The executive director, African Network for Environmental and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor, has raised the alarm over the increasing cases of extra-judicial killings in Edo State and across the country, calling on security agents and other relevant authorities to put machinery in place to forestall human rights violations with a view to protecting the rights of citizens.
He also stressed the need for Edo State government to redeem its promise to the people in 2012 to set up a Public Defender Unit to provide free legal aid to victims of human rights abuses.
He made the call yesterday at
a rally organised by ANEEJ and other civil society groups in Benin City.
He said, “We are using this opportunity to call on Edo State government to domesticate the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 in Edo State to improve the administration of criminal justice system in the state. This is the hottest law in the country right now and it repealed the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Procedure Code as applicable in all federal courts and courts in the FCT.”
Ugolor, while lamenting the rising cases of human rights violations ranging from extra-judicial killings to unlawful arrests, said, “This year alone, several persons’ lives have been cut short and the people are yet to get justice. This is why ANEEJ has taken advantage of the opportunity provided by Bread for the World, to work with other civil society groups in Edo State, to organise a peaceful rally to call for an end to human rights violations and also educate the people on basic fundamental human rights which the constitution of the country guarantees them.”
He lamented that many people do not know their rights which makes it easy for those who are lawless to trample on such rights and get away.
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