Northern human rights group urges federal government to bring perpetrators of post-election violence to book

The Kaduna human Rights Association, KHRA, has urged the federal government not to be distracted by the current voices of dissent over its recent decision to unmask and prosecute the perpetrators of the April post-election violence.

KHRA commended President Goodluck Jonathan for setting up a 22-man panel to investigate the violence. According to the human rights group, meting out appropriate punishment to those indicted for their role in the post-election violence in some northern states, would serve as a deterrent to others.

The group advised the government to tackle the problem of youth unemployment and rid the northern communities of the Almajiri menace.

Almajiris are children from poor homes sent to Islamic boarding schools to learn the Quran but who often end up in the streets as beggars and ready tools for violence during religious and political crises.

The Arewa Youth Mobilization, an NGO, estimates that 30 per cent of northern youths are Almajiris.