NHRC raises alarm over increasing rate of child abandonment

• Says February Dashboard Recorded 1,484 Cases

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised the alarm over the increasing rate of child abandonment in Nigeria, saying that it received 339 complaints concerning the issue in February 2024.

The cases were recorded across the Commission’s 36 state offices and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.The Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN), who disclosed this in Abuja, during the presentation of the second edition of the human rights dashboard, noted that the high prevalence of child abandonment in the country was a dangerous trend because some of the abandoned children could become a security threat in the future.

Other recorded cases of human rights violations, according to the Executive Secretary, were rape and defilement (12), child marriage (three), harmful traditional practices (one), violence and assault – battery (24), and 10 trafficking cases.

Also, the Ojukwu expressed concern about the state of human rights in Nigeria, especially the impact of economic reforms on the enjoyment of human rights by Nigerians.

“Images and videos of citizens breaking into warehouses and trucks conveying food stuffs do not only portend dangers on the rule of law but clearly shows a violation of the right to dignity of the human person guaranteed by our Constitution and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights”, he said.

The essence of the monthly dashboard on human rights, the Executive Secretary stated, is not to indict anybody or institution, rather it is a guide and a measurement of our progress to realizing the human rights of every Nigerian.

“It provides information that will trigger a chain of multi-faceted actions on tackling insecurity, poverty and inequalities in Nigeria. For instance, the upsurge in violence, killings and kidnappings recorded in February should concern every arm of our government”, he added.

The Human Rights Advocate used the opportunity to appreciate the United Nations Development Programme for its support through the Tripartite Partnership Programme (TPP).

An info graphic presentation on the dashboard shows that the Commission recorded 1,484 complaints of human rights violations in the month of February 2024 as against 1,147 received in January 2024.

Further breakdown of the 1,484 complaints according to the six geopolitical zones in the Country is as followers: North East (393), North West (138), North Central (481), South West (179), South East (144) and South South (149).