A recent report by Smart DNA reveals that over 27% of Nigerian men who underwent paternity tests were not the biological fathers of the children they believed to be theirs.
This marks a slight increase from 26.12% in the previous year.
In all, the statistics showed that most of the children tested were aged 0-five (54.0 per cent), suggesting a preference for early paternity confirmation.
Men aged 41+ (45.6 per cent) and 31-40 (37.0 per cent) were most likely to request tests, potentially reflective of economic capabilities or increased paternity concerns in older men.
The report, covering July 2023 to June 2024, also highlighted a rise in DNA tests for immigration purposes, driven by the “Japa” trend.
Also in the last report, the majority of tests (89.10 per cent) were conducted for ‘Peace of Mind’, followed by ‘Immigration’ (8.97 per cent), and ‘Legal’ (0.64 per cent).
Lagos accounted for the majority of tests, reflecting an economic divide, and most requests were initiated by men seeking personal reassurance rather than legal confirmation.
It also showed that the Yoruba accounted for 53 per cent of tests, followed by Igbo (31.3 per cent) and Hausa 1.20 per cent.
Get instant and latest news updates via Our WhatsApp Community or Google News online channel.
