Nigeria: Faith-Led Awareness Session Addresses Child Marriage

On 25 January 2026, an awareness meeting was held at COCIN LCC Bukuru in Gyel, Nigeria, led by Longji Moses Dashal, Project Manager at the West African Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases (WAC-EID).

The meeting focused on starting open and inclusive discussions about ending child marriage, with the involvement of faith leaders. Faith leaders play an important role in influencing attitudes and social norms, particularly around long-standing cultural practices such as child marriage (Wilkinson et al., 2024).

Because faith leadership can support long-term behavioural change within communities, this engagement was an important step in local prevention efforts. A total of 65 adolescents (average age 15) took part, supported by two facilitators.

The session opened with an introduction to the Child Marriage Free World (CMFW) campaign. To start the discussion, participants were asked a guiding question:

 “What are the dangers of getting married early?”

This question helped the four faith teachers facilitating the session steer the conversation in a focused and practical direction. The discussion was designed to be participatory, allowing adolescents to share their views while exploring the causes and consequences of child marriage within their social, cultural, economic, and educational contexts.

Facilitators and participants discussed how child marriage can affect both physical and mental health, interrupt education, and limit future opportunities. The group also highlighted that child marriage disproportionately affects girls. Emphasis was placed on the importance of allowing young people to prioritise their education, personal development, and decision-making before considering marriage.

At the end of the session, eight participants chose to make a pledge to help end child marriage. While this is an encouraging start, it also shows that continued awareness and engagement are needed to help more young people understand the risks and long-term impact of child marriage.

People, Faith and the Nigerian State

• Nigeria ratified the UNCRC on April 19, 1991. 

• Child Rights Act (2003) prohibits marriages before the age of 18 years, even with parental consent. However, 12 states do not abide by it in their internal legislation. 

• Early marriages cause early pregnancies, which have been a cause of death in Nigeria (UNFPA, n.a.)

• Young girls drop out of school after marriage to focus on household chores and responsibilities in the country (Nigerian Observer, 2015).

• It is estimated by Fang et.al.(2024) that when a girl child gets married in Nigeria, her probability of getting back to school reduces by more than 20%.  Hence, women who are married as children in Nigeria earn 12% lower compared to those who were not married as children. 

• Faith leaders are considered drivers of change in the journey to end child marriage (Amzat, 2020)

• The Center for Interfaith Action (2012) recommends that faith leaders with the right kind of understanding are changemakers in the context of ending child marriage.