The Acting Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mrs Oti Ovrawah, while addressing a press conferences in Abuja yesterday, that the attention of the Commission was drawn to media reports suggesting that the draft North East Human Rights Assessment report indicts the Presidency, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation amongst others of diversion of IDP funds.
Ovrawah said, “The Commission wishes to state categorically that the draft North East Human Rights Assessment report does not in any way indict the Presidency, ex-SGF or any other Federal Government or state government officials or International or national institutions.”
She said the report is only an assessment/study of human rights and humanitarian challenges in the North East of Nigeria with a view to shaping the policies of the government, international organisations and relevant stakeholders in consolidating the interventions in the North East.
The NHRC Acting Executive Secretary said the draft report does not state that Boko Haram insurgents still occupy territories in the North East as at the time of the constitutions with stakeholders, adding however that, “It must be noted that the period covered by this report is 2015 to June 2017.
“As at 2015, there were Local Government Areas in the North East occupied by the insurgents,” she said.
The Human Rights Assessment report in the North East, which she said is yet to be made public but still undergoing validation and consultation, was commenced by state and federal government officials as well as the civil society organisations that participated in the validation process.
However, the Director, Protection, and Investigation of the Commission, Abdulrahman Yakubu said one of the critical findings of the assessors that toured the six states of the North East region for a rapid human rights and humanitarian needs assessment is that some of the relief materials for IDPs do not get to them.
While pointing out that the report was not intended to indict anybody but to reflect on what is on the ground and the achievements of the Federal government’s interventions in the North Eastern region of the country that are badly affected by the Boko Haram insurgents.
But, the draft report accused the Babachir led PINE of paying less attention to the critical needs of IDPs in the areas of housing, food, education, and healthcare, but rather used the bulk of the resources on contracts that were found to have immensely benefited some public officials.
The UNDP and NHRC had maintained that the essence of the 103-page assessment report was to ascertain the human rights and humanitarian conditions of people and communities affected by the long period of violent conflicts in the North Eastern states of Nigeria.
The assessment, which covered a period of two years focused on human rights protection issues encompassing sexual and gender-based violence, access to justice, community policing and capacity of law enforcement officers for timely response to crises.
As part of its recommendations, the report urged the federal government to prosecute and punish all persons and organisations responsible for diverting food meant for IDPs and create more transparency around the distribution of food for displaced persons.
It further urged the government to look in the direction of establishing of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to enable all stakeholders- perpetrators, victims, and survivors to openly discuss the insurgency and how the wounds can be healed.
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