By Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—AFRICAN Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, ANEEJ and civil society groups, including Edo Forum Against Impunity and Traders Welfare Association in Edo State, yesterday, staged a peaceful demonstration in Benin, Edo State, condemning alleged spate of extra-judicial killings nationwide.

Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, who spoke for the demonstrators, called on security agencies and other relevant authorities to put machinery in place to forestall human rights violations with a view to protecting the rights of citizens.

Ugolor  stressed the need for Governor Adams Oshiomhole to fulfil his electoral promise made  in 2012 to set up a Public Defender Unit to provide free legal aid to victims of human rights abuses.

He said that the state government should, as a matter of urgency, speed up the administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, with a view to ensuring the domestication of the Act in Edo, adding that the law which was already in force at the federal level had helped in the improvement of the administration of criminal justice system.

He said: “We are using this opportunity to call on Edo State Government to domesticate the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 in Edo State to improve administration of criminal justice system in the state.

“There are cases of human rights abuses across the country, and Edo State is no exception. We have also noticed the wide spread extra-judicial killings across the country. Edo is also not an exception.  One of the primary purposes of the civil society is to tackle these challenges that arise from human rights abuses. So, we thought it wise to build an alliance across the state.”

He lamented the rising cases of human rights violations ranging from extra-judicial killings and unlawful arrests in the state, adding, “This year alone, several lives have been cut short and their families are yet to get justice.”