Guardian Nigeria
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is set to interrogate the impact of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ongoing economic reforms on the increasing incidences of human rights violations in Nigeria.
The commission gave the hint at the public presentation of the month of May human rights dashboard yesterday at its headquarters in Abuja.
Making the presentation, the commission’s senior adviser, Hillary Ogbona, said the country recorded 5,518 incidents of human rights complaints in the month of May alone.
He said a further breakdown shows that there were 360 kidnapping cases, 298 cases of killings and 323 incidents of child abandonment in the month of May.
Earlier in a welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu (SAN), said that governments all over the world largely bear the responsibility of promoting human rights through the provision of necessary policies.
Ojukwu stressed that the commission’s responsibility is not only limited to provision of monthly details of human rights violations but also involves collaboration with civil society organisations and relevant stakeholders to reduce the incidences.
He noted that the commission was worried at the upsurge in rights violations complaints coming to it, adding that more worrisome was the rising incidence of mass killings, abduction of persons, arrest of journalists and attacks on security agencies, which top the scale in the month of may.
“It is incumbent upon the government to take concrete steps to address these violations and ensure that all citizens can enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights without discrimination or impediment. This includes implementing policies that promote equitable access to education, healthcare, housing and employment opportunities,” he said.
