By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Member, UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan and former UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in petsons, especially women and Children, Prof. Joy Ezeilo SAN, has said that human right in Nigeria 30 years after, the country is still drifting, with democracy hijacked and the initial courage summoned to confront the military now lost and accountability dead.
Prof. Ezeilo gave this view point while x-raying Nigeria’s democracy and human rights as a keynote speaker at the NHRC @ 30 Civil Society & Human Rights Defenders Forum and Human Rights Expo held in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking at the event themed “From Military rule to Civilian Democracy: Examining Progress, Challenges and Pathways for Nigeria”, Prof Ezeilo recounted the nation’s turbulent journey from authoritarian rule to civilian governance, warning that the hard-won freedoms of the past were being eroded by impunity, insecurity, corruption and citizens’ declining courage to demand accountability.
Reflecting on the brutal years preceding Nigeria’s democratic transition, the speaker narrated first-hand experiences from the 1990s; including exile, harassment by security agencies, and encounters with activists who paid the price for demanding freedom.
“Democracy in Nigeria was not handed down as a gift. It was seized from dictatorship by ordinary citizens who risked everything. Yet today, many who fought for that democracy are absent, leaving room for professional politicians to hijack the system,” she said.
Precise Post recalls that the event marked 30 years since the NHRC was created in 1995, during one of the country’s darkest periods of military rule.
The establishment of the Commission, she noted, was a declaration that Nigerians would no longer tolerate the suppression of fundamental freedoms.
But despite notable progress since 1999, she lamented that Nigeria’s democracy remains fragile.
“For how long will we keep blaming the military? It has been 26 years since the return to civilian rule. The real question is: Why are we still struggling with accountability, corruption, police brutality, shrinking civic space and impunity?”
She highlighted persistent abuses such as arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, attacks on journalists, gender-based violence, youth unemployment, poverty, and widespread injustice. She warned that the Cybercrime Act was increasingly weaponised to silence dissent, while persons with disabilities, displaced communities and other vulnerable groups remained shut out of governance and justice.
Drawing on her decades of global work, including as UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking, Prof Ezeilo recalled the shocking scale of exploitation suffered by Nigerians abroad, with thousands of young women trafficked due to economic desperation and institutional failure at home.
On electoral integrity, she stressed that while elections have become routine, “they are still marred by violence, intimidation and irregularities that continue to undermine the will of the people.”
She urged the strengthening of institutions such as the NHRC, stressing that Nigerians must insist on implementing its decisions and holding security agencies accountable. “Effective remedy is the beginning of justice. Without it, we haven’t even started.”
The legal Luminary warned that millions of Nigerians continue to face unmet justice needs, describing the gap as “alarming” and “a threat to national stability”.
In an impassioned closing, she urged citizens to rediscover the courage that birthed Nigeria’s democracy.
“Everyone now walks with their tail between their legs – fearful, silent, waiting. When will we stand up again? When will we demand accountability? Democracy cannot survive without bold citizens.” She added.
She therefore called for renewed commitment to justice, equality and human dignity, insisting that the next decades must focus on strengthening institutions, expanding civic freedoms and ensuring that human rights are reflected not just in laws but in daily life.
“It is in our collective hands to make Nigeria work. We owe it to history, to future generations, and to ourselves.”
The event concluded with a renewed call for solidarity, vigilance and active citizenship as Nigeria confronts the challenges of deepening its democratic culture and protecting human rights for all.
