The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has launched a nationwide training programme for law enforcement officers, traditional rulers, and religious leaders aimed at promoting human rights, gender sensitivity, and public health-informed practices in Nigeria’s HIV and tuberculosis (TB) response.
The two-day training, taking place across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, is part of the Global Fund Grant Cycle 7 programme. Participants include officers from the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), HISBAH, and various community policing structures, alongside representatives of traditional and religious institutions.
The training is designed to equip frontline institutions with the skills to integrate human rights-based, gender-sensitive, and public health approaches into law enforcement and community engagement. Interactive modules, case studies, and group discussions cover the right to health, stigma and discrimination, protection of key and vulnerable populations, and the application of the Standard Minimum Guidelines in arrests, detention, and prosecution of affected individuals.
The NHRC Executive Secretary Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, OFR, in his remarks at the training, emphasized the moral and professional importance of the initiative. “Nigeria continues to bear the twin burdens of HIV and TB, compounded by stigma, discrimination, and structural barriers to justice and healthcare,” he said. Dr. Ojukwu stressed that law enforcement officers, traditional rulers, and religious leaders are often the first point of contact for affected persons, placing them in a critical position to either reinforce barriers or promote human rights and dignity.
He highlighted troubling practices, including unlawful arrests, breaches of confidentiality, gender-based abuses, and extortion, noting that these undermine public health outcomes and violate human rights.
According to him, the training seeks to:
• Improve understanding of the public health realities of HIV and TB.
• Promote human rights-based and gender-sensitive law enforcement practices.
• Reduce stigma and discrimination against key and vulnerable populations.
• Strengthen collaboration among law enforcement, health institutions, communities, and civil society.
• Enhance awareness and application of legal protections and the Standard Minimum Guidelines.
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By the end of the programme, participants are expected to develop actionable plans to implement rights-respecting practices in their institutions and communities.
Dr. Ojukwu reaffirmed that human rights protection is foundational to effective law enforcement, adding that “public health outcomes are strongest where dignity, equality, and non-discrimination are upheld.” He also expressed appreciation for the Global Fund’s support in capacity building, legal reform, and institutional strengthening, urging participants to serve as champions of rights-based approaches in Nigeria’s HIV and TB response.
The NHRC emphasized its commitment to ensuring that no one is left behind in the national response to HIV and TB, promoting strategic engagement and collaboration with state and non-state actors to protect the rights of key and vulnerable populations.
For further information, the NHRC Global Fund Project Management Unit can be reached at golbalfund@nhrc.gov.ng or info@nhrc.gov.ng.
