In a concerning development, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised alarm over the escalating instances of human rights abuses across Nigeria.
The Senior Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna, expressed deep worry during the inauguration of the inaugural edition of the Human Rights Dashboard and Observatory.
Ogbonna emphasized the pivotal role of the observatory in documenting daily human rights grievances from Nigerians across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“Nigeria is grappling with myriad challenges in safeguarding and upholding the rights of its citizens. Insecurity manifested through terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other non-state actor activities has severely undermined the enjoyment of human rights nationwide,” said Ogbonna.
He further emphasized that economic reforms implemented by the current administration had exacerbated socio-economic disparities, exacerbating multi-dimensional poverty and impeding the realization of human rights.
The dashboard, Ogbonna elaborated, serves as a monthly analytical tool and graphical representation of the human rights landscape in Nigeria. He underscored that the Human Rights Observatory was established for monitoring, reporting, and analyzing human rights violations across the country, as well as documenting and disseminating complaints.
Revealing the statistics for January, Ogbonna expressed dismay as the North-Central zone topped the charts for rights violations, with Abuja alone registering 382 out of 1147 complaints. He cautioned that these figures only represented a fraction of the actual violations, as many incidents went unreported.
A breakdown of complaints in January revealed domestic violence as the leading issue, with 528 cases reported, followed by state actors (84), private sector (64), non-state actors (27), and right-to-life violations (40). Ogbonna highlighted the prevalence of domestic violence in the North West, encompassing cases of wife battery, rape, child abandonment, and assault.
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Lamenting the surge in kidnappings targeting children and young individuals, Ogbonna also expressed concern over incidents such as the attacks on traditional institutions, citing the recent events in Ekiti state.
“Analysis indicates 150 kidnapping cases, 55 killings, 15 hate speeches, and 7 instances of law enforcement agent fatalities in January alone,” Ogbonna revealed, adding that 10 children were subjected to torture.
He reiterated NHRC’s mandate to investigate human rights violations and urged the public to report any such cases to the commission’s offices across the nation.
With the report slated for monthly release, the NHRC remains committed to addressing the escalating human rights violations plaguing the nation.
NAN
