The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised the alarm over severe funding constraints, saying its budget of N20 billion is grossly inadequate to investigate millions of human rights complaints recorded annually across the country.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Dr Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said the agency would require more than N30 billion annually to cover even the basic transportation costs of investigating complaints, based on an estimated N10,000 per case.

Ojukwu made the remark while responding to question from journalists in Abuja on Wednesday during the presentation of the commission’s September 2026 Human Rights Situation Dashboard, which recorded 338,810 complaints of alleged human rights violations, an increase of 40,867, or about 14 per cent, from the 297,943 recorded in August.

He disclosed that the commission received nearly 3.7 million complaints annually, warning that inadequate funding was limiting its capacity to investigate cases and provide effective remedies to victims.

“Let us even say that one complaint takes N10,000; it is more than N30 billion,” he said, explaining that the estimate covered only one visit to investigate a case, although some complaints required multiple visits.

The commission’s funding challenge, he said, was compounded by the absence of sufficient operational vehicles, forcing field officers to rely on hired transport to reach complainants and investigate alleged violations.

According to Ojukwu, an officer travelling to a location to investigate a complaint could spend about N5,000 going and another N5,000 returning.

He contrasted the commission’s current budget with the N8 million it received in the previous year, describing the agency as grossly underfunded despite its nationwide responsibilities.

However, he said the N20 billion budget also had to support the commission’s wider operations, including staff salaries, the maintenance of its offices, rent, electricity, fuel and vehicles.

He said the commission operated across the country with approximately 4,900 staff, adding that the cost of running its facilities alone placed considerable pressure on available resources.

“The National Human Rights Commission is grossly, grossly underfunded,” he said.

Ojukwu, however, said the commission was pursuing digital transformation to improve its operations and expand its capacity to handle complaints despite financial constraints.

He expressed hope that increasing the budget to N40 billion would bring the commission closer to meeting its operational requirements, while acknowledging that significant gaps would remain.

“We are not being weighed down by the enormity of the challenges,” he said, adding that the commission had continued to improve its operations despite the constraints.

The September dashboard highlighted persistent human rights concerns, including killings, kidnappings, attacks on communities, deaths in custody, sexual and gender-based violence, and the vulnerability of women and children.

Ojukwu expressed particular concern over reports of mass abductions in Niger State, where families continued to endure the anguish of having their loved ones held captive.

He called on security agencies to intensify efforts to secure affected communities, rescue abducted persons and ensure that perpetrators were brought to justice.

The commission also raised concerns over reports that 37 persons died in custody following operations against artisanal mining activities in Niger State.

Ojukwu said the circumstances surrounding the deaths raised serious questions about the right to life, the prohibition of torture and the obligation of law enforcement agencies to protect persons in their custody.

While acknowledging the Federal Government’s decision to investigate the incident, he called for a thorough, independent and transparent process to establish the facts, determine responsibility where wrongdoing was established and provide appropriate remedies to affected families.

“The deprivation of liberty must never amount to the violation of human dignity,” he said.

On the protection of children, the NHRC chief welcomed the September stakeholders’ engagement on reviewing the Child Rights Act, 2003, urging authorities to translate the process into stronger institutions, adequate resources and practical safeguards against abuse and exploitation.

He also called for stronger preventive mechanisms and survivor-centred responses to sexual and gender-based violence.

With the 2027 general elections approaching, Ojukwu stressed the need to protect freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, warning that democracy must extend beyond periodic elections to meaningful public participation and respect for fundamental rights.

He said the commission had begun strengthening its monitoring of civic space through the training of state coordinators on operationalising its advisory opinion on promoting and protecting civic space and human rights.

The initiative, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Network of NGOs, with support from Heinrich Böll Stiftung Nigeria and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is expected to improve the documentation of violations affecting civil society organisations, peaceful assemblies and other civic activities.

Ojukwu said the commission remained committed to improving investigations, complaints resolution and monitoring, but stressed that documenting violations must lead to concrete remedies and accountability.

“The true measure of our progress is not simply the number of complaints documented, but the extent to which our collective efforts improve the lives of Nigerians,” he said.