Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday condemned high-profile killings in the country, saying it could lead to political instability.
Several prominent politicians, including two governorship candidates, have been killed by unknown gunmen in the past weeks in Africa’s most-populous country ahead of general elections next year.
”It [killing] is at best a ploy to intimidate and unduly narrow the political horizon, reduce political choices and usher in a climate of instability,” the NHRC said in a statement.
It said the ”mindless killings” were meant to truncate the democratic dividends of the last seven years, stressing that with more than 40 political parties, the country’s political landscape is sufficiently ”wide enough” to accommodate various interests and ideologies.
”Every citizen has a right to aspire to any political office in the land without being harassed or intimidated,” it said, adding that politicians should not sacrifice human lives in the blind pursuit of power. — AFP
