PRAWA harps on government involvement to end torture in Nigeria

The Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) has called on the Nigerian government to do more in preventing torture and rehabilitating victims of torture across the country.

The Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr Uju Agomoh, said this during a one-day National Workshop for Torture Prevention and Rehabilitation in Abuja.

This is contained in a statement by the Deputy Director, PRAWA, Barr. Ogechi Ogu, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Agomoh who was elected a member of the United Nations Sub Committee on Prevention of Torture (UN SPT), based in Geneva, Switzerland, in October, called on relevant stakeholders to support the National Committee Against Torture (NCAT) to have a Nation free of torture.

She elaborated on the functions of the National committee and the need to ensure the independence of the National Committee for effective functionality.

According to her, “the governments are trying their best but more is needed to be done by us.

“To prevent torture, education, training and retraining of personnel, counselling of victims among others needed to be put in place.

“We will not rest on our oars until we have a society free of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, ” she said.

Speaking, Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court, Justice Husseini Yusuf, said that prohibition on torture and other forms of ill-treatment is an absolute right.

Yusuf said that the prohibition on torture applies irrespective of the conduct of the victims or the nature of the offence.

According to him, in order to give victims of torture full rehabilitation, the state must provide and ensure holistic rehabilitation services.

“The state must also implement a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of torture and ill-treatment.

“There can be no justification for torture or any form of ill-treatment under our democratic setting.

“FCT high court is always ready to make sure things are done in accordance with all the enabling laws and will always support PRAWA and other stakeholders in this regard,” he said.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, (NHRC), Mr Tony Ojukwu, said that torture is not acceptable anywhere in the world, no matter the circumstances or the situations.

Ojukwu said that efforts by the commission, especially after the #ENDSARS protest, helped in the rehabilitation of tortured victims.

“But more still needed to be done to ensure total eradication,” he said.

PRAWA harps on government involvement to end torture in Nigeria