The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday revealed that 18 Nigerians died from incidences of extra judicial killings in the course of their enforcement of the lockdown proclaimed by President Buhari on March 29, 2020 but took effect a day after. The Commission made this known through a press release on Wednesday but signed and dated 14th April, 2020 by Tony Ojukwu, NHRC’s Executive Secretary.
This number of deaths is almost double the number of fatalities that have so far resulted from the coronavirus infection which originally led to the lockdown. Data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) indicate that 11 persons have so far died from the novel coronavirus.
“There were 8 documented incidents of extra-judicial killing leading to 18 deaths. Out of this number, 12 deaths were recorded in Kaduna State. Abia State also recorded 2 deaths arising from 2 incidents; while Delta, Niger, Ebonyi and Katsina States recorded 1 death each.
“Whereas covid-19 has led to the death of about 11 patients to date (14/4/20), law enforcement agents have extrajudicially executed 18 persons to enforce the regulations. This speaks volumes of the protocols and rules of engagement for our law enforcement as well the efficiency level and capacity of law enforcement agents to deal with civil population. It’s a sheer display of impunity and reckless disregard for human life in law enforcement by security personnel.”
“The report further shows that out of the 18 deaths, the Nigeria Correctional Service was responsible for 8 deaths while the Nigeria Police Force was responsible for 7 deaths. The Nigeria Army on the other hand was responsible for 2 deaths while the Ebonyi State Task Force on Covid-19, Afikpo South LGA was responsible for 1 death;” the NHRC stated.
Apart from the extra-judicial killings, the NHRC also noted a number of human rights infractions within the first two weeks of lockdown, which include “33 incidents of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, 27 incidents of violation of right to freedom of movement, unlawful arrest and detention, 19 incidents of seizure/confiscation of properties, 13 incidents of extortion, 4 incidents of SGBV, and 1 incident of discrimination in the distribution of food items.”
The Commission further stated: “The report finds that the Nigeria Police Force accounted for about 90% of the total cases of violations followed by the Nigeria Army and Nigeria Correctional Service and other non-state actors. The report also finds that 31 incidents of violations representing about 29% of the complaints have been resolved by different security agencies.
“The report further finds that the various human rights violations recorded during the period arose as a result of excessive or disproportionate use of force, abuse of power, corruption and none adherence to international and national human rights laws and best practices by law enforcement agents.”
According to the Commission, it has, in collaboration with Open society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), The UK Department of Foreign Investment and Development (DFID), The Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation and the Switzerland Embassy, developed an App for electronic monitoring, documentation and reporting of human rights violations including Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).
The Commission promised to keep updating Nigerians with the state of human rights violations and SGBV during covid-19 pandemic on weekly basis throughout the period of the lockdown.
