Lagos Cautions Influencers on Legal Risks of Using Minors in Content

Lagos Cautions Influencers on Legal Risks of Using Minors in Content
Officials stressed that children are a particularly vulnerable group
The agencies called on digital content creators to adopt responsible practices

The Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, in collaboration with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), has urged content creators, skit makers, influencers and digital media producers to prioritise the protection of children’s rights in both online and offline content.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that the state government acknowledged that the rapid growth of digital platforms has opened up new opportunities for creativity, storytelling and economic empowerment. However, it warned that the same platforms have also raised serious concerns about how children are portrayed and involved in content that may compromise their dignity, safety and overall wellbeing.

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Officials stressed that children are a particularly vulnerable group and must be shielded from exposure to abuse, exploitation and inappropriate situations, whether such exposure is deliberate or unintended.

Speaking on the issue, the Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, cautioned that involving minors in harmful or inappropriate content carries serious ethical and legal consequences.

“Involving minors in content that depicts abuse, sexual themes, harmful stereotypes or unsafe scenarios is not only unethical but also contrary to existing laws designed to protect children,” she said.

Lagos Cautions Influencers on Legal Risks of Using Minors in Content

Vivour-Adeniyi urged content producers to consider the long-term psychological, emotional and social impact such portrayals could have on children, as well as the legal responsibilities borne by adults who create, distribute or monetise such material.

She further warned that Nigerian law criminalises the creation, distribution or commercial exploitation of content that sexualises, abuses or endangers minors.

“These acts violate Section 25(1) of the Child’s Rights Law of Lagos State (2015), which prohibits the exploitative labour of a child, as well as Section 26, which outlaws child abuse. They also contravene Sections 135–139 and 141 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State (2015), which address sexual offences against children,” she stated.

The agencies called on digital content creators to adopt responsible practices that uphold children’s rights and ensure that creative expression does not come at the expense of child safety and protection.