The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) on Tuesday expressed concern over the increasing loss of lives due to road accidents, which infringes the right to life. The commission also highlighted the excessive use of force by security personnel against protesters in the country.
Presenting its eighth monthly report at its headquarters in Abuja, the NHRC expressed its dismay over these issues, noting a continuous rise in human rights complaints over the past month.
NHRC senior human rights adviser Hilary Ogbonna, who presented the report on behalf of the commission, said 305,300 complaints of abuse were recorded in September, a further increase of 76,751 compared to the August report.
“The data on human rights violations continues to increase; we wish that this was not a data that we would not want to increase, but unfortunately it continues to increase,” said Ogbonna.
He attributed the increase in the number of complaints to increased public awareness of the commission's activities and worsening economic difficulties.
The most worrying issue raised by the NHRC is the loss of lives in road accidents.
Eighth edition of the situation board of the National Human Rights Commission
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, represented by the Director of Legal Services and Compliance, Rabi Anwar, said: “An important issue we highlight today is the tragic loss of life due to road accidents, which seriously undermines the enjoyment of human rights for many families.”
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He added: “According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), approximately 1,471 people died in road accidents in the first quarter of 2024 alone. It is crucial that the government and the Federal Road Safety Corps Road take immediate and sustainable measures to address this crisis and ensure the safety and well-being of all motorists in Nigeria.”
The condition of most of the country's roads remains deplorable.
Apart from the poor condition of the road, Ogbonna also attributed these accidents to the carelessness of some drivers who ply the road with gallons of petrol.
The CNDH disapproves the use of tear gas against protesters
The #FearlessinOctober protest which took place in celebration of Nigeria's 64th independence as a continuation of the #EndBadGovernance protest in August.
Despite the low turnout of the protesters, the Nigerian police dispersed them in Abuja with tear gas. Protesters were unable to regroup after police fired tear gas at them.
“We are deeply concerned about the excessive use of force and tear gas by the Nigerian Police against protesters in Abuja. These actions represent a serious violation of the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens,” Ojukwu said.
Complaints from geopolitical zones
As in the August report, the North West continues to record the highest number of cases of human rights abuses. The region is followed by the North Central, South-South, Southwest, Northeast and finally Southeast, in that order.
The North West topped the list in terms of the number of kidnapping cases, while the South West recorded the lowest.
The regional breakdown of kidnappings is Northwest, 72; North-Central, 15; Northeast, 8; South-South, 12; Southeast, 7 and Southwest, 4.
Other complaints
Ogbonna, presenting the report, explained that the right to freedom of religion became a major issue in September due to restrictions imposed by some states.
“Freedom of religion became a major issue in September as some states in Nigeria imposed restrictions on the enjoyment of this right by some religious minorities,” he said.
Mobs were also common in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where one person was reportedly burned for allegedly stealing a motorcycle and another was beaten for allegedly stealing a bag of rice. In Lagos, a man was reportedly killed for stealing wire. In Ondo State, a person is said to have been killed over debt.
There were also cases of sexual gender violence. In Jigawa there was a case where scissors and a spoon were inserted into the genitals of an eight-year-old boy.
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Ogbonna also lamented the violation of children's rights, which continues to increase, especially the abandonment of children.
He said the NHRC was committed to addressing this issue.
“This continues to be an alarming situation, the commission has resolved to organize a stakeholder forum where we are going to discuss this because the commission has been seeing this since January.
“It's something that really needs political, legal and institutional measures,” he said.