The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the rising spate of human rights abuses in Nigeria, disclosing that it received 365,224 complaints of human rights violations in August 2025 alone. The Commission Executive Secretary, Dr Tony Ojukwu, made this disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja, at the presentation of the National Human Rights Dashboard and
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the rising spate of human rights abuses in Nigeria, disclosing that it received 365,224 complaints of human rights violations in August 2025 alone.
The Commission Executive Secretary, Dr Tony Ojukwu, made this disclosure on Tuesday in Abuja, at the presentation of the National Human Rights Dashboard and the “Protection of Human Rights of Forcibly Displaced Persons through Information/Data Collection and Documentation in Nigeria” initiative.
In its reports, the commission explained that cases of human abuse ranged from a rise in sexual and gender-based violence, killings, and abductions, which became dominant due to several factors, including raging conflicts, banditry, and climatic disasters, which have resulted in internal displacements that have harmed the human rights of impoverished and traumatised populations.
The reports explained that recorded cases of human violation represent the pulse of a people yearning for fairness, justice, and respect, noting that they were not “mere statistics.”
According to Dr Ojukwu, the highest complaints were received from the North-central, with 152,870, followed by the North-west with 70,002, the North-East with 68,598, the South-East with 45,849, the South-south with 14,041, and the South-West with 13,864.
The dashboard further reveals that the North-west, particularly Zamfara and Katsina, bore the brunt of banditry, with mass killings like the tragic loss of 50 worshippers in a Katsina mosque and abductions of 45 in Zamfara’s Bakura.
“In August, the National Human Rights Commission stood as a beacon of hope for three hundred and sixty-five thousand, two hundred and twenty-four (365,224) voices who entrusted us with their stories of struggle for enjoyment of human rights.
“These complaints, received across our 38 collection points in Nigeria reveal a nation at a crossroad.” “The data speaks loudly, spotlighting three critical areas: Freedom from Discrimination, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR), and Law Enforcement and Human Dignity. These are not mere statistics; they are the pulse of a people yearning for fairness, justice, and respect.
“Our observatory’s findings amplify this urgency, documenting incidents of human rights violations across all geo-political zones.
“In urban centres like FCT and Kwara, mob justice surged, with lynching over theft and blasphemy allegations, reflecting a crisis of trust in law enforcement.”
“The observatory also highlights a distressing rise in violations against vulnerable groups. Sexual and gender-based violence targeted minors, with harrowing cases of rape against girls as young as two in Ekiti and seven in Ondo.
“Benue and FCT reported deadly farmer-herder clashes, while land disputes fuelled killings in Ebonyi. Suicides in Osun and Imo, linked to financial and academic stress, signal an urgent need for mental health support.
“These trends paint a stark picture. Yet, they also galvanise us to act: to strengthen child protection laws, reform policing with transparency tools, and address land tenure to curb communal violence.”
He called on relevant authorities to increase their efforts in protecting humans, stressing, “The state of the vulnerable population in Nigeria should be of great concern to governments at federal, state and local levels.
“Our engagement with community protection action group members in project documented 8,966 displacements between May to July and a cumulative 53,261 from February to July.
These are not just mere numbers. They represent Nigerians who have been exposed to multiple human rights violations, impacting on their dignity and humanity.
“The National Human Rights Commission, with the support of our partners, UNHCR, has also documented rising incidences of numbers of populations of returnees and refugees across our project sites.
“Between the months of May and July, there were a total of 10,710 Returnees to communities, 5,191 refugees and 2.275 Asylum Seekers in the same period.”
In his advocacy, Dr. Ojukwu stated that the purpose of the report was not only to present figures, but also to encourage relevant agencies and the government to create a Nigeria where no one is left behind, discrimination is eliminated, opportunities flourish, and dignity is unavoidable.
“I call on all stakeholders to support our vision: real-time alerts, nationwide response, and policies that breathe life into the lived experience of every Nigerian.”
