The regime of the right of the Nigerian child forms a part of the larger frame work of protection of the Nigerian citizens under the larger Nigerian legal system. The child is not only protected under the constitutionally entrenched fundamental human right in chapter 4 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, the Nigerian child enjoys special legal protection and coverage under the Child’s Right Act. The work gives an analysis of the evolution of the right of the child. Analyses the juvenile delinquency in Nigeria, appraises the juvenile justice system in Nigeria and captures the attitude of the government towards the welfare and right of the child and outlines the factors working against the realization of the right of the child. The work concludes with suggesting inter-alia that, if the rights of the Nigerian child are to be realized, there must be an end to corruption, an end to lack of political will to enforce the Child Rights Act and an end to the lack of national political cohesion. The work concludes by taking the position that, the interest of the Nigerian child is well protected under the current legal frame work of the Nigerian constitution, the Child’s Right Act and other Nigerian laws but the bane of the child’s development and protection is not a failure of statutory provisions but rather a failure of implementation.

The regime of the right of the Nigerian child forms a part of the larger frame work of protection of the Nigerian citizens under the larger Nigerian legal system. The child is not only protected under the constitutionally entrenched fundamental human right in chapter 4 of the 1999 constitution of...