The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has inaugurated a National Working Committee to address human rights violations associated with climate change in Nigeria.
A statement from the NHRC on Tuesday said the committee’s inauguration became necessary as “climate change is no longer just an environmental issue. It is a human rights issue.”
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The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, urged Nigerians to view climate change differently.
“It’s not just about rising temperatures. It’s about people. It’s about families losing their homes, farmers losing their livelihoods, communities being uprooted and vulnerable people falling deeper into poverty.”
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Mr Ojukwu noted that the committee is a partnership between the NHRC, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the National Council on Climate Change.
The focus of the partnership includes protecting the rights and dignity of its people as the nation fights climate change.
According to the statement, Working Group will collaborate with government institutions, civil society organisations, academics and development partners, the statement said.
“Every flooded community, every displaced family, every child forced out of school by disaster, every farmer who loses a harvest and every community struggling to survive tells a story that deserves attention,” Mr Ojukwu said.
Agencies give commitments
During the inauguration ceremony, the Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Climate Change, Yussuf Kelani, affirmed the presidency’s support for the committee’s activities.
Similarly, Iniobong Awe, who represented the Minister of Environment, assured the ministry’s commitment to inclusive climate policies.
The Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Omotenioye Majekodunmi, said, “The evidence is impossible to ignore: flooding, migration, farmer-herder conflicts, rising temperatures. These are no longer isolated environmental problems. They are daily realities affecting lives, livelihoods and human dignity across the country.”
Other attendees, including the founder of the Women Environmental Programme, Priscilla Achakpa, and the Commissioner for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Ahmed, also pledged their commitment to supporting climate justice, especially for vulnerable groups.
The statement also noted that for the NHRC, the inauguration of the “National Working Group is not simply the launch of another committee. It is a promise.
“A promise that as Nigeria responds to climate change, people, not just policies, will remain at the centre of every action. Because protecting the climate should also mean protecting humanity.
“After all, when people suffer because of climate change, protecting human rights becomes everyone’s responsibility.”
Nigeria is facing shifts in climate patterns with significant impacts. Climate change has been marked by unusual rainfall, heat waves and severe flooding that has displaced communities and destroyed farmlands.
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In 2025, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) disclosed that floods impacted 25 states across Nigeria, killing 228 people and displacing many.
Punch newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency issued a seven-day flood advisory, warning of a medium flood risk in 17 states between 21 and 27 July.
According to the agency, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara are at risk.
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