National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday, said Nigeria Police Force was taking a lead in 73 complaints recorded on human rights violations perpetrated by State Actors in Nigeria while complaints against non-State Actors is 83.
The Commission indicated this while unveiling Human Rights Dashboard and Observatory in Abuja on Tuesday 13th February,2024.
Speaking during the presentation of the Human Rights Dashboard, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu who was represented by his Senior Adviser,Mr Hillary Ogbonna stated that the North-Central zone recorded the highest number of human rights violations, with Abuja having 382 out of 1,147 complaints received in January, 2024.
Ogbonna said cases of human rights violations that were not reported but captured, analysed include;increase in kidnapping with children and young people.
Ogbonna said “Based on our analysis, 125 kidnapping cases were recorded in January, 56 killings, 22 children kidnapped and 12 of them killed”.
He added that,10 children were victims of torture, and 7 law enforcement officers were killed in January.
The Human Rights Dashboard Coordinator,said the spate of killings in Plateau state and attacks on traditional institutions in Ekiti and Kwara states were of great concerns to the Commission.He argued that Nigeria will continue to face multiple challenges in the protection human rights in view of the rising insecurity
He explained that the Commission has 36 centers, including Abuja to receive complaints of human rights violations and the commission had also set up online mechanism for complaints.
He added that the figures on the Dashboard represented only a fraction of rights violations in the country as a large number of other violations are unreported.
Hillary Ogbonna further stated that the NHRC has the constitution mandate to investigate human rights violations in the country.
He said kidnapping and other activities of non-state actors are posing challenges to the protection of human rights across the country.
