The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for stakeholders’ commitment in the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on the promotion of human rights.
NHRC’s executive secretary, Tony Ojukwu, made the call on Tuesday during the presentation of the August dashboard report of the commission on human rights violations in the 36 states and the FCT.
The NAP is a guiding policy document for promoting, protecting, and enforcing human rights in Nigeria.
”Let us commit to the NAP on the promotion and protection of human rights: strengthening early warning systems, strengthening referral systems, scaling digital reporting tools, and fostering multi-sectoral dialogues.
”Our Observatory’s robust tracking, coupled with increasing trends in resolved cases, shows progress is possible. Let us build on this by expanding community custodians in hotspots like the North-West and youth-led forums in the South-East,” he said.
Mr Ojukwu called on all stakeholders to support this vision: real-time alerts, nationwide response, and policies that breathe life into the lived experience of every Nigerian.
”Together, let’s strive to write a new chapter, one where this dashboard doesn’t just count complaints but celebrates solutions,” he said.
The NHRC boss appreciated the support of the state offices, civil society organisations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for the commission.
Earlier, Mr Ojukwu noted that the commission received 365,224 complaints of human rights violations in August.
He said, ”These are the voices who entrusted them 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. The data speaks loudly, spotlighting three critical areas: freedom from discrimination, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR), and law enforcement and human dignity.”
Hiliary Ogbonna, senior human rights adviser to the executive secretary, presented the August dashboard and observatory reports.
He said the commission, with the support of its partners, including UNHCR, also documented a rising number of refugees in the country.
(NAN)