The United States government has accused Nigerian authorities of widespread human rights violations, including torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and arbitrary arrests.
President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, to serve a four-year term.
The allegations, outlined in a U.S. report, implicate some units of the police, military, and the Department of State Services (DSS).
According to the report on Human Rights Practices for 2024, recently released by the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, members of security forces allegedly engaged in torture during detention, while some officers were accused of sexually abusing and exploiting internally displaced persons (IDPs), including children, in and around Maiduguri, Borno State.
The U.S. described impunity for torture as a persistent problem, particularly within the police, military, and DSS.
Although Nigerian law prohibits torture and degrading treatment, enforcement remains weak. The legislation criminalises such practices but fails to prescribe penalties for violators, and its coverage is limited to the Federal Capital Territory and federal agencies unless states adopt similar laws.
The report noted that by the end of 2024, 30 of Nigeria’s 36 states had enacted the law or passed compliant legislation.
One notable case cited was the detention of Segun Olatunji, former editor of FirstNews Online, who was arrested on March 15 by the Defence Intelligence Agency.
Olatunji spent two weeks incommunicado and later alleged he was tortured, threatened, and humiliated over his reporting on official corruption.
“There were reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings,” the report said.
“The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest or detention in court. The government sometimes did not observe these requirements,” it also noted.
The report also documented incidents of gender-based violence against female inmates by prison guards, as well as the continued practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) despite a federal ban.
A UN Population Fund report revealed that although 22 states have outlawed FGM/C, enforcement remains rare, with one in four women and girls subjected to the practice. NGOs further reported that some local authorities questioned whether state laws applied within their jurisdictions.
Despite government claims of investigating and prosecuting abusive officers, the outcomes of such inquiries are seldom made public, reinforcing concerns over entrenched impunity within Nigeria’s security institutions.
The report said, “The law mostly prohibited such practices, but there were credible reports government officials employed them.
“The law defined and criminalized torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of arrestees but failed to prescribe penalties for violators and applied only to the Federal Capital Territory and federal agencies unless the individual states adopted legislation compliant with it. Thirty of the country’s 36 states had adopted either the law itself or compliant legislation at year’s end.
“On March 15, the former editor of FirstNews Online, Segun Olatunji, was detained by the Defence Intelligence Agency. Olatunji regained his freedom after two weeks in detention, during which his whereabouts were unknown. He claimed the persons detaining him tortured him, interrogated him concerning his investigation into official corruption, threatened, and humiliated him.
“Prison guards reportedly committed gender-based violence against women prisoners. Some security officers allegedly sexually abused and exploited IDPs, including children, in and around Maiduguri.
“Impunity for torture was a significant problem in the security forces, especially in police, military, and the DSS units. The government claimed to investigate security force members and hold them accountable for crimes committed on duty, but the results were rarely made public.”
“Federal law criminalized female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). A 2022 report from the UN Population Fund found 22 of 36 states had laws against FGM/C. Enforcement of the law was rare, and a quarter of women and girls had undergone FGM/C. NGOs reported some local authorities were not convinced these state laws applied in their districts,” the report said.
