US report says Nigeria’s rights abuses persist under Tinubu

The United States has delivered another grim assessment of Nigeria’s human rights record in its 2024 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, concluding that there were “no significant changes” from the previous year despite repeated pledges by Abuja to reform security forces and protect civil liberties.

Released by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the report catalogues a litany of abuses –  from arbitrary killings by state and non-state actors, to enforced disappearances, torture, and systemic restrictions on freedom of expression and the press. It also flags continued impunity for security forces accused of violations.

While the 2023 review was already damning – detailing police brutality, prolonged detentions, and attacks on journalists – the 2024 report says that those patterns have persisted.

It cites instances of security forces killing protesters during the August #EndBadGovernance demonstrations, with Amnesty International estimating at least 24 deaths. More than 1,200 protesters were arrested, dozens charged with treason, and civil society groups such as SERAP and the Nigerian Labour Congress raided.

It also noted that press freedom had come under fresh strain. At least 56 journalists were detained, harassed, or assaulted in 2024, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The arrest of journalist Adejuwon Soyinka, flagged on a security watchlist, and the incommunicado detention of reporter Daniel Ojukwu for nine days underscored what the report describes as “threats, intimidation, arrest, detention, and violence” against critics.

“The government sometimes took steps to investigate alleged human rights abuses by officials, but prosecution and punishment for such abuses was rare,” the report said.

“Significantly scaled back”

Conflict-related abuses remain severe. Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISIS-WA) carried out deadly attacks, abductions, and gender-based violence, while military operations against insurgents in the North-East and separatists in the South-East were linked to civilian casualties.

In April 2024, an airstrike in Zamfara state reportedly killed 33 villagers; the military denied civilian deaths. Other concerns include mass kidnappings, widespread child labour, and unresolved disappearances dating back to the disbandment of SARS in 2020.

As with other countries, the 2024 Nigeria review was shorter under a streamlined reporting format. State Department officials said this was to improve “readability,” not soften criticism.

The Nigeria section sits within a report that has itself come under global scrutiny. The document’s release came after months of delay, with reports of significant internal dissent within the State Department over its scope and findings.

American media note that under the Trump administration, the once-comprehensive review has been significantly scaled back, reducing coverage of issues like corruption and LGBTQ+ persecution while dialling down criticism of US allies such as Israel and El Salvador.

Critics, including former senior State Department official Uzra Zeya, accuse Washington of “gutting” decades of respected human rights reporting and giving allies “a free pass.”

“It sends a signal that there’s going to be a free pass from the United States government, that it will look the other way if a government is willing to cut deals or do the bidding of this administration,” Zeya told the BBC.

The State Department’s review lists the United Kingdom among countries with “significant human rights issues,” pointing to “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression” and describing efforts to prosecute and punish such abuses as “inconsistent.”

Brazil, which has often drawn criticism from the Trump administration, is accused of taking “disproportionate action to undermine freedom of speech.”

In its section on Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, the report links the ongoing war to “a rise in reports of human rights violations.” It notes, however, that Israel’s government “took several credible steps to identify officials who committed human rights abuses.” The report also levels accusations of war crimes against Hamas and Hezbollah, allegations both groups reject.

It makes no reference to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.