UN Torture Prevention Body to Assess Nigeria’s Detention Conditions in September
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will conduct an official visit to Nigeria from September 8 to 19 to evaluate the treatment of individuals in detention and assess the country’s progress in protecting the rights of those deprived of liberty since its last visit ten years ago.
According to a statement from the UN Human Rights Office on Thursday, the SPT delegation will inspect various detention facilities, including prisons, police stations, and psychiatric institutions. They will also meet with Nigerian authorities, the National Human Rights Commission, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to discuss torture prevention measures.
Aisha Shujune Muhammad, the Head of the delegation, emphasized that the visit presents an opportunity for Nigeria to reaffirm its commitment to preventing torture and to strengthen detention safeguards. She also highlighted the need to establish a National Mechanism for Prevention of Torture, as required by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which Nigeria ratified in 2009.
At the conclusion of the visit, the SPT will present its confidential preliminary findings to the Nigerian government, followed by a detailed confidential report with recommendations.
The delegation will consist of experts from various countries, including Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Maldives), Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah (Mauritius), Andrew Christoffel Nissen (South Africa), and Victor Zaharia (Moldova), accompanied by human rights officers from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture has been ratified by 94 countries, requiring them to allow the SPT unhindered access to places of detention and to establish national preventive mechanisms for regular monitoring.
The SPT, composed of 25 independent human rights experts, is tasked with preventing torture and inhumane treatment in detention through recommendations to participating states.
[…] the growing insecurity in the country but voiced confidence in the current Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, to bring the situation under control and ensure a safer […]