Human Rights Foundation

We believe every human is entitled to assert their rights

Human Rights Foundation (HRF) Nigeria is a non-governmental organization that exists to advocate and enforce the Rule of Law on the rights of the human person, regardless of such a person’s class, gender, religion or ethnicity.

In 2002, HRF’s Founder, Victor Fakunle visited Keffi Minimum Prison, Nassarawa State, Nigeria on a missions trip. There, he encountered an overcrowded prison with about 40 inmates in cells built for 8 persons. Most of the inmates had been awaiting trial for a long time, in some cases, more than five years. The inmates had no legal representation. Hence, Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has been advocating for the rule of law and providing legal representation for its indigent clients since.

What We Do

• Ensuring that indigent Nigerians have speedy access to justice by providing free world-class legal representation to them.
• Advocating for the reform of the Nigerian prison systems. HRF has represented over four thousand indigent clients to date.
• Collaborating with other non-governmental organizations to provide counselling, drugs for HIV-infected inmates, construction of facilities such as water boreholes, toilets, and bathrooms.
• Protecting the special interests of vulnerable persons from such socio-cultural, social-political, and socio-religious themed abuses such as domestic violence, sexual assaults, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, child labour and all such harmful practices.
• Educating and sensitising the youths on their human rights via platforms such as Liberty Pulpit (Inter-school Debates) and providing basic school materials for disenfranchised communities.
• Empowering widows and single mothers in business with cash and equipments needed to start and/or develop their businesses through our Angler Project.

• How We Do Them
  • Defending the fundamental rights of every person in Nigeria as enshrined in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all other domestic and international laws, to which Nigeria is signatory.
  • Advocating for the principles of State Policy enshrined in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution, particularly where the objectives and principles stated therein are required for the enhancement of the living conditions of every person in Nigeria.
  • Partnering with organizations with shared values and passion for the disenfranchised.