By George Ozalla
Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is pressing the Federal Government to move quickly to adopt the Draft Policy on Protection of Civilians and Civilian Harm Mitigation. The Commission says this step is essential to reduce harm to civilians in areas affected by conflict.
At a mid-term review meeting in Keffi, Nasarawa State, held under the project “Protection of Forcibly Displaced Persons through Human Rights Information Data Collection and Documentation in Nigeria,” NHRC officials reviewed key strides made so far — over 3,000 human rights cases handled and 80 security officers trained to respect the rights of displaced persons. The project, supported by UNHCR, operates in 11 states and 33 local government areas.
Dr. Tony Ojukwu, NHRC’s Executive Secretary, emphasised that formal ratification of the draft policy would strengthen mechanisms for preventing, monitoring, and addressing civilian harm. He noted that without it, the gains recorded remain vulnerable. Participants at the meeting welcomed the review process, stressing that resolving field-level obstacles is critical if improvements in protecting vulnerable groups like internally displaced persons, refugees, and returnees are to be sustained.
