NHRC decries increased cases of child abandonment in Gombe

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concerns over increasing cases of child abandonment in Gombe state.

Mr Ali Alola-Alfinti, the Public Relations Officer of NHRC Gombe state unit, expressed the worry in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Monday.

Alola-Alfinti said the cases of abuse against children including child abandonment recorded by the commission in the state were alarming.

According to him, from Jan. 2023 to June 2023, not less than 130 cases of human rights violations were received by the commission in the state.

He said, of the 130 cases of reported human rights violations, 48 were cases of child abandonment, representing 36.9 per cent of violations reported in six months.

According to him, the rate at which children were being abandoned was disturbing and requires urgent attention of all stakeholders in the state.

“The increasing cases of child abandonment have become a cause for concern for the commission.

“Child abandonment is a violation of human right; when you abandon a child who cannot take care of himself or herself, they are left at the mercy of anyone and that situation is better imagined than to be experienced.”

“We noticed that poverty and lack of commitment and care from fathers are major reasons for child abandonment in the state.

“It is not right to have children and not cater for their needs as parents.

“We are appealing to stakeholders to tackle this problem in the interest of our children,” he said.

Alola-Alfinti said many parents claimed ignorance of the rights of the children as enshrined in the constitution which includes right to education, welfare and well-being.

In tackling the menace, he said the commission embarked on sensitisation of key stakeholders to the dangers and consequences of child abandonment.

He urged stakeholders to carry out more sensitisation programmes to discourage the trend in view of its psychological impact on children.