By George Ozalla
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called for a shift from predominantly military responses to insecurity in Africa, advocating a justice-centred approach that addresses the social, economic and institutional conditions contributing to conflict and instability on the continent.
The Commission made the call in a paper presented at the 2026 African Bar Association Conference in Cape Verde, themed, “Resilient Africa’s Roadmap for Sustainable Development.”
The paper, titled, “Legal Mechanisms to Ensure Access to Justice in Regions Affected by Security Threats,” examined the relationship between insecurity, human rights violations and access to justice, using the North-East insurgency and the farmer-herder crisis in Benue State as case studies.
It identified gaps in Nigeria’s legal and justice systems which, according to the Commission, have limited the ability of affected communities to obtain effective remedies for violations arising from conflict and insecurity.
Among the concerns raised was the non-justiciability of socio-economic rights under Section 6(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, which the Commission said creates a limitation in enforcing certain rights through the courts.
The paper also pointed to the non-binding nature of decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, restrictive access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights under Article 34(6), and what it described as the largely punitive orientation of the Terrorism Act 2022.
The NHRC linked terrorism and rural conflicts to wider socio-economic and governance challenges, including poverty, youth unemployment, marginalisation and weak governance.
It noted that Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate stood at 28.8 per cent, while data compiled by the Commission showed the scale of human rights and humanitarian challenges confronting communities affected by insecurity.
According to the data, the NHRC recorded 530 cases involving denial of access to food and shelter, 195 cases of gender-based violence and 324 cases involving barriers to education. It also reported 1,850 internally displaced persons in Benue State alone.
The Commission said its interventions had included monitoring security-related trials and supporting transitional justice initiatives in conflict-affected communities.
It cited its monitoring of terrorism trials at Kainji in 2024, during which it observed gaps relating to due process.
The Commission also highlighted its Transitional Justice Programme in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, implemented with support from the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme.
Under the programme, the NHRC said it had resolved 372 cases, referred 1,157 cases to relevant authorities and conducted 331 outreach activities in internally displaced persons’ camps.
The paper also addressed findings from the Commission’s investigation into allegations surrounding the military’s activities in the North-East under the Special Investigation Panel on Human Rights Violations in Counter-Insurgency Operations in North-East Nigeria, commonly known as the SIIP.
It clarified that the investigation did not find evidence to establish a systematic abortion of 10,000 pregnancies, as had been alleged.
However, the investigation confirmed that a military attack on Abisari community on June 18, 2016 resulted in the deaths of 18 people.
The Commission consequently recommended compensation for victims and prosecution where appropriate.
On the farmer-herder crisis in Benue State, the NHRC referenced judgments of the ECOWAS Court of Justice in suits ECW/CCJ/APP/11/16 and ECW/CCJ/APP/16/18, which ordered Nigeria to investigate killings in the state and provide redress for victims.
The Commission said such decisions demonstrated the importance of effective regional and domestic mechanisms capable of delivering remedies to communities affected by conflict.
To address what it described as the justice gap, the NHRC proposed a four-pillar model centred on enforceable socio-economic rights, specialised mobile Conflict Resolution Courts, recognition of alternative dispute resolution and traditional conflict-resolution mechanisms, and the establishment of a National Dignity Fund for reparations.
It recommended constitutional amendments to strengthen the enforceability of socio-economic rights, the establishment of special courts to deal with conflicts and related grievances, ratification of the declaration required to expand access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and implementation of relevant ECOWAS Court and SIIP decisions.
The Commission maintained that addressing insecurity requires more than the deployment of security personnel and military operations, arguing that justice, accountability, reparations and access to basic rights must form part of the response to conflict.
It stressed that resilient development cannot be achieved without resilient legal institutions capable of protecting rights, resolving disputes and providing remedies for victims of violations.
The paper was presented by the National Human Rights Commission as part of discussions at the 2026 African Bar Association Conference in Cape Verde.
