520 cases were successfully concluded through various disposition pathways, reflecting the ministry’s commitment to ensuring meaningful outcomes and protection for vulnerable children,” Ogunlende said.

The commissioner highlighted some major rescue operations carried out by the ministry, including the rescue of two children allegedly abused by their mother after a viral video showed one of them being assaulted with wires, knives and other objects. He said the children were removed from the environment and placed in a government-approved home, while the mother was arrested and arraigned in court.

Ogunlende also disclosed that the ministry rescued a three-year-old child seen in a viral video drinking dirty water in a neglected condition, as well as two boys allegedly locked indoors for more than two months without adequate feeding or access to education. He said the Sanwo-Olu administration would continue to collaborate with schools, healthcare institutions, security agencies and community stakeholders to protect children’s rights and prosecute offenders involved in abuse, trafficking and neglect.