Secondary school pupils in Bauchi State have been trained on curbing, prevention and reporting of human rights violations in their immediate environment.
Kairos Initiative, a non-profit organisation, and the American Space, in Bauchi in commemoration of this year’s World Social Justice Day, selected minors from secondary schools in Bauchi metropolis to enlighten them, as they have become soft targets for human rights violations.
World Day of Social Justice is celebrated on February 20 and its observance aims to remind us, each year, of the need to build fairer, more equitable societies.
According to a 2022 report of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), 2.3 million human rights complaints were reported, higher than the 1.7 million recorded in 2021.
Speaking on this year’s theme, ‘Bridging Gaps, Building Alliance’, Bauchi State Coordinator of NHRC, Mrs Yahcit Dala, urged the students to report any perceived case of human rights abuse.
“It is within your rights to also report the agents, who are at the forefront of human rights protection (police and other security agencies). Many times, we have received complaints about them, particularly about torture, denied fair hearing or illegal arrests and detention.
“We don’t have the constitutional power to arrest and investigate human rights abuses, but we have the duty to ask them to investigate any case we receive. We urge Nigerians to be familiar with provisions of the Constitution, particularly on their rights. We have noticed that some persons’ rights have been trampled upon, but they did not take any step because they don’t know what to do,” she said.
Yahcit urged the state to take the implementation of the new Child Rights Act seriously to protect the future of the children. She, however, admonished the pupils to be good ambassadors of the country and their families within and outside the country.
