NHRC: We’ve received over 200,000 complaints on violence against women, children in 2022

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says 248,960 complaints of violence against women and children have been recorded as of August 2022.

According to a statement on Thursday, Tony Ojukwu, NHCR executive secretary, said this when he received the African Union (AU) monitoring team on ending child marriage, on Wednesday.

Ojukwu, represented by Benedict Agu, his special assistant, said the commission received over one million complaints on various human rights issues within eight months.

“The National Human Rights Commission (NHCR) has received one million, three hundred and seventy-eight thousand, one hundred and eighty (1,378,180) complaints across 14 thematic areas of focus as at August 2022,” the statement reads.

“Women, children and gender issues stood at 248,960 cases, made up of 128,500 cases on strict sexual and gender-based violence (rape, sex violence and other domestic violence issues).

“129,960 complaints were on gender based discrimination, harmful cultural practices, forceful marriage, sexual and reproductive rights, denial of access to children, denial of inheritance, abandonment (of women), women trafficking, child marriage and child sexual abuse.

“In specifics, harmful traditional practices accounted for 2,460 cases, while child marriage accounted for 580 cases.”

Hermaine Kembo, a Cameroonian magistrate, who led the African Union (AU) monitoring team, said the purpose of the visit was to examine measures employed by the commission in tackling human rights issues.

Kembo said Nigeria had launched a campaign to end child marriage and other harmful practices six years ago, adding that the visit was to enable them to track its progress and replicate same in other parts of Africa.

“We are back to see how far you have gone with the successes and challenges,” she added.

Speaking further, the NHRC official said a department has been established to “track policies and other developments around human rights of these critical persons of interest in Nigeria”.