The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a fundamental shift from predominantly military responses to insecurity towards a holistic, justice-centred approach that addresses the legal, socio-economic and governance factors driving conflicts across Africa.
The Commission made the call in a paper presented at the 2026 African Bar Association Conference in Cape Verde, themed “Resilient Africa’s Roadmap for Sustainable Development.” The paper, titled “Legal Mechanisms to Ensure Access to Justice in Regions Affected by Security Threats,” examined Nigeria’s North-East insurgency and the farmer-herder crisis in Benue State as case studies.
According to the paper, persistent insecurity and economic instability are closely linked to poverty, marginalisation, weak governance and limited access to justice, with youth unemployment cited at 28.8 per cent as one of the socio-economic pressures requiring urgent attention.
The Commission identified several structural gaps in Nigeria’s justice system, including the non-justiciability of socio-economic rights under Section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, the non-binding nature of decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and restrictions on individual access to the African Court under Article 34(6).
It also raised concerns over what it described as the predominantly punitive orientation of the Terrorism Act 2022, arguing that counter-terrorism measures should be complemented by mechanisms capable of addressing the underlying grievances and rights violations associated with insecurity.
NHRC data cited in the paper showed 530 cases involving denial of food and shelter, 195 cases of gender-based violence and 324 barriers to education, while 1,850 internally displaced persons were recorded in Benue State alone.
The Commission also highlighted interventions undertaken to strengthen access to justice in conflict-affected communities. These include its monitoring of terrorism trials at Kainji in 2024, during which it observed gaps relating to due process, as well as its Transitional Justice Programme in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States, implemented with support from the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme.
Through the programme, the Commission said it had resolved 372 cases, referred 1,157 cases to relevant authorities and conducted 331 outreach activities in internally displaced persons’ camps.
On the controversial military operations investigated under the Special Investigation and Intervention Programme in the North-East, the paper clarified that the investigation found no evidence of a systematic abortion of 10,000 pregnancies.
It, however, confirmed that a military attack on Abisari community on June 18, 2016, resulted in the deaths of 18 people, with the Commission recommending compensation for victims and prosecution where appropriate.
The NHRC further referenced judgments of the ECOWAS Court in suits ECW/CCJ/APP/11/16 and ECW/CCJ/APP/16/18, which ordered Nigeria to investigate killings in Benue and provide redress to victims.
To bridge what it described as the justice gap in conflict-affected regions, the Commission proposed a four-pillar framework centred on enforceable socio-economic rights, specialised mobile Conflict Resolution Courts, formal recognition of alternative dispute resolution and traditional mechanisms, and the establishment of a National Dignity Fund for reparations.
The Commission also recommended constitutional amendments to strengthen socio-economic rights, the establishment of specialised courts, ratification of the declaration permitting individual and non-governmental organisation access to the African Court, and implementation of relevant ECOWAS Court and SIIP decisions.
The NHRC stressed that sustainable and resilient development cannot be achieved without strong and resilient legal institutions capable of protecting rights, providing effective remedies and addressing the root causes of conflict.
The paper was presented as part of the Commission’s contribution to discussions on building more sustainable, peaceful and rights-based systems of governance across Africa.
