CEDDERT trains communities in Katsina, Zamfara on tracking human rights abuses
By Zubairu Idris
The Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training (CEDDERT), has trained key community members from Katsina and Zamfara States on the documentation of human right abuses that are becoming prevalent in local communities in the two states.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, supported by Amnesty International, had in attendance traditional rulers, religious leaders, youths and women groups, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
The Director of Research, CEDDERT, Prof. Massoud Omar, said at the opening of the training on Thursday in Katsina that the knowledge would assist in exposing human right abuses in local communities of the respective states.
He said that centre was specifically set up to look at problems affecting communities, conduct research and proffer solutions that could be used by government.
Omar said that the training was organised based on the research conducted by the centre, which revealed a lot of human right abuses amidst the banditry bedeviling the two states.
“We are enlightening the communities more on their rights, and strengthen them on how to go about information gathering and documentation for the government to take necessary action,” Omar said.
He stated that unless the local communities open up, the government would not know some of those problems, hence the need for the center to sensitise the locals in that regard.
According to him, before the government could address any societal problem, communities have a role in informing the government on their challenges.
One of the participants, Salihu Ibrahim, said that the training would assist them in exposing perpetrators of human right abuses in their respective communities.
