Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, Dr. Tony Ojukwu, SAN, OFR, has called for stronger safeguards for women in detention as he chaired a high-level session at the 4th Annual Conference of the African National Preventive Mechanisms Network in Kigali, Rwanda. This was contained in a statement signed by Fatimah Agwai Mohammed, Director, Corporate Affairs and External Linkages.
The conference, held from June 24–26, 2026, convened experts from the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the Association for the Prevention of Torture, National Preventive Mechanisms, National Human Rights Institutions, and civil society groups across Africa.
Dr. Ojukwu, who also chairs Nigeria’s National Preventive Mechanism, led discussions under the theme _“Advancing Detention Monitoring in Africa: Regional and Global Perspectives on Prison Conditions and the Protection of Women in Detention.”_
In his remarks, he stressed that effective monitoring of detention facilities is key to preventing torture and ill-treatment. He highlighted the unique vulnerabilities of women deprived of liberty and urged African states to reinforce preventive mechanisms and oversight of places of detention.
He also pushed for greater commitment to international standards, specifically the UN Bangkok Rules for women prisoners and the Nelson Mandela Rules on treatment of all inmates.
The session served as a platform for sharing best practices and innovative approaches to improve prison conditions and uphold the dignity of persons deprived of liberty, with special focus on women.
Nigeria’s active role at the conference reinforces the NHRC’s mandate as NPM to drive torture prevention, improve detention conditions, and strengthen human rights protection in line with regional and global obligations.
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