NHRC reacts to recent killings in Nigeria .Press Release

The National Human Rights Commission has called on the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, apprehend the perpetrators of serial killings across the country, mainly by criminal gangs operating under various guises, in order to avert breakdown of law and order.
The Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission Mrs. Oti Anukpe Ovrawah who described the recent killings across the country as a destruction of what binds us together as human beings, said the security agencies as a matter of urgent responsibility and in the interest of peace must dig out the perpetrators of these mindless killings which have left many families without their loved ones.
Mrs. Ovrawah said these killings have no place in our society and that the government must guarantee the right to life of every person in Nigeria including effective measures to prevent attacks on innocent people by criminal gangs and other non -state actors across the country.
She said the killing of defenseless citizens across the country is horrifying as it is capable of generating mutual distrust among the various groups in Nigeria. She cited the incident in Benue state where hundreds of youths took to the streets to protest the killings that took place in various parts of the State.
She therefore urged the security services to firm up their strategies with new dynamics on tackling these challenges, adding that security agencies must make the protection of lives and properties, and the respect for human rights uppermost in their operations.
She advised the Federal and the relevant State Governments to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to justice to serve as a deterrent to others.
The Ag ES commiserates with those who lost their loved ones in the recent attacks across the country as she appeals to them to be law abiding.
FATIMAH AGWAI MOHAMMAD.
HEAD, MEDIA RELATIONS UNIT