The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Gombe State said it received no fewer than 298 complaints of alleged human rights violations in 2023.
Mr Ali Alola-Alfinti, the Public Relations Officer of the commission in the state, made this known in an interview with the
News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Thursday.
He said that out of the figure, 280 were treated by the commission, while 18 of the complaints were not within the
scope of the commission’s mandate, hence, referred to concerned agencies for proper treatment.
Giving a further breakdown, Alola-Alfinti said that 45 of the complaints representing 15.1 per cent of the total reported cases
were on domestic violence, while complaints of paternal abandonment were 106, representing 35.6 per cent.
He added that 82 cases representing 27.5 per cent of the total number of complaints of alleged human rights abuses in 2023 were on inhuman treatment.
He said 23 cases were on rights to property, 15 on rights to economic development, nine threat to life and one rape case.
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The spokesman said out of the 280 cases probed, over 270 had been resolved “amicably” while the remaining were still being treated as they were received in December.
He explained that “of all the human rights violations reported, domestic violence used to be the highest but now it is paternal abandonment
or refusal to take responsibility by fathers is the highest based on the analysis received.
“This is now of great concern to us and we are working to strengthen advocacies and engage stakeholders more.
“Because this is a serious case which has resulted in several violations of human rights like their children not getting care,
education, others, their wives are also exposed to risks of violations.
“In the commission, we make efforts to protect, promote and enforce human rights; it is in this regard that we always make it clear that
there is no justification for violence against anyone.”
Alola-Alfinti said that the commission had continued to monitor and visit homes to ensure compliance, especially in cases of school enrollment,
provision of feeding, and healthcare, among others.
He appealed to residents to report cases of human rights violations in their communities, adding that keeping silent should not be an option,
as it would only help to increase the number of cases.
He said that the commission had been mandated to promote and protect human rights, investigate alleged violations of human rights
and enforcement of decisions, among others.
