NHRC Restates Commitment To Tackle Human Rights Violations

The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC has called on the Federal Government to prioritize issues of Human Rights violations in the country.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr Tony Ojukwu made the call at a forum in Abuja with the theme: Strategic Dialogue on Accessing Remedies for Human Rights Violations in Nigeria.

Mr Ojukwu said the forum was aimed at brainstorming on ways of addressing Human Rights violations in the country.

Mr Ojukwu stressed that the NHRC, amendment act 2020 empowers the commission in the enforcement of penalties on human rights violations.

He however stressed the need for common understanding and uniformity with judiciary stakeholders to ensure Nigerians benefit from that provision of the law.

In a keynote address, a human rights lawyer and activists, Mr Femi Falana who condemned the high rate of human rights violations and its pending cases in various courts across the country also tasked the commission to rise up to its statutory mandate to bring perpetrators and violators to face the rule of justice in line with global best practices.

Mr Falana however appealed to the Federal Government to adhere strictly to the criminal justice act enacted in 2015 and the police establishment act 2020, that all arrest made under the law be forwarded to the office of the AGF, and a database to check all illegal arrest made by security agencies to ensuring that Nigerians are not kept in illegal detention centres for more than a month.

Participants at the forum also called for effective administration of criminal justice monitory committee and to ensure that criminal cases do not remain in the closet for years and also called for adequate funding of the commission and sister agencies for effective service delivery

Garry Ochigbo, Edited By Grace Namiji