Men who abandon their wife, children to be fined N1m – Kwara Commissioner

In Kwara state, absentee dads and spouses are subject to punishment, according to Hajia Mopelola Abdulmalik-Bashir, who served as the state’s immediate past commissioner for women’s affairs and is currently the commissioner for the ministry of water resources.

According to her, males who forsake their families are required by law to pay a fine between N500,000 and N1,000,000.

Abdulmalik-Bashir claimed that the state enacted gender composition regulations during her time as the Women Affairs Minister.

She said; “There are penalties for any man to abandon his family. It ranges between N500,000 and N1m. The law was signed in 2020 and our partners have simplified it for us in Yoruba and English. The ministry has benefited from the recently signed gender composition law. That is why the ministry now has its gender equity unit. The unit will be handling issues of interest relating to the women and the girl-children.”

The commissioner added; “Another major achievement of my tenure in the Ministry of Women Affairs is my facilitating the processes leading to the establishment of the First Kwara State Sexual Assault Referral Centre at the Kwara State General Hospital, Ilorin, named after the First Lady of Kwara State.

We have been empowering our people, especially women. During my tenure and not too long ago, we distributed gas cylinders to people, devoid of any political considerations. Beneficiaries of the empowerment programme, numbering about 4,100, were artisans, interest groups, International Federation of Women Lawyers, Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, etc”

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