By Safiu Kehinde
Global body, Amnesty International has accused Nigeria of continued violations of human rights in its latest report.
In a summary, Amnesty said the latest pictures of violations are disturbing noting that respect for rights are deteriorating.
“Respect for human rights around the world is deteriorating. Our research indicates more than half of the states we monitored used torture or other ill-treatment.
“Our annual report paints a disturbing picture of the global state of human rights,” the group said
As contained in its annual report titled “Amnesty Report 2022/2023: The State of the World’s Human Rights”, Nigeria violated several human rights in the course of the year, ranging from Abused by Armed Group to Right to Life and Security of the Person.
According to the international body, thousands of civilians, which a media reports estimated to be at least 6,907 people, have been killed’ in the course of the year with 6,157 forcibly abducted.
The report also revealed the deprivation of the freedom of expression and association, citing last year’s lift of seven-month long Twitter ban as well as several media sanctions imposed by the Nigeria Broadcast Commission on several media outlets across the nation.
Further disclosures also include arbitrary arrests and detentions activists and protesters, torture and ill treatment, excessive use of force, and extrajudicial killings.
On extrajudicial killings, Amnesty revealed that at least 122 people were killing in reprisal attack by Nigeria Security Forces at South-eastern Nigeria while seven people also lost their lives to Ebubeagu paramilitary agents in July.
“Nigerian security forces killed at least 122 people in response to increasing violence and killings of their officers in south-eastern Nigeria.
On 17 July, at least seven people were extrajudicially executed by state-sponsored Ebubeagu paramilitary agents in the town of Awo-Omamma, Imo State.” The report read.
Violation of Women and Girls’ right was also reported with the National Assembly reportedly voting against the promotion of gender equality in March.
Several protests by women’s group, according to Amnesty, saw the legislative arm reconsider three of the bills while Borno, Taraba, Gombe, and Zamfara states the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Acts, bringing the total number of states to have passed the bill to 35.
Also included in the report is violation of LGBT People’s Right with reference made to Bauchi incident where three gay men arrested under the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (2013) were sentenced to death by the Sharia law.