As Nigeria joined the global community to mark the 2020 Nelson Mandela Day, the National Human Rights Commission has called on the Nigerian Government, civil society organisations to do more in ensuring equality and social justice for Nigerians especially at this time of COVID-19.
Executive Secretary of the commission, Tony Ojukwu, gave this charge in Abuja over the weekend on the commemoration of the annual event.
He said Nigerians should make renewed commitment to uphold the legacies of Mandela, who fought for the promotion and protection of human rights.
He said, “This could be done through direct investment and commitment to enforce diversity by ensuring bold action in creating opportunity at all levels across all the sectors of the society.
“There is still more to be done to drastically reduce the number of awaiting trial inmates whose number outweighs the number of convicted prisoners in our country.
“This goes to tell that the services in our prisons are overstretched thus posing a question of compliance with the Mandela Rules to which Nigeria is a signatory.”
Ojukwu emphasised fairness and adherence to the principle of social justice in providing such opportunities, which according to him will go a long way in eradicating poverty among people in the rural areas.
