Business
…says uncontrolled profiteering violates citizens’ right to life
THE Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expresses deep outrage and grave concern over the alarming escalation in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, which is now reportedly selling for as much as N2,000 per kilogram in many parts of Nigeria.
This disturbing development has pushed cooking gas beyond the reach of millions of ordinary citizens and has further worsened the already unbearable cost-of-living crisis confronting Nigerian households. It is unacceptable that in a nation blessed with abundant natural resources, citizens are being subjected to economic conditions that make basic survival increasingly difficult.
HURIWA strongly asserts that the astronomical rise in the price of cooking gas is not merely an economic issue but a fundamental human rights concern. The direct consequence of making essential household energy unaffordable is mass hunger, malnutrition, disease, and avoidable deaths among vulnerable populations. Families already struggling with rising food prices, transportation costs, electricity tariffs, and healthcare expenses are now being forced to choose between cooking their meals and meeting other basic necessities.
The association maintains that this situation offends the spirit and provisions of Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly the fundamental right to life. While the Constitution places a solemn obligation on government to safeguard the lives and welfare of citizens, the prevailing atmosphere of unchecked price increases is producing the exact opposite effect.
A government that watches helplessly while essential commodities become inaccessible to the majority of citizens cannot claim to be fully discharging its constitutional and moral responsibilities. The right to life is not limited to protection from bullets and violent attacks; it also encompasses the obligation of the state to create conditions that make life sustainable and dignified. When citizens are pushed into extreme deprivation through unchecked economic hardship, the consequences are often fatal.
HURIWA is particularly alarmed by what appears to be the absence of effective regulatory intervention to curb the activities of profiteers who exploit citizens during periods of economic uncertainty. No serious democracy permits unrestrained profiteering at the expense of public welfare. Across the world, responsible governments deploy regulatory mechanisms, market interventions, strategic reserves, consumer protection frameworks, and anti-monopoly measures to prevent exploitative pricing of essential commodities.
It is therefore unacceptable that under the current administration, Nigerians are being left at the mercy of market forces and profit-driven actors whose actions are worsening poverty and deepening social misery. Government cannot continue to distance itself from the suffering of the people by attributing every hardship to market realities while citizens sink deeper into economic despair.
The Tinubu administration must immediately investigate the factors responsible for the outrageous increase in cooking gas prices and take urgent steps to stabilize the market. Regulatory agencies must be empowered to identify and sanction individuals and companies engaged in exploitative pricing practices. The government should also consider targeted interventions and fiscal measures capable of reducing the cost burden on consumers.
HURIWA warns that continued inaction could trigger wider social and humanitarian consequences, including increased dependence on firewood and charcoal, environmental degradation, worsening public health conditions, and greater hardship for already impoverished households.
The association reiterates that governance must ultimately be measured by its impact on the lives of citizens. Any economic policy or regulatory failure that results in widespread hunger, suffering, and preventable deaths cannot be justified under any democratic system.
Nigerians deserve a government that actively protects them from economic predators, safeguards their welfare, and upholds the constitutional guarantee of the right to life and human dignity.
A.I
June 4, 2026
Tags: Cooking gas price surge HURIWA