NHRC: Nigeria Must Overhaul Systems, as Ageing Population Faces Poverty, Abuse

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has warned that Nigeria's growing population of older persons is confronting a social protection system that remains ill-equipped to guarantee their dignity, security, and independence. The commission said poverty, inadequate income, weak social protection, limited access to healthcare, delayed pensions, social isolation, age discrimination, abandonment, abuse, and property dispossession were leaving many older Nigerians vulnerable. Executive Secretary Dr Tony Ojukwu raised the concerns in Abuja at the commission's commemoration of the 2026 International Day of Older Persons, stating that Nigeria must fundamentally rethink its policies, institutions, and social protection systems to respond to longer lives. The event was held under the theme, "The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives."

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