Human rights in Nigeria

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Nigeria

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In its 2005 report on human rights practices around the world, the U.S. Department of State found that Nigeria's human rights record was "poor." According to the report, Nigerian government officials and police were responsible for "serious abuses," including politically motivated killings; the use of lethal force against suspected criminals and hostage-seizing militants in the Niger Delta; beatings and even torture of suspects, detainees, and convicts; and extortion of civilians. Other abuses included violence, discrimination, and genital mutilation directed against women, child labor and prostitution, and human trafficking.^[1]

Compounding these abuses was the application of Islamic law (sharia) in 12 northern states. Sentences imposed under sharia included amputations, stonings, and canings, but no death sentences were carried out. In addition, the U.S. Department of State noted restrictions on the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion, movement, and privacy.^[1]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Text used in this cited section originally came from: Nigeria profile from the Library of Congress Country Studies project.

[edit] References

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.

[edit] External Links

• Censorship in Nigeria - IFEX
• MASSOB-Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra in the USA
• Stories of Torture committed by Nigerian Police
• Documents and Legal Resources