*Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has vowed to ensure that victims of human rights abuses and violations does not suffer any form of secondary victimization.
The Commission further assured to create and build an enabling environment that facilitate ease of reporting cases, treatment of such cases and redress to victims rights abuses and violations.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN gave the assistances while declaring open a stakeholders’ meeting for the Validation of the Reviewed NHRC Complaints Handling Manual on Friday in Abuja.
“We must build an architecture that makes reporting safe and accountability effective. We must dismantle the fear of secondary victimization and ensure that all victims of human rights violation accesses justice.
“In the current world where all processes and institutions are going digital, the Commission is repositioning itself to adequately and effectively handle complaints on human rights violations to fulfil its mandate.
“We have developed a Human Rights Abuse Tracking System (HRAT). The workflow in the Portal was designed to automate the processes of complaints treatment from online complaints submission, digital filing of complaints, case sorting and escalation according to relevant departments and management for swift resolution.
“The Commission is currently at the edge of digitalizing and fully automating its complaint treatment procedure. Hence the need for the review of its Complaint Handling architecture which was basically a manual system of operation”, Dr. Ojukwu stated.
He gave insights into the Complaints Manual, saying that it is not just an administrative handbook, but culmination of the procedural processes in the complaint handling at the Commission.
He explained that it integrates the electronic procedure into the existing manual process and it is a key tool for strengthening transparency, accountability, and trust in the Commission’s work.
According to him, the manual “Will enhance our ability to address complaints effectively and ensure remedies are accessible to all.
It operationalises strict confidentiality protocols to protect identities.
“It clearly delineates the referral pathways between the NHRC, civil society actors, and law enforcement.
Most importantly, it translates complex human rights mechanisms into practical, step-by-step actions that our officers, community rights advocates and peer educators can use on the front lines.”
The Executive Secretary emphasized the manual is the product of extensive consultation which carries the fingerprints of legal experts, the operational realities of law enforcement and crucially, the lived experiences of the staff of the commission who handle complaints on a daily basis.
He urged participants not to hesitate in making their inputs into the manual so that the validated document will serve as the official operational standard for receiving, managing and resolving human rights violations cases in Nigeria.
“It will serve as an institutional shield. It should respond to the yearnings of Nigerians to realise the goal of where there is a right, there is a remedy “ Ubi jus ibi remedium ”, he stressed.
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