Avocats Sans Frontières France Marks International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: “End Impunity, Deliver Justice, Restore Dignity”

On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Avocats Sans Frontières France /Lawyers Without Borders France (ASF France) stands in solidarity with survivors across Nigeria and renews its call for accountability for perpetrators, justice for victims, and urgent support for those seeking to rebuild their lives.

Since 2009, ASF France has worked to end torture in Nigeria through legal aid, documentation, advocacy, and survivor support. To date, the organization has supported over 1,000 torture victims across the country with direct legal assistance, helping many access redress and reclaim their dignity before Nigerian courts and regional mechanisms.

Despite this progress, ASF France regrets that the Anti-Torture Act 2017 remains largely unimplemented more than eight years after it was signed into law. The absence of enforcement continues to deny survivors the protection, compensation, and rehabilitation the Act guarantees.

ASF France therefore welcomes the latest update from the Federal Ministry of Justice that the Implementing Rules and Regulations [IRR] for the Anti-Torture Act is at the gazetting stage. We hope this marks the beginning of full implementation. Without operational rules, investigations, prosecutions, and victim support mechanisms cannot function as intended.

“Perpetrators of torture must be held accountable if Nigeria is to break the cycle of impunity,” said Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, Country Director, ASF France Nigeria. “Gazetting the IRR must be followed immediately with training for law enforcement, funding for rehabilitation, and visible prosecutions. Survivors cannot wait any longer for justice.”

On this International Day, ASF France calls on the Government of Nigeria to:

1. Expedite the gazetting and enforcement of the Anti-Torture Act IRR without delay.

2. Ensure independent investigations and prosecutions of alleged perpetrators of torture.

3. Establish and fund accessible medical, psychosocial, and legal support for survivors.

Torture is a crime under Nigerian and international law. Honoring survivors means moving from law on paper to justice in practice.

Avocats Sans Frontières France is an international NGO defending human rights and access to justice. In Nigeria, ASF France implements the eRIGHTS and anti-torture programmes, providing free legal aid to victims of torture and other human rights violations.

Signed

Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu

Country Director, Avocats Sans Frontières France Nigeria

For enquiries, email: office.nigeria@avocatssansfrontieres-france.org