Contrary to claims made in some quarters, the Attorney-General (A-G) of Borno, Mrs. Hauwa Abubakar, asserts that the state is not a war zone.
The comment was made by Abubakar in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that was conducted in Abuja on the eve of the 4th Cycle of the National Validation Conference for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
She emphasised that despite a media story claiming Boko Haram atrocities had increased recently in Borno, the state had remained tranquil.
Despite obstacles, she claimed, the state government was making progress in addressing the country’s difficulties with violations of human rights.
“The state government is capable of addressing all the problems.
“For instance, recent news from one of the newspapers reported a case of an increase in atrocities committed by Boko Haram (in Borno).
However, Borno has actually been a calm place. Of course, the insurgency is still going strong; it hasn’t ceased.
Therefore, she continued, “It is inevitable for us to hear one or two attacks here and there.”
The A-G recalled that there were several internally displaced people (IDPs) living in Maiduguri camps a few years ago, but that the state administration had been able to move many of the IDPs back to their towns and that some of the IDP camps had been closed.
In order to show that the state administration is making an effort to address all of these concerns, she said, “it’s to tell you that we are on top of it and all that we need is support, especially from the media.” Borno State, she added, “is not a war zone as a lot of people assume.
In an effort to restore peace to the state, she said that the administration was making an effort to preserve the rule of law, particularly the provision of Chapter 4 of the constitution about fundamental human rights.
She claims that the government of Borno State is working very hard to improve Borno; numerous legislation were turned into laws to defend the rule of law and to protect human rights.
The goal of His Excellency Prof. Babagana Zulum’s policy is to ensure that all Boko Haram victims receive equitable treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration into their communities.
Despite everything we have been through, we are accomplishing a lot and doing it so effectively.
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Borno State is emerging from it stronger and better, she claimed.
She said that the state had benefited from the kinetic strategy used by the Gov. Babagana Zulum-led government in its fight against Boko Haram.
“There is an access point where the militants are being received after they come out and surrender.
“We have a rehabilitation clinic where they can be rehabilitated when they are welcomed.
“Their welfare is being taken care of, and I think that is a great effort by the Borno State government in rehabilitating them and making sure that they don’t go back to those criminalities again,” she said.
Ahead to the event, Mr. Abdulraman Yakubu, Director of Civil and Political Rights, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), stated that the main goal was for Nigeria to submit its national report to the UN Human Rights Council through the UPR mechanism in order to comply with UN criteria.
A country being reviewed and compiling its report must consult openly and broadly, according to Yakubu, who is also the Co-Secretary of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on UPR.
In order to validate the draught report that the committee and the consultants had created, he stated, “today we are having a larger gathering of stakeholders coming from across the country.”
UPR is a peer review method where UN members state members judge other state members on their human rights records, according to the lead consultant, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons Ezeilo claimed that while Nigeria had made progress in some areas, it had regressed in others.
But it’s a continuous, ongoing process. This is significant because of it, she said.
According to NAN, the UPR is a special procedure that examines the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States.
The purpose of the Abuja meeting was to assist Nigeria in developing a fair and impartial report on its efforts to advance and defend human rights in accordance with international commitments.
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) examined Nigeria in 2009, 2013, and 2018 during the first, second, and third UPR Cycles, respectively. Nigeria’s fourth review is expected to take place between January and February 2024.(NAN)
