NHRC calls for constitutional amendment to promote human rights

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Officials accuse police and judges of fostering impunity

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on Congress to immediately amend the 1999 Constitution to strengthen the rights of Nigerians.

The Chairman of the Governing Council, Dr. Salamatu Suirman, yesterday spoke at the National City Hall in Abuja on the future of human rights litigation in Nigeria.

She says there is an urgent need to change the country's laws to make Title II rights legitimate. She said this would strengthen accountability and protection for all Nigerians by empowering individuals to enforce their socio-economic rights through the courts.

The group called on the government to enact specific laws providing for the enforcement of socio-economic rights, saying: “This law clearly defines these rights, establishes procedures for seeking redress and ensures robust enforcement. We need to ensure a mechanism.”

Nigeria's UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Matthias Sumer called on Nigeria to strengthen its institutions to address injustice.

In his opening remarks, the NHRC Executive Director, Mr. Tony Ojukwu (SAN), said the conference was part of the strategy to promote human rights in the country by consolidating views from stakeholders.

Officials also attributed the slow pace of human rights litigation in the country to the fact that some judges worked in cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

They made their claims at the same event held to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Aliyu Abubakar, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council, revealed that in many cases his organization is forced to stop human rights cases in the name of national security.

Sadiya Bajatu, chairperson of the Human Rights Committee of the Bauchi Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and Maxwell Opara, a human rights lawyer, believe that factors such as unfair adjournments by judges, cultural beliefs and human rights issues are contributing to the poor performance of human rights cases. Said to be the cause of the effect. Deployment of techniques to evade justice.

According to senior lawyer Professor Joy Ngozi, access to courts and the unfriendly nature of courts hinder the pursuit of rights. Professor Adeji Adekunle (SAN) of the Julitrust Socio-Legal Research and Documentation Center says that even the institute, which is charged with promoting human rights, also faces challenges from government agencies in its pursuit of redress for victims. While stating that he was doing so, he said: He advised Nigerians to continue to explore the benefits offered by the NHRC to report violations and seek redress.

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Source: guardian.ng