Legal Responsibility of a Father towards a Child under the Nigerian Child’s Right Act of 2003

A father, as the parent of a child, maybe a biological, foster, adoptive, stepfather, or even a grandfather. He may also be the one who has legal custody of the child and may or may not be resident in the same state as the child. In essence, anyone can father a child, but it does not end there because every father has an important role to play in a child’s life. Fathers are specifically assigned legal responsibilities toward their children. This ranges from the provision of physical and mental support to psychological and financial support, among others. Unfortunately, in recent times, the role of fathers is fast becoming an abandoned trend with several fathers not living up to their legal responsibilities. The aim of this research is to examine whether there are legal obligations of a father toward a child under the Child’s Right Act. This research discovered that there are legal obligations for fathers as imposed by the law. However, some fathers fail to fulfil their responsibilities towards their children despite the provisions of the law. This research adopts the doctrinal research methodology.