Beyond the numbers
Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission received 355,726 complaints in December 2024, a significant increase from 1,147 in January 2024.
Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) received 355,726 complaints in December 2024, a sharp rise from 1,147 received in January 2024. The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, attributed the surge to the growing public awareness and trust in the commission. While complaints dropped 10% compared to November, it highlighted a concerning trend in the South-South, which topped the list of regions with 104,912 cases. Major trends in the December 2024 complaints included discrimination, law enforcement abuses, human dignity violations, and economic rights concerns. The report also highlighted casualties at palliative distribution centres during the festive season.
Nigeria is witnessing an unprecedented surge in human rights complaints, reflecting growing public awareness and deep-seated systemic issues. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recorded a staggering 355,726 complaints in December 2024 alone—an astronomical rise from just 1,147 complaints in January of the same year. This 30,913.9 percent increase underscores the country’s ongoing human rights challenges, exacerbated by economic hardship, law enforcement abuses, and governance failures.
Several factors have contributed to this sharp rise. Increased awareness of human rights, amplified by social media, has empowered more Nigerians—particularly women—to speak out and seek redress rather than suffer in silence. The NHRC’s improved reporting mechanisms, including a toll-free line and plans for an online reporting platform, have made it easier for victims to file complaints. However, this surge in reports also highlights a troubling reality: Nigeria remains a country where fundamental rights are frequently violated, and justice remains elusive.
The roots of these human rights challenges stretch back to Nigeria’s colonial past under British rule, which laid the groundwork for governance structures that often disregarded individual freedoms. Post-independence, successive military regimes further entrenched human rights abuses, characterised by arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, torture, and extrajudicial killings. While Nigeria has since transitioned to democratic rule, these authoritarian legacies persist in various forms, particularly in policing and governance. One of the most alarming trends in the NHRC’s report is the disproportionate burden of human rights violations in the South-South region, which recorded 104,912 complaints—the highest in the country. This can be linked to long-standing socio-economic grievances, environmental degradation from oil exploration, and systemic policing issues that have historically plagued the Niger Delta.
Economic, social, and cultural rights violations remain prevalent, fueled by widespread poverty, unemployment, and infrastructural neglect, all of which contribute to social unrest. Beyond the South-South, the report sheds light on a disturbing rise in human dignity violations, excessive use of force by law enforcement and discrimination. Police brutality remains a persistent issue despite past protests against security force misconduct. Violations of freedom from discrimination highlight ongoing concerns about gender-based violence, ethnic and religious biases, and workplace inequalities, all of which demand stronger enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Perhaps most troubling is the high casualty rate at palliative distribution centres during the festive season, exposing severe lapses in humanitarian coordination.
The fact that vulnerable populations face danger even when receiving basic aid underscores deeper governance failures in managing social welfare programs effectively and equitably. Moreover, Nigeria is grappling with a catastrophic failure of its justice system. The lack of trust in formal institutions has resulted in increased jungle justice, as frustration over delayed or denied justice pushes people to take matters into their own hands. The adage “Where there is no justice, there cannot be peace” has never been more relevant. Economic hardship has further exacerbated tensions, with families struggling with rising costs and venting their frustrations on spouses and dependents. Violence, both in public and private spheres, is becoming alarmingly normalised, threatening to make the country increasingly unlivable.
While public trust in the NHRC is growing, the commission’s ability to translate complaints into tangible justice and policy reforms will be the true test of its effectiveness. The Nigerian government must strengthen institutional responses, hold perpetrators accountable, and address the root causes of these violations, which include economic instability, governance failures, and law enforcement misconduct. Without decisive action, the NHRC risks becoming an overwhelmed body merely collecting complaints rather than a powerful instrument for human rights protection and enforcement. The path forward requires an unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and the rule of law. Anything less will only deepen the cracks in an already fragile system.