The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said on Tuesday that it recorded 422,942 complaints in November, with abductions being the most prevalent.
Speaking during the monthly dashboard presentation of human rights violations across the country, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, said the month’s report hits hard.
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According to Mr Ojukwu, there were 815 persons abducted, including over 55 farmers, travellers, students, and worshippers.
“Think about that for a moment. That’s hundreds of people, mothers, fathers, and children taken away,” Mr Ojukwu said.
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He noted that these human rights violations impede economic growth, education, and freedom of worship. “These attacks cut deep. They strike at the very heart of who we are as a people.”
He lamented the kidnappings of school children, while noting that the month under focus had the most cases of abductions since the Chibok girls incident in 2014.
On 17 November, 25 schoolgirls were abducted, and two teachers were killed in Maga Comprehensive Girls’ Secondary School in Danko/Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, North-west Nigeria. Eight days after captivity, the girls regained freedom.
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On 21 November, terrorists attacked St Mary’s School, a Catholic-owned institution in Papiri community, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State, North-central Nigeria, and abducted 265 students and staff members.
“Education is not just a right, it is a fundamental human right, only through which we can conquer most of the world’s challenges, including violent extremism, poverty, and inequalities. To have access to education threatened, as we have seen recently, is an attack on the future of our society,” Mr Ojukwu said of the devastating impact of the impact on the education sector in Nigeria.
But schools are not the only targets. Worship centres, homes, farmlands, and roads are also not spared. Two days after the abduction of schoolgirls in Kebbi on 17 November, armed men invaded the Christ Apostolic Church, Oke Igan, in Eruku, Kwara State, North-central Nigeria, and abducted 38 worshippers. They also regained freedom.
A recent abduction happened on 14 December, even though it was not recorded in November. Terrorists abducted more than 15 worshippers after attacking the First Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Ayetoro Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The Senior Human Rights Adviser of the NHRC, Hilary Ogbonna, described the abductions of children from any school set up by religious bodies as a violation of the freedom of worship.
“From today onwards, please note that any school that is owned by a religious body, whether it’s Muslim or Christian, is a platform for advancing freedom of religion. The Constitution protects everybody to set up a school, set up places of education, and impart the religion of that faith through that school. So when you attack a Catholic school, when you attack an Islamic school, you are attacking the freedom of religion,” Mr Ogbonna said.
Women and child rights violations
Among the gruesome violations the commission recorded in November, 881 children were abandoned, 840 were caught between custody battles, 635 children faced child labour, and 545 were forced into marriage.
While presenting the report, Mr Ogbonna highlighted 23 cases of defilement in Yobe, Niger, Ekiti, and Anambra. A three-year-old became infected with a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) after being sexually assaulted in Delta.
The commission also recorded the abduction of 13 female teenagers in Askira Uba, Borno State, North-east Nigeria, by ISWAP.
Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, and Plateau states as well as Abuja recorded the highest number of child abuse and exploitation violations. According to Mr Ogbonna, aside from Abuja, all other states were characterised by insecurity, indicating a link between conflict and human rights violations.
Reacting to this, Mr Ojukwu noted that the impact of insecurity is more “devastating, especially for women, children, and the elderly.”
The commission also received 5,906 cases of domestic violence from women, 244 cases of sexual violence, and 19 cases of rape.
Also, 1,992 women reported cases of gender based discrimination, 1,487 of abandonment, and 1,911 of denial of access to children.
November dashboard report
In November, the NHRC recorded human rights complaints, 422,942, with the North-central region leading the chart with 179,449 complaints, followed by the North-west with 81,104, the North-east with 79,887, the South-east with 52,928 with the South-south with 16,512, and the South-west with 16,012.
A thematic analysis of the violations in the dashboard showed 100,113 cases of the infringement of freedom from discrimination, 98,171 from law enforcement officers. Some of these include police extortion, unlawful detention, and abuse of power by the Nigerian Police.
Commenting on this, the representative of the Chairperson of the Police Service Commission, Victoria Orakwe, urged the commission to take note of the officers responsible for this, as the commission would be happy to take disciplinary actions against them.
However, the commission announced that it completed 6,435 investigations in November, visited 87 correctional centres and places of detention, and three military formations. It also summoned the Nigerian police and sent letters regarding 43 cases.
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Speaking of the violations, Mr Ojukwu said, “This is not the Nigeria we want to leave for the next generation. Impunity is growing. Too many people commit crimes believing nothing will happen to them. Our civic space is shrinking. Women and children are bearing the brunt of violence.
“Communities are living in fear, day after day. To the families who have lost loved ones, your pain is not invisible. It fuels our determination to keep fighting.
“I ask all stakeholders and indeed every Nigerian to join us in building a country where no child is afraid to go to school, no farmer is afraid to work; no traveller fears the road, and no woman or girl fears violence.”
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