Nine children.

Some have been locked away at the Nigeria Correctional Service’s Borstal Training Institute, Adigbe, since 2023. Others since 2024 and 2025.

Every one of them was waiting for a court date.

Every one of them believed someone, somewhere, was handling their case.

The reality was heartbreaking.

When our team from the Child Rights & Juvenile Justice Center (CRJJC) visited the Borstal Institute on 16 July 2026, we met these children, listened to their stories and immediately knew something was wrong.

So, four days later, we began searching.

Not online.

Not by making a few phone calls.

We physically travelled from court to court across Ogun State, spending days inside registries, searching archives, tracing files through transfers, speaking with court staff, prosecutors and Chief Magistrates, determined to answer one simple question:

"Where are these children's cases?"

What we found should concern every Nigerian.

Within just five days:

• We discovered that two children's cases had already been struck out, yet they remained behind bars because no one had taken the necessary steps to secure and transmit the warrants for their release. We immediately processed and paid for the reproduction and transmission of the warrants so they could finally regain their freedom.
• Six case files could not initially be located. Imagine being a child deprived of your liberty while no one can even identify where your case file is.
• After days of relentless searching, we found three of those missing cases in different courts and immediately secured fresh hearing dates so the matters can move towards determination.
• Our search continues for the remaining three children, because no child deserves to disappear into the justice system simply because a file cannot be found.

Along the way, we uncovered cases that had stalled because judicial officers had changed, files had been transferred without proper follow-up, charge numbers no longer matched court records, and, in some instances, the authorities had never properly recorded that the defendants were children.

These are not just administrative oversights.

For a child in detention, every missing file, every delayed hearing and every forgotten transfer means another day, another week, another month—sometimes another year—behind locked doors.

This is the reality of child justice.

It is painstaking.

It is time-consuming.

It requires lawyers willing to spend entire days travelling across states, searching dusty registries, tracing archived files, filing applications, following up with prosecutors, liaising with correctional centres and standing in court to ensure children are not forgotten.

This is the work CRJJC does.

Every week.

Every month.

Every year.

We do it because every child deserves due process. Every child deserves to have their case heard within a reasonable time. Every child deserves hope.

Today, because we cared enough to search, two children are on the path to freedom, three have active court dates again, and the search continues for the rest.

Justice begins with finding those the system has forgotten.

***

Fundraiser

Help us continue our crucial work in ensuring no child is left behind by donating to TOKAN Foundation and CRJJC via:

TOKAN Foundation

Account No. 1015972986

Zenith Bank Plc

or via https://paystack.com/pay/tokanfoundation.

We’re always looking to collaborate with anyone who supports our mission. For more information about TOKAN Foundation or to discuss ways you can support our work, please reach out to us at hello@tokanfoundation.com, or with any of the social media links.