The Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commission met its first emergency session in Abuja on Friday, 3 May 2013, in response to alleged situations of serious human rights violations in different parts of Nigeria and the associated deterioration in humanitarian conditions, especially with reference to the situation in North-East Nigeria.
A press release after the session said the Governing Council considered allegations arising from the recent incident involving the uniformed services and alleged insurgents in Baga, Borno state.
After extensive deliberations, the Council formally resolved, in exercise of its responsibilities under Sections 5 and 6 of the National Human Rights Commission Act, as amended, to undertake an independent investigation into the Baga incident in order to determine, among other things:the specific and general circumstances, actors, and sequence of events that triggered the incident;assess the state of humanitarian provisioning for communities affected by the on-going security situation in Baga and in north-east Nigeria; and identify general or specific measures that may be taken to prevent a repeat of such incident.
The statement said in setting out on this statutory responsibility, the Commission will undertake broad consultations with relevant agencies in the executive and legislative arms of government at the Federal, State and Local Government levels, as well as the host or affected communities and civil society.
Also in compliance with the Act, the Commission will seek and involve all skills and competencies that may be available to aid a dispassionate investigation.
The Commission hopes to conclude and report on its investigation not later than the first week of July 2013.
