Executive Director for Child Rights International, Bright Appiah, has urged the man (Kwesi Tetteh Zodah) at the centre of the Adentan missing baby case to use legal means to seek for the whereabouts of his child.
According to him, it is only when he is able to establish the whereabouts of the baby that criminal charges can be prescribed against the woman.
“If the man is having doubts about the whereabouts of his child, I believe the first point is to take the matter to court to deal with the civil aspect of the matter. Then if he feels there is a criminal aspect of it, he can hand it over to the police,” he said.
This comes after 51-year-old Mr Zodah alleged that a lady she impregnated has connived with her father to sell their baby.
According to the 51-year-old physically challenged, the lady claimed she was delivered of the baby at Ridge Hospital early this month but the baby died and was buried by the nurses at the hospital.
Mr Zodah went to Ridge Hospital and fact-checked but there was no record of the lady having delivered there. The case is now at Adentan Police Station.
The man is, therefore, calling on government and Inspector-General of Police to help him get justice by getting custody of the child.
The brother of the man, John Teye, said the way the case is going, they suspect something fishy and they want the law to take its cause to ensure that his brother gets custody of the baby.
Reacting to the matter, Mr Appiah cautioned that the fact that one has given birth to a child does not mean they can dispose him off at any time.
He said that “the state of the child is not limited to the family alone. The state also holds majority shares in the child’s development and it is, therefore, against the law for any parent to do whatever they want with their children’s development.”
He also appealed to the father of the child not to allow the matter rest at its present level. Mr Appiah also expressed worry over how state agencies handle child-related cases.
“The attitude of the state on child-related cases is sometimes worrying,” the Child Rights International boss lamented.
“We expect the state institutions to pay much attention to cases about children, so that people will have trust in them, especially when it comes to issues related to children,” he continued.
Child Rights International is urging Mr Zodah not to relent on seeking to ensure that he gets to the bottom of the matter in finding out the whereabouts of the baby.
Mr Appiah disclosed that in an event where Mr Zodah needs assistance from his outfit to pursue the case, Child Rights International will be ready to assist him in ensuring that he gets justice.
Meanwhile, a follow-up by Adom News’ Reporter Kodwo Mensah has revealed that the Adentan Shopping Mall Police Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) has confirmed that matter is with it and Accra Region DOVVSU has called for the docket to ensure smooth investigations.