The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed concern about the increasing cases of displacements in Nigeria which has been exacerbated by the recent flooding in Mokwa, Niger State, urging the authorities to improve on disaster preparedness and protection for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the country.
The Commission disclosed that between February and April 2025, it recorded over 40,000 displacement incidents and 1,460 rights complaints from the vulnerable groups and many of them continue to grapple with inadequate shelter, lack of healthcare, and systematic rights violations.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu OFR, SAN who stated this during the May, 2025 presentation of Human Rights Dashboard expressed worry about how over 200 people lost their lives and many still missing in the Mokwa, Niger State flooding.
Amidst this concern, the learned Silk announced the launch of a historic new quarterly Human Rights and Internal Displacement Dashboard in response to the growing displacement crises in the country.
The initiative, the Executive Secretary stated, was developed in partnership with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), to systematically track and address the challenges facing IDPs, asylum seekers, refugees, and returnees.
The Human Rights Advocate highlighted the increasing human rights and humanitarian issues in Nigeria, disclosing that in the month of May alone, the Commission received 275,256 complaints across the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory.
The NHRC Boss disclosed that between February and April, 2025, Benue State alone witnessed the displacement of 6,477 males, 8,429 females and 3,653 households.
Continuing, he said Sokoto State came second in terms of States suffering displacements, indicating that 3,304 males and 3,786 females were affected in this regard.
The quarterly humanitarian observatory showed that Akwa Ibom State has the least number of displacements with 138 males and 114 females, and 60 households affected.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria observed that the huge number of complaints recorded by the Commission was a clear indicator that, “too many Nigerians feel unprotected” and that the country risks normalizing distress and impunity.
According to him, “When over a quarter of a million people come to the National Human Rights Commission in just one month, the message is loud and clear".
The Executive Secretary expressed shock over the various forms of rights violations witnessed in the month of May, 2025 including violent attacks in the aforesaid issues, the Human Rights Expert announced that the Commission would go into partnership with Ability Live Initiative Allies, a civil society group focused on the rights of persons with disabilities.
The partnership, the Executive Secretary stated, will be focusing on tackling the deep-seated discrimination against the estimated 5 million Nigerians living with disabilities, who continue to face limited access to public services, education and employment.
“This partnership aims to ensure that persons with disabilities are not merely included but are actively participating in societal and economic spheres,” the Executive Secretary added.
He urged government agencies, development partners, and civil society organizations to use the dashboards not only as data tools but as mechanisms to hold authorities accountable and improve human rights outcomes in the country.
During the presentation of the Quarterly Dashboard on IDPs and Forcibly Displaced Persons, the Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, Mr. Benedict Agu observed Boko Haram insurgency and terror group like ISWAP and Lakawura and armed banditry among others are the triggers of displacements and other humanitarian issues.
Agu, who is also Head Human Rights Monitoring Department of the NHRC said that his team monitors and engages with communities affected by the aforementioned challenges with a view to bringing up the issues for redress by the relevant stakeholders.
Similarly, the Human Rights Adviser to the NHRC, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna observed a five (5) percent increase in complaints of human rights violations in May compared to April, 2025.
According to the senior lawyer, in the month of May 122 persons were kidnapped, 370 persons were killed, 1,050 children were abandoned and 15 armed forces and law enforcement personnel were also killed in the country.
Besides, he said that 81,494 complaints were received from the South South geopolitical zone while 25,070 came from the South East geopolitical zone, representing the highest and the lowest numbers respectively in the month of May, 2025.
Lastly, he condemned attacks on vigilante groups, and law enforcement officials including a DPO in Gombe State, saying that nothing can justify attacks on any security personnel since there are legal procedures to address excesses of security operatives.
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