Group calls for probe into Nigeria's human rights record

By Ifedayo Adebayo

Human Rights Nigeria, a network of over 120 non-governmental human rights organisations in Nigeria, has said that it will be unfavourable to Nigerians if the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon fails look into the deplorable situation of human rights in the country.

The network at the end of a meeting in Abuja on Wednesday condemned the Secretary General's failure to meet with human rights community during his recent visit to the country, despite what it called the requests made to ensure such. They also condemned him "for openly announcing that Nigeria's health care delivery system was improving, when on the contrary, the rate of maternal and infant mortality in the country are among the highest in the world."

Citing several reports by UN experts, including the special rapporteurs on torture, and UN Human Rights Council's reports on Nigeria, the group said that the UN reports confirm the claims by Nigerians and international human rights NGOs about the continued violations and abuses of human rights in the country.

Extra judicial killings

"Extra judicial killings by police and other state agencies occur on daily basis and perpetrators are not properly investigated and punished. Nigerian government has continued to fail in its responsibility to investigate and prosecute those responsible for unlawful killings of tens of thousands of people in the various religious, ethnic and political conflicts that have engulfed the nation since 2004. Most recently, these include killings arising from the conflicts in the north central Nigeria, especially in Plateau State; the police attack on Boko Haram members and associated reprisals killings; violence in the Niger Delta, the April 2011 post-election crises in northern Nigeria, etc.

"Police and other law enforcement agencies continue to arbitrarily arrest and detain suspects without charge. In particular, several thousands of persons arrested in relation to the North central crises and suspected members of Boko Haram, have not been charged to court or released on bail. In many cases, the relatives of the suspects were arrested," the group claimed in a statement signed by the trio of Itoro Eze Anaba, Chino Obiagwu, and Olawale Fapohunda.

Citing several lackadaisical manner at which the government takes issues of human rights in Nigeria, the group says the country has demonstrated little or no commitment to implement and enforce its obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the rights contained in the human rights treaties that it is part of.


(2011-5-27/234next)