The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says it received 3,724,822 complaints of human rights violations across Nigeria in 2025, with Kano State recording the highest number of cases.

Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during an event marking International Women’s Day organised by the Women’s Forum of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.

Ojukwu, who called for stronger regional collaboration to tackle gender-based violence, said the complaints ranged from abuses against women and children to violations involving other vulnerable groups.

According to him, the data was compiled from the commission’s 36 state offices and the Abuja Metropolitan Office, reflecting growing public awareness and increased willingness by victims to report rights violations.

“In Kano State alone, the commission recorded 3,019 complaints between January and December 2025. Out of these, 2,276 cases were resolved, while 743 remain under investigation,” he said.

Represented at the event by the NHRC Director of the Women and Children Department, Ngozi Okorie, Ojukwu warned that gender-based violence remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations globally.

He cited findings from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018, which show that nearly one in three Nigerian women aged between 15 and 49 has experienced physical or sexual violence.

Ojukwu added that Nigeria accounts for about 10 per cent of global survivors of gender-based violence, with an estimated 20 million women affected nationwide.