Lawyers and human rights activists collaborating with the Avocats Sans Frontières France (ASF France), otherwise known as Lawyers Without Borders, have criticised the high incidences of human rights violations in Nigeria.
The activists who stated this at a one-day parley under ASFF’s Strengthening the National Actors Capacities and Advocation for Ending Severe Human Rights Violations in Nigeria (SAFE) project held in Abuja recently, shared experiences on legal aid services to victims of the violations.
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They forum highlighted SAFE’s provision of free legal assistance to victims of torture, family members of victims of extra-judicial killings and arbitrary detention among law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
ASFF’s Head in Nigeria, Angela Uwandu, said 70 victims of human rights violations relating to torture, arbitrary detention or extra-judicial killings were given free legal services under the project.
A contributor to the deliberations, Mrs Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, stressed the need for efficient communication and linkage between the lawyers and stakeholders on the SAFE project “to mitigate challenges on the legal aid component; it is imperative to involve the legal aid-focused stakeholders in every step of the way during legal aid delivery.”
The forum was attended by NBA pro bono lawyers, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria and a ProCAT project support lawyer.
