Killings, rape, other abuses persist as NHRC logs nearly 300,000 rights complaints in August

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday recorded 297,943 human rights complaints in August.

While the figure presented at the monthly dashboard presentation at the NHRC’s headquarters in Abuja reflects a 15 per cent decrease from the complaints recorded in July, the trends witnessed in August present a grim picture.

The Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, said during the presentation that “insecurity again dominated the human rights landscape,” adding, “we also witnessed increasing hate speeches and political violence by political and religious actors.”

Rise in hate speech

Political campaigns for the 2027 general elections have been marked by controversial remarks from public figures. This is happening while the heat from the recent off-cycle governorship election in Osun has yet to cool off.

Recently, prominent Islamic cleric Sani Jingir controversially described Nigeria a Muslim-majority country and called for mass support for the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027 while condemning whoever opposed it.

This generated backlash and even led to the NHRC’s demand for Mr Jingir’s arrest for inciting religious hatred and hate speech.

Similarly, the senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Francis Fadahunsi, issued death threats to members of the Accord Party found in Ilesa axis of the state days before the Osun State governorship election in August.

In the same month, the Chairman of Kuje Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Danjuma Shekwolo, was seen in a video asking residents to either vote for the APC or leave the council areas.

More horrendous reports

While presenting the August dashboard, Hilary Ogbonna, the senior human rights adviser to the commission, noted that while the NHRC is seeing a dip in the numbers in almost 15 months, “We are not rejoicing in this because over 290,000 people reported to us in August.”

He noted that the reports were characterised by child abandonment, mass abductions, rape, domestic and sexual violence, discrimination, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement.

“So when you look at all of those, you really see that there is no cause to celebrate,” Mr Ogbonna lamented.

Overview of NHRC’s dashboard

In August, the NHRC noted that the North-central recorded the highest number of complaints: 123,803, followed by the North-eest 58,902, North-east 55,516, South-east 37,100, South-South 11,363 and lastly South-West 11,259.

Also, the FCT, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Sokoto, Imo, Bauchi and Kogi accounted for 73 per cent of the entire complaints the NHRC received in August.

The commission, in its observatory, recorded 337 killings, of which accidents and 335 kidnappings caused 103.

Sixty-five persons were killed in Sokoto State alone. Other states recorded varying number of states – 50 in Niger, 38 in Benue, 12 in Kebbi and 24 in Plateau. Bandits and terrorists were responsible for most of the deaths.

Mr Ojukwu called “for a thorough, transparent investigation into these killings, and for the perpetrators of these and similar attacks across the country to be brought to justice without further delay.”

Giving a breakdown of the abductions, Mr Ogbonna said 60 worshippers were abducted in Niger, 15 NYSC corps members in Kogi, 31 in Katsina, 70 in Sokoto and 75 in Zamfara.

Despite the mass abductions, Mr Ojukwu commended the efforts of law enforcement officers for the rescue of 308 abducted in Niger and Kwara States and the 15 NYSC corps members.

He said the rescue mirrored what could be achieved when intelligence, political will and inter-agency coordination come together. While commending the security agencies involved, he said the commission expects to see nothing short of that standard at all times.

He also urged appropriate medical, psychosocial, family reunification and other forms of support necessary for the recovery and reintegration of survivors.

Violation of women and children’s rights

In the month under focus, 279 children were abandoned, 255 were engulfed in a custody battle, 241 were deprived of their rights to education, 158 were forced into child labour, 128 were sexually abused, 93 were married off and 79 faced trafficking.

The commission observed a rise in the trend of rape of minors. In Edo State, NHRC recorded six cases of rape, among which a 42-year-old father raped a 15-year-old and a boy was sodomised by a 42-year-old man.

NHRC also noted six rape cases in Gombe, Ondo, Cross River, Bauchi and Adamawa States.

Babies were abandoned in Benue, three children were found dead in a female native doctor’s home in Anambra, and an ex-Kano Local Government (LG) chairperson was arrested for administering fentanyl in Kano.

Also, 585 women were abandoned by their spouses in August. Mr Ogbonna noted that when this happens, it threatens the security of the family, leading to human rights violations, especially for the children involved.

Also, 536 women complained of being denied access to their children, 347 were forced into marriages, and 335 were trafficked in August.

The NHRC also said it resolved 8,245 complaints.

Mr Ojukwu used the dashboard platform to encourage the National Assembly to “engage constructively with these concerns, particularly those relating to freedom of association, freedom of expression and the independence of civil society organisations,” as it pertains to the Foreign Aid Bill.

About the bill

The bill, introduced in May 2026 by Ibrahim Dankwambo, the senator representing Gombe North, passed second reading in the Senate in July. It seeks to establish a Foreign Aid Regulatory Commission to track, register, audit, coordinate, sanction and suspend all foreign grants, donor funds and technical assistance

The bill passed the second reading in July.

However, five human rights organisations jointly called on the National Assembly to withdraw the Foreign Aids (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill 2026, codenamed SB 1034, warning that it could restrict civic space and put human rights defenders at risk.