By Danjuma Amodu
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has warned that Nigeria’s growing population of older persons faces poverty, abuse and exclusion due to a weak social protection system.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, raised the alarm in Abuja on Monday at an event to commemorate the 2026 International Day of Older Persons, themed “The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives.”
Ojukwu said older Nigerians were confronted by inadequate income, limited access to healthcare, delayed pensions, social isolation, age discrimination, abandonment, property dispossession and outright abuse.
According to him, Nigeria must fundamentally rethink its policies, institutions and social protection architecture to respond to longer life expectancy.
“Longevity should be an achievement, not a burden. It will mean little if additional years are characterised by poverty, ill-health, insecurity, neglect and exclusion,” he said.
He noted that the critical question for Nigeria was no longer how long citizens live, but whether they live their later years in dignity, good health, security and with the ability to participate meaningfully in society.
The NHRC boss stressed that older persons remain rights-holders and active members of society, not mere dependants. He described them as parents, professionals, entrepreneurs, farmers, community leaders and custodians of institutional memory whose contributions must be recognised and protected.
He said protection of older persons was a human rights issue, as ageing does not strip anyone of rights guaranteed under the Constitution and international instruments, including dignity, equality, healthcare, social security, property, participation and freedom from violence and exploitation.
Ojukwu said Nigeria already has a legal foundation for protection through the Constitution, the NHRC Act, the National Senior Citizens Centre Act and the National Policy on Ageing, alongside regional and international frameworks such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa.
He disclosed that discussions were ongoing globally for a dedicated Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.
“Why should older persons not have a Convention?” he queried, arguing that older people deserve a specific international legal instrument just as children and persons with disabilities do.
The NHRC chief warned that ageing is not a uniform experience, noting that older women, particularly widows, persons with disabilities, those in rural communities and those displaced by humanitarian crises face greater risks.
“Ageing is not a single experience. Policies must reflect differences in gender, disability, location and economic circumstances,” he said.
Recounting a personal experience, Ojukwu said his family once considered relocating his mother to the United States where most of his siblings reside, but she returned due to discomfort with the cold weather. He said the lesson was to consult older persons before making decisions for them.
“Talk to them and find out what they want. You’ll be surprised that what they want may even be easier for you to provide than what you are thinking for them,” he added.
He said the Commission has established and trained desk officers on older persons across its state offices, and is strengthening advocacy, monitoring and investigation of elder abuse.
In his remarks, President of the Civil Society for the Rights of Older Persons in Nigeria (COSROPIN), Senator Eze Darlington Ajoku, urged government to move from policy to implementation, calling for stronger investment in geriatric healthcare, pensions, housing, transportation and age-friendly communities.
“Let us move from celebration to action, from policy to implementation, and from ageing with vulnerability to ageing with dignity,” Ajoku said.
Also speaking, the Federal Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) disclosed that as of September 1, 2026, Nigeria had 140,927 refugees and asylum seekers and 3,679,757 internally displaced persons, including older persons and persons with disabilities who require age-sensitive humanitarian responses.
Ojukwu called for collective action by federal, state and local governments, civil society, development partners, traditional institutions and families to ensure longer lives translate into years of dignity, security and respect for rights.
