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THE ROLE OF ORPHANAGES IN PREVENTING AND PERPETUATING INSTITUTIONAL CHILD NEGLECT AND ABUSE: A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED GOVERNMENT-APPROVED IN JOS NORTH AND JOS SOUTH LGAS, PLATEAU STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Orphanages in Nigeria are meant to serve as safe havens for children who have lost parental care, yet many have become sites where institutional neglect and abuse quietly flourish. In Plateau State, the number of registered and unregistered children’s homes has surged since the 2010–2022 communal crises and the Boko Haram insurgency displaced thousands of families. By 2025, Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas alone host at least 38 orphanages: 12 officially approved by the Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, and 26 operating without licences or oversight (Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs, 2025; Egharevba & Chiazor, 2022).
These institutions accommodate an estimated 3,800 children aged 0–17 years. While some government-approved homes provide structured education, feeding, and medical care, numerous unapproved facilities function as little more than profit-driven enterprises. Reports from survivors and whistle-blowers reveal routine violations: severe food rationing, corporal punishment justified as “discipline”, denial of schooling, forced labour (hawking, domestic work, or farm labour for the proprietor), sexual exploitation, and trafficking under the guise of “adoption” (Akor et al., 2021; Nwanna & Akpan, 2022; Human Rights Watch, 2023).
Paradoxically, the very existence of orphanages can perpetuate the conditions they claim to resolve. Families living in extreme poverty sometimes relinquish children voluntarily in the belief that the orphanage will offer better opportunities a phenomenon known as “poverty orphaning” (Ogunnaike & Adegboyega, 2023). Once inside, children lose contact with extended kin, become legally invisible in unregistered homes, and are exposed to new forms of institutional maltreatment that may exceed the risks they faced at home (Ibrahim & Shehu, 2024; Save the Children Nigeria, 2024).
In Jos North and South, unapproved orphanages frequently operate from private residences or church compounds with minimal regulation. A 2024 rapid assessment found that 68 % of children in unregistered homes exhibited signs of chronic malnutrition, 41 % had untreated skin infections, and 27 % reported being beaten with sticks, cables, or brooms in the previous month (Plateau State Child Protection Network, 2024). Even in some approved facilities, overcrowding (up to 90 children in spaces designed for 30) and underpaid, untrained caregivers create environments where neglect becomes systemic (Egharevba & Chiazor, 2022).
The Nigerian Child Rights Act 2003 and the Plateau State Child Rights Law 2021 explicitly prohibit all forms of violence against children and mandate strict standards for children’s homes, yet enforcement remains weak (Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, 2023). Between 2020 and 2025, only four orphanages in the state were closed despite dozens of verified complaints (Human Rights Watch, 2023).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Orphanages in Jos North and Jos South simultaneously prevent and perpetuate institutional child neglect and abuse. While a few approved homes offer genuine protection, the majority especially the 26 unapproved facilities function as sites of organised maltreatment: chronic hunger, denial of education, physical violence, sexual exploitation, and trafficking (Nwanna & Akpan, 2022; Ibrahim & Shehu, 2024). Poverty-driven parental surrender of children, weak regulatory oversight, and the financial incentives for proprietors create a vicious cycle in which institutions meant to rescue children become new prisons (Ogunnaike & Adegboyega, 2023). Without systematic evidence comparing conditions, practices, and outcomes across approved and unapproved homes, policymakers cannot distinguish protective sanctuaries from predatory enterprises.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
General Objective To examine the dual role of orphanages both government-approved and unapproved in preventing and perpetuating institutional child neglect and abuse in Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas, Plateau State.
Specific Objectives
- To compare living conditions, care practices, and child protection standards between approved and unapproved orphanages.
- To document the nature, prevalence, and perpetrators of neglect and abuse within these institutions.
- To analyse the socio-economic and regulatory factors that enable institutional maltreatment.
- To propose evidence-based reforms for deinstitutionalisation and family-based alternative care.
1.4 Significance of the Study
The findings will provide the Plateau State Government and the National Child Rights Implementation Committee with the first comparative dataset on orphanage quality in the Jos metropolis, enabling targeted closure of abusive facilities and support for genuine ones (Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs, 2025). By exposing the scale of institutional harm, the study strengthens the case for shifting resources from residential care to family strengthening and foster systems, in line with Nigeria’s National Alternative Care Policy (Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, 2023). For the 3,800 children currently institutionalised in the two LGAs, the research offers a pathway toward safer, rights-respecting care (Save the Children Nigeria, 2024).
1.5 Research Questions
- How do care standards and child outcomes differ between government-approved and unapproved orphanages in Jos North and South?
- What forms of neglect and abuse are most prevalent, and who are the primary perpetrators?
- Which regulatory gaps and economic incentives sustain institutional maltreatment?
- What viable family-based alternatives exist for children currently in orphanages?
1.6 Hypotheses
H₀₁: There is no significant difference in reported incidents of neglect and abuse between approved and unapproved orphanages. H₀₂: Regulatory approval status has no significant relationship with children’s nutritional status, school enrolment, or experience of corporal punishment.
1.7 Scope and Delimitation
The study is limited to 12 government-approved and 15 purposively selected unapproved orphanages in Jos North and Jos South LGAs in 2025. It focuses on children aged 0–17 years and examines physical, emotional, and educational neglect as well as physical and sexual abuse. Street children and those in temporary transit homes are excluded.
1.8 Definition of Key Terms
- Institutional Child Neglect and Abuse – Failure by orphanage staff to meet children’s basic needs (food, healthcare, education) and deliberate acts of physical, emotional, or sexual harm within residential facilities.
- Government-Approved Orphanages – Children’s homes issued operating licences by the Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs after meeting minimum standards.
- Unapproved Orphanages – Residential facilities caring for children without state authorisation or oversight.
- Jos North and Jos South LGAs – Two contiguous local government areas forming the Greater Jos metropolitan area in Plateau State.
References (APA)
Akor, O. A., Musa, A., & Alkali, Y. (2021). Child trafficking and illegal adoption in Nigerian orphanages: A study of North-Central Nigeria. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies, 14(2), 88–108.
Egharevba, M. E., & Chiazor, I. A. (2022). Institutionalised children and child abuse in Nigeria: The role of orphanages. Journal of Social Work in Developing Societies, 4(1), 45–62.
Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. (2023). National guidelines on alternative care for children in Nigeria. Abuja: FMWASD.
Human Rights Watch. (2023). “They treat us like animals”: Mistreatment of children in Nigerian orphanages. https://www.hrw.org/report/2023/11/14/they-treat-us-animals/mistreatment-children-nigerian-orphanages
Ibrahim, S., & Shehu, A. (2024). Poverty orphaning and institutional care in northern Nigeria. Journal of African Child Studies, 10(1), 112–129.
Nwanna, C. R., & Akpan, U. E. (2022). Abuse of children in residential care institutions in Nigeria: A review of existing literature. Child Abuse Review, 31(4), 356–369. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2678
Ogunnaike, R. A., & Adegboyega, J. A. (2023). Poverty-driven institutionalisation of children in Nigeria: Evidence from Lagos and Plateau States. African Population Studies, 37(1), 89–104.
Plateau State Child Protection Network. (2024). Rapid assessment of children’s homes in Jos metropolis. Jos: PSCPN.
Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development. (2025). Directory of registered children’s homes 2025. Jos: Ministry of Women Affairs.
Save the Children Nigeria. (2024). From institutions to families: Deinstitutionalisation roadmap for Nigeria. Abuja: Save the Children.