Reps Promise To Pass Human Rights Defenders Bill

The House of Representatives has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening human rights protection in Nigeria, with a promise to pass the Human Rights Defenders Bill into law.

The chairman of the House Committee on Human Rights, Hon. Abiola Makinde, made this disclosure yesterday in Abuja during an oversight visit to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Makinde, who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Mudashiru Lukman, assured the NHRC that the committee would work tirelessly to ensure the passage of critical bills on human rights issues and make adequate budgetary provisions to support the Commission’s work.

The lawmaker noted that the N5 billion approved for the NHRC in the 2024 budget was inadequate, considering the country’s widespread human rights violations. He promised that the committee would push for an increase in the commission’s budget for 2025.

In his remarks, the executive secretary of the NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu, commended the lawmakers for their support in amending the NHRC Act 2010. He also thanked the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, for facilitating the payment of compensation to victims of human rights violations by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

Ojukwu further briefed the lawmakers on the commission’s recent report on human rights violations in counter-insurgency operations in the North East, which he said had helped to prevent Nigeria from being invited by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to respond to allegations of human rights infractions.

The oversight visit was part of the House Committee’s efforts to ensure that the NHRC has the necessary resources and support to discharge its mandate of promoting, protecting, and enforcing human rights in Nigeria.