THE NATIONAL Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday expressed concern over the rising cases of human rights violations in the month of April.
Mr Hilary Ogbonna, Senior Human Rights Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, raised the concern at the presentation of the 4th edition of NHRC dashboard data which represented the month of April.
The dashboard is a monthly analysis and graphical presentation of human rights situation in Nigeria while the observatory is for monitoring, reporting and analysing the human rights violations.
The Commission inaugurated the maiden edition of human rights dashboard and observatory on February 14, when it presented the report of January.
In his analysis, Ogbonna pointed out that there was an increase of 337 complaints of human rights violations in February.
According to him in January, a total of 1,147 complaints were recorded against 1,484 recorded in February. March recorded a total of 1580 complaints.
“There was an upsurge in complaints recorded in April,” Ogbonna said adding that the total number of complaints was 19,470.
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He gave the breakdown to include: Against State Actors – 5259; Domestic Violence – 4317, Violation of Children’s’ Rights – 1457; Against Non-State Actors – 2877, Against Private Sector Actors – 106, Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ESCR) – 3695; Right to life – 110; Persons with disabilities – 136, Others – 365; Referred Complaints – 191.
“Mass killings continue to be on the rise across states, media freedom under attack, killings of law enforcement and members of the armed forces, rise in cases of violence against children and minors, economic reforms impacting on the enjoyment of human rights.
“Issues in Focus, cultism & Human Rights over 20 deaths were recorded in April relating to activities of cultists in 3 states of Anambra, Edo and Enugu state” he said.
According to him, NHRC calls on the government and security agencies to protect lives and properties especially in educational institutions.
He lamented attacks on press freedom over the last three months, five journalists have been arrested and detained beyond constitutional limits with Daniel Ojukwu currently on his 10th day of detention.
“Mr Lanre Arogundade was flagged off at the MMIA for being on a ‘watch list’. NHRC is concerned on these attacks on journalists and press freedom.
“NHRC condemns the indiscriminate arrests and prolonged detention of Nigerians. The NHRC is grateful to the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and GANHRI for their support to the Tripartite Partnership Programme (TPP),” he said.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr Anthony Ojukwu SAN, represented by Mr Harry Obe, head, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR), said the monthly dashboard is part of the commission’s mandate.
“The monthly dashboard on the state of human rights is borne out of the necessity by Commission to monitor, investigate and report on human rights in real time on a national scale in line with its mandate. The dashboard is a unique and distinctive I initiative of the Commission that presents an infographic report on where we stand on human rights in our country.
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“These facts, statistics and analysis of human rights violations across broad and specific thematic areas provide policy makers international partners, law enforcement agencies civil society actors and the media with the opportunity of gaining insights into the evolving human rights landscape in Nigeria and exploring collaborative avenues for addressing emerging challenges,” he said.
According to Ojukwu, beyond providing a graphic presentation of the human rights situation, the April dashboard also serves as a guide and a measurement of our progress realising the human rights of every Nigerian.
He noted that the dashboard provides information that will trigger a chain of multifaceted actions from every arm of government in tackling insecurity, poverty and Inequalities in our country.
Ojukwu speaking by himself later said he attended an UN human rights in Geneva and Nigeria was ranked high in reporting human rights violations.
“All eyes and ears were on Nigeria when we were sharing our experiences, the Commission has been vocal when it comes to violations of human rights. Everyone was impressed with this dashboard reports and the international communities wait for the monthly report. Thanks to the media whose work is the brain behind bringing all these reports to the public,” he said.
Similarly, Nkechi Enubiaka, project officer, Rule of Law and Human Rights, on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), extended their deepest appreciation to the NHRC for its commitment to promoting human rights in Nigeria.
“The journey towards advancing human rights is often challenging, yet your dedication has provided invaluable expertise in navigating these complexities with determination. The Tripartite Partnership Agreement between UNDP and NHRC marks a significant milestone in our collective efforts to promote and protect human rights in Nigeria.
“As we continue our journey towards a just and equitable Nigeria, we remain grateful for the invaluable partnership and look forward to further strengthening our collaboration for the advancement of human rights and sustainable development” she said. (NAN)
