Experts discussed how to chart the way forward on advocacy around key findings from journalists' reports on human rights and conflicts in Nigeria.
Human rights defenders have called on stakeholders working around conflict and human rights issues across the country to work collaboratively in promoting human rights.
The experts made this call during the just-concluded face-to-face roundtable workshop organised by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) in partnership with the Institute of War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) under its 'Voices for Change' project.
The one-day event was organised to chart the way forward on advocacy around key findings from journalists' reports on human rights and conflicts in Nigeria.
Talking about the importance of the dialogue, Akintunde Babatunde, the Deputy Director of Development at the CJID, said the wave of conflict and human rights abuse in Nigeria is disturbing, and there's an urgent need to document these issues for onward engagement with policymakers.
The Director of Civil and Political Rights, National Human Rights Commission, A. A. Yakubu, who was present at the event, said collaboration between journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) is vital to advancing the discourse.
He said: "It is important to continue to follow up with CSOs and journalists to ensure we bring light to these types of stories. Journalists need to engage state actors to make them accountable and provide support and remedy to victims and survivors of human rights abuses."
Mr Yakubu said the NHRC is ready to support journalists and CSOs through capacity building, "especially in their reporting and investigating human rights violations in Nigeria. We can have dialogue sessions to bring CSO and journalists together to highlight critical human rights issues in Nigeria and identify strategies through awareness creation on how to engage stakeholders."
A human rights lawyer and a panellist at the event, Inibehe Effiong, noted that "the workshop allowed participants to discuss issues prevailing human rights and conflict situation in Nigeria with emphasis on recent events. Going by the presentations from journalists who investigated different aspects of conflicts and human rights violations, ranging from sexual abuse of IDPs to police brutality against citizens, further steps must be taken to address the issues and the violations that have come to light."
Mr Effiong said having strategic litigation instituted to defend the rights of those who are victims of police extortion and brutality is vital to human justice. He emphasised the need for "practical advocacies to be embarked upon to draw the attention of the government and other relevant stakeholders to the cases and challenges identified during the workshop."
Kemi Busari, an editor for Dubawa, and one of the mentors for the journalists on the project, said the partnership between CJID and IWPR is timely and came at a time different parts of the country are currently facing or experiencing crises and their aftermath.
He said: "I was privileged to review five of the stories, and they are stories that speak directly to some of the challenges we are facing in the country. I am happy the partnership is not stopping at reporting; it's good that both CJID and IWPR are taking this conversation forward to make sure that we do some advocacy in ensuring that some of the issues that were identified in these stories are put in the front burner of policymakers, authority and stakeholders such that we get the needed impact and we also try to forestall such vices in the future".
A human rights advocate and Executive Director, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Olufunke Weke, who was also a participant at the event, said the collaboration between CSOs and journalists is critical to advancing the conversations bordering on conflict and human rights issues in Nigeria.
She said: "I could relate to three of the reports which had to do with the Criminal Justice System and how human rights violations inherent therein are closer to us than we think. It also helped us to see how important it is for us to take our place as active citizens and hold the government accountable.
"One thing that stood out is that the event and follow-up interventions take us beyond discussing the problems and challenges to create workable solutions with a short-term and long-term impact. I particularly love the collaborative synergy created between media, CSOs and the government."
One of the journalists that presented her findings, Caroline Ameh, said it was a great time having stakeholders discuss the issue of human rights abuses in the country.
"I believe with the roundtable discussion, necessary actions will be taken by stakeholders to address these issues and make government accountable to the citizens," Mrs Ameh stressed.
In her closing remarks, Oluwatosin Alagbe, the Director of Operations, CJID, said the need for synergy between journalists, CSOs and all state actors for appropriate engagement on conflict and human rights issues cannot be over-emphasised.
She said: "Nigeria is currently facing the worst form of human rights abuses, ranging from police brutality, kidnapping, arbitrary killings, sexual and gender-based violence, etc. It is time we all come together as stakeholders to redefine the culture of accountability media through creating awareness and advocating all forms of human rights abuses in Nigeria".
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Ms Alagbe said she looks forward to the impacts that would be generated from the stories produced by the journalists and the advocacy campaign strategy to take the conversation forward is vital for generating significant impacts.
Background
The Voices for Change project was constituted by both CJID and IWPR, to build the capacity of journalists and human rights defenders in Nigeria to collaboratively raise public awareness and launch advocacy campaigns focused on human rights violations and crimes under international law remaining uninvestigated.
During the project's first phase, CJID and IWPR trained ten journalists across different newsrooms in Nigeria to deepen their understanding of the country's various conflicts and human rights abuses. The second phase was organised to upskill CSOs' capacity to advance conversations around human rights and social justice.
The roundtable discussion was, therefore, designed to discuss journalists' findings on various human rights and conflict realities in Nigeria and dialogue on what stakeholders can do to act on these reports.
The Deputy Director, Development Practice at CJID, Akintunde Babatunde, announced that CJID and IWPR would be releasing a small fund to drive advocacy on the findings by journalists in the hope that the products will galvanise the government to act and uphold the fundamental human rights of citizens.
