National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on state and non-state actors to make Nigeria free from human rights violation and drug abuse which is often fueled by drug use.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu Esq. who made this call while addressing a World Press Conference in Abuja in collaboration with Centre for Ethical Rebirth Among Nigerian Youths (CERANY) observed that curbing the menace of drug abuse in the country will go a long way to reduce cases of human rights violations especially among the youths..
The Executive Secretary who was represented at the occasion by the Head Monitoring department of the Commission, Mr. Benedict Agu said the Press Conference themed “Recognizing the nexus between Human Rights. Violations and Drug Abuse” came at the right time as an awareness raising tool, to have the buy-in of youths of Nigeria in furtherance of federal government commitment to promote, protect and enforce human rights of everyone in Nigeria.
Ojukwu said “the NHRC and CERANY have given ourselves the task of confronting the evil of drug abuse which currently has become a plague in our society thereby affecting the enjoyment of human rights of the citizenry”.
According to the Chief Human Rights Officer in Nigeria, the objectives of the Conference were to consolidate the Commission’s current giant strides in curtailing human rights violations and drug abuse by strengthening the synergy between state and non-state actors and to intensify efforts in reversing the drug abuse trend among the youths with its obvious impact on the enjoyment of human rights by the citizenry among others.
In his remarks, the President of CERANY, Chuks Akamadu Esq. restated the commitment of his organization to work with stakeholders and partners like the NHRC to rid the country of drug related abuses, which he noted has escalated over the years thus impacting negatively on human rights.
The erudite lawyer used the opportunity to appeal to journalists to raise the necessary awareness on the connection between human rights violations and drug abuse, saying that such sensitization has become very imperative in the face of increasing rights violations as a result of drug and substance abuse.
