Nigeria Content Online

The United Nations
Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay has asked for justice for victims of
relentless massacre and killings in Plateau State in recent years.

The UN official was
responding to a petition from a civil society organisation, the
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) which urged
that those responsible for the persistent violence in Jos, and the
associated human rights violations be brought to book.

The group had
petitioned the global body over the negligence of the Nigerian
government in checking the unrelenting killings that has greeted the
state in the last two years.

According to Ms
Pillay, “the High Commissioner has written to the Nigerian authorities
urging them to make every effort to achieve security with full
adherence to legality and respect for human rights.” She stressed that
“it is important that every effort should be made to avoid excessive
use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention and that the authorities
should fully investigate all incidents of human rights violations and
hold those responsible to account.”

The UN official
also urged the Nigerian government to look beyond the use of military
tactics in addressing the issue but rather, focus on the primary issues
such as poverty and discrimination. She has suggested that the way
forward and the best proactive protection is to “address the root
causes of these recurrent inter-ethnic and inter-religious conflicts
between various communities.” On the call for a special session of the
Human Rights Council on Jos, Ms Pillay said that, “such a discussion is
the prerogative of the member states of the Human Rights Council. But
we in the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will
continue to engage with the authorities on the issues raised in your
letter.” SERAP had claimed that the failure of the Nigerian government
to exercise due diligence has resulted in the violations of human
rights of citizens in Jos.

Ms Pillay expressed concerns about reports of religious violence in
Jos, which has caused death, injury and displacement and she extended
her sympathy to the families of the victims and wounded.