The National Senior Citizens Centre has condemned a recent incident in Ihwakar Kumekor Dam in Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue, where a 70-year-old man was buried alive.
This is contained in a statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communications of the centre, Mr Omini Oden in Abuja.
Dr Emem Omokaro, the Director-General of the NSCC, said the act was alleged to have been carried out by some suspected youths in the Mbatue Ward of the Council Area.
Omokaro described the act as abominable, and a height of human rights violation that must not be allowed to go unpunished.
The DG, however, commended the Nigeria Police and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters, for the timely intervention, which saw the immediate arrest of the suspects.
She therefore assured Nigerians that the centre would continue to defend the rights and privileges of older persons, in line with its mandate.
“The National Senior Citizens Centre Anti Elder Abuse Community Response Mechanism, is working in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission, the Legal Aids Council of Nigeria and NAPTIP, to stem the abuse and violence against older persons, as well as provide access to justice,” she said.
She therefore appealed to the public, to utilise the following NAPTIP toll-free lines, to report cases of abuse or violence against older persons in Nigeria; 07030000203, 080-CALLNAPTIP and for MTN 627 and *627#,” the statement added
(NAN)
