Community Aid Workers Initiative

our struggles will never go in vain in the effort to justify the biological father at which the father is trying to deny him after legally married to his mother.... CAWI ON THE STRUGGLE.

A Child’s Silent Gesture Stuns Mediation Panel in Jos Paternity Dispute

In Jos, Plateau State, what was meant to be a routine mediation meeting in Jos, Plateau State, turned into an emotional and unforgettable moment when an 11-month-old baby, Abdulrahman, became the centre of attention in a long-standing paternity dispute.

The gathering of community leaders and scholars had been convened to deliberate on the identity of the boy’s biological father. Nonetheless, in a moment that words could hardly capture, the child quietly crawled across the room and pointed toward Muktar Ahmed, his mother’s husband.

Those present said the room fell into stunned silence.

“It was unexpected,” one observer noted, as the child’s action left participants visibly moved and bewildered.

Even more striking was that the moment repeated itself. After the meeting briefly went on break and later resumed, Abdulrahman once again made his way toward Ahmed, reinforcing what many described as a deeply emotional signal.

Speaking on the development, the Director of the Community Aids Workers Initiative (CAWI), Lawal Abubakar, said the intervention was initiated by the woman’s family in search of clarity and possible resolution.

He explained that while Ahmed had acknowledged having a relationship with the child’s mother during their marriage, he had consistently denied responsibility for the pregnancy.

Abubakar noted that despite the emotional turn of events, the matter remains before a Magistrate Court in Jos, where a final decision is expected.

For many at the meeting, however, the child’s quiet but powerful gesture has left a lasting impression—raising questions that go beyond legal arguments and touching the deeper human dimensions of truth, identity, and belonging.