* victims lack trust in judicial system, law enforcement agencies
This is even as victims of human violations expressed lack of trust in the judicial system and law enforcement agencies.
As such, NOIPolls has revealed that these rights are frequently violated, and these situations remain overlooked.
To address human rights infractions in Nigeria, citizentv.ng reports that the 1999 Constitution empowers “any person who alleges any infraction “in relation to him” to apply to the High Court for redress.
However, during the course of this survey, respondents disclosed that they do not report such cases due to lack of trust in the judicial system and law enforcement agencies.
Further findings also showed freedom of movement as the highest mentioned human right enjoyed by Nigerians with (57 percent).
Other rights cited include: right to life (39 percent), right to peaceful assembly and association (26 percent), right to freedom of expression and the press (22 percent), amongst others.
In addition, the Poll revealed the officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) as the biggest culprits of human rights violation as attested by 30 percent of the (50 percent) respondents, who had personally experienced or know someone, who has been the victim of human rights violation.
“This is further corroborated by the Amnesty International Report of 2015 that over a period of three years, almost N1 billion (US$5 million) has been paid out as compensation to victims of human rights violations by the Nigerian Police.
“Like every other law enforcement body in the world, the Nigerian Police has been entrusted with the responsibility of protecting lives and properties; but in performing these duties, many have been accused of human rights violation, ranging from extorting motorists, who end up losing their lives on some occasions, to arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions.
“Therefore, violators should be diligently prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others, this could be achieved rapidly by putting modalities in place for the proper enforcement of the laws that ensure that human rights are protected and promoted.
“These were some of the key findings from the Human Right Snap Poll conducted in the week of October 24, 2016,” NOIPolls said.
citizentv.ng reports that human rights are the basic rights and freedoms such as right to life, liberty, freedom of thought and expression and equal treatment before the law, among others, which all humans should enjoy unhindered.
The United Nations, in 1987, described human rights as those rights without which we cannot function as human beings.
These rights are enshrined in Chapter Four of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as amended.
Although, in Nigeria, it is perceived that some citizens seems not to know about the country’s laws until certain circumstances compels them to, ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
This perceived ignorance has led to citizens falling victim to frequent human rights violations, including extra-judicial killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, etc.
citizentv.ng, again, reports that the legendary Fela Anikulapo Kuti once portrayed human rights idea in his 1989 ‘Beast of No Nation’ song as ‘human rights na my property, so therefore you can’t dash me my property’... meaning that human rights are inherent rights that belong to the people, and cannot be handed down to them by anyone, but rather to be freely enjoyed.
“Several events have proven that most Nigerians really do not know their rights, and those, who do, are too scared to fight for it.
“Human rights violations and infractions, if not checked, could devalue a country’s cherished values and impair its diplomatic relations with the rest of the world.
“However, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has made concerted efforts at enlightening Nigerian masses about their rights; the effectiveness of every law lies in the hands of those authorities that are saddled with the responsibility of enforcing such laws as well as the masses abiding by it.
“The length of military rule is alleged to have contributed majorly to the factors that allowed human rights violations linger for so long, but the advent of democracy has tempered the situation to a certain degree and thus, more people and different organizations are getting actively involved in human rights issues and those, who cannot get involved directly, speak out on social media frequently without fear of attack or stigmatization as the information bill protects them.
“In view of the above, NOIPolls conducted this survey to ascertain the awareness of Nigerians about their fundamental human rights, their perception about the rights they enjoy as citizens, and if any has been violated as well as the action they took to seek redress,” NOIPolls added.
