Socio-Economic Rightsand Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Ms.
\nAgnes CALLAMARD, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,summary or arbitrary
\nexecutions, urging her to \u201cprevail on the Nigerian authorities tohalt
\nfurther killings of innocent citizens in Southern Kaduna, and to urgently
\ninvestigation recentallegations of killings of over 800 citizens mostly
\nwomen, children andthe elderly in that part of the country by suspected
\nherdsmen, and to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and
\ntoprovide reparations to victims\u201d
\nThe organization alsoasked Ms. CALLAMARD to \u201crequest to visit Nigeria to
\nconduct fact-findingmission into the circumstances surrounding
\nthekillings.\u201d
\nIn the petition dated 30 December 2016 and signed by SERAP
\nexecutivedirector Adetokunbo Mumuni the organization expressed \u201cconcern
\nthat thekillings of citizens in Southern Kaduna of Nigeria amount to
\nserious violationsof the rights to life; to security of the human person;
\nto the respect of thedignity inherent in a human being; and right to
\nproperty guaranted by not only theNigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended)
\nbut also the African Charter on Humanand Peoples\u2019 Rights and the
\nInternational Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights to which Nigeria is a
\nstate party.”
\nThe petition reads in part: \u201cSERAP contends that Nigerian authorities have
\nfailed and\/or neglected torespect these human rights and to exercise due
\ndiligence to ensure that theserights are not violated by private
\nindividuals such as herdsmen and otherunknown perpetrators. Nigerian
\ngovernment should therefore be held to accountfor failing or neglecting to
\nguarantee and protect the rights of the people inSouthern Kaduna,
\nregardless of whether such violations are directly orindirectly
\nattributable to the state or its officials.\u201d
\n\u201cSERAP is concerned that theNigerian government has failed and\/or
\nneglected to create an environment inSouthern Kaduna to end the unlawful
\nkillings by failing to move their legal andinstitutional machinery towards
\nthe actual realisation of these rights. \u00a0It is in fact the failure by the
\ngovernment totake adequate measures to prevent the violence which has
\ncontributed to theincreasing number of victims.\u201d
\n\u201cSERAP believes that the killingswould not have taken place if the
\nNigerian authorities have taken measures toprevent their happening and to
\naddress persistentimpunity of those responsible for the violations and
\nabuses. The lack ofaccountability for the attacks by herdsmen and
\notherunknown perpetrators across the country has continued to create a
\nculture ofimpunity which clearly is not compatible with the rule of law in
\na democraticsociety.\u201d
\n\u201cAccording to theleadership of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna
\nState, a total of 808people were killed in 53 villages across the four
\nlocal governments areas inthe state ridden by crisis. The church leaders
\nalso said that 57 people wereinjured; farm produce estimated at N5.5
\nbillion were also destroyed, and atotal of 1,422 houses and 16 churches
\nwere burnt during the attacks. Theaffected communities are spread across
\nKaura, Sanga, Jama\u2019a and Kauru LocalGovernment Areas where there had been
\npersistent attacks on communities bygunmen believed to be Fulani
\nherdsmen.\u201d\u00a0SERAP therefore urged Ms. CALLAMARD to prevail on the Nigerian
\nauthorities to:
\n– Take measures to urgently secure the right to life, right to security
\nand dignity of the human person and right to property of citizens in
\nSouthern Kaduna, and to prevent further attacks and killings by
\nherdsmen and other unknown perpetrators
\n– Carry out an effective investigation into the circumstances
\nsurrounding the killings and to identify the perpetrators and bring
\nthem to justice, and to provide reparations to victims
\n– Provide a framework of security for the protection of life, and to
\nprotect the lives of those individuals at risk from unlawful attacks in
\nSouthern Kaduna
\n– Provide for an effective remedy and reparation for the victims
\nSignedAdetokunbo MumuniSERAP Executive
\nDirector30\/12\/2016www.serap-nigeria.orgLagos,
\nNigeriaTwitter:\u00a0@SERAPNigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Socio-Economic Rightsand Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Ms. Agnes CALLAMARD, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,summary or arbitrary executions, urging her to \u201cprevail on the Nigerian authorities tohalt further killings of innocent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n