By Palma Ileye
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has reiterated the belief of the Nigeria Government that every citizen has the inaleniable right to fundermental human right including respect to human dignity.
Aregbesola made the remark while receiving a delegation of the International Human Rights Commission who came on courtesy visit to him in his Abuja office.
The delegation was led by the Ambassador at large and Head of Diplomatic Mission to International Human Rights Commission in Nigeria – Dr. Duru Hezekiah.
According to Aregbesola, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was signed in 1948 establishes the equality and dignity of every human being; saying that it beholves on every government to ensure that every citizen and all people are enabled to enjoy their inalienable rights and freedoms.
He stated that Nigeria was proud to be a signatory to the Human Rights Treaty while imploring the IHRC to continue to be strong advocate and observer of this noble treaty which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association and freedom of movement among others.
In his words: “The only way we can be human is to respect the rights that we have all agreed to.”
He affirmed that the Federal Government was concerned about breach of such rights and taking steps that such breaches in our custodial facilities and detention centers becomes a thing of the past noting that, “Which is why the government is doing everything possible to ensure that officers and men in the custodial facilities are sensitive to the rights of those under their watch.”
He also said that a lot has been achieved through bringing some values and high etiquets in the relationship and management of custodial facilities.
He therefore challenged agencies such as IHRC to help observe, monitor and enforce detainees’ rights, not only in correctional centers but also in police detention centers, many of which are overcrowded which is a violation of human rights.
He urged them not to limit their intervention to relief materials alone but also focus on advocacy, monitoring, observing compliance with human rights and guarding against abuses by law enforcement agencies.
He commended the organisation for it’s commitment to ensuring that dignity of man is respected globally.
The Minister assured the IHRC that it can always count on the Federal Government for cooperation and collaboration at all times.
In his remark, Ambassador Duru Hezekiah recalled the various humanitarian interventions by the IHRC in areas of disaster mangement relief provision, advocacy programmes on education, human rights, leadership and governance, including facilitating the release of inmates from the Nigeria Correctional Centers.
Duru then called for continued cooperation with the IHRC in areas of humanitarian interventions and emergency crisis management.
Present at the meeting were both management and senior staff of the Ministry.
