As the global community marks International Human Rights Day 2025, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has raised alarm over what it describes as Nigeria’s rapidly deteriorating human-rights environment.
In a statement issued on Monday by CAPPA’s, Media and Communication Officer, Robert Egbe, CAPPA lamented that systemic governance failures, impunity by security agencies, widespread insecurity and deepening socio-economic hardship are eroding the dignity, rights and safety of millions of Nigerians.
According to the organisation, state neglect and the abuse of power continue to leave survivors with “unhealed wounds and eroded rights,” widening the gap between constitutional promises and the lived realities of ordinary citizens.
The group called on all levels of government to halt impunity for security-force abuses, protect journalists and human-rights defenders, safeguard communities, and address the worsening social and economic conditions driving massive suffering. CAPPA also urged the strengthening of national institutions and the cultivation of a “genuine national culture of care and human rights.”
“2025 has been a year of grim reminders,” the statement noted, citing 570 killings and 278 kidnappings recorded in April, and the 275,256 human-rights abuse complaints documented by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in May. These figures, CAPPA said, highlight the scale of violence, deprivation and state failure confronting Nigerians.
The organisation also condemned ongoing systemic violations, including abuses of women and girls and recurring mass abductions, particularly in communities and schools where state protection remains weak.
Across the federation, CAPPA observed, citizens face overlapping crises: attacks on civil and political rights, worsening socio-economic conditions, and escalating communal and criminal violence. It recalled that at least 24 unarmed protesters were killed during the 2024 #EndBadGovernance demonstrations, with no accountability to date. Journalists also remain vulnerable, with 69 attacks on media workers recorded this year, 74 percent of which were linked to state actors, according to a Media Rights Agenda (MRA) report.
“When those charged with protecting rights become their violators, democracy itself is endangered,” CAPPA warned.
Beyond violence, the group highlighted the severe deprivation facing millions of Nigerians who still lack access to safe water, decent housing, adequate healthcare and secure livelihoods. Rising inflation and the absence of social protections, it said, have pushed families into deeper vulnerability—conditions it described as “urgent human-rights emergencies.”
CAPPA urged the Federal Government and other duty-bearers to take “decisive steps to reverse the dangerous trajectory of rights violations and emergencies in Nigeria.”
International Human Rights Day, the organisation stressed, should compel Nigeria to reflect on how far it has drifted from its foundational obligations to its citizens.
“People have the right to safety, justice and dignity. These are obligations the Nigerian state must meet,” the statement said. “A credible response requires honesty about what is broken and a renewed commitment to rebuilding systems that restore them.”
CAPPA emphasised that progress will require steady, practical reforms that safeguard civic freedoms, strengthen oversight of security agencies, bolster human-rights institutions, and address the socio-economic conditions that leave communities exposed to harm.
The statement concluded with a call for government, civil society and partners across sectors to pursue solutions that rebuild trust, close protection gaps and empower Nigerians to live without fear or deprivation.
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