Nigeria recorded worsened human rights abuses in recent years in November 2025, with more than 422,942 complaints of violations reported nationwide, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has revealed.

Presenting the November 2025 Human Rights Situation Dashboard in Abuja yesterday, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, described the figures as “crying for help,” warning that insecurity, impunity, and shrinking civic space posed grave threats to the country’s future.

According to the NHRC, over 800 abductions were documented in November alone, making it the most troubling month for kidnappings since the Chibok schoolgirls incident.

Among the victims were more than 55 farmers, abducted from their farms, and travellers seized on highways, students taken from schools and worshippers kidnapped during prayers.

Ojukwu singled out the abduction of schoolchildren in Maga and Papiri communities in Kebbi and Niger states as particularly alarming, stressing that attacks on education amounted to an assault on Nigeria’s future.

“Education is not just a right; it is the foundation of civilisation. When access to education is threatened, we undermine our ability to defeat violent extremism, poverty and inequality,” he said.

Beyond kidnappings, the commission documented child trafficking, gang rapes, and the sexual abuse of minors, which, according to Ojukwu leave lifelong scars on victims and society. He lamented that children who should be protected were instead being exposed to extreme violence and exploitation.

The NHRC dashboard also highlighted persistent reports of police extortion, unlawful detentions and abuse of power, alongside continued harassment and intimidation of journalists and activists. Ojukwu warned that the shrinking civic space posed a direct risk to democracy.

In some states, the commission observed a rise in domestic violence, child abandonment, denial of education and denial of inheritance rights, abuses that often occur quietly but disproportionately affect women, children and the elderly.

Summarising the findings, the NHRC boss identified a disturbing pattern: growing impunity, increasing attacks on civic freedoms, heightened violence against women and children, and communities trapped in daily fear.

“These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of deeper systemic problems,” he said, calling for urgent collective action by government at all levels, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and citizens.

While reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to documenting violations and engaging security agencies, Ojukwu stressed that accountability must be enforced.

“To those who commit these violations—whether armed groups, individuals or state actors—the era of impunity must come to an end,” he declared. He urged Nigerians to work together to build a country where children could attend school without fear, farmers could work safely, travellers could use the roads freely, and women and girls could live without violence.

“Our goal is a Nigeria where human rights are not mere expressions, but a lived reality for every person,” he said. (The Guardian)

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