By Abubakar Yakubu
Special Rapporteur, Freedom of Religion/Belief of the United Nations, Nazila Gharez has met with representatives of faith-based organizations across the country to work out modalities for peaceful coexistence.
The dialogue served as a platform for the representatives, which also included the Muslims Rights Concerns (MURIC) , to exchange ideas and provide a feedback to the United Nations on the actual state of religious freedom/belief operating in Nigeria.
The dialogue was hosted by the National Human Rights Commission and it centred on freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of thoughts.
Representatives of faith-based organizations/belief emphasized on the need for peaceful coexistence inorder to practice freely and urged all Stakeholders to accept realities on the ground without media hype or individuals escalating tensions for their personal gains.
The Muslim Stakeholders, including MURIC’s representative, Ustaz Yunus Salahudeen, who stood in for Prof. Ishaq Akintola, called for respect on the fundamental rights of Muslims and they further cautioned against labelling Muslims wrongfully in public discussions.
Stakeholders praised the National Human Rights Commission for their ongoing data collection project on human rights violations across the country.
The participants also called on the commission to strengthen its grassroots information sourcing mechanism to ensure violations at community levels are captured and addressed.
