ACHPR rate Nigeria high in adherence to peoples’ rights

The two Commissioners of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), who are on promotion mission to Nigeria have commended Nigeria for her political will and commitment towards the effective adherence of human rights, including the adoption of legislative and other measures to implement the African Charter and other ratified regional and international human rights instruments.

Lucy Asuagbor who led a delegation of the Commission made this known while briefing journalists on the outcome of the promotion mission of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to Nigeria in Abuja, at the Federal Ministry of Justice.

She disclosed that the delegation that undertook a promotion mission in Nigeria between noticed positive developments in the country in the adoption of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (2015), which inter alia, criminalizes female Genital Mutilation and harmful traditional practices.

With the adoption of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), The National Human Rights Amendment Act (2011, the team said it also noticed the commitment of the government to ensure the rescue of the kidnapped Chibok girls, with enhanced security efforts of the government to protect people in the North East of Nigeria from the scourge of Boko Haram attacks.

The establishment of the Presidential Committee on the North East Initiative (PCNI), interventions of various entities including the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Nigerian Bar Association to ensure that human rights and humanitarian law norms are observed in undertaking security operations and dealings with suspects, also got an applause from the ACHPR.

The delegation that made a painstaking inroad into bureaucratic processes of some MDAs, governmental and non-governmental organizations, identified that in spite of the huge successes recoded by government on human and people’s rights, a lot was still left undone.