By Joe Nwankwo/Switzerland
Nigeria's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Umunna Humphrey Orjiakor, on Wednesday declared that the country does not owe any country an apology over her stand on contentious issues of same sex marriage and death penalty.
He stressed that Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, cannot be dictated to by any country.
This is Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Chidi Odinkalu, disclosed that the commission, as part of it mandate, will begin a public hearing on the housing rights of Nigerians, demolitions and forced evictions in the country from November 18 in Lagos.
Reacting to Nigeria's report at the on-going 17th session of the Universal Periodic Report (UPR) of the United Nations General Assembly Human Rights Council (UNOG), Orjiakor stated that "Nigeria is a sovereign country and unapologetically so, we have a law in a democratic system which was what the Attorney-General was saying in the International community there, we have a law, and that law is a constitutional law and in a democracy, a President or an executive, cannot just come and make a decree and abolish a law.
"So, you have to persuade the National Assembly, you have to negotiate with the people and what becomes law should be the overwhelming wish of the people of the country that you are talking about and in the case of Nigeria the death penalty is still a part ad parcel of our laws.
"Yes, we declared a moratorium on the death penalty some years back, but a moratorium does not mean that absolution they are two different so stated.
"In Nigeria, it is a federal system of government, so states have the rights to implement what the constitution allows, that is within their own purview, like what happened in Edo State.
"So, we don't have any apology for any one, we are simply explaining that Nigeria is an evolving democracy and over time, maybe all the states will coalise in the understanding that death penalty is no more fashionable or the best way to punish crime; so, it is work in progress", he added.
Odinkalu, NHRC chairman, while reacting to Nigeria's Universal Periodic Report, noted that "as a country, we have fulfilled an obligation and there are clearly lessons in this for everybody.
"But, I think that what comes out of this exercise is the seriousness with which Nigeria regards its obligations to Nigeria and to the rest of the World in respect of human rights, and that is a positive thing, on the nation's stand on same sex marriage and death penalty.
"All those lines have been canvassed. I don't think anything new emerged, Nigeria maintained a fairly consistent stand on both of the issues, the issue is not whether or not you agree, but Nigeria has remained consistent on these issues".
