By Emma Okereh
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has condemned in strong terms the killing of a pregnant woman, Fatima, and her four children in cold blood in Anambra state allegedly by members of the Eastern Security Network or Unknown Gunmen.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission Chief Tony Ojukwu SAN describes the killing as one of the worst forms of criminality and human rights violation, which has needlessly portrayed Nigeria in a very bad light.
The Executive Secretary who stated this in Abuja while reacting to the unfortunate killing of the innocent woman and her children in their fatherland, noted that the country for some time now has been replete with negative stories of killings, kidnappings, armed banditry, rape, etc, “all happening on a daily basis as if the perpetrators do not have human conscience or feeling anymore”.
Mr. Ojukwu further decried that the incessant killings as gross violations of the right to life and dignity of human person, all guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other national and global regional human rights instruments which Nigeria has enacted or is a party.
“These senseless killings are not acceptable and we as a Commission condemn it and urge the that citizens must engage and collaborate with the law enforcement agents, by providing them with the necessary information that will assist them to fish out those behind these heinous and dastardly acts and ensure that they are prosecuted and possibly punished in accordance with the law”, Ojukwu stated.
He further tasked the Police, to as a matter of urgency, carry out a comprehensive investigation into the killing of Fatima and her children with a view to serving justice on all the parties involved. “We are keenly monitoring the Police investigation in this case to ensure that those who are behind this inhuman and wicked act are quickly prosecuted and consequently punished in accordance with the relevant national, regional and international laws.
The Chief Human Rights Officer tasked the law enforcement agencies, particularly the Police and DSS to rejig their strategies and deploy intelligence-led security to get to the root of this instant killing and lots of other killings, such as Deborah Samuel’s among others.
The NHRC Boss is using the opportunity to advise the citizens against any form of ethnic or religious intolerance and divisiveness which he noted are enemies of inclusiveness, national cohesion and development, recalling that Nigeria has had a regrettable history of civil war that came with unimaginable loss in terms of human and material resources, “so we must collectively say no to violence to sustain our unity as a country”
In the same vein, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria warned those championing different ideological and political causes, to always put the security of Nigeria first above any other considerations, saying that “we must first of all be alive peacefully as citizens before we agitate for one interest or another, and always bear in mind that setting the Country on the path of violence and disunity will rather worsen or complicate our problems”.
Lastly, he expressed the heartfelt condolences of the Commission to the family of the victims and urged them and their community members to remain calm and never resort to taking laws into their hands, believing that justice will be done at the end.
