The global human rights watchdog, Amnesty International (AI), has again, raised the alarm that human rights violations are still high in the country. The agency also decried the inability of the Nigerian authorities to hold those involved in human rights violations accountable.
The Media Manager of Amnesty International Nigeria, Isa Sanusi, disclosed that the pervasive violence against women included purported rape of women and girls at various Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, as well as sexual violence against female detainees by security operatives, in order to extract confessions.
The group also observed that the violations occurred despite the passage of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act by the National Assembly in 2015. The global human rights agency welcomes the nation’s acceptance of recommendations to intensify efforts to combat gender-based violence. At the same time, it urges the government to ensure that victims can seek legal redress in line with the provisions of VAPP.
We decry human rights violations, especially those against women and young girls. Therefore, we call on the Federal Government to rise to the challenge and hold those responsible for such rights violations accountable. The continued violation of human rights in the country is indeed a mockery of the existence of the National Human Rights Commission.
We recall that since the activities of Boko Haram in the North East region became a global concern in 2009, AI has raised concerns over war crimes and other human rights abuses by the insurgents and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by the security forces. Such human rights violations included arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions.
Unfortunately, the perpetrators of such human rights violations were not brought to justice. Neither the Boko Haram insurgents nor the security forces have been held accountable for such human rights violations.
Last year, AI released a report of alleged human rights violations perpetrated by security agencies as well as the civilian volunteers known as Civilian Joint Task Force (Civilian JTF). The organisation lamented that many persons kept in camps starved to death in Borno State since 2015. It is regrettable that the military has always waved off such allegations without setting up a panel to investigate them.
But such human rights violations are not just perpetrated in the North East region alone. Across the country, reported cases of human rights abuses by the security agencies abound. Journalists, rights advocates, social activists, students and many others have been arrested and detained for months over some perceived crimes. On many occasions, the Federal Government has disregarded court orders for the release of such detainees.
This obtains despite the right to personal liberty enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. Section 35 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended) stipulates that every Nigerian shall have the right to personal liberty, and that anyone arrested shall be prosecuted within a reasonable period so that a court of competent jurisdiction shall determine the fate of the individual.
As a member of the United Nations (UN), Nigeria has ratified many UN human rights conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The country has made binding international commitments to adhere to the standards of many universal human rights documents. As such, Nigeria must not be viewed as a country where human rights violations are encouraged and the perpetrators applauded or let off with a slap on the wrist.
The Federal Government must begin to take issues of human rights abuses more seriously. The rights of every Nigerian, old and young, male and female, irrespective of status, tribe, religion or political persuasion, must be respected. The perpetrators of human rights violations, no matter their status, must be served their proper retribution as a deterrent to others. We call on the Federal Government to investigate all allegations of human rights violations in the country and bring the perpetrators of such abuses to justice without any delay. We believe that doing so will deter others from toeing the evil path.
