AU Commission Urges Halt To Violence

WORRIED by the spate of violence and the associated human rights violations in many parts of Nigeria, the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Dupe Atokiyesterday urged the Federal Government to be more proactive in protecting and safeguarding the human rights of Nigerians to life.According to her, there is need for the government to ensure the security of the human person and property as guaranteed by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.Atoki in a statement yesterday expressed the Commission's concern over ethno-religious violence in the country, in particular the Christmas day bombing and killing of innocent citizens in some parts of Nigeria and seeks prompt action to check it.' The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights guarantees the right to national peace and security of all peoples and obliges all state parties to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect to this right'', she notedWhile commiserating with the families who lost their loved ones, Atoki urged the Federal Government to take urgent action to halt the escalating violence and ensure full respect for the citizens' human rights as guaranteed by the African Charter.According to Atoki, 'The African Commission urges the government to urgently and transparently investigate the violence and associated human rights violations and bring the perpetrators to justice. Victims of the violence and their families should also be afforded an effective remedy, including compensation which is a state obligation even where it is established that non state actors are directly responsible for violations.
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