By Mercy Peter
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has declared that Nigeria is fast descending into a “graveyard of human rights.”
HURIWA also alleged that state authorities and institutions particularly the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have failed in their mandate to protect citizens from abuses ranging from extrajudicial killings to unlawful detentions and widespread impunity.
The organisation made the claim in its 2025 Human Rights Day message, themed “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials.”
HURIWA said the theme, adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council, underscores the urgency of reconnecting ordinary citizens with the fundamental freedoms that shape daily life but are now under severe threat in Nigeria.
According to HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution establishes Nigeria’s commitment to universal rights such as freedom of expression, movement, dignity, and the right to life but these guarantees “increasingly exist only in theory.”
Onwubiko lamented that despite being a constitutional democracy with a longstanding human rights architecture including the NHRC, founded during the military era of General Sani Abacha—the country has regressed sharply.
“Today, Nigerians are going through grave cases of mass killings, extra-legal killings by security forces, and all kinds of abuses by armed non-state actors, but the National Human Rights Commission is missing in action,” he said.
He accused the Commission of failing to speak out against unlawful arrests, prolonged detentions by the Department of State Services (DSS) and police, and disappearances linked to alleged police-run organ-harvesting detention cells in Imo and Anambra states.
HURIWA also criticized the Commission for ignoring the shooting of seven women protesters in Adamawa and for becoming “preoccupied with award ceremonies” instead of advocacy.
The NHRC’s 30th anniversary gala held on December 6, 2025, came under particular scrutiny from HURIWA.
During the event, Air Peace Chairman/CEO Allen Onyema received a Distinguished Human Rights Defender induction certificate despite ongoing investigations into alleged exploitative ticket pricing and customer rights violations.
The backlash followed the December 1, 2024 BusinessDay report that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had launched probes into the aviation, banking, and telecoms sectors over consumer rights abuses, including investigations into Air Peace, GTBank, and MTN.
“Rather than interrogate these issues, the NHRC chose to hand out awards,” HURIWA said. “This is shameful and raises questions about the Commission’s understanding of its role.”
HURIWA praised the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for what it described as “significant progress” in respecting human rights under the leadership of Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
The EFCC recently announced that between October 2023 and September 2025, it:Received over 19,000 petitions,Conducted 29,240 investigations,Filed 10,525 cases,Secured 7,503 convictions,Recovered ₦566 billion, $411 million, £71,000, and €182,877,Seized 1,502 non-monetary assets,Arrested 792 suspects in a major crackdown on investment and crypto fraud, including 192 foreign nationals who were later deported,Revived longstanding corruption cases involving several former governors, ministers, and public officials.
HURIWA said these achievements combined with reports of improved compliance with due process and detainee rights—are encouraging steps that should be sustained.
HURIWA said insecurity, mass poverty driven by corruption, enforced disappearances, police brutality, and political intolerance have reached “alarming and unsustainable” levels.
“Human rights are our everyday essentials,” Onwubiko said. “But in Nigeria today, these essentials are being stripped from citizens on a scale that demands urgent national reckoning.”
He called on the NHRC to “return to its founding mandate” and challenged government institutions to demonstrate that human rights remain “a winning proposition for humanity.”
