NHRC Raises Alarm Over Rising Rights Violation
With a startling 169,850 complaints received from its 38 offices nationwide in January 2025 alone, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has once again expressed concern over a noted increase in human rights abuses throughout Nigeria.
At the January 2025 Human Rights Situation Dashboard presentation in Abuja, NHRC Executive Secretary Dr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN) issued a dire warning about the extent of rights abuses, citing extrajudicial killings, kidnappings, insurgency, and gender-based violence as the most common reported cases.
“Each complaint represents a person, a family, or a community seeking justice and accountability. Our duty is not just to document these violations but to ensure tangible action follows,” Ojukwu stated.
He claims that recent data show alarming patterns like increased insecurity, mass murders, and child abandonment. Ojukwu claimed that with 308 murders and 146 kidnappings reported nationwide, the statistics presents a dismal picture of Nigeria's human rights situation.
According to the study, there were mass murders in Zamfara, where reports suggested that civilian vigilantes were bombed in Zurmi and Maradun, and more than 900 children were left behind by their parents in a single month.
Ojukwu noted that several people were killed in communal disturbances, including two in Ondo state, eleven in Jigawa, and eighteen in Imo. A significant rise in gender-based violence, such as spousal abandonment, denial of inheritance, and abuses of sexual and reproductive rights, was also disclosed by the commission.
According to the NHRC study, states like Borno, Katsina, Zamfara, and Imo had the worst rates of human rights violations in North-Central Nigeria. Insurgent attacks, kidnappings, and extrajudicial executions are still common in certain areas.
The NHRC stressed that justice must be done to the victims and asked authorities to move quickly to stop insurgency, stop extrajudicial murders, and safeguard vulnerable citizens.
As Nigeria commemorates the NHRC's 30th anniversary of founding, the commission reaffirmed its dedication to upholding justice and protecting human rights for all Nigerians.
HCRC News
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