No Child Should Face Online Harm Alone: Key Outcomes from COSPRA 2026

GASA Africa joined the COSPRA Summit 2026 in Abuja. Here are the key outcomes on child online safety, scams and fraud, and cross-border cooperation. 

Children do not visit the internet anymore. They live in it. They learn, play, chat and create there every day. The same networks that target adults with scams and fraud are reaching children through the apps, games and platforms they use most.

That was the starting point for the Child Online Safety, Protection and Reporting of Abuse in Nigeria (COSPRA) Summit 2026, held on 30 September at the Raw Materials Research and Development Council in Abuja. Convened by our member, the Ndukwe Kalu Foundation (NKF), with the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) as headline sponsor, the fourth edition of the summit was held under the theme "Protecting Every Child in the Era of AI: Building a Safe and Trusted Digital Future."

The room reflected the scale of the challenge. Twenty-two speakers, 87 VIPs and representatives of 42 ministries, departments and agencies sat alongside 145 students and 53 teachers from 35 secondary schools across Abuja. Regulators, law enforcement, educators, civil society and young people were in one conversation.

The risks are changing fast 

AI is changing how children learn and communicate. It is also giving bad actors new tools. Participants raised concerns about AI-generated and manipulated images, impersonation, online grooming, sexual exploitation, digital extortion and the misuse of children's personal data.

These threats are harder to spot than ever. A convincing fake profile or a manipulated image can deceive a child, a parent and a teacher alike. Awareness alone is no longer enough.

What the summit agreed

The summit closed with the COSPRA 2026 Communiqué and the National Pledge on Child Online Safety. Among its key recommendations:

• A dedicated law. The National Assembly is urged to prioritise a Nigeria Child Online Safety Act, with clear responsibilities, enforceable protections and accessible reporting, rather than treating child safety as an extension of general cybersecurity law.
• Better reporting. Reporting channels should be visible, child-friendly and confidential, with clear referral pathways between schools, parents, law enforcement, regulators and platforms. NKF will advance a proposed Child Online Abuse Reporting Portal and Call Centre with the relevant authorities.
• Safety by Design. Technology companies should build child safety, privacy and age-appropriate safeguards into their products from the start, not after harm has occurred.
• Digital literacy for everyone. Children, parents, teachers and caregivers need practical training on AI, cybersecurity, privacy, online exploitation and how to report abuse.
• Stronger frontline responders. Teachers, counsellors, police and child protection workers need training to recognizegnise abuse, handle disclosures sensitively and preserve evidence.
• Regional and international partnerships. Nigerian institutions should deepen cooperation with regional and international partners on knowledge exchange, capacity building and cross-border cases.
• Accountability. NKF will use COSPRA 2027 to review progress against these commitments.

Why this matters for the anti-scam community

A child who is targeted online today can become an adult who is defrauded tomorrow. The habits, tools and support we build now shape how resilient the next generation will be against scams and fraud.

We congratulate the NKF team on a successful summit and a clear, actionable communiqué. GASA Africa looks forward to continued collaboration with NKF and partners across Africa to turn these commitments into implementable actions that curb scams, fraud and online harm against children.

About the Global Anti-Scam Alliance

The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) is a nonprofit organization bringing together policymakers, law enforcement, consumer authorities, NGOs, the financial sector, telecommunications operators, internet platforms, cybersecurity organizations and other stakeholders to share knowledge and develop solutions to protect consumers from scams.