The primary act which provides for and regulates the process of adoption of a child in Nigeria is the Child Right Act of 2003. The Chief Justice of the Federation also has the power to make subsequent rules and orders pertaining to child adoption. 

The Child’s Right Act of 2003 provides that every state in Nigeria shall establish and maintain services designed to cater to and facilitate the process of adopting a child. As a matter of fact, it is a statutory requirement for every state in Nigeria to establish and maintain child adoption services.

The process of adopting a child in Nigeria involves the person interested in adopting any child making an application to the court, applying for the adoption of the child. Both the magistrate court and the state high court have jurisdiction over child adoption; so, the application can either be made to the magistrate court or the state high court.

The applicant shall accompany his or her application with the following documents as provided in section 126 of the Child Right Act, 2003;

(a)marriage certificate or a declaration of marriage if the applicant(s) is married 

(b) the birth certificate or sworn declaration of the age of each applicant;

(C) two passport photographs of each applicant

(d) a medical certificate certifying the medical fitness of the applicant from a Government hospital and 

(e) such other documents, requirements and information as the court may require for the purposes of the adoption. 

After the court has received the application for the adoption with the accompanying documents, the court shall order a child development officer, a supervisor or any other person the court may appoint to vet the submitted documents and assess the suitability of the applicant(s). The child development officer or the appointed supervisor will then submit their professional opinion to the court as to whether the applicant is suitable and qualified to adopt a child.

The decision of the court will be made subject to the opinion of the appointed supervisor or the child development officer. The court will also consider the opinion or seek the consent of the parents of the child to be adopted or the guardians where the parents are deceased and as well seek the consent of the child to be adopted.  If the court is satisfied that the applicant is suitable to adopt the child and the consent of the child or his parents or guardians has been obtained, the court may make an adoption order i.e. issue the adoption certificate.

The court may make an interim adoption order where the court in its discretion postpones the determination of the application. The purpose of the interim adoption order is to grant the custody of the child to the applicant for a period not exceeding two years on such terms and conditions as the court thinks fit as regards provision for the maintenance, education and supervision of the welfare of the child and otherwise pending when the substantive adoption application is determined by the court.

While under this two year period, the child shall be under the constant supervision of a child development officer or any other person appointed by the court and the child should never be taken out of the state without the consent of the court.

If an applicant feels that his or her application was not fairly treated, the applicant has the right to appeal the unfair decision of the court. 

The following set of persons are persons who may be qualified to apply for the adoption of a child as provided in section 129 of the Child Right Act 2003; 

(a) a married couple where; 

(i) Each of them has attained the age of twenty-five years, and

(ii) there is an order authorizing them jointly to adopt a child

(b) a married person, if he or she has obtained the consent of his or her spouse 

(c) a single person, if he or she has attained the age of thirty-five years, provided that the child to be adopted is of the same sex as the person adopting. 

Here are some other things the court takes into consideration in determining if an applicant is suitable or not as provided in section 131 of the Child Right Act, 2003;

(a) One of the applicants in the case of a joint application must not be less than twenty-five years old at the time of the application and should be at least twenty-one years older than the child to be adopted. 

(b) the applicant, or one of the applicants (in the case of a joint application) should reside in the state where the child to be adopted is a resident of 

(c) the applicant has been a resident or, in the case of a joint application, both of them have been residents in the State in which the application is made for a period of at least, five years

(d) One of the applicants is a citizen or, in the case of a joint application, both applicants are citizens of Nigeria. 

(e) the child has been in the care of the applicant for a period of at least three consecutive months 

(f) the applicant has, at least twelve months before the making of the order, informed the social welfare officer of his intention to adopt the child.

Against all these, it is important to note that before a child is given out to an applicant, the court must be satisfied that the applicant must be able to cater for the needs and welfare of the child and if the court is ever in doubt that the applicant will not do a good job in the upbringing of the child the court will decline to grant the adoption order even when every condition have been met by the applicant(s).

Stan Alieke is a legal practitioner. 

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