The violations spanned a range of atrocities, including killings, kidnappings, domestic violence, and breaches of children’s rights, among others.

Presenting the findings at the NHRC headquarters, senior human rights adviser Mr. Hilary Ogbonna highlighted the North Central region as the most affected, with 468 reported cases of human rights violations.

During the presentation, attended by NHRC Executive Secretary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Dr. Tony Ojukwu, Ogbonna emphasized that state actors such as the police, military, and Department of State Services (DSS) accounted for 94 cases of rights violations. He noted that this included incidents such as killings of military and police personnel in Delta State.

Additionally, the report outlined 542 cases of violations of children’s rights and 471 instances of domestic violence, which Ogbonna described as alarmingly prevalent in certain areas.

Non-state and private actors were responsible for 32 and 36 violations respectively, while three cases involved violations against disabled individuals.

The report further highlighted 157 cases related to social, economic, and cultural rights, with an additional 24 cases referred to the commission.

Of particular concern were the 499 cases of killings and kidnappings, along with 71 violations of the right to life recorded during the period.

Ogbonna stressed that these figures encompassed reports from all 36 state offices of the commission and Abuja, expressing deep concern over the escalating trend of human rights violations.

He cited specific incidents, including the abduction of 301 school children in Kaduna State and 40 deaths in Benue State, underscoring the urgent need for intervention.

Calling for restraint from both state and private actors, Ogbonna emphasized the importance of adhering to legal protocols and international laws in investigations conducted by law enforcement agencies.

In his welcome address, NHRC Executive Secretary Ojukwu reiterated the commission’s commitment to promoting and safeguarding human rights in Nigeria.

He pledged to collaborate with various stakeholders, including the government, to enhance efforts aimed at protecting lives and property while curbing human rights violations.

The NHRC’s monthly dashboard, aimed at shedding light on the human rights situation, receives support from organizations such as the United Nations Development Program and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Tony Ojukwu (SAN) who was represented by the Director, Civil and Political Rights, Abdulraham Yakubu, said this while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt during a two-day training organised for police personnel in the South-South geo-political zone.

The training, which was themed ‘mainstreaming Human Rights into law enforcement in Nigeria,’ was supported by the Macarthur Foundation.

Yakubu said the training was to ensure that policemen respected the rights of members of the public while carrying out their duties.

He added, “So, we are all aware of public agitations of human rights violations by police personnel. And, the police are very important to law enforcement because there is no local government in Nigeria that doesn’t have the presence of police personnel.

“The constitution and many other laws have given the police the power to maintain peace, law, and order. Therefore, they cannot be left alone to carry out these huge and enormous responsibilities without complying with the constitution and various laws that guide the criminal justice system in the country.”

Asked about the persistent challenge of funding the police, he said, “I’m sure we all know that the Federal Government, over the years, has been increasing the funding level of the police.

“And, that is why the FG established what they call the police trust fund.

“This police trust fund is also to assist, apart from the budgetary allocations given to the Nigerian Police. This is also an alternative means of assisting the police in procuring special communication gadgets and other facilities that will help them in carrying out their duties.

“And I’m also sure that we will start to see an increase in the level of budget appropriation to the Nigerian Police, and also, in providing certain welfare to motivate them. So, I think, over the years, we will start to see the benefits of all these means of funding the Nigerian Police,” he stated.

According to him, one of the objectives of the training was to keep enlightening the policemen to know that there was no hiding place, saying, “So, whenever there is violation or corruption, they (operatives) will be held accountable.”

The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Mr Tony Ojukwu, said this while fielding questions from journalists at the headquarters of the commission in Abuja.

The Presidential Panel led by Ojukwu had between 2018 and 2019 probed complaints of brutal activities of SARS and had submitted its report to the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on June 3, 2019.

The NHRC on October 19, 2020, submitted the report to the AGF accompanied with a specific list of those recommended for prosecution.

Ojukwu said the two major issues raised had been addressed by the commission.

Ojukwu said, “The issues raised by the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation as to why the prosecution seems difficult are: One, he said he has not received the original case files. Two, he said some of the police officers must be dismissed first by the Police Service Commission before they can prosecute them, of course, that is procedural. We have worked on those conditions. We have sent all the original case files, not only to him (the AGF) but to all the states, because the law says it is either the Attorney General of the Federation or the Attorney General of the states. There are about 13 states involved, and I can assure you that we have dispatched all the original case files to all the 13 states. Secondly, we have submitted the list of these officers, with other necessary documents to both the Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police. So, they need to do the needful. Moving forward, I expect that, once these internal procedures are tidied up, they should be able to do what they are supposed to do. This is because, as at today, we have sorted out these two obstacles identified by the AGF.”

Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Mr Tony Ojukwu who revealed that the list was an extract of the full report of the Special Presidential Panel on SARS earlier submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari on June 3, 2019, said the list of the indicted operatives was accompanied with the full report of the panel to guide the prosecution of the indicted operatives.

Ojukwu said “In line with the mandate of the panel, the commission is here today to submit the list to you, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the list of all officers who have been indicted in the report. The list contains the names of all those who are to be prosecuted for various offences by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. We have also brought the original copy of the full report which will also guide the office of the Attorney-General in looking at the details for the required prosecution because the summary will not have all the documents. We brought the full report which will guide the prosecuting officers.”