Worried by rising cases of human rights abuses cutting across gender and age brackets, the District Head of Maikunkele, Bosso Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger state, Alhaji Sulaiman Abdullahi Dada has called for attitudenal change among Nigerians, including public office holders.
The community leader also encouraged Nigerians to be closely knitted with their roots because culture and traditions has a way of shaping individuals to be not only sound in judgment but ensure respect for people irrespective of their tribal, religious and social status.
Sulaiman Dada spoke at the One-Day Niger state Consultative Meeting on the National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nigeria, which took place at the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) state secretariat, Minna.
If all Nigerians, including politicians, public office holders and law enforcement agencies like the police are conscious of their attitudes towards other citizens and the need to respect them, issues relating to human rights violations, he said will drastically reduce.
He therefore encouraged Nigerians wherever they found themselves to have respect for others, their culture and traditions by avoiding abuse of positions of authority through monetary inducements to distort facts and subvert rights of the ordinary citizens.
If public office holders, money bags and the high in the society know their rights and limitations, avoid overstepping their bounds and using law enforcement agents to intimidate the people, the Nigerian masses know their rights and live within them, the royal father said there will be peace because nobody will be causing any infringements.
The Executive Secretary National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Tony Ojukwu, had in his opening remarks said the state's consultation on the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP) for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Nigeria (2024-2028) is in line with the World Conference on Human Rights which took place in Vienna, Australia in 1993 which Nigeria is signatory to.
Ojukwu, speaking through Niger state Coordinator of NHRC, Mohammed Nuhu, told participants to the Consultative Meeting which had in attendance critical stakeholders that their participation reflects shared dedication to strengthening collaboration and ensuring that the principles of human dignity, justice and equity are upheld across all segments of the Nigerian society.
Also in a paper titled, 'The Role of MDAs in the Implementation of NAP', state NHRC Coordinator, Nuhu Mohammed called for robust contribuions from stakeholders in order to achieve desired objectives.
Nuhu, who recently bagged, International Human Rights Ambassador, gave detailed efforts his office made to bring to the barest minimal abuses in the state called for more collaborations between stakeholders to hold those involved in any form of human rights violation accountable.
Representative of Marian Marketing Company limited, Abuja, Mrs. Mary John, in her contributions said the event organized by the NHRC in collaboration with Marian Marketing company is aimed at ensuring logical implementations of all human rights related issues within the year, 2026 in line with the Vienna, Australia 1993 declaration.
Mrs. Mary who however expressed concerns that the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have so far tactically avoided Consultative Meetings held in some states within the year under review, including Niger state, encouraged stakeholders to be passionate and intentional about ending rights abuses by ensuring that defaulters are brought to book. NNL.
