Child Rights and the Legal Framework for Child Protection in Kano State: An Examination of the Child Rights Act

Child rights protection in Nigeria operates within a complex legal landscape shaped by the federal Child Rights Act 2003 and its variable adoption by state governments, with northern states generally hesitant to domesticate the Act due to perceived conflicts with Islamic personal law. Kano State in North West Nigeria has not enacted the Child Rights Act, creating a significant gap in the statutory protection framework for children. This study examines the legal framework for child protection in Kano State, assessing the adequacy of existing child welfare legislation, customary law provisions, and the Child Rights Act jurisprudence as applied through federal courts. A doctrinal methodology is employed, reviewing the Kano State Children and Young Persons Law, Islamic Family Law provisions operative in the state, the federal Child Rights Act 2003, and relevant judicial decisions from Kano courts and appellate courts. The study evaluates areas of overlap, conflict, and gap between these legal regimes with respect to child marriage, child labour, and juvenile justice. Available child rights literature from North West Nigeria identifies child marriage and Almajiri educational arrangements as the most critical child protection concerns. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provide the international normative framework. Recommendations address harmonisation of state and federal child protection law. Keywords: child rights, Child Rights Act, Kano State, child protection, North West Nigeria.