Paternity fraud is a significant problem in the world today, with Nigeria having the 2nd highest rate of paternity fraud in the world.
What is paternity fraud?
Paternity fraud refers to a situation where a man is falsely identified as the biological father of a child.
It usually involves a woman lying about the paternity of a child, and the man being unaware that he's not the biological father.
The rate of paternity fraud has highly increased with Jamaica ranking 1st followed by Nigeria ranking 2nd highest.
The deception of paternity fraud is often associated with concealing infertility, financial gain and protecting social status. Meanwhile, it doesn't just destroy trust in a relationship, it has adverse effects on the children.
The perception that paternity fraud is really high in Nigeria, making Nigeria to rank 2nd after Jamaica is based on true facts and the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) patterning test has unraveled and still unraveling many family secrets.
A study conducted by the Nigeria institution of medical research (NIMR) found that 27 percent of paternity test conducted in Lagos State revealed paternity discrepancy. That is, the paternity has been wrongly attributed to someone who is not the father.
This research indicates a distressing pattern of deceit affecting so many Nigerian families.