The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, has issued a strong call for urgent regional action to end gender-based violence, warning that millions of women and girls across Nigeria and West Africa continue to suffer abuse in silence.
Ojukwu made the appeal on Monday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the International Women’s Day event organised by the Women’s Forum of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
He stressed that breaking the silence around gender violence is essential to achieving justice and equality.
Speaking on the theme “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls,” the NHRC boss warned that gender-based violence remains one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world, stripping women and girls of dignity, safety and opportunity.
He said that while International Women’s Day is often marked with speeches and celebrations, the deeper challenge lies in confronting the realities that many women face daily.
“Silence has too often been the accomplice of violence.
“Too many women suffer in silence because they fear stigma, retaliation or disbelief.
“Today we must declare with one voice that silence is no longer an option,” Ojukwu said.
The human rights chief, who was represented by the Commission’s Director Women and Children Department, Mrs. Ngozi Okorie, painted a troubling picture of the scale of abuse.
She noted that Nigeria alone accounts for about 10 per cent of global survivors of gender-based violence, with an estimated 20 million women affected.
Citing data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018, he said nearly one in three Nigerian women between the ages of 15 and 49 has experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in her life.
Ojukwu also disclosed that the National Human Rights Commission received 3,724,822 complaints of human rights violations in 2025, a figure he described as both alarming and revealing of the scale of rights abuses across the country.
According to him, the complaints ranged from gender-based violence and child rights violations to abuses against other vulnerable groups.
He said the figures were compiled through the Commission’s 36 state offices and the Abuja Metropolitan Office, reflecting growing public awareness of the Commission’s mandate and increased willingness by victims to report violations.
“In Kano State alone, the Commission recorded 3,019 complaints between January and December 2025.
“Out of these, 2,276 were resolved while 743 cases remain under investigation,” he said.
He added that the Commission’s human rights monitoring dashboard recorded 670 cases of child abandonment in December 2025 alone, warning that such cases highlight the deeper social consequences of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
The NHRC boss emphasised that the choice of the ECOWAS Court as the venue for the event was symbolic, noting that the regional court has become a crucial platform for human rights enforcement in West Africa.
He recalled landmark rulings of the court, including the case of Dorothy Njemanze v Nigeria, in which the court found Nigeria guilty of discriminatory policing and gender-based violence against women.
Ojukwu said the judgment reinforced the role of the court in ensuring accountability and protecting the rights of women across the region.
“The ECOWAS Court has proven that justice can reach even the most vulnerable woman in a remote village. When this court says ‘break the silence,’ it speaks with the authority of an institution that listens to the cry of the common woman,” he said.
He disclosed that the Commission has introduced several initiatives to combat gender-based violence, including the launch of a Human Rights Dashboard for tracking violations and the introduction of a national short code 6472 to enable victims easily report abuses.
Ojukwu said the Commission is also expanding access to justice through technology, nationwide public awareness campaigns and stronger collaboration with civil society organisations and the media.
He noted that the NHRC has also endorsed the Male Feminists Network, a civil society initiative aimed at mobilising men and boys to challenge harmful cultural norms that enable violence against women.
According to him, addressing gender-based violence requires collective action involving governments, the judiciary, civil society groups, the media and traditional leaders.
He called on ECOWAS member states to harmonise and strengthen laws against gender-based violence while ensuring the enforcement of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act and other legal frameworks protecting women.
The NHRC chief further urged the judiciary to establish specialised gender-based violence courts, fast-track cases involving abuse against women and children and adopt survivor-centred approaches in the administration of justice.
He also appealed to the media to play a stronger role in exposing abuses and amplifying the voices of survivors while reporting cases with sensitivity and respect for victims.
“Ending gender-based violence requires more than sympathy. It demands justice. Perpetrators must be held accountable and survivors must have access to remedies that restore dignity and hope,” he said.
Ojukwu said by urging governments and stakeholders across West Africa to move beyond rhetoric and commit to concrete action that guarantees safety, dignity and equal rights for every woman and girl.
On her part, the President, ECOWAS Court of Justice Women’s Forum, Oluwatosin Nguher noted that gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive human rights challenges of our time.
She said: “It undermines dignity, weakens institutions, disrupts communities, and directly affects access to justice.”
Nguher further stated that: “As a judicial institution serving the ECOWAS region, we cannot be indifferent to its impact. Silence perpetuates harm; action restores hope. Therefore, our proposed activities are carefully structured to foster informed dialogue, strengthen preventive strategies, and reaffirm our Court’s unwavering commitment to protecting the rights of women and girls.
“Together, through unity, awareness, and deliberate action, we can ensure that rights are protected, justice is accessible, and opportunities are equitable for all women and girls across the ECOWAS region.”
(vitalnewsngr.com)
