By Chinyere Iheanacho Egbulam
The Abia State Government has expressed its readiness to work with Amnesty International to ensure that victims of human rights violations and impunity by security officials receive justice.
The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Sir Nwobilor Ananaba, stated this in Umuahia during the “Human Rights Violations and Accountability Campaign in South-East Nigeria,” organised by Amnesty International.
Ananaba regretted that some youths in the state had been victims of human rights violations in the past, assuring that the present administration, led by Governor Dr Alex Otti, is leaving no stone unturned to protect the rights of citizens.
The Commissioner, who was represented at the event by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Sports, Mr Raymond Ukwa, said the state government remained committed to addressing security challenges and abuses against citizens.
He also commended Amnesty International for speaking up for victims of human rights violations in Nigeria.
In her remarks, one of the managers of Amnesty International, Mrs Benedetta Offili, said Abia was one of the five Eastern states visited by the organisation to educate and enlighten members of the public about their rights.
She described as unjust the practice of arresting a person in one state and transferring the individual to another state.
Also speaking, the Nigeria Researcher for Amnesty International, Mr Maurice Chukwu, stressed the need for government to remain accountable to citizens and ensure that victims of rights violations have access to legal avenues for seeking justice.
A representative of the disability community, Mr Eze Urasi, disclosed that persons living with disabilities face serious security challenges, adding that some members of the community had disappeared without any record of their whereabouts.
In their presentations, some families affected by human rights violations, including Mrs Caroline Chukwuma, Mrs Chinwendu Chidiebere and Mr Onyebuchi, recounted how their husbands and sons were arrested by security operatives and never returned.
They said they had been denied access to justice and appealed to the government to prevail on security agencies to release their relatives allegedly being held in custody without trial.
