Stakeholders end brainstorming session in Owerri, urge government to mainstream human rights laws, others

Dissatisfied with the low application of human rights laws and non-observance of human rights in the country, stakeholders from different bodies have risen from a brainstorming session yesterday in Owerri, urging governments at all levels to fully enforce human rights laws.

The stakeholders in an appraisal of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), jointly organized by the Development Dynamics (DD) and Coalition of Nigeria Human rights Civil Society organizations, included National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the International Federation of Women Lawyers (Fidar), Religious bodies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Alliance for Africa (AA), Forward Africa, the media among others.

They opined that both the legislative, executive and judiciary arms of government must up their activities to implement laws already passed and assented to by both the President and governors in the case of the states. Relevant moves of domestication of laws, in which they are at legislative assemblies, should be intensified for passage, they submitted.

Programme Director of the DD, Jude Ohanele, represented the body; Ivy Basil- Ofili represented the Coalition of the Human rights CSOs; the Imo State Coordinator of the NHRC, Ukachi Ukah, represented the commission; Nkeiru Okafor, the Imo Chair person of the Fida; Damian Nosike, the Owerri branch chairman of NBA, represented lawyers.

The Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Francis Ezeonu, was represented by Chinenye Chijioke -Osuji; Clara Amadi, CLEEN Foundation; U. D. Nwaiwu, an Estate Surveyor and Director in the Imo State Ministry of Lands among others were at the roundtable exercise.