NHRC receives 365,000 human rights violation cases in one month
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, says it received 365,224 complaints on human rights violations from across the country in August.
The commission said there was also rise in sexual and gender based violence, killings, and abductions in the month of August.
The Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, during the August dashboard presentation on Tuesday in Abuja, explained that the highest complaints were received from the North-central, with 152,870, followed by the North-west with 70,002, the North-East with 68,598, the South-East with 45,849, the South-South with 14,041, and the South-West with 13,864.
Mr Ojukwu stated that, “The North-West, particularly Zamfara and Katsina, bore the brunt of banditry, with mass killings like the tragic loss of 50 worshippers in a Katsina mosque and abductions of 45 in Zamfara’s Bakura.”
He said that the figures were not “mere statistics”, but a representation of the pulse of a people yearning for fairness, justice, and respect.
Presenting the August report, NHRC Senior Human Rights Adviser, Hilary Ogbonna stated that 306 persons were killed and 450 kidnapped in the month in focus.
Ogbonna said the highest number of killings were recorded in Katsina State, 64; Benue State, 41; Plateau State, 39; Zamfara State, 25; and Sokoto State, 17.
The report indicated that the killings were perpetrated by Boko Haram, 35: bandits, 135; Lakurawa, 22; cultists 5; unknown gunmen, 65; and others 44.
He particularly mentioned that on 16 August, a local government official was killed and a former council vice chairman was kidnapped by armed gangs in Malumfashi.
The crisis in Katsina has particularly been a source of concern, the report added, citing the Chief Whip of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Ibrahim Dikko, who lamented the situation in his constituency, Matazu Local Government Area (LGA), where 8 out of 10 wards were under siege by bandits.
Mr Ogbonna urged the government to look into these issues, including in Benue State, which has continued to suffer attacks.
The report noted that so many killings occurred in places of religious worship within the period under review and highlighted the need to protect citizens and guarantee religious freedom
“We think that the government should take this whole issue of protecting religious freedom very seriously. Many civil conflicts across the world have been triggered by religious persecution, by religious conflict.”
