Nigeria, April 13 -- A total of 1, 287, 706 petitions on human rights violations were filed by Nigerians at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2020, data obtained by PREMIUM TIMES has shown.

The petitions were filed at the NHRC headquarters in Abuja and its branches in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

They were largely filed against individuals, Nigeria's judiciary system and law enforcement agencies.

The alleged violations were in 14 broad areas namely sexual and gender based violence; women and gender rights; child rights; freedom/liberty of persons; right to life; freedom of religion; and law enforcement and human dignity.

Others are labour rights; freedom from discrimination; judiciary, rule of la...