Reports

“Between Hunger and the Virus”

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on People Living in Poverty in Lagos, Nigeria

The 87-page report, “‘Between Hunger and the Virus,’ The Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on People Living in Poverty in Lagos, Nigeria,” documents how a five-week lockdown, rising food prices, and a prolonged economic downturn have had a devastating impact on informal workers, slum dwellers, and other urban poor families in Lagos. The absence of a functioning social security system meant that government assistance, including cash transfers and food handouts, reached only a fraction of people going hungry.

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  • The Bakassi Boys

    The Legitimization of Murder and Torture

    Vigilante violence and human rights abuses by vigilante groups have become increasingly serious problems in Nigeria in recent years. Despite repeated government promises to tackle crime and to reform and expand the police force, the rate of armed robbery and other violent crime in Nigeria remains extremely high.

  • Military Revenge in Benue

    A Population Under Attack

    On October 22 to 24, 2001, several hundred soldiers of the Nigerian army killed more than two hundred unarmed civilians and destroyed homes, shops, public buildings and other property in more than seven towns and villages in Benue State, in central-eastern Nigeria.The killings in Benue State constitute clear cases of extraj

  • Jos

    A City Torn Apart

    The Nigerian government could and should have prevented mass killings in Jos in September. As many as one thousand people are believed to have been killed in just six days as Jos, capital of Plateau State, was rocked by unprecedented violence between Christians and Muslims.

  • Caste Discrimination

    A Global Concern

    Caste-based discrimination blights the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world, and the World Conference Against Racism should have the issue squarely on its agenda, Human Rights Watch urges in a new report.

  • Protectors or Pretenders

    Government Human Rights Commissions in Africa

    State-sponsored national human rights commissions represent a new vogue among governments, and particularly in Africa. The number of state human rights commissions has multiplied across the continent in the past decade, spreading from one country in 1989 to two dozen by 2000.

  • The Destruction of Odi and Rape in Choba

    December 22, 1999

    On November 4, 1999, an armed gang killed seven Nigerian policemen in the community of Odi, Bayelsa State, in the oil producing Niger Delta region in the far south east of the country. Five other police were killed in subsequent days.

  • Nigeria: Crackdown In The Niger Delta

    The Niger Delta has for some years been the site of major confrontations between the people who live there and the Nigerian government's security forces, resulting in extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, and draconian restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

  • The Price of Oil

    Corporate Responsibility and Human Rights Violations in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities

    This report is an exploration of human rights violations related to oil exploration and productionin the Niger Delta, and of the role and responsibilities of the major multinational oil companies inrespect of those violations.

  • Transition or Travesty?

    Nigeria's Endless Process of Return to Civilian Rule

    In November 1995, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (chogm), convened in Auckland, New Zealand, suspended Nigeria from membership in the Commonwealth pending its compliance with the principles of the 1991 Harare Declaration, which commits Commonwealth members to democratic political processes and respect for huma

  • "Permanent Transition"

    Current Violations of Human Rights in Nigeria

    Despite its stated commitment to return Nigeria to elected civilian rule by October 1, 1998, the military government continues to violate the rights of Nigerians to free political activity, including freedom of expression, assembly and association, freedom of movement, and freedom from arbitrary detention and trial.

  • The Ogoni Crisis

    A Case-Study of Military Repression in Southeastern Nigeria

    Two years after the annulment of the June 1993 presidential election, which was widely viewed to have been won by Chief Abiola, the Nigerian political climate was volatile and human rights violations pervasive. The repressive tactics of the government of Gen.

  • "The Dawn of a New Dark Age"

    Human Rights Abuses Rampant as Nigerian Military Declares Absolute Power

    The military government of Gen. Abacha, in a bid to destroy the pro-democracy movement after using abusive and illegal means to break an oil workers’ strike for democracy, is steadily bringing the country closer to chaos and collapse.

  • Democracy Derailed

    Hundreds Arrested and Press Muzzled in Aftermath of Election Annulment

    On June 12, 1993, Nigerian citizens overcame ethnic and regional rivalries in an effort to rid themselves of military rule and hold a legitimate presidential election. Gen.

  • Threats to a New Democracy: Human Rights Concerns at Election Time

    Prior to the June 12 presidential elections, the Nigerian military government stepped up attacks on civil institutions, raising fears about its intentions to leave office as promised and, if it does leave, about the future stability of the country.