NHRC Reviews Strategic Plan
… Identifies Gaps in Human Rights Implementation
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has begun a mid-term review of its 2024–2027 Strategic Plan, acknowledging that despite notable progress in promoting and protecting human rights across Nigeria, implementation challenges, weak monitoring systems and limited institutional capacity continue to impede the full delivery of its mandate.
The Commission said the review is aimed at repositioning its strategy midway through the four-year plan to strengthen accountability, improve access to justice and enhance protection for vulnerable and marginalized groups.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Abuja on Friday, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Tony Ojukwu (SAN), described the exercise as a crucial opportunity to assess the Commission’s performance and determine whether it is meeting the expectations of Nigerians.
Ojukwu said the review goes beyond a routine evaluation, stressing that it is designed to identify achievements, confront existing challenges and introduce practical reforms that will improve the Commission’s effectiveness over the remaining lifespan of the strategic plan.
He urged participants, drawn from government agencies, development partners, civil society organisations, the diplomatic community and the media, to make meaningful contributions that would strengthen implementation.
“The consultation offers an opportunity for constructive dialogue. Your contributions and recommendations will enrich the review findings and guide implementation during the remainder of the Strategic Plan,” he said.
According to Ojukwu, the Strategic Plan serves as the Commission’s roadmap for building a stronger institution capable of delivering improved services, expanding access to justice and protecting the rights of all Nigerians, particularly vulnerable groups.
He noted that the assessment revealed strong institutional commitment, with all 36 state offices and departments at the Commission’s headquarters actively implementing the plan. However, he admitted that the review also exposed critical shortcomings requiring immediate attention.
Among the issues identified are weak implementation mechanisms, inadequate monitoring and reporting systems, limited institutional capacity and the need for more efficient utilisation of available resources.
The NHRC boss said addressing these gaps would enhance the Commission’s ability to deliver measurable outcomes and respond more effectively to Nigeria’s evolving human rights challenges.
He also commended the dedication of staff, state coordinators and development partners who contributed to the review process, while encouraging stakeholders to provide practical recommendations that would shape the next phase of implementation.
The review covered implementation activities between January 2024 and December 2025 and showed that all 36 state offices and 20 headquarters departments participated, recording a total of 90,627 implementation outputs across 160 validated performance indicators.
Of the total outputs, state offices accounted for 48,980, representing 54 per cent, while headquarters contributed 41,647 outputs, or 46 per cent, reflecting broad institutional participation.
The report indicated that the Commission achieved its strongest results in protecting vulnerable populations and promoting human rights education and awareness, with the two areas accounting for nearly three-quarters of all implementation outputs.
Moderate progress was recorded in economic, social and cultural rights, access to justice and treaty reporting, while research, resource mobilisation and knowledge management were identified as areas requiring greater focus.
The evaluation also found differences in implementation across state offices and headquarters departments, attributing the disparities largely to variations in operational mandates, programme portfolios and institutional capacity rather than organisational performance.
It recommended targeted resource allocation to weaker strategic priorities, stronger monitoring and evaluation systems, improved data quality assurance, continuous capacity building for state offices and the adoption of periodic management dashboards to support evidence-based decision-making.
The consultative meeting is expected to validate the findings and produce recommendations that will guide the Commission through the final phase of its 2024–2027 Strategic Plan, with the goal of strengthening human rights protection and boosting public confidence in the institution.
