Human rights experts have stressed the need for the Nigerian government to urgently take measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment of its citizens and improve conditions of detention, especially in police stations and other similar facilities.
Head of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, Aisha S. Muhammad, stated this during a visit to detention facilities for men, women, and children, including police stations, criminal investigation departments, and facilities run by agencies combating drug and human trafficking, among others, in Nigeria.
Muhammad regretted that the situation in most places of detention is abysmal, saying, “We have assessed the treatment of individuals to see whether the country has strengthened its capacity to protect the human rights of people deprived of liberty, as well as the proper functioning of a National Preventive Mechanism.”
“We were confronted with a climate of hostility and faced access issues in several places of detention. There was a lack of cooperation from Nigerian authorities prior to and during the visit.
“Receiving the SPT’s visit and allowing it to exercise its mandate without obstruction is an international obligation under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which Nigeria ratified in 2009.”
The Head of Delegation further stated that legal safeguards must be immediately implemented, and the current impunity of perpetrators of acts of torture must end.
They also met with the Minister of Justice, parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors, other relevant authorities, the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organisations, and UN agencies.
He said, “It has been 10 years since the first SPT visit, and Nigeria is yet to establish a functional national preventive mechanism. This, unfortunately, shows that the prevention of torture and ill-treatment is not taken seriously by the State party, and the horrific situation we have documented speaks to this.
“We, therefore, urge the authorities to urgently finalise the establishment of an independent, functional preventive mechanism.”
At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its confidential preliminary observations to the Federal Government, highlighting its serious concern about the lack of commitment in preventing widespread torture and ill-treatment, and in improving conditions of detention.
The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture monitors States parties’ adherence to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which to date has been ratified by 94 countries.
The Subcommittee is made up of 25 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world. They serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties.
Their mandate is to visit States that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, during which they may visit any place where persons may be deprived of their liberty and assist those States in preventing torture and ill-treatment.
The Subcommittee will send Nigeria a confidential report containing its observations and recommendations and encourages the State party to make it public to facilitate implementation.
Members of the delegation are: Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Maldives), Head; Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah (Mauritius); Andrew Christoffel Nissen (South Africa); and Victor Zaharia (Moldova), accompanied by two Human Rights Officers from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.