The United Nation (UN) has condemned the burning to death of Mrs Achejuh Abuh, Woman Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Wada/Aro campaign council, in the just concluded gubernatorial election in Kogi State.
Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, made this position known while briefing State House correspondents on Tuesday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
She said she had raised the issue with the president alongside other gender-based violence.
She expressed delight that President Buhari has already condemned the killing of the politician and ordered a thorough investigation.
Asked what she discussed with the President over the killing, the deputy UN Scribe said: “Mine was to commend him for condemning the death of the politician in Kogi state.
“We did not go into a discussion around it, but the fact that he has shown zero tolerance for it and insisted on an investigation.
“For us, it’s important especially as we start this week on gender-based violence in all its ramifications.”
Answering a question on the hate speech bill before the Senate, which had initially prescribed a death penalty for offenders, Mohammed welcomed initiatives to control the phenomenon but stressed that the world body does not support the death penalty.
She explained: “First, we need to know that globally, we are in a space that hate speech has reached an all-time high and so many checks and balances we can put into the society, into a country, into a region to bring an end to that is welcome.
“Again, the way the legislation is being followed to try to put that in place, I think is commendable.
“We, of course, did not support the death penalty and I am also happy to see yesterday that portion was taken out of the legislation that was being put forward.
“The (UN) Secretary-General had also put in place a special ending on hate speech. So, there is a strategy for that now and we are looking at that globally.
“I think this framework is important for multilateralism and we can go much further if we do these things together. Many of these issues are across borders through technologies.”
She said even though she was on a personal visit to the country, she was at the presidential villa to pay a courtesy on President Buhari for the support the UN has enjoyed from Nigeria.
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