As the two-day 2024 National Summit on Mass Atrocities kicked off, Wednesday, in the nation's capital city, Abuja, Global Rights, Nigeria, disclosed that in the past five years, 24,816 people have been killed, and 15,597 have been kidnapped in incidents of mass atrocities across Nigeria.
This revelation was made by the Executive Director, of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, in an address of welcome at the Summit with the theme 'A Standing Responsibility to Protect', while pointing that there is serious urgency to act fast to pull Nigeria back from the dangerous precipice she finds herself based on the dangerous dimension of insecurity across the country.
Baiyewu also said that for the past seven days enraged Nigerians have taken to the streets to demand an end to bad governance based on the precarious situation of insecurity in the land, and other issues including costs of living, corruption, and demanded the government to step to the plate and fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring the welfare and the security of all citizens.
She said: "The sense of urgency that precipitated the first summit on mass atrocities is the sense with which we engage the 5th. The sense that we need to act fast to pull our country back from the dangerous precipice we have found ourselves.
"As is obvious to all, we are at a precarious moment in our nation's trajectory. For the past seven days, enraged Nigerians have taken to the streets to demand an end to bad governance. Overcome by impossible costs of living and the continued metastasis of the nation's multiple forms of insecurity, they have felt the need to demand for the government to fulfil their end of the social contract that is implicit between citizens and their government. For the government to step to the plate and fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring the welfare and the security of all citizens.
"The gravity of our situation is further underscored by our data, which reveals that in the past five years alone, at least 24,816 people have been killed, and at least 15,597 have been kidnapped in incidents of mass atrocities across Nigeria.
"These numbers are not mere statistics; they represent lives disrupted, dreams shattered, families torn apart, and communities left in anguish.
"The abducted and the dead are not the only casualties of endemic insecurity, there are over 3.4 million internally displaced people within our border and about 100,000 refugees in our neighbouring countries.
"In 2023 alone, at least 457,000 people were displaced across Nigeria, with insecurity accounting for 291,000 of these displacements--nearly double the 148,000 recorded in 2022.
"To understand how we got here and how we can find our way back to becoming prosperous where peace and justice reigns, we must examine the underpinning governance failures that have accelerated our decline.
"These include the weaponization of sexual violence, a lack of access to education, food insecurity, energy poverty, mineral-linked conflicts, and the pervasive culture of impunity that allows these atrocities to persist."
Meanwhile, according to her, "Farmers are unable to tend their fields, worsening the already critical food insecurity. Parents fear sending their children to school due to rampant abductions, threatening to swell the ranks of the 20 million children who are already out of school.
"Pushed to the walls, Nigerians have picked up their placards to express their outrage against the government for failing to fulfil their obligations and protect them.
"The protests also voiced anger over the mismanagement of our natural resources and public funds, and the implementation of policies that have deepened the suffering of average Nigerians already grappling with inflation and global economic challenges."
However, she counselled that, "In the light of these recent events, it is imperative that we reexamine the state of insecurity in Nigeria, its devastating impact on the lives of Nigerians, and weigh the government's efforts to address these critical issues."
In a keynote address tagged 'The Responsibility to Protect: A Human Security Imperative', delivered by the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, recommendations were made to address the protracted insecurity issues that have stagnated the much-expected peace, progress and prosperity of the country over the years.
"Develop Comprehensive Development Plans: Integrate Human Security; Ensure that development plans address human security concerns by integrating strategies for economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental sustainability. This involves aligning national development goals with human security objectives to promote equitable and sustainable progress.
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"Integrating human rights into development policies and budgeting: Nigeria needs to develop an over-arching development policy that recognizes the shortfalls in human rights achievement in Nigeria, especially in the realm of economic, social and cultural rights. This radical approach will be a fulcrum for the implementation of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution", Ojukwu stated.
Meanwhile, the NHRC boss highlighted some commitments by NHRC on Human; Security Creating Forums for Stakeholder Engagements; Providing advisory interventions in policy and legal frameworks for human security and human development; and information sharing and coordination.
However, according to him (Ojukwu), "Nigeria has made notable strides in addressing various human security issues, including efforts to improve governance, enhance economic development, and provide humanitarian aid.
"However, significant challenges remain, including ongoing conflicts, economic disparities, weak governance and accountability architectures and environmental vulnerabilities."
