According to a report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), between 2021 and April 2022, Adamawa State recorded 247 human rights violation cases. The abuses reported include child abuse, rape, domestic violence, and unnatural causes. The Commission said it has resolved 75% of the cases, while 25% are pending. It also revealed that some of the cases have been referred to other institutions and organizations, such as the Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Nigerian Army, and the Civil Defence Corps. Search seeks to promote collaborative multi-stakeholder engagement and advocacy processes to reduce human rights abuse by police forces in Benue and Adamawa States. This integrated intervention design is to ensure that stakeholders and the community from a broad social demographic spectrum-particularly the average man in the community, widely considered to be the most vulnerable to human rights abuses and killings in Adamawa and Benue states are central to the project interventions.
The study revealed that strengthening human rights actors and stakeholders will require a broadened and elevated human rights architecture that takes into consideration the views and engages the active participation of all stakeholders within the Human rights space. A steady coalition between the government, communities, and CSOs to harmonize political and economic rights within democratic institutions will also be necessary. In the meantime, government agencies, security, and nongovernmental organizations must play a larger role from the bottom up. Search’s project should address the low confidence and trust the community has in the security agencies and the security architecture of the state, which is seen to be amongst the most important factors driving human rights abuses and other forms of violence in the state.
