By Henry Ihimekpen
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has declared climate change a growing human rights emergency in Nigeria, warning that floods, droughts, rising temperatures and climate-induced displacement are denying millions of Nigerians their rights to life, food, shelter, health and dignity.
In a move to put people at the centre of the country’s climate response, the Commission on Tuesday inaugurated the National Working Group on Human Rights and Climate Change, a multi-stakeholder platform to integrate human rights principles into Nigeria’s climate policies and interventions.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, NHRC Executive Secretary, Chief Tony Ojukwu, said climate change has moved beyond an environmental issue to become a humanitarian and human rights crisis requiring urgent and coordinated action.
“Climate change is not just about rising temperatures or changing weather patterns,” Ojukwu said. “It is about people losing their homes, farmers losing their livelihoods, communities being uprooted and vulnerable populations being pushed deeper into poverty.
“Our response must therefore be guided by one fundamental question: How does climate change affect people and how do we protect their rights?”
He noted that communities devastated by floods, farmers whose livelihoods have been destroyed by erratic weather, families displaced by disasters and children forced out of school are all victims of rights violations that require institutional protection.
Ojukwu said the Working Group will provide a platform for government institutions, civil society organisations, development partners and academics to ensure climate policies address the needs of vulnerable communities.
The initiative is a collaboration between the NHRC, the Federal Ministry of Environment and the National Council on Climate Change, with a mandate to mainstream human rights into climate governance and strengthen accountability in climate interventions.
Representing the Minister of Environment, Dr. Iniobong Abiola Awe reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to inclusive climate policies that respond to communities most affected by environmental degradation.
She stressed that Nigeria’s adaptation and mitigation programmes must protect vulnerable populations while promoting sustainable development.
Director-General of the National Council on Climate Change, Dr. Omotenioye Majekodunmi, said the evidence of climate change is already visible nationwide, citing recurring floods, desertification, rising temperatures, forced migration and worsening farmer-herder conflicts.
“The consequences of climate change now extend beyond damaged ecosystems to include threats to livelihoods, security, economic stability and human dignity,” she said.
Civil society groups also pledged support. Founder of the Women Environmental Programme, Dr. Priscilla Achakpa, called for greater attention to climate justice for women, children, young people and other vulnerable groups who bear the heaviest burden of climate impacts despite contributing the least to global emissions.
The Federal Commissioner for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Aliyu Tijani Ahmed, represented by former NHRC Director, Dahiru Bobbo, reaffirmed commitment to protecting persons displaced by climate-induced disasters.
The Presidency, through the Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Climate Change, Comrade Yussuf Kelani, also pledged support for the Working Group.
The inauguration comes as Nigeria grapples with increasingly severe climate shocks. Recurrent flooding in recent years has displaced hundreds of thousands, destroyed farmlands and infrastructure, while prolonged drought and desertification in northern Nigeria have intensified competition over dwindling resources, fuelling conflicts and worsening food insecurity.
Human rights advocates argue that climate change is no longer solely an environmental issue but a development, governance and justice challenge that disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable populations.
With the establishment of the National Working Group, the NHRC said it hopes to ensure Nigeria’s climate response goes beyond emissions reduction and resilience to guarantee that the rights and dignity of citizens remain at the heart of every climate policy.
