Nigeria's Digital Safety Program Reaches 54,000 Young People

More than 54,000 young Nigerians now know how to protect themselves online, thanks to a program that refuses to give up on digital safety education.

SafeOnline launched its seventh edition this year, marking six years of partnership between NerdzFactory Company and Meta. What started in 2020 as a simple school program has grown into one of Nigeria's most successful youth initiatives, reaching students, parents, teachers, and youth ambassadors across five states.

The numbers tell a powerful story. Since 2020, SafeOnline has trained over 42,000 students, nearly 8,000 national service corps members, 3,300 parents and educators, and 1,200 youth ambassadors. The program has touched lives in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, and Ekiti states.

This year brings something new. For the first time, SafeOnline will expand beyond southwestern Nigeria to reach all six geopolitical zones across the country. The program also adds AI literacy to its curriculum, recognizing that artificial intelligence now shapes how young people learn, create, and connect online.

The 2026 edition aims to reach over 8,900 participants, including 5,000 secondary school students, by November. Under the theme "Building Safe, Healthy and AI-Aware Digital Communities," the program now focuses on three key areas: AI literacy, digital safety, and digital wellbeing.

What makes SafeOnline work is its trust in young people themselves. Trained youth ambassadors lead the sessions, creating peer-to-peer conversations that resonate more deeply than traditional lectures. Teenagers teaching teenagers about online safety turns out to be remarkably effective.

This year introduces AI Literacy Circles, ongoing learning groups where teens explore AI awareness and responsible technology use together. These aren't one-time workshops but continuous conversations that evolve with the digital landscape.

"Six years in and seven editions strong, we are more convinced than ever that digital safety is a continuous investment in young people," said Ademulegun Olowojoba, Founding Partner at NerdzFactory Company. "This seventh edition takes that further, equipping them not just to stay safe online, but to understand and navigate a world increasingly shaped by AI."

The Ripple Effect

The program's impact extends far beyond individual students. SafeOnline 2026 includes family workshops that give parents practical tools to support safe digital behavior at home. A policy roundtable will bring together about 30 stakeholders from government, education, private sector, and civil society, including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Development, and NITDA.

These policy conversations ensure that lessons learned from SafeOnline directly inform national discussions on youth online safety and AI governance. When young people learn to navigate the digital world safely, entire communities benefit.

Six years of consistency proves that protecting young people online isn't a one-time fix but an ongoing commitment worth making.