Posted by In April 2024, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) received 19,470 reports of rights abuse, the majority of which were lodged against individuals associated with the government.
State actors, or government agents, such as the police, the military, and other security services, were the subjects of 5,259 accusations of rights violation, according to the April 2024 NHRC Human Rights Assessment Dashboard, which was unveiled on Friday in Abuja.
This is the maximum number of complaints that any one group received in April according to the dashboard.
Both the number of complaints about violations of children’s rights (1,457) and the number of complaints regarding domestic violence (4,317) were shown on the dashboard for April.
Similarly, 1,063 reports were lodged against private sector players and 2,877 were received against non-state actors.
In addition, 136 people with impairments filed complaints, and 110 people claimed a breach of their right to life.
The North-Central region had the largest number of reported incidents of abuse in April, according to a more detailed analysis of the human rights abuse complaints received by the NHRC. The North-East and North-West regions had the second and third highest numbers of cases, respectively.
When they were gone, the South-West and South-East followed.
In April 2024, the South-South received the fewest reports of allegations of rights abuse.
When it comes to complaints of rights violation in April 2024, the top ten states in Nigeria are Rivers, Borno, Plateau, Taraba, Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi, Osun, Abia, and Kano.
The Nigerian Police, parents, the military, private sector actors, and bandits/militia groups were the top human rights offenders in April 2024, according to the dashboard, based on complaints received by the NHRC.
In April 2024, there were 491 complaints of child abandonment and 21 reports of child marriage, which is a concerning increase in child rights violations, according to the NHRC.
The April Human Rights Assessment Dashboard brought attention to cult killings in Anambra, ethnic killings in Plateau, alleged herdsmen killings in the Nimbo village of Enugu, and two assaults in Kogi resulting in huge deaths.
The NHRC dashboard shows that in April 2024, there were major killings in the states of Anambra, Bayelsa, Plateau, Kogi, and Kaduna.
Noting that “Over 20 deaths were recorded in April relating to the activities of cultists in three states,” the dashboard brought attention to the harmful effects of cultism on human rights.
In light of this new information, the NHRC has called on the government and security forces to ensure the safety of all citizens, particularly those in schools.
As important as press freedom was, the NHRC was as worried about assaults on journalists.
Noting the “indiscriminate arrests and prolonged detention of Nigerians,” the NHRC condemned the “excessive detention of 5 journalists over the last three months” and stated that the arrests violated constitutional restrictions.
Mass murders are on the rise throughout states, and the April 2024 Human Rights Assessment Dashboard noted a “upsurge in human rights complaints” related to this trend.
An increase in incidents of violence against children and minors, attacks on media freedom, and the murder of law enforcement officers and military personnel were also noted by the NHRC.
In a similar spirit, the NHRC brought attention to the fact that the government’s economic reforms are having an effect on the exercise of human rights.
Tony Ojukwu, SAN, Executive Secretary of the NHRC, stated during his speech at the presentation of the April human rights assessment dashboard that “The monthly dashboard on the state of human rights is borne out of the necessity by the Commission to monitor, investigate and report on human rights in real time on a national scale in line with its mandate.”
“Policy makers, international partners, law enforcement agencies, civil society actors, and the media can gain insights into the evolving human rights landscape in Nigeria and explore collaborative avenues for addressing emerging challenges,” he added, referring to the facts, statistics, and analysis of human rights violations across broad and specific thematic areas.
The April dashboard does more than just show the state of human rights in Nigeria; it also acts as a roadmap and yardstick for how far we’ve come in protecting everyone’s fundamental freedoms.
“The data it contains will set in motion a series of coordinated efforts by all branches of government to alleviate poverty, inequality, and insecurity in our nation.”
Ojukwu stated his desire for the dashboard to help the Nigerian government fulfill its commitments to human rights instruments and processes on a national, regional, and international level.