The National Human Rights Commission has raised concerns over reported cases of child abuse, gender-based violence and other human rights violations in communities across the Federal Capital Territory.
The Commission said it would intensify its sensitisation and community engagement activities across the six area councils of the FCT, particularly in communities where rights violations are prevalent and residents have limited awareness of their rights.
The Director, Women and Children Department of the NHRC, Mrs Ngozi Okore, disclosed this while representing the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Dr Tony Ojukwu, at a community sensitisation exercise in Mpape, Abuja.
Okorre said the initiative was part of the Commission’s mandate to promote, protect and enforce human rights through public education and community engagement.
She explained that Pape was selected for the exercise because the Commission receives numerous complaints from the community, particularly cases involving child abuse and gender-based violence.
“Pape is just one of those communities because our aim is to cover all those communities in the area councils that receive majorly our complaints,” she said.
The director said the Commission had already taken similar sensitisation campaigns to communities in Bwari, Gwagwalada and Zuba, among others, as part of its plan to reach all six area councils.
She said the Commission would continue to identify communities where human rights violations persist or where residents may not be sufficiently aware of their rights.
“Our aim is to cover the six area councils, and we are choosing where we know that there are still violations of human rights, where we know that maybe they are not aware of their rights,” Okore stated.
She listed child abuse, gender-based violence, domestic violence, child neglect, child molestation and child abandonment among the violations the Commission was seeking to combat through its community engagement programmes.
Okorre stressed that protecting women, children and other vulnerable groups should not be left to government agencies alone, urging parents, teachers, guardians, religious leaders, community leaders and other members of the public to take responsibility.
“If you see something, you say something and do something. The National Human Rights Commission is here to help you,” she said.
She urged members of the public who require assistance or wish to report human rights violations to contact the Commission through its toll-free line, 6472.
According to her, the initiative is not limited to Abuja, as NHRC state offices across the country also conduct school and community sensitisation programmes, particularly during the annual 16 Days of Activism.
She added that the Commission’s Human Rights Education and Protection Department was specifically responsible for promoting awareness and protection of human rights.
Okorre said the ongoing activities were also in line with the vision of the Executive Secretary for each department of the Commission to undertake monthly activities aimed at sensitising Nigerians on their human rights.
