SERAP Urges FG To Seek Justice And Reparation For Victims Of Herdsmen Attacks.

Lagos – The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on Federal Government to consider “the rights of victims of unlawful killings and their families” in it effort to prevent and combat attacks by herdsmen across the country.

SERAP which made the call yesterday in Lagos in a statement signed by the organization’s deputy director, Timothy Adewale, said, it is important to ensure that any policy to tackle the problem is not used as a ploy to undercut the possibilities of meaningful justice and reparation for victims and their families.

SERAP said, “So far attempts by the government to address the persistent attacks by herdsmen in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa states and other parts of the country has overlooked the plight of the victims and their families. But it has to be made clear that victims of attacks apparently by herdsmen are entitled to effective remedies regardless of whether they bring their claims against the government in an individual or collective capacity.

“It is an imperative demand of justice that the responsibility of the perpetrators of the unlawful killings and destruction of property be clearly established and the rights of the victims and their families sustained to the fullest possible extent. Establishing a trust fund for victims of attacks by herdsmen will be an important first step towards justice for victims and their families.

The organization further added, “Victims’ right to an effective remedy and reparation is a legally enforceable human right and not a matter of charity. It is no coincidence that the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party refer to victims’ right to effective remedies, including access to justice, reparation and guarantee of non-repetition”.

SERAP in the statement also said, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, they believe that President Muhammadu Buhari is in a powerful position to end the unlawful killings and destruction of property apparently by herdsmen across the country if he really wants to do so.

While urging President Buhari to speak directly to Nigerians, especially the victims and their families, the organization noted, “indeed, the Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power provides some guarantees for victims (including family members of direct victims), such as those that suffer ‘substantial impairment of their fundamental rights’ through acts or omissions of governments.”

Meanwhile, the National Assembly has condemned the killings in Benue and other parts of the country, and called on the Federal Government to take decisive action against those behind the killings.