FOREWARD
On behalf of the Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission, it is my pleasure to appreciate the efforts of the entire staff and management of the Commission for the good work done in 2021, which has been chronicled in this Annual Report. The year was remarkable in the life of the Commission as it saw the inauguration of the 5th Governing Council, after 5 years without a Council.
As a National Human Rights Institution, there is no gainsaying the fact that the year 2021 presented multifarious challenges to the Commission. In addition to the unrelenting insurgency, banditry, wave of kidnappings, farmers/herders clashes, increasing number of internally displaced persons, there was the emergence of the phenomenon of the unknown gunmen, agitation for self-determination in the South East and South West, agitations for Islamic State in the North East which contributed in no small measure to the general insecurity in the country. Spiraling inflation and shortages have also overpriced staples out of reach, in the wake of rising poverty. Particularly disturbing were growing incidences of attacks and various abuses against children in and outside institutions of learning. All these had their consequences on human rights and made the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria very challenging.
