The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has officially commenced the establishment of state offices with the official commissioning of its Benue State office in Makurdi, the state capital.
Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Communications of the commission, Mr. Lambert Oparah, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP yesterday, noted that nine other state offices, including Akwa Ibom, Imo, Anambra, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Yobe,? Edo and Delta,? would be opened in the next few weeks, while arrangements had reached completion stage to acquire offices in Kwara, Taraba, Ondo, Cross River, Gombe and Ekiti states.
Declaring the Benue State office open, the state governor, Gabriel Suswam, commended the proactive disposition of the Commission towards human rights issues in Nigeria, and called on the management of the Commission not to relent.
Governor Suswan expressed delight that his state took the lead? in providig office accommodation to the Commission and noted that human rights were a necessary ingredient of democracy.
“Human rights is a cardinal principle of democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is sin qua non for development,” the governor said.
Suswam also called all Nigerians “to ensure respect for human rights, equal treatment before the law for both the weak and the powerful/the rich and the poor.”
The governor pledged the support and cooperation of the Benue State Government with the NHRC for the purpose of promoting and protecting? of human rights in the state.
“Government will encourage monitoring and investigation of all alleged cases of human rights violations in the state in collaboration with the Commission and take appropriated steps to remedy them,” he added.