The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says it is seeking more humane ways to approach the treatment of drug victims, including counselling and medicines.

Tony Ojukwu (SAN), executive secretary of the NHRC, said this at an event commemorating 2025 World Drug Day.

The event was organised by the NHRC and the United Nations (UN) human rights resident commissioners in Nigeria.

Mr Ojukwu, who joined the event via Zoom, said many stories of victims have been heard and listened to, with an irreparable devastating toll of drug addiction.

“We have seen the pervasive stigma that strips individuals of their identity, the discrimination that shatters opportunities.

“The social exclusion that isolates souls and the painfully limited access to essential health and harm reduction services that leaves lives hanging with a thread.

“More disturbing is that this punitive approach has, in too many instances, tragically amplified the risk of arbitrary arrests, ill-treatment, and indeed the abhorrent act of torture within our detention facilities,” Mr Ojukwu stated.

Mr Ojukwu said the battle for the treatment of drug victims is being lost, not on statistics but on human lives and dignity.

He said punitive approaches had never worked, going by the available data and research.

“The evidence is clear; Nigeria’s drug use prevalence is higher than the global average, yet access to treatment and harm reduction services remains among the lowest in Africa,” he said.

Drug-related incarceration, according to Mr Ojukwu, is overwhelmingly composed of non-violent and low-level offences.

He noted that torture remained widespread, particularly in drug-related arrests and pre-trial detention.

Mr Ojukwu added that legal safeguards against torture and arbitrary detention were routinely ignored.

“The policy brief lays out clear recommendations for drug decriminalisation, investment in harm reduction and accountability mechanisms to protect the rights of persons who use drugs.
It represents a vision for a more humane and just Nigeria,” he said.

The executive secretary noted that prevention of drug abuse was fundamentally about investing in the human spirit and extended far beyond merely intercepting illicit substances.

“It means prioritising public health, establishing accessible, evidence-based treatment and harm reduction services, among others.

“We should shift our perceptions to see that those grappling with drug dependence are not criminals; they are patients in desperate need of care.

“Our empathy and our support are needed. By embracing these human rights-centred approaches, we do more than just protect the vulnerable,” Mr Ojukwu added.

Adwao Kufuor, senior human rights adviser to the UN Resident Human Rights Office, commended the federal government for establishing the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

Ms Kufuor said NPM was one of the main recommendations for the prevention of torture in the country.

“So, for us in the UN, we acknowledge the steps that the government has taken to improve the right to address some of the shortcomings. We hope that NPM will be able to address it,” she said.

Ms Kufuor said they have been talking with relevant stakeholders on non-custodian services and earlier releases of people on probation to ensure victims have access to justice.

The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, also known as “World Drug Day”, is marked annually on June 26.

(NAN)