School Closure: Violators Will Be Prosecuted, NHRC Threatens

The National Human Rights Commission has said it will ensure
appropriate punishment is imposed on persons, particularly private
school proprietors, who flout Federal Government's directive that
schools should remain shut till October 13.

The commission said flouting the directive by government, which was
aimed at preventing a further spread of the Ebola Virus Disease, would
be viewed as "a violation of peoples' rights" which it had mandate to
protect.

Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, issued this threat
in Abuja on Wednesday, during an awareness programme it organised on
'the rights of People Living HIV/AIDS.'

Angwe, who reiterated the dangers in discriminating against or
stigmatisation of people living with HIV/AIDS, said the commission
would recommend anybody who flouted the directive of the Federal
Government on the closure of schools before October 13 for
prosecution.

He said, "First and foremost, we are issuing an advisory or a
directive, advising Federal Ministry of Education and all Ministries
of Education to ensure that schools comply.

"Where we receive a report of any particular school reopening before
that day, once it is brought to our attention, we will put in place
the requisite machinery that will ensure that such authorities or that
person responsible for the reopening of that school is prosecuted.

"We will make that recommendation of prosecution and we will take
other civil measures that will ensure this particular directive by the
Federal Government."

Angwe, who identified discrimination against or stigmatisation of
people living with HIV/AIDS was one of the greatest challenges in
addressing the scourge, said the commission would do everything
possible to protect the rights of the affected people.

"When some of these people are discriminated against, they go into
hiding and then infect others with the disease," he said.

But he warned that as much as the commission would continue to protect
the rights of the people living with the disease, the commission would
ensure that anybody caught with any act of willful infection of
innocent with HIV/AIDS or the Ebola disease was punished.