By EDITH NWAPI

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned the alleged abuse of power by the military and law enforcement agents.

The Commission expressed this in its monthly publication, The Dashboard, for the month of March and first quarter of the year.

The Dashboard present the reports of human rights violations as recorded by the commission’s offices in the 36 states and Abuja.

The Executive Secretary, NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu (SAN), at the presentation of the report, said the commission received a total of 246,200 complaints in March.

This number, according to Ojukwu, reflects the ongoing challenges and protection gaps we face in securing human rights for all Nigerians.

He said that the complaints were notably on violations involving state actors and related to freedom from discrimination, which, remain of significant concern.

The NHRC boss observed that the issues were not isolated; but systemic, “and they demand our collective attention and action.

“The NHRC strongly condemns the invasion of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company headquarters by personnel from the Nigerian Air Force at the Sam Ethnan Air Force Base in Ikeja, Lagos State.

“The brutal assault of workers violated basic rights to safety, dignity, and freedom from abuse.

“It is especially shocking that security forces harmed those they should protect.

“We are seeing a pattern of abuse of authority by those who wear uniforms and this should be condemned in the strongest terms.

“Such actions undermine public trust and cannot be tolerated”.

Ojukwu said that Commission demands immediate accountability and justice for the victims.

He therefore called on the military, security and law enforcement agencies to commit to discharging their duties within the ambits of the law and with utmost respect for the dignity of the human person.

According to Ojukwu, the month of March also saw a disturbing increase in terrorist groups attacking vulnerable communities across Nigeria.

He said, “these violent assaults represent not only security breaches but also fundamental violations of the most basic human rights, the right to life, the right to personal security, and the right to live free from fear.”

Equally, Okukwu lamented the surge in targeted abduction of religious leaders.

He described this as a deliberate strategy that not only violated their personal safety, but assaulted the very principles of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.

Also, the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Bæra, expressed delight at the presentation.

He said that the report, even though a very difficult information, was presented in a way that made it easy for one to understand how grim the situation is.

“The government and other people in the community need to call this up. So thank you again for that.

“And I think you can say that all human rights are important,” the envoy said.

According to him, there is no country in the world that can say that they follow human rights all the time.

“There are errors in all nations. And that’s why it’s so important to have a body like the National Human Rights Commission to follow up in such a systematic and evidence-driven way.

“Of all the rights we could say are important, I would like to echo what the Executive Secretary said.

“Maybe it’s the most important of all. And that is the right to live free from fear. The right to live free,” Bæra said.

The envoy commended the National Human Rights Commission for rising to its duties and protecting rights of Nigerians.

Presenting the Dashboard report, the Senior Human Rights Adviser to the Commission, Mr Hilary Ogbonna, said the commission completed 12,545 investigation in this first quarter.

Ogbonna said the commission visited correctional centres and detention facilities 230 times.

According to him, 465 summons and letters were given to the Nigeria Police, while 27 visitations were made to military formations.

Ogbonna stressed that the state has the obligations to protect its citizens. (NAN)