About 30 security personnel from various agencies in Enugu State have been trained on human rights violations.
The training coordinated by the Avocats Sans Frontières(ASF) France, otherwise known as Lawyers without Borders, in collaboration with its local partners, the Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organisation and the Nigerian Bar Association, saw operatives from the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), the Department of State Security (DSS), Nigerian Airforce (NAF), Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Nigeria Corrections Service (NCS), and the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) participating.
The three-day training, which is the fourth in the series held in Enugu, the Enugu State capital, was part of the SAFE mission to increase the level of commitment of stakeholders in taking action against human rights violations in Enugu State.
In her opening remarks, Country Director of ASF France, Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, emphasised the importance of the training and other interventions of the SAFE project.
Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, who was represented by SAFE Project coordinator of the training, Mrs Joyful Nnani, disclosed that the training which was one of the effective ways to build the capacity of the security agencies to respect human rights, started with two projects: Abolition of death penalty and advocating criminalisation of torture.
She said: “The SAFE Project, which stands for Strengthening the Capacity of National Actors and Advocating for Ending Severe Human Rights Violation in Nigeria, is a project aimed at ending severe human rights violations in Nigeria especially around torture, arbitrary detention and extrajudicial killings.”
She said the project, co-funded by the European Union, also provides pro-bono legal aid services to individuals who have been tortured, arbitrarily detained and families of victims of extra-judicial killings.
“The SAFE project has been active in Enugu, Lagos and Kaduna States since its inception in 2019. The project is now in its final stages and so far, we’ve been able to train 212 officers of security agencies and 75 influential members of the media and CSOs.
“On the project, we identified about 167 cases for pro-bono legal aid, of which 120 were approved for litigation and 47 were approved for legal advice. These are cases of victims of torture, arbitrary detention and extra judicial killings across the project states.”
Enugu State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Miletus Eze, decried the increasing cases of human rights violations by security agencies across the country.
Eze said security cannot be achieved without the protection of human rights, adding that development of any state requires respect for human rights which in turn prevents conflict.
The Commissioner noted that the primary responsibility of the government, which is the welfare and security of its citizens, cannot be achieved or sustained if the various stakeholders and security agencies do not respect and enforce these rights and in fact protect the lives and properties of its citizens
He said: “Protection and enforcement of human rights promote attainment of sustainable human security. The link between human rights and human security is inseparable.
‘’Human security cannot be achieved without the protection of human rights. Development requires respect for human rights and respect for human rights prevents conflict.”
He commended the Avocats Sans Frontiers/ Lawyers Without Boarder, and Carmelite Prisoner’s Interest Organisation (CAPIO) and other interest organisations that have championed the course of access to justice and protection of human rights in Enugu State.