The Chairman of the Board of Trustees( BOT) of the group, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani of Amnesty International, has decried unreported cases of human rights abuse in Nigeria, adding that no fewer than 139 cases of gender-based violence (GBV) are reported weekly in Kano State.
He said the group is worried that human rights abuses are on the rise in Nigeria, yet there are not enough reports from the press.
According to him, these abuses are by military and security agencies, and there is an urgent need for media practitioners to heighten the calls for security accountability and ensure that accountability is included in the military framework in Nigeria.
He was, however, worried that many documented cases of human rights violations, like the 2017 Board of Inquiry to review compliance by the Armed Forces with human rights, are yet to be made public.
The Executive Director, Women in Media Communication Initiative, Halima Ben Umar, disclosed that GBV is seriously on the rise in Kano, expressing worries that the media seems to be silent on it.
Umar stated that just within a week, over 139 cases were captured by her group. The abuses are physical torture, trauma, stigma, and suffering, which calls for urgent actions to address them.
Speaking on the occasion, the Country Director of Amnesty International, Isa Sanusi, hinted that they have already developed a comprehensive human rights agenda and handed it to the government. This is to say that if they don’t have one, this is theirs to work on.
Sanusi, therefore, disclosed that, “Unfortunately, today there are no social safeguards for the poor and vulnerable.
We people should have rights to education and health care because these services should be readily available for everyone”.
He told the media that despite pressure from the authorities, they maintained solid support for Amnesty International, which has given them enough courage to continue their good jobs.
Sanusi noted that the judicial panels of inquiry set up by the 29 State Governors in the wake of the #EndSars protest in 2020 are yet to be implemented, as are so many other commitments.
