Olukayode Babalola
Lafia – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Nasarawa State says it is collaborating with the state government to deduct a percentage from salaries of parents that abandon children.
Mr Chia Nor, NHRC Coordinator for the state, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lafia that the commission would strategise on ways to address some of the key human rights issues.
He said that the move has become imperative because complaints of abandonment of children in Nasarawa had been on the increase with 34 complaints in 2019.
“We are still in discussion with other arm of government to embrace the idea so that the welfare of those affected, especially children, will not become a challenge,’’ he said.
He also observed that the rate of rape was on the increase, noting that the fear of stigmatisation on the part of the victims was a major challenge in securing justice for them.
“It is unfortunate that some of our agent’s compromise while handling rape cases and so there must be attitudinal change for us to make progress in this regard,’’ he said.
He advised the people of the state to always respect each others’ opinion to minimise conflict and sustain peace in the state.
He, however, expressed displeasure on the effects of conflicts among parents on the children that could result in abandonment.
He also called on law enforcement agencies to be more proactive in handling rape cases and called for their training and retraining so that they could handle rape cases.