31 Years After Establishment, NHRC Still Lacks Offices In Cross River’s 18 LGAs

CALABAR, CROSS RIVER – Fresh concerns have emerged over the implementation of human rights protection mechanisms in Cross River State following revelations that the National Human Rights Commission has no operational offices across the state’s 18 local government areas.

This development stakeholders say it is hindering grassroots access to justice and reporting of rights violations.

The concern came to the fore during a state consultation meeting on Nigeria’s National Action Plan (NAP) for the promotion and protection of human rights, where stakeholders identified structural and funding gaps threatening effective implementation of the framework.

The meeting, organized by the National Human Rights Commission in collaboration with RACJAJ Nigeria Limited, brought together 43 participants drawn from government ministries, security agencies, civil society organisations and other rights-focused institutions.

Established in 1995, the National Human Rights Commission has served as Nigeria’s statutory institution for the promotion and protection of human rights for about 31 years.

The timeline has raised fresh concerns among participants who argue that despite more than three decades of existence, the commission’s inability to establish operational offices across Cross River State’s 18 local government areas reflects a significant institutional gap in grassroots human rights protection.

Responding to concerns raised during the interactive session, Cross River State Coordinator of the Commission, Mr Remi Ajuga, acknowledged the limitation, attributing it to budgetary constraints.

He said the commission currently relies on police divisions and other institutional structures to receive and process complaints from across the state.

A reliable source told Truth Live News that the Cross River State Coordinator of the National Human Rights Commission, overseeing the commission’s rights-monitoring and public complaint-response operations further revealed operational challenges, including the inability of some federal ministries and agencies to participate in the consultation due to funding limitations.

Another concern raised was limited public awareness of the National Action Plan, which the stakeholders noted it weakens sensitisation and could frustrate implementation efforts at the grassroots.

Furthermore, the participants revealed that many communities remain unaware of available reporting mechanisms for human rights abuses, saying several ministries and agencies are yet to establish designated desk officers to coordinate implementation.

The meeting held at Marian Hotel, Calabar further exposed operational challenges, including the inability of some federal ministries and agencies to participate in the consultation due to funding limitations.

“The absence of key federal institutions could weaken coordination and reduce the effectiveness of cross-sector collaboration required for implementation of the 2024-2028 action plan, the stakeholders said.

They questioned the absence of a dedicated toll-free reporting line, limited local monitoring structures, and uncertainty over continuity when trained desk officers are transferred out of ministries.

Based on the concerns they called for the immediate establishment of a task team to drive implementation, creation of human rights desks across ministries, and the development of stronger community-based reporting structures.

While they recommended the creation of human rights champions in wards and communities to bridge the gap between citizens and formal institutions, the meeting came amid growing concerns over rising human rights-related complaints in the state.

Following their recommendations, the stakeholders also described recent fatal road accident involving students of University of Cross River State as institutional response failures.

They maintained that unless institutional and funding gaps are urgently addressed, the implementation of Nigeria’s National Action Plan on human rights may struggle to translate into practical protection for vulnerable residents across Cross River State.