NHRC expresses concerns over surge in reported human rights violation cases

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concerns over the spike in the number of cases of violations reported in June.

“For the month of June, we have received an unprecedented number of 106,604 complaints. This increase is disturbing but not unexpected,” said the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Anthony Ojukwu, during the sixth edition of the commission’s dashboard meeting at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.

He attributed the surge in the number of complaints received to growing awareness among citizens nationwide and lauded the media for bringing the commission’s activities to light.

He described this as a positive development and a statement of all stakeholders’ concerted efforts.

He said this underscored the impact of targeted interventions and collaboration efforts in safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable population.

Issues in focus

Presenting the dashboard report, the senior human rights adviser to the NHRC’s commission, Hilary Ogbonna, identified child rights as one of the most pressing emerging issues.

Mr Ogbonna explained that the commission is focused on child rights because of the vulnerability and helplessness of children to be able to cater for themselves.

He said, “For children who are facing the issues of right to survival and development, they are also likely to face other and serially human rights issues including child marriage, child labour, sexual abuse, right to education being abridged and finally abandonment.”

To tackle child rights violations, he said the commission was collaborating with civil society organisations and all stakeholders for the provision of shelters to children facing abandonment.

He further emphasised educating parents to take up responsibilities for their wards.

He said child abandonment has worsened due to economic hardship in the country.

Complaints from regions

The report indicated that North-central has the highest number of reported cases of human rights violations for June.

It attributed the surge in reported cases in the region to two factors.

Firstly, it noted that the Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Abuja, which is located in the region, has two collection centres for human rights complaints – the Abuja metropolitan office and the commission’s headquarters.

The second factor is the recent mass child-marriage case in Niger State, another North-central state.

There were also reports of cases of extra-judicial killings and police attacks in Kebbi, Kwara, Plateau states.

In March 2024, PREMIUM TIMES reported a case of police attack in the FCT after a hawker was killed by security operatives

Meanwhile, the South-east witnessed the lowest number of reported cases in the month under focus.

The number of cases recorded in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country is as follows: South-east 9,164; South-west 18,458, South-south 21,603; North-east 12,907, North-west 15,101 and North-central 29,462.

The report also showed that rights violations associated with kidnapping and killings continued to top the chart in Katsina, Niger and Borno states. A recent suicide bombing attack claimed the lives of over 30 people in Borno State.

It was also indicated that Edo State faced violations of human rights due to the activities of cultism. There were two attacks on law enforcement agents and infrastructure in Ebonyi State, particularly police stations.

The NHRC’s review of the first half of the year indicated a decline in kidnappings in June, while May and March were the peak months of the most reported cases of human rights violation in the country.

Mob action, jungle justice

The commission reported cases of mob action over alleged blasphemy in Bauchi State, killing on the grounds of infidelity in Ondo State and a man stabbing his wife’s lover in Ogun State.

Mr Ogbonna said that the commission is committed to stemming the tide of mob action and jungle justice cases in the country.

He reaffirmed the efforts of the commission in upholding a wide range of fundamental human rights, including the right to life, personal liberty, right of older persons, sexual gender-based rights, women’s rights, child rights, access to justice, right to freedom of religion, labour rights, right to freedom from discrimination and right to a suitable environment.

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Mr Ojukwu called on relevant players and actors to protect human rights.

He also stressed the importance of the monthly dashboard meetings, saying they have been helping to spotlight the challenges and identify key trends and issues in the communities.