Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials sometimes cooperated and responded to their views, but generally dismissed allegations quickly without investigation. In some cases the military threatened NGOs and humanitarian organizations. In April then-Theater Commander for Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Rogers Nicholas, publicly said three UNICEF Child Protection staff were “persona non grata in the North East” and suggested they were “enemies of Nigeria and the military” who made “spurious and malicious allegations of human rights violations” as a result of UNICEF’s reporting on various human rights issues including sexual and gender based violence and past use of child soldiers in support roles. In May the army issued a statement regarding AI’s intention to release a “malicious” and “false report on fictitious rape incidents in IDP camps in the North East region of Nigeria.” One day prior, protestors–some of whom were reportedly paid to protest by unknown parties–surrounded AI’s Abuja offices. In June the army issued a press release referring to “the Amnesty International (AI) Barnawi faction of B[oko] H[aram] T[errorists],” an apparent reference to the Abu Musab Al-Barnawi group known as ISIS-WA. No retraction was issued and, as of December, the press release remained accessible on the army’s Facebook page.

Government Human Rights Bodies: The law establishes the NHRC as an independent nonjudicial mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights. The NHRC monitors human rights through its zonal affiliates in the country’s six political regions. The NHRC is mandated to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and publishes periodic reports detailing its findings, including torture and poor prison conditions. The commission, however, served more of an advisory, training, and advocacy role. During the reporting period, there were no reports its investigations led to accountability. The law provides for recognition and enforcement of NHRC awards and recommendations as court decisions, but it was unclear if this happened. In April the Senate confirmed Anthony Ojukwu as executive secretary of the NHRC, which had been without an executive secretary since 2016.