Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised the concern over the spate of domestic violence despite massive sensitization campaigns in the country against it.
Mr. Olumide Dosumu, the Edo State Coordinator of NHRC, disclosed this while answering a question after speaking on the topic “Human Rights Law and Protection of Community and Indigenous People’s Rights in Nigeria” at a 1-day Palm Oil Supply Chain Human Rights Training Workshop for CSOs and media organizations, an event put up by AFRILAW in the state.
He said though there are various forms of complain on human rights abuses being received by the Commission but that of domestic violence is topping the charts.
Mr. Dosumu added that not that the civil society organizations are not doing enough to sensitize the public on the need to shun violence and reporting any of the acts to the commission, but they just have to redouble their efforts and keep advocating until there is drastic reductions in human rights abuses in the state and in the country at large.
Speaking on the “Effective Oil Palm Business Enterprise and Host Community Engagement for Sustainable Oil Palm Development in Nigeria, an independent research consultant, Dr. Uyi Ojo, said 60,000 persons have been displaced from their communities by a multinational palm oil company that forcefully acquired their farm lands to enlarge their plantations.
Mr. Ojo, represented by Dr. Osuma Oarhe, said, such act, violates the rights of the people of the communities who have been displaced.
Ojo said one of the major reason host communities and the multinational companies are usually having a show down is that, they are not adequately compensated for the acquisitions of their lands.
He added that, the best way to have gone about the whole process is for the host communities and the companies to sit down and have a Community Development Agreement (CDA) signed by both parties.
He said the media organizations can also do a lot to help report human rights abuses in the various host communities and by so doing, keeping them in check and ensuring that there is a mutual benefit between the multinational companies and their host communities.
On the part of the Executive Director, AFRILAW, Mr. Okereke Chinwike, while speaking on the “Responsible Oil Palm Chain and Protection of Community/Indigenous People and Human Rights Defenders in Nigeria, he maintained that, the civil society organizations are saddled with the responsibilities to champion the course of those whose rights and privileges have been abused in any of the communities where these oil palm multinational companies operate.
He said the civil society organizations and the media organizations also must wake up to their core duty and mandate to ensure that these companies carry out their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) to their host communities and that, they must measure up to standard and not just giving them what they feel like giving as CSR.