Nigeria: Urgent measures needed to end torture and ill-treatment, say experts

GENEVA/ABUJA - The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) visited Nigeria for the second time from 8 to 19 September 2024 to assess the treatment of individuals in detention, and whether the country had strengthened its capacity to protect the human rights of people deprived of liberty, including through the proper functioning of a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

“The delegation regrets the lack of cooperation from Nigerian authorities, during and prior to the visit. We were confronted with a climate of hostility and faced access issues in several places of detention. Receiving the SPT’s visit and allowing it to exercise its mandate without obstruction is an international obligation under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) which Nigeria ratified in 2009,” said Shujune Muhammad, the head of the delegation.

The SPT delegation visited numerous places of deprivation of liberty, including detention facilities for men, women and children, police stations, criminal investigation departments, as well as facilities run by agencies combating drug and people trafficking, among others.

“The situation in most places of detention is abysmal. Nigeria must urgently take measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment, and to improve conditions of detention, especially in police stations and other similar facilities. Legal safeguards must be immediately implemented, and the current impunity of perpetrators for acts of torture must end,” she said.

The delegation also met with the Minister of Justice, parliamentarians, judges, prosecutors, and other relevant authorities, the Bar association, civil society organizations, and UN agencies.

“It has been 10 years since the first SPT visit, and Nigeria is yet to establish a functional national preventive mechanism. This unfortunately shows that the prevention of torture and ill-treatment is not taken seriously by the State party, and the horrific situation we have documented speaks to this. We urge authorities to urgently finalize the establishment of an independent functional preventive mechanism,” said Muhammad.

At the end of the visit, the delegation presented its confidential preliminary observations to the Government of Nigeria, highlighting its serious concern about the lack of commitment from authorities in preventing widespread torture, ill-treatment and in improving conditions of detention.

Following its visit, the Subcommittee will send Nigeria a confidential report containing its observations and recommendations and encourages the State party to make it public, to facilitate implementation.

The SPT delegation included Aisha Shujune MUHAMMAD (Maldives) Head of the delegation, Satyabhooshun Gupt DOMAH (Mauritius), Andrew Christoffel NISSEN (South Africa), and Victor ZAHARIA (Moldova), accompanied by two Human Rights Officers from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.