The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, on Friday said that 542 cases of violation of children’s rights were recorded in the country last month.
NHRC’s Senior Human Rights Adviser, Mr. Hilary Ogbonna, who disclosed this while presenting the Human Rights Situation Dashboard for March, stated that the 542 cases were among the over 1,580 cases recorded last month.
While expressing concern about the rising spate of rights violations in the country, Ogbonna explained that the reported violations included killings, kidnapping, domestic violence, abductions, and issues bordering on children’s rights.
He disclosed that North Central topped the list of complaints with a total of 468 cases, adding that the recent killing of soldiers and police officers in Delta State formed part of the report.
Ogbonna, however, noted that the 1,580 human rights violations spread across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
He added that the police, military, and the Department of State Services, DSS, grouped as State Actors, were involved in 94 rights violations cases.
Ogbonna revealed that the issue of domestic violence, which he said was becoming too rampant in some parts of the country, had 471 recorded cases.
He said that non-state actors as well as private actors had 32 and 36 cases, respectively, while three cases of violation of rights were recorded against persons with disability.
He added that other sectors, including social, economic, and cultural rights, accounted for 157 cases, while referred petitions were put at 24.
Ogbonna added that killings and kidnappings accounted for 499 cases, while another 71 petitions on violations of rights to life were recorded by the commission during the period under review.
He also listed the 301 school children who were abducted in Kaduna State alone, 40 people were killed in Benue state, and four persons who lost their lives while struggling for palliatives in Nasarawa State.
Ogbonna who further spoke of the need for the government to pay close attention to the economic needs of the citizenry, urged the police and the military to always conduct their investigations in compliance with the rules of engagement and the rule of law.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Mr. Anthony Ojukwu, SAN, reaffirmed the commitment of the organisation to the promotion and protection of human rights.
He said the commission would partner with other stakeholders, including governments at all levels, to step up efforts to protect lives and properties across the federation.
The NHRC monthly dashboard, which is aimed at making the human rights situation in the country public, is supported by the United Nations Development Program as well as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.