Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Chidi Odinkalu disclosed yesterday that the commission has identified Lagos, Rivers and Kaduna states as areas that are prone to violence during and after the forthcoming general elections.
Odinkalu who was expected to meet with some governorship candidates alongside the commission’s board members in Lagos, including Mr. Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Akin Ambode of the All Progressives Congress, APC to rub minds with them on ways to prevent violence was however disappointed as none of the people turned up.
Speaking with journalists in an interview, Odinkalu disclosed that his plans was to see how to mitigate election-related violence, as Nigerians prepare for the forthcoming election.
According to Odinkalu, meeting with political parties is an unusual assignment for the commission, but it is compulsory in order to get on top of the situation to arrest electoral violence.
He maintained, “You become the leader through the machinery of the political parties, so we’ve got to engage them with seriousness, responsibility, fairness and balance. Understanding that, it is not the interest of NHRC to take sides. The only side we are taking is the side of Nigerians and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He said he was particularly interested in Lagos, Rivers and Kaduna due to several petitions received by the commission on matters relating to electoral violence, as the states are listed among the major states with the greatest cause for alarm.
He disclosed that NHRC tour started from Rivers State and it is aimed at engaging the leadership of the two major political parties and security agencies in a dialogue on how to collectively mitigate violence.
The commission chairman, while speaking on what informed the visit to Lagos State, said “Election related violence, and the strategic importance of Lagos to Nigeria informed our visit. Lagos State is too important to the country. At the moment, there is a lot of violence taken place as a result of politics or connected with the forthcoming election.
He lamented the unfaithfulness of political parties to the peace accord, signed by them. He said, “I don’t think either party has done enough to uphold the tenets of the peace accord. I don’t think the parties have done enough to disown hate speech. I don’t think the parties have done enough to disown violence that is done in their name or against their opponents or attributable to them. I do think that it is important and it is right thing for a leader to stand up and say you cannot do that in my name.”
Meanwhile, the attempt to meet with the political parties and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police was unsuccessful as they were unavailable at the slated time. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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