The International Human Rights Commission – Relief Fund Trust (IHRC-RFT), Nigeria Chapter, has cautioned that Nigeria’s democratic institutions will be judged by how they respond to the country’s deepening security crisis.
In a statement issued on Saturday and signed by its Country Director, Amb. Abdullahi Bakoji Adamu, the Commission commended Alhassan Ado Doguwa for what it described as a courageous intervention on the floor of the House of Representatives in November 2025.
Doguwa had declared that Nigeria was “running in blood and tears,” a remark the IHRC said accurately reflects the plight of millions of citizens facing violence and insecurity across the country.
According to the Commission, farmers have abandoned their farmlands, communities have been displaced, places of worship attacked, and innocent citizens killed in several regions.
While praising Doguwa’s call for urgent legislative action, the IHRC expressed concern that nearly four months later, there has been no substantial or measurable improvement in the security situation.
“The frequency of violent incidents across multiple regions continues to raise grave concern,” the statement said, as it directed questions to the leadership of the National Assembly, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.
The Commission questioned why decisive and visible legislative steps had not followed Doguwa’s appeal, arguing that such a grave issue—touching on the constitutional duty to protect lives and property—should trigger immediate institutional response, strategic oversight, and accountability.
It warned that prolonged inaction could normalize criminality, weaken public trust in democratic institutions, embolden armed groups, and undermine national cohesion.
Describing the crisis as national rather than sectional, partisan, or religious, the IHRC emphasized that it is not politically aligned but committed to the protection of human life and fundamental rights. It urged members of both chambers of the National Assembly to translate debate into enforceable measures.
“History will judge institutions not by the intensity of their debates, but by the effectiveness of their response. The time to act is now,” the statement concluded.
