ABUJA: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) announced on Monday that it received a staggering 106,604 human rights violation complaints in June, a figure the Commission described as “unprecedented and worrisome.”
Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, Executive Secretary of the NHRC, presented the sixth edition of the monthly human rights dashboard, revealing that the North Central zone led with 29,462 cases. The violations included mob action, extra-judicial killings, kidnappings, and cult-related deaths in states such as Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, Benue, and Edo.
“The dashboard has illuminated areas of progress and highlighted challenges,” Ojukwu said, emphasizing that the increase in complaints reflects the Commission’s growing public awareness efforts.
Ojukwu noted the troubling rise in mob justice and extra-judicial killings, along with attacks on police stations in Ebonyi and the FCT. He called for federal and state authorities to address these human rights crises, which include the impacts of cholera and flooding.
The Senior Human Rights Adviser, Mr. Hillary Ogbonna, provided a regional breakdown: the South South recorded 21,603 cases, the South West 18,458, the North West 15,101, the North East 12,907, and the South East 9,164. In June alone, the NHRC documented 1,667 cases of child abandonment, 58 cases of rape, and 600 instances of sexual and domestic violence.
