1. Overview of the human rights and democracy situation:

Nigeria continues to face an unprecedented wave of different and overlapping security crises, including banditry, crime and kidnapping, extremist insurgencies, secessionist agitations, terrorism and farmer/herder conflicts. Almost every part of the country is now afflicted by violence and crime. Security Forces are deployed in 32 out of the 36 States of the Federation. The ongoing surge of insecurity is also a result of poor governance, mismanagement and corruption that has contributed to a dire economic situation, widespread poverty, and increasing hunger and food insecurity, rising inflation and fuel shortages, in spite of the high oil prices caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Insecurity in the Niger Delta region and the subsequent large scale oil theft have also contributed to budget distress. Nigerian security forces have faced several allegations of human rights abuses, including a series of articles by Reuters in December 2022, which focus on abuse of women and children in the North East. Nigeria's military chief has called on the National Human Rights Commission to launch an independent investigation into the allegation. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, also released a report on violations of the right to life committed by State and non-State actors. Previous allegations have typically ended in long internal investigations that have not led to any trials, however.

In March 2022, the National Assembly rejected five Gender Equality Bills during the fifth attempt to review the 1999 Constitution since its adoption. The rejection of the bills sparked strong criticism by the women’s movement, and plans are in the pipeline to re-introduce the bill for the creation of additional seats for women in the National Assembly in March. There are also a number of on-going controversial individual cases of human rights violations, the most emblematic being Sharif Aminu, Omar Farouq and Mubarak Bala, as a result of a parallel system of Sharia law passing summary death sentences on those accused of blasphemy. Nigeria’s democratic landscape remains stable but volatile, and it is expected that this will remain the case in the run up to the General Elections in February 2023.

2. EU action - key focus areas:

(i) Gender Equality and women’s empowerment: Gender equality and women’s empowerment is mainstreamed in all EU programmes. The EU Delegation also supported advocacy towards the signing of the Mental Health Bill, which was finally signed by the President in the first week of 2023. The EU Delegation actively participated in the 2022 edition of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence alongside Nigerian key stakeholders.

(ii) Rights of the Child: In 2021, the EU launched a new project, “Access to Justice for Children on the Move”. In 2022, the programme advocated for the enactment of the Child Rights Act and supported implementation and enforcement of laws on child rights and child protection in the North West and North Central.

(iii) Rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI): In 2022, the EU Ambassador hosted a discussion with interlocutors from the LGBTI community in Nigeria on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, with the participation of representatives of Member States. The EU Delegation has started consultations with various LGBTI organisations as a basis for a direct contribution as part of the Human Rights and Democracy country allocation of 2022

(iv) Freedom of Religion and Belief: The EU Delegation has engaged with faith actors and communities across the key priority areas of our development cooperation in Nigeria. In 2022, the EU continued to follow developments around the imprisonment of Mubarak Bala and Sharif Aminu, both charged for blasphemy in 2020. Despite efforts by the EU Delegation,

Member States and like-minded countries, to ensure a fair trial for Mubarak Bala, the latter pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 24 years of prison. The case of Sharif Aminu was transferred to the Supreme Court and a date for the hearing is pending.

(v) Human Security, protection of civilians and the rights of internally displaced persons: The EU has a geographical focus on North East and North West Nigeria, where it implements projects on the protection of civilians and reconciliation efforts, including the implementation of Disengagement, Disassociation, Reintegration and Reconciliation programmes in the North East.

(vi) Democratic consolidation and support for elections: Sustained support to the democratic process is channelled through the EU flagship democracy programme “EU Support to Democratic  Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) phase II’. It promotes democratic consolidation in Nigeria by building strong, effective, and legitimate democratic institutions. In 2022, EU assistance focused on supporting INEC’s conduct of the 2023 general elections so that it is fair and credible, whilst consolidating the scope and quality of the political engagement of youth, women and other marginalised groups.

(vii) Digital rights: In 2022, the EU launched a project in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos, Imo and Kano states to build the capacity of the main actors involved in the promotion and the protection of digital rights. It includes the creation of a digital platform for reporting of violations, free legal assistance for victims of digital rights violations or threats, and knowledge building of activists and the general population.

3. EU bilateral political engagement:

Through the EU-Nigeria Ministerial Roadmap many technical and senior level contacts continue to take place to address cooperation, research and innovation, energy, climate, security sector issues, humanitarian assistance, migration and mobility, and investments. In 2022, the EEAS, Managing Director of Africa, the EU Ambassador and EU Heads of Mission engaged with key electoral institutions and political figures as part of their engagement for peaceful, transparent and credible elections.

4. EU financial engagement:

The EU has financial engagements in each of the areas of EU action (see above).

5. Multilateral context:

The most recent Universal Periodic Review (examination) of Nigeria took place in 2018. The next review is due for November 2023. In March 2022, Nigeria voted in favour of the UNGA motion to stop Russia’s offensive and immediately withdraw all troops from Ukraine. However in April 2022, it abstained from the vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. In October, Nigeria voted in favour of the resolution to condemn annexation of Ukraine’s regions. Nigeria has advocated against the Russian invasion of Ukraine within multilateral fora.