By PETER UWUMAROGIE

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says no fewer than 106 fathers abandoned their children in Gombe State in 2023.

The Public Relations Officer of the commission’s Gombe State office, Mr Ali Alola-Alfinti, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Friday.

He expressed concern over what he described as “increasing cases of child abandonment in the state,” saying it had become a cause for concern for the commission.

Alola-Alfinti said out of 280 complaints treated by the commission in 2023, 106 were on paternal abandonment, representing 37.9 per cent of the total cases treated in the year.

He explained paternal abandonment as a situation whereby a father abandons his responsibilities to his children, resulting to the child being abandoned.

He added that when a father failed 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 really 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 action.”

The NHRC officer said: “it is 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 consequences 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 have negative impact on the 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. (NAN)