Date: 14th February 2025
Distinguished colleagues, partners, and human rights defenders,
It is my privilege to welcome you to the presentation of the first Human Rights Situation Dashboard of 2025. This platform remains a crucial tool in our collective mission to safeguard the rights and dignity of all individuals across our nation. It is more than a routine exercise; it has rather become a mirror reflecting the realities faced by our people.
This month we received 169,850 complaints from our 38 offices, a stark reminder that human rights violations persist in diverse forms and at an alarming scale. Each of these complaints represents a person, a family, or a community seeking justice, accountability, and relief. Our duty is to ensure that these voices are not just heard, but that tangible action follows. The complaints and our observatory show us that the human rights ecosystem continues to be challenging. In the North-East, we are seeing the resurgence of Boko Haram and in the North West banditry and insurgency continue to challenge our communities. Violence and criminalities in the South East are assuming alarming dimensions impacting on human rights.
While our efforts have led to significant interventions, the persistence of these violations raises critical questions: Are our systems strong enough to prevent recurring abuses? Are we bridging the gaps between violations and meaningful remedies? Are we holding perpetrators accountable while protecting survivors from further harm? What is our policy for the protection of civilians and mitigation of harm during conflict?
As we engage with this month’s trends, let us focus on strengthening preventive measures, closing protection gaps, and enhancing collaboration with state and non-state actors to reinforce human rights protections at every level. Our responsibility is not just to document human rights violations but to drive real, lasting change in governance, security, and social justice. It is our fervent hope that this dashboard will ignite the required change to build the Nigeria of our dreams.
Our dear partners, colleagues and gentlemen of the media, I will like to reiterate that 2025 is a milestone year for the National Human Rights Commission as it marks its 30th anniversary of its establishment, having been established in 1995. We have witnessed over the last three decades, a human rights trajectory which indicates progress even though at a slow pace. But we must not give up as governments as national and state level continue to adopt legal, policy and institutional frameworks to achieve human rights for all. The revival of the local government system through their new autonomy is a game changer. It is pertinent that the role of the ‘Office of the Citizen’ should not be jettisoned. For every successful society, the role of the civil society to hold government to account and the role of the media to ‘torchlight’ governance and shine light on our leaders can never be over-emphasised.
Let every stakeholder in the Nigerian project recommit themselves and the entire nation to realising the human rights of every girl, woman, boy or man in Nigeria. We call on all stakeholders to join and support the National Human Rights Commission in protecting and promoting the dignity of every Nigerian in line with our national and international commitments.
We are deeply grateful to our partners, particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for their continued and unwavering support.
I commend our dedicated staff, both at the state offices and Abuja and our partners who continue to push the boundaries of human rights protection. As we move forward, let this gathering inspire us to act with greater resolve, because behind every dashboard number is a life that depends on our action.
Thank you.
Dr. Tony Ojukwu OFR, SAN, Ficmc
Executive Secretary National Human Rights Commission.
Download the Executive Secretary's speech here:
Access the full dashboard here:
