Businesses in Nigeria have been highlighted as one of the principal violators of human rights in the country. This was the pronouncement of international human rights scholar and former senior United Nations envoy, Prof. Uchenna Emelonye at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC) and AfriRIGHTS, a Pan-African Think Tank on Rights-Centric Business based in London. According to Prof. Emelonye, who is the Chief Executive Officer of AfriRIGHTS, businesses in Nigeria impact human rights through their own activities, those of their subsidiaries or through other business relations.

He stated that human rights abuses linked to business activities in Nigeria include child and forced labour, poor staff safety, environmental pollution, lack of grievance mechanisms.

“Most businesses in Nigeria infringe on the human rights of their employees and contract workers, their customers, workers in their supply chains, communities around their operations and end users of their products or services”, he said.

Under the MOU, AfriRIGHTS will partner with the NHRC in the implementation of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP). The Federal Executive Council approved the NAP on Business and Human Rights in 2024.

Based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), the NAP is a strategy for government and companies to meet their respective duties and responsibilities to prevent human rights abuses and provide remedies where such abuses occur.

While the aim of the NAP is to ensure that businesses operate ethically, protect and respect human rights, and provide access to remedy for victims of abuses, the actions outlined in the NAP for businesses, and other stakeholders to prevent and address human rights abuses related to business activities have, according to Prof Emelonye not been implemented.

For businesses in Nigeria to prevent, mitigate, or remedy human rights abuses in their supply chains, AfriRIGHTS and NHRC will, under the MOU support businesses to develop human rights policies or code of conduct that will entrench and internalize company’s responsibility to protect human rights. By so doing, businesses will adopt a right-based approach to risk assessment, complaint mechanism, thereby preventing, reducing and remediating potential human rights violations.