Ms. Agnes Callamard, UN Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, has called on
Buhari Government and the international community to pay special attention to
the lingering violence in north-central Nigeria.
“The situation in the
north-central appears to be spreading to other parts of the country. There is
need for urgent actions to end the violence which is claiming thousands of
lives,” Callamard said at a press conference on Monday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),
quotes the UN official as saying that she called the conference to share her
findings on “arbitrary deprivations” in the country..
“According to my preliminary
findings, Nigeria is a pressure cooker of internal conflicts with issues of
poverty and climate change adding to the crisis.
“If the crisis in central Nigeria
is ignored, its ripple effects will spread through the-sub region given
Nigeria’s important role in the continent. If that happens, the major victim
will be the vulnerable populations in the country.”
According to her, the crimes
committed in the northeast are not just against the victims and the Nigerian
state.
“The crimes are against humanity;
accountability must be delivered and the people must be involved and present in
those processes.
“The suspected perpetrators –
whether they are Boko Haram, other split groups or even security agencies –
must also be held accountable,” Callamard added.
She called for trust in the
Justice sector, saying that distrust could lead to the proliferation of vigilante
groups and cases of jungle justice in the country
Callamard urged government to
ensure access to justice for victims of human rights violation, and expressed
happiness at the positive signs in the north-east demonstrated by the decrease
in the number of killings over the last years.
“I have found some positive
signs; for instance, in the north-east, the number of allegations of arbitrary
killings or death in custody has decreased over the last two years.
“This evolution needs to be
thoroughly assessed to determine the factors and actors that allowed for that
positive development.”
She said that Nigeria was
currently being confronted by regional and global pressures, saying that the
situation could be blamed on population explosion, increased number of people
living in poverty, climate change, desertification and the increased
proliferation of weapons.
The UN official said that the
step taken by the government to consider ranching and increased security in the
country was a welcome development.
“Ranching is a long term measure
but steps must be taken now and a great deal of discussions and consultations
must take place.
“Due to the level of distrust and
lack of confidence, more efforts must be placed on finding long-term solutions.
There is need for a roadmap that must develop meaningful accountability.
“There must also be a real plan
toward ending the excesses of the security agencies,” she said.
She also called for more
attention to the herders/farmers conflicts to check its spread, urging government
to also look for a shorter immediate solution to the humanitarian crisis
enveloping some parts of the country.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com