The federal government has reiterated its commitment to supporting the National Human Rights Commission in establishing offices nationwide to strengthen its independence in protecting Nigerians’ rights.
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Attorney general of the federation Lateef Fagbemi said at the official inauguration of the NHRC Lagos office in Ikeja on Tuesday.
He said the commission’s establishment was in line with the international obligation pursuant to UN Resolution 48/134 of 20th December 1993 and the Paris Principles.
Mr Fagbemi said Nigeria fully complied with the international obligation to establish the commission. He said the Bola Tinubu administration believed in promoting and protecting Nigerian human rights.
Mr Fagbemi said the government would continue to provide an environment enabling the commission to strive to protect the rights of Nigerians.
Tony Ojukwu, the executive secretary of NHRC, described the inauguration as the first of its kind since he assumed office in April 2018 and the inauguration of the governing council in August 2021.
Mr Ojukwu said the commission had identified the ownership of its office as one of the indices of its independence under the Paris Principles from inception.
He disclosed that the commission had resorted to renting offices as a stop-gap measure nationwide due to the increasing need to address complaints of human rights violations.
He, however, stressed the need to continue the effort to own its structure to ensure regular uninterrupted services to the people to get back on track to sustain its accreditation as an independent National Human Rights Institution.
The chairperson of the NHRC governing council, Salamatu Suleiman, said the commission’s working environment needed to be inclusive and diverse.
After 23 years of acquiring the Lagos office building and the zonal headquarters, a new office structure was necessitated.
Ms Suleiman said that ramps, lifts, mediation rooms, and conference rooms had become key components of any structure for conducting business by a national human rights institution like NHRC.
She said the commission sought and obtained approval for demolishing the old structure and erection of the present modern office following an earlier demolition notice by the Lagos government in 2019 due to structural defects.
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