The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a substantial increase in its proposed allocation for this year, citing rising cost of operations and volume of complaints it receives annually.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, said this during his budget defence appearance before the joint committee on human rights of the Senate and House of Representatives at the National Assembly Complex on Monday.
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According to a statement from the NHRC on Tuesday, the joint committee was co-chaired by Adegbomire Adeniyi, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, and Abiola Makinde, the chairperson of the House of Representative Committee on Human Rights.
Presenting NHRC’s 2024 budget performance report, Mr Ojukwu lamented the inadequacy of the proposed 2025 allocation of N8 billion.
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“The current allocation of N8 billion is grossly inadequate to meet this demand,” he said, informing the lawmakers that the commission received as much as 2 million complaints annually.
He urged lawmakers to consider increasing the proposed budget from N8 billion to N19.55 billion, while emphasising the cost of investigating human rights complaints.
“Investigating a single case costs approximately N8,000. To investigate 2 million cases effectively, the Commission would require N16 billion,” he said.
He also said that the proposed budget would address human rights issues such as terrorism, communal conflicts, insurgency, natural disasters like floods.
He attributed the rising cost of operations to inflation, and the establishment of more state offices to improve access to the commission’s services.
“This proposed budget reflects our determination to create a more inclusive and just society,” Mr Ojukwu said. “It will enable us to expand our reach, respond swiftly to human rights violations, and engage effectively with communities to promote awareness and accountability.”
2024 budget’s performance
Last year, N5 billion was allocated to the NHRC.
In his 2024 budget performance report of the NHRC on Monday, Mr Ojukwu said the commission recorded virtually 100 per cent implemented rate, which, he said, was a feat, considering the commission’s limited resources.
“The budget achieved an unprecedented 99.999 per cent implementation rate,” Mr Ojukwu said, noting that the commission constructed eight state offices across the country.
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Members of the joint committees commended the NHRC for its strategic focus and commitment to its mandate.
Some lawmakers sought clarifications on specific aspects of the proposal, which Mr Ojukwu addressed.
In November 2024, during an oversight of the NHRC, Mr Makinde promised to push for an increase in the commission’s budget for 2025.
