The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised the alarm over the increasing rate of child abandonment in Nigeria, saying that it received 339 complaints concerning the issue in the month of February 2024. The cases were recorded across the Commission's 36 State Offices and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu OFR, SAN who made this disclosure in Abuja during the presentation of the 2nd edition of the human rights dashboard noted that the high prevalence of child abandonment in the Country portends a dangerous trend because some of the abandoned children may become a security threat in the future.
Other recorded cases of human rights violations according to the Executive Secretary are rape and defilement 12, child marriage 3, harmful traditional practices 1, violence and assault - battery 24, and trafficking 10.
The Executive Secretary also expressed concern about the state of human rights in Nigeria especially the impact of economic reforms on the enjoyment of human rights by Nigerians.
"Images and videos of citizens breaking into warehouses and trucks conveying food stuffs do not only portend dangers on the rule of law but clearly shows a violation of the right to dignity of the human person guaranteed by our Constitution and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights", he said.
The essence of the monthly dashboard on human rights, Ojukwu stated, is not to indict anybody or institution, rather it is a guide and a measurement of our progress to realizing the human rights of every Nigerian.
"It provides information that will trigger a chain of multi-faceted actions on tackling insecurity, poverty and inequalities in Nigeria. For instance, the upsurge in violence, killings and kidnappings recorded in February should concern every arm of our government", he added. The Human Rights Advocate used the opportunity to appreciate the United Nations Development Programme for its support through the Tripartite Partnership Programme (TPP).
The Coordinator of the dashboard, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna who made an info graphic presentation on the dashboard disclosed that the Commission recorded 1,484 complaints of human rights violations in the month of February 2024 as against 1,147 received in January 2024.
Ogbonna who is also the Human Rights Adviser to the Executive Secretary disaggregated the 1,484 complaints which showed that complaints about State Actors was 95, domestic violence 370, Non- State Actors 28, private sector 53, Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) 145, right to life 45 and others 356.
Further breakdown of the 1,484 complaints according to the six geopolitical zones in the Country is as followers: North East 393, North West 138, North Central 481, South West 179, South East 144 and South South 149.
Present at the occasion were Prof. Udembana Nsogurua (on Sabbatical at the Human Rights Institute), Representatives of CLEEN Foundation and the representatives of the Human Rights Adviser to the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator.
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