The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the federal government to protect schools, students and teachers from all incessant attacks.
Executive Secretary National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu stated this during the multi-stakeholders’ forum on safe schools organised bythe commission in collaboration with PLAN International and other stakeholders on Tuesday in Abuja.
The forum was to provide a platform for the Commission to actualise its mandate towards the promotion and protection of human rights, especially in assisting the government to fulfill its treaty obligations.
According to Ojukwu, in the 2020 education report, over 22, 000 students and teachers were victims of over 11, 000 attacks between 2015 and 2019 in 93 countries with a significant number of cases reported in 2020.
He further said that the conference would be the first to be held on the African continent, in a country and region severely affected by attacks on education, “the Nigerian and more broadly West African experiences in addressing attacks on education will be highlighted.
“The various forms of attacks on schools and educational facilities being experienced in Nigeria have led to the killing and abduction of thousands of learner’s, teachers and education personnel. The need to better protect education is more pressing now than ever.
“My special delight today is that this stakeholders’ forum will avail us the opportunity to lend our voices to the discussion centered on how to decide effective national accountability mechanisms that will deter future unlawful attacks against educational facilities, students, and educators. The two panel sessions will focus on access to justice and prosecuting perpetrators of attacks on education as well as support systems and assistance for survivors,” Ojukwu added.
