Abstract
Every Individual is ingrained with human rights which is inherent and inalienable and as such, the state has a corresponding obligation to ensure that these rights are respected, promoted and protected. Human right is fundamental to human existence and encapsulates the notion that every person has equal worth. This simple but profound concept means that every member of the human family has value that cannot be dismissed or ignored to every other person hence it is the onerous duty of the state to ensure its protection and equally forestall its breach. This article followed a doctrinal method of research and brings to the fore the importance of human right to human existence. There had been a number of International agreements and treaties dealing with humanitarian issues. Preservation and protection of human rights have also been considered germane and given attention in several legal instruments. Nigeria has all the laws and institutions in place for the enforcement of human rights in the country. For instance, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (CFRN) 1999 recognizes human rights and provides for the procedure for its enforcement. The police and the courts are critical institutions for the enforcement of human rights. Nigeria is also a party to several international Human Rights instruments such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right which she has domesticated. Despite all these efforts, human rights enforcement is still at an abysmal level in Nigeria. Nigeria continues to languish at the bottom on the global human rights protection index released by Amnesty International and the United Nations Human Rights Council. This article therefore sheds light on the enforcement of human rights in Nigeria inclusive of the socio-economic rights which is non justiciable, while comparing same with the constitutional architecture of Kenya which embraces and enforces socio economic rights in her jurisprudence. Furthermore, the article unearths the challenges of the enforcement of human rights in Nigeria and how the Nigerian Constitution has dealt positively with it comparing same with the position in Kenya and not forgetting how issues of corruption, impunity, illiteracy, poverty, insecurity and so on has hindered the enforcement and protection of human rights and in the final limb, recommendations essential for the protection and enforcement of human rights in Nigeria.