NHRC in Gombe Handles 173 Complaints in Six Months – Official
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Gombe says it received no fewer than 173 complaints on alleged human rights violations between January and June.
Mr. Ali Alola-Alfinti, the NHRC Public Relations Officer in the state, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe on Thursday.
Alola-Alfinti said the complaints received in the first half of the year represented a 24.9 percent increase compared with the 130 cases received within the same period in 2023.
Alola-Alfinti said that, out of the 173 cases of human rights violations received, 35 were inhuman or degrading treatment, and 13 were suspected rape cases.
He said 60 were cases of child abandonment, while eight were deprivation of the right to economic development by spouses and family, among others.
Alola-Alfinti said that, however, out of the 173 complaints received, more than 131 had been effectively resolved through alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
He said that though the 131 complaints had been resolved, there was continued supervision and proper monitoring to ensure compliance with all terms of the agreement by all parties involved.
The spokesperson said the commission had noticed that men were not coming out to report cases of violations of their rights.
According to him, most of the complaints received were from women, children, and other stakeholders.
“Men also have rights, but they are often not comfortable sharing their experiences when their rights are violated.
“Some men are suffering some levels of violations, even domestic violence, but they do not come out.
“The commission is here to protect the rights of anyone living in the country, so men must learn to report whenever their rights are violated,” he said.