19th January, 2024
By Peter Uwumarogie
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised alarm over increasing cases of child abandonment in the Gombe state, saying it had become a cause for concern. for the commission.
The spokesperson of the Gombe office of NHRC, Mr Ali Alola-Alfinti raised the alarm in an interview as he noted that out of 280 complaints treated by the commission in 2023, 106 were on paternal abandonment.
He said the 106 cases represented 37.9 per cent of the total cases treated by the NHRC in Gombe in the year.
Alola-Alfinti explained that paternal abandonment occurs when a father abandons his responsibilities to his children, resulting in the child being abandoned.
He added that when a father fails to provide the necessary care for the children’s well-being, it usually results in the children being neglected, which could affect their development psychologically, physically and emotionally.
He said “For fathers who abandon their children and wives without food, care and other basic needs, we received 106 cases in 2023, the highest out of other complaints received; it is a serious cause for worry.
“The major reason for such attitude is the economic factor, as many of the fathers blame the situation for their actions.”
The NHRC officer said, “it is a violation of a child’s right for parents to abandon them; children have rights to live and be cared for by those who brought them to the world.”
According to him, the consequence of child abandonment is that such a child is left at the mercy of anyone and such a situation is better imagined than experienced.
He explained that child abandonment in the long run would hurt society, hence the need for stakeholders to collaborate to tackle the menace.
He said NHRC had stepped up advocacy in that regard, in collaboration with critical grassroots stakeholders to emphasise the need for parents to always take up their responsibilities.