From mercy Peter
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed that it documented a staggering 365,224 cases of human rights abuses across Nigeria in August 2025 alone, underscoring the scale of violations facing citizens across the country.
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN), made this known on Tuesday in Abuja during the presentation of the National Human Rights Dashboard and the launch of a new initiative titled “Protection of Human Rights of Forcibly Displaced Persons through Information/Data Collection and Documentation in Nigeria.”
The initiative focuses on Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), returnees, refugees, and asylum seekers tracked between May and July 2025.
“In August, the National Human Rights Commission stood as a beacon of hope for **365,224 voices who entrusted us with their stories of struggle for the enjoyment of human rights.
These complaints, received across our 38 collection points in Nigeria, reveal a nation at a crossroads,” Ojukwu declared.
According to him, the data highlights three critical areas of concern: freedom from discrimination, economic, social and cultural rights, and law enforcement and human dignity.
He stressed that behind every statistic lies the lived reality of Nigerians yearning for fairness, justice, and respect.
Ojukwu explained that the NHRC Observatory has been documenting disturbing patterns of rights violations across the six geo-political zones.
• In the North-West, particularly Zamfara and Katsina, banditry continues to wreak havoc. He cited the killing of 50 worshippers in a Katsina mosque and the abduction of 45 persons in Bakura, Zamfara.
• In urban centres such as Abuja and Kwara, mob justice has surged, with lynchings over theft and blasphemy allegations, reflecting what he described as “a crisis of trust in law enforcement.”
• Vulnerable groups have also suffered greatly. Cases of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against minors were reported, including the rape of a 2-year-old girl in Ekiti and a 7-year-old in Ondo.
• Communal and resource-related clashes also persisted, with farmer-herder violence in Benue and the FCT, and deadly land disputes in Ebonyi.
• Rising cases of suicide in Osun and Imo States, linked to financial hardship and academic pressure, further highlighted the urgent need for mental health support in Nigeria.
“These trends paint a stark picture. Yet, they also galvanize us to act: to strengthen child protection laws, reform policing with transparency tools, and address land tenure to curb communal violence,” Ojukwu said.
The NHRC Executive Secretary raised concerns over the plight of forcibly displaced persons, saying multiple factors such as armed conflict, banditry, and climate-related disasters have compounded Nigeria’s humanitarian crises.
He revealed that between May and July 2025, the Commission documented 8,966 new displacements, with a cumulative 53,261 displacements between February and July.
“These are not mere numbers. They represent Nigerians who have been exposed to multiple violations, impacting their dignity and humanity,” he stressed.
Ojukwu added that with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Commission has also recorded rising numbers of returnees (10,710), refugees (5,191), and asylum seekers (2,275) during the May–July 2025 period.
The NHRC boss urged federal, state, and local governments to prioritize the protection of vulnerable populations and to treat the worsening humanitarian crisis with urgency.
“Our dashboards continue to serve as compasses. They point us to work for a Nigeria where no one is left behind, where discrimination fades, opportunities flourish, and dignity is non-negotiable. I call on all stakeholders to support our vision of real-time alerts, nationwide response, and policies that breathe life into the lived experiences of every Nigerian,” he emphasized.
The NHRC reaffirmed its commitment to deploying data-driven tools, strengthening advocacy, and working with partners to ensure accountability, protection, and redress for all victims of human rights violations in Nigeria.
