The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Hope Behind Bars Africa (HBBA) signed a two-year agreement on Tuesday. This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aims to boost human rights protection, access to justice, digital rights, and accountability in Nigeria.
Tony Ojukwu, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, explained that the agreement focuses on preventing human rights violations instead of just reacting to them.
"Let me be clear about why this matters. A human rights commission that only counts violations after they occur is doing half of its job. Our mandate, as I have said on many occasions, is as much about prevention as it is about redress," Mr Ojukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said.
The MoU plans to tackle ongoing human rights problems, improve access to justice, protect civic participation, and help people and communities affected by violations.
To achieve these goals, the NHRC and HBBA will work on initiatives like the Justice-Tech Node, Defend the Defenders: Enhancing Action Against Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), and the Civic Accord Project.
Both organizations will use public education, capacity building, and advocacy to reach their targets. They also intend to look into legal responses, case management, regular visits to custodial centers, jail delivery initiatives, and annual reports on human rights in detention facilities.
Mr Ojukwu and Funke Adeoye, the founder of HBBA, said this MoU is a chance to enhance their work in the justice system.
The Justice-Tech Node
The two organizations have also introduced the Justice-Tech Node initiative. This platform is aimed at helping justice institutions and civil society organizations reduce technology-related harms.
"Technology is rapidly changing the way Nigerians interact with the justice system. It is creating new opportunities for access to information, legal assistance, and accountability, but it is also creating new forms of harm," Ms Adeoye said.
Digital surveillance, online harassment, technology-facilitated abuse, and misuse of new technologies pose serious risks to fundamental rights.
She mentioned that the platform will connect lawyers who may not understand technology with technologists who lack knowledge of legal issues and the effects of the systems they create.
The Justice-Tech Node is designed to gather stakeholders to identify technology-related harms, share knowledge, develop solutions, and strengthen the connection between technology and justice.
"We want the Node to support research, knowledge sharing, capacity building, referrals, innovation, and practical interventions around emerging digital rights and technology-related justice issues. We also want it to ensure that technology development in Nigeria respects human rights and access to justice," she added.
Mr Ojukwu described the Justice-Tech Node as prevention-focused, stating that it seeks to tackle technology-related harm before it becomes widespread.
Technology and Artificial Intelligence have brought significant benefits to society. But they have also opened up new ways for human rights violations to occur.
In February, PREMIUM TIMES reported that Gatefield warned that up to 70 million women and girls in Nigeria could face AI-facilitated online abuse each year by 2030 if strong legal measures are not put in place.
Gatefield found that Nigeria does not have a solid legal and institutional framework to deal with AI-related abuse. Likewise, while content monetization has created huge economic chances for social media creators, it has also led to exploitation and Technology-Facilitated Abuse (TFA).
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