Nigeria registered nearly 298,000 rights violation complaints in August
Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) registered 297,943 complaints concerning human rights violations in August. This is 15% fewer than in July, but the commission said the situation remains alarming, Premium Times Nigeria reports, citing the presentation of the NHRC’s monthly report in Abuja.
The commission’s Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, said that the security situation once again dominated the human rights landscape. According to him, the NHRC also recorded an increase in hate speech and political violence by political and religious actors.
Complaints and violence
Hilary Ogbonna, the NHRC’s senior human rights adviser, stressed that the decline in the number of complaints is not a reason for optimism, as more than 290,000 people approached the commission during the month. The complaints included cases of child abandonment, mass abductions, rape, domestic and sexual violence, discrimination, as well as violations of freedom of religion and movement.
The highest number of complaints came from Nigeria’s North Central region — 123,803. The Federal Capital Territory and the states of Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Imo, Bauchi and Kogi together accounted for 73% of all August complaints.
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The commission’s observatory recorded 337 killings. Sixty-five people were killed in Sokoto State, 50 in Niger State, 38 in Benue, 24 in Plateau and 12 in Kebbi. According to the NHRC, armed gangs and terrorists were responsible for most of the deaths. Ojukwu called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the killings and for those responsible to be held accountable.
Violations of women’s and children’s rights
The commission also reported 279 abandoned children, 255 custody disputes, 241 cases of denial of the right to education, 158 cases of child labour, 128 cases of sexual abuse of children, 93 cases in which children were married off, and 79 cases of human trafficking. The NHRC noted an increase in cases of rape of minors.
In August, 585 women complained that they had been abandoned by their spouses, 536 reported restrictions on access to their children, 347 reported forced marriages, and 335 reported human trafficking. The commission also said it had resolved 8,245 complaints.
Separately, Ojukwu urged the National Assembly to take into account concerns over freedom of association, freedom of expression and the independence of civil society organizations when considering the foreign assistance regulation bill. The document provides for the establishment of a commission that will monitor, register, inspect and coordinate foreign grants, donor funds and technical assistance.
