Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Chairman, House of Representatives committee on public petitions, Hon. Jerry Alagbaso, yesterday, accused security agencies in the country of human rights violations during the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said the police, followed by other state actors like state COVID-19 taskforces and the Nigerian Army, were among the top violators of human rights as contained in the documented report by the National Human Rights Commission.
Alagbaso also said the Department of State Services, DSS and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corp, were indicted for violating human rights while enforcing the pandemic rules and regulations.
Alagbaso spoke at an experience sharing session on the “Administrative Injustice Arising from COVID-19” organised by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) with support from the European Union (EU).
According to Alagbaso, the violations ranged from arbitrary arrests and detention of citizens, even those who had cogent reasons to go about their official duties during the COVID19 lockdown period.
Apart from harassment and illegal detention of journalists by security agencies, Alagbaso said there were also several instances of illegal arrests and detention of ordinary citizens and others, who were pushed by hunger in search of food and sources of income.
“At the Commitee on Human Rights Abuses, we have handled cases of concerning administrative injustices. And at our investigative Hearings, the committee’s position as regards the violation of human rights is always made clear to the heads of the security agencies and we have always pointed out the dangers in the abuse of human rights. Another issue is that of extra-judicial killings,” he said.
Alagbaso said the National Human Rights Commission documented more than 11 extra-judicial killings between April and May 2020, committed by the security agents while enforcing the COVID19 lockdown.
In their report, the commission said they caused several deaths while the civil defence corps and state taskforces situated in Abia State for COVID19 enforcement were responsible for others.
He said the Human Rights Commission report showed that out of the 11 documented deaths, four were recorded in Abia State, Delta State recorded two, while Niger, Jigawa, Lagos, Anambra and Rivers States recorded one each.
“The report also stated that during the COVID19 lockdown, the Police accounted for 29.6 per cent of the total violations, followed by individuals and non-state actors and gender-based violence, which accounted for 18.3 per cent.
“The report pointed out that the various taskforces on the enforcement of COVID19 regulations across the country accounted for 10.5 per cent of the cases, while the Nigerian Army and Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corp accounted for 7.7 per cent and 1.9 percent respectively of the violation. The Department of the State Security Services, DSS also accounted for 1 per cent of the total cases of violations,” he said.
