The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Gombe State, North-east Nigeria, says it recorded 127 complaints of parents neglecting their children in 2024.
The spokesperson for the commission, Ali Alola-Alfinti, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe, the state capital, on Tuesday.
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He said that 127 out of the 356 complaints of rights violations recorded were cases of parental neglect, representing 35.67 per cent of the cases under review.
Mr Alola-Alfinti said the cases were mainly of fathers abandoning their responsibilities to their children and wives.
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This, he said, involved fathers leaving their children and wives without any source of livelihoods, shelter, clothing, care and medical attention.
What the law says
Citing the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, Mr Alola-Alfinti said that it was an offence to neglect one’s children without a source of livelihoods and care.
According to him, the spate of parental neglect is a source of concern, and the commission is taking measures to address the menace.
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“Leaving a child without a source of livelihood and care constitutes a threat to their dignity as a human person, threat to life, health and wellbeing.
“This is a direct infringement on the right of children and the VAPP law in Gombe State criminalises such acts with a view to protect children and ensure their wellbeing,” he said.
He noted that some of the parents shunned their responsibilities under the guise of economic hardship, warning that neglecting children was a violation of their rights.
He said the commission was working in partnership with relevant organisations to train and empower women with skills with a view to addressing the menace.
“We always listen to both parents in the case and where there is need for support, we link them up with organisations that could help them,” he said.
He advised parents to re-strategise ways to fend for their family needs, adding that leaving children without care should never be an option as it exposes them to greater risks of violations.
Other complaints
Mr Alola-Alfinti said the commission also recorded 91 inhuman degrading treatments, 47 economic development and two reproductive rights cases.
Others include five threat-to-life, five right to property, four unlawful detention, 12 alleged rape, 15 domestic violence cases, amongst others.
READ ALSO: NHRC records 355,726 cases of human rights violations in December 2024
He said the commission had treated 315 cases while 41 others that required criminal investigation or not within its jurisdiction had been referred to relevant agencies.
He urged residents of the state to report cases of abuse to enhance rights protection in the state.
NAN reports that 106 fathers abandoned their children in 2023, citing economic hardship as the reason behind their actions.
(NAN)
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