Over 1.4 million human rights complaints reported by mid-year – NHRC

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) received over 1.4 million human rights complaints in the first half of the year, from January to June, the commission said on Monday.

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The Senior Human Rights Adviser to the commission, Hilary Ogbonna, gave the details during the presentation of the commission’s monthly complaints dashboard and mid-year report in Abuja.

Concerned about the number of complaints, Mr Ogbonna said, “This number is something that we should have etched in our memories as we leave here today. 1.4 million by 30 June in any given year is a huge number. And we don’t know what it will be by 31 December.”

The commission said Monday that it was able to resolve 20,137 out of 1,485,307 complaints so far in the year. Mr Ogbonna noted that the NHRC would achieve a lot more with adequate funding.

“Resolving one human rights complaint alone could cost you more than you can imagine…; it takes you like N10,000 to solve one human rights complaint.

“As an underfunded agency, we continue to strive to do our best to protect human rights.”

Lamenting underfunding last December, the NHRC called on the government and stakeholders to support its mandate in cash and kind. During his budget defence appearance before a joint committee of the Senate and House of Representatives in January, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, called for a substantial increase of the commission’s budget from N8 billion to 19.55 billion to enable it to deliver more on its mandate.

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At Monday’s report presentation, Mr Ojukwu called for a frank review of efforts at tackling human rights challenges. He asked, “Are we doing enough? The events of June 2025 demand not just reflection, but an honest and urgent response.”

Mr Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, noted that the “harrowing surge in violent attacks” in Benue State, on law enforcement officers, local security, soldiers killed in Kaduna and Niger states, and insecurity plaguing highway painted a grim situation.

He disclosed that in the month under focus, more than 50 travellers were abducted in Kogi and Benue States which violates the freedom of movement, economic participation and personal dignity.

“This pattern of violence marked by impunity, fear, and systemic failure highlights a grave deficit in protection and accountability.”

Meanwhile, the commission recorded 327,154 complaints in June, a 20 per cent increase compared to May’s 261,483 figure.

Among the June complaints were 606 killings and 79 kidnappings.

The breakdown shows it recorded 238 killings in Benue State, 43 in Zamfara State, 39 in Plateau State, 30 in Kebbi State, 28 in Borno State, 17 in Niger State, 17 in Katsina State, 14 in Sokoto State, 12 in Kaduna State, and 10 in Anambra State.

Mr Ogbonna disclosed that these were the top 10 states in killings in June.

Geopolitical zones records of complaints

The North-central tops the complaints list with 137,179 human rights cases recorded. It is followed by the North-west with 67,220. The North-east comes third with 63,743 complaints, followed by the South-east, 35,040, South-south, 12,043 and lastly the South-West, 11,929.

In the mid-year report, the North-central still leads with 479,595 complaints, while the South-south comes next with 258,121, followed by the North-west, 231,288, North-east, 203,921, then South-east, 160,075 and lastly South-west, 152,307.

Key trends in June’s complaints include violations of rights by law enforcement officers and against human dignity, freedom from discrimination and infringement of economic and socio-cultural rights. These trends have maintained the top three issues since April.

Violation of women’s and children’s rights

In June 1,890 women complained of being denied access to their children. While 1,348 women were abandoned, 1,362 were recorded to have experienced gender-based discrimination. The report also indicated that 3,972 complained of experiencing domestic violence. It added that 1,471 sexual violence and 18 rape complaints were received.

Meanwhile, 1,164 children were abandoned in June, according to the report. It added that 602 were forced into marriage, and 544 were forced into labour.

The commission announced that it had completed 6,026 investigations in June, and carried out 78 visits to correctional and detention centres and seven military formations. It also summoned the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) officials and sent letters regarding 46 cases.