The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN has stressed the need for an urgent shift in Nigeria’s drug policies and a renewed national commitment to ending torture in the country.
Speaking virtually at the joint commemoration of the 2025 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture held in Abuja, Dr. Ojukwu lamented that, millions of people continue to face dehumanisation, not because they have committed violent crimes, but because they are poor, vulnerable, addicted, detained or simply forgotten.
Ojukwu, who called for the protection of dignity and advance justice, said, the Commission’s latest policy brief, “Punishment to Protection: Human Rights at the Heart of Nigeria’s Drug Policies,” advocates for decriminalisation of drug use, investment in harm reduction, and protection of drug users’ rights.
The NHRC boss described the event themed, “Protecting Dignity, Advancing Justice: A Joint Dialogue on Drug Policy Reform and Torture Prevention in Nigeria” as a powerful call to action and a moment of reckoning for Nigeria’s justice and human rights systems.
He strongly criticised the prevailing punitive approach to drug use, which he said had led to widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and discrimination.
“Drug-related incarceration in Nigeria is overwhelmingly composed of non-violent, low-level offences, yet, access to treatment and harm reduction services remains among the lowest in Africa”, he said and aligned his remarks with the global theme of this year’s World Drug Day: “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention.”
He urged the Nigerian government and stakeholders to see drug users as patients, not criminals, and to channel resources into evidence-based prevention and rehabilitation services.
The event also commemorated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The NHRC boss expressed worry over the continued use of torture, particularly in drug-related arrests and detention, describing it as a stain on Nigeria’s conscience.
He reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to monitoring detention facilities through its National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), in line with the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and guided by international standards such as the Istanbul Protocol and the Méndez Principles.
In a message directed at policymakers, international partners, civil society, and survivors, Ojukwu called for courage, compassion, and collaboration and reaffirmed the commitment of the NHRC to making human rights the cornerstone of Nigeria’s drug control and justice systems.
In a goodwill message at the event, the Controller General of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Sylvester Nwakuche said, drug abuse and illicit trafficking have over-reaching impact on crime trajectory in the society of today, as many people are found in the detention centres for drug abuse related offences or that drugs contributed to why the offences were committed.
He expressed worry that the trend is rising at uncontrollable proportion and added that, the Nigerian Correctional Service is strategic in Criminal Justice System architecture.
“Almost all arrests, detentions and prosecutions emanating from various law enforcement agencies end up in the custodial centres, where they come en masse as inmates, and stay longer as awaiting trial persons or convicts, as the case may be.
“On our part, the Nigerian Correctional Service, keeps to the rubrics: accepting the rejected, guide the misguided, giving hope and comfort to
the ruined, by force of leadership and personality.
“Nigerian Correctional Service has since transited from retribution as its modus operandi in compliance with global best practices. In this regard, the service develops methodology to identify the existence and causes of anti-social behaviours of inmates, by conducting risk and needs assessment, aimed at developing appropriate correctional
treatment strategy for reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration” he said in a message to the event.
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