By Udo Akam-Alo, ABAKALIKI
The Ebonyi State Coordinator, National Human Rights Commission(NHRC), Mr. Okorie Christopher Onyekachi, has called on the general public to join in the fight against human rights violations.
He made the call on Tuesday while addressing Newsmen in Abakaliki, complaining that the increased rates of sexual abuse and domestic violence are fairly reported by victims and all those concerned.
“Sexual abuse, especially on minors, is on the increase but under-reported. The only time these cases come here is if there is conflict. It is worrisome.
“Domestic violence is still on the increase, but the problem we are having is that it is underreported’ we all follow through it. However, we identity domestic violence without attaching to what we call child abandonment; they always go together.
“The issue of bringing resources to take care of children has always gone alongside with domestic violence.
‘Woman asks husband money for food and the man gets angry’ and it becomes a case. At the end of the day, ‘when two elephants (parents) are fighting, the grass (somebody) is suffering,’ the children are suffering.
“The major concern when it comes to that is the children because they are vulnerable. They can’t do anything on their own, if you leave them, they may die.”
Mr. Okorie noted that it is the duty of the commission and the court to take charge of cases of violence and warned that individuals should not take laws into their hands as he noted that the commission doesn’t engage in any form of extortion on the course of their duty.
According to Mr. Okorie, “It is left to the court of competent authority to decide what happens to us with the citizens, not with individuals doing things in extra judicially, taking laws into their hands.
So, we should always go by the rules given by the country.
“We do not take a fathom of any case treated. we do not take a kobo, anything. From the point of your entry here to the very end, we don’t ask you for a dime.
Once there is an allegation against you that you collected money from any complainant, you’ve lost your job.”
Mr. Onyekachi told Newsmen that a total of 45 cases were recorded in 2019, while 12 cases are so far on ground this year, 2020.
He blamed the lesser number of recorded cases so far this year, 2020, on their relocation and COVID-19 pandemic and further noted that the Commission was instituted in Ebonyi state in 2019.
