In an effort to get international attention to the issues, Dr Uju Agomoh, executive director of PRAWA and member of the IRCT Executive Committee, is currently visiting Geneva and Brussels to meet with diplomatic missions and other key decision makers in the EU and UN.

In Nigeria, widespread corruption, lack of adequate forensic equipment, inadequate training and capacity of law enforcement officers, poor resourcing and lack of effective oversights are among the root causes of torture and other human rights violations.

PRAWA, with the support of the IRCT, is specifically seeking targeted and implementable recommendations to Nigeria on their priority issues at the upcoming Universal Periodic Review in the UN Human Rights Council. Further, at the EU level, the organisation aims to raise awareness of the challenges facing Nigeria to ensure greater EU pressure for improvements in its bilateral relations with the country.

According to PRAWA, five issues are particularly urgent for the Nigerian government to address: access to rehabilitation services for torture victims; the overall conditions in the country’s prisons; documentation of torture and ill-treatment; ensuring effective investigations of extrajudicial killings; and addressing the lack of mental health services for mentally disabled detainees, and the practice of arbitrary detention of persons with mental disabilities without charges of any crime.

“In the past, the Nigerian government has been very responsive to some of the recommendations from international actors, for example, in following the 2009 UPR with respect to the ratification of the OPCAT, establishment of the National Committee Against Torture and the amendment of the National Human Rights Commission Act,” says Dr Agomoh. “We hope this continues and the government will listen carefully to the recommendations it will receive during this forthcoming review and act diligently in implementing them.”

“At PRAWA, we will do our best to advocate for and directly support the implementation of recommendations that relate to our mandate, and we are committed to working with the government of Nigeria, the international community and other stakeholders in achieving this”, says Dr Agomoh