Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has declared that parents who keep their children out of school risk arrest and prosecution, describing the denial of education to any child as a criminal act.
The governor made the remarks on Wednesday during the 2026 Children’s Day celebration in Awka, where he unveiled plans to fully enforce the state’s zero-tolerance policy against out-of-school children.
Addressing children, parents and government officials at the event themed, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” Soludo said no child should be roaming the streets during school hours when the state already provides free education.
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“We will commence full enforcement. If we grab any child within school hours, we will criminalise it for the parents,” the governor said.
“We will arrest the parents and lock them up for a few days and insist the child goes to school. For me, it is criminal to deny any child education, especially now that we have free education.”
The governor spoke while responding to a six-point demand presented by the Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Victory Ekwunife.
According to him, the state government’s reforms place responsibility squarely on parents and guardians whose children are found hawking, begging or loitering during school hours.
“As part of our reforms, the punishment will lie with the parents. If a parent spends a few days with enforcement agencies, he or she will be compelled to send the child to school,” he added.
Soludo said Anambra currently records one of the lowest rates of out-of-school children in Nigeria and vowed to reduce the figure to zero.
Citing previous UNESCO statistics, the governor said the state’s out-of-school rate stood at 2.9 per cent before the introduction of the free education programme.
“Some states have over 60 per cent, but our target is to drive it to zero,” he said.
The governor also announced plans to establish a dedicated Juvenile Correctional Centre in the state to separate child offenders from adult detainees.
“Putting child offenders in the same cell with adults is not right. We need a separate facility for them,” he stated.
He further pledged to strengthen inclusive education for children living with disabilities and establish a toll-free support desk for abused children across the state.
Earlier at the event, Soludo delivered President Bola Tinubu’s Children’s Day message, stressing that the future of Nigeria depends largely on the decisions made for children today.
“Inclusion must remain the moral foundation of national development,” the governor said.
“Every Nigerian child deserves a sense of belonging regardless of background, gender or physical ability.”
Also speaking, Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare Esther Onyekesi praised the wife of the governor, Nonye Soludo, for supporting child welfare through her Healthy Living Initiative.
According to her, the initiative has improved nutrition and wellbeing among children across communities in the state.
The event featured march-pasts by schools, cultural performances and presentations by children’s groups from different parts of Anambra State.
