After TheCable’s report, NHRC to probe Chinese firms over maltreatment of workers

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says it will probe the “maltreatment” of Nigerians employed at Chinese-run quarries in the Obafemi-Owode area of Ogun state.

Mai Fatima Ahmed, assistant director, legal, economic, social, and cultural rights department at the NHRC, said this on Wednesday during an anti-corruption radio programme, tagged ‘Public Conscience’.

An investigation by TheCable, published in January, had revealed that workers at Chinese mining companies in Obafemi-Owode area were exposed to hazardous conditions.

Speaking on the report by TheCable, Ahmed said the commission will launch an inquiry into the development.

“NHRC will not fail to bring culprits of human rights abuses to book,” she said.

“Ordinarily, when NHRC observes the rights of individuals that are likely to be trampled upon, they can swing into action, let alone this one that has already happened. So, we are going to build on this report, investigate and address all the areas that need to be addressed, and in due course, we will come up with a better solution.

“This kind of report must not be swept under the carpet. It pains us how these multinational companies disregard the human rights of our people — Nigerians in this context. The maltreatment cannot even be defined; they are paid meagre amounts; they are treated poorly. So, it’s all cheating and this kind of thing should not be left to continue.”

She also urged Nigerians facing similar experiences to report to the NHRC through petitions, in person, or by proxy.

Also speaking when he featured on the programme, Sunday Adaji, executive director at Care for Legal Assist and Human Rights Protection (CLAHRP), called for labour laws in Nigeria to be reviewed and sanctions made more stringent.

Adaji added that some firms owned by Nigerians are also guilty of maltreating their workers.

On her part, Hope Cole, a sociology lecturer at Bingham University, said citizens who are victims of ill-treatment are losing confidence in the country following the continued breach of labour laws.

She said the situation is worsened by high unemployment rate, adding  agencies set up by the government to check compliance with labour laws do “too little” to prevent such maltreatment.

“We have the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association. It was constituted since 1957 for private employers to come together; that is a forum government has put in place to reach out to private employers. So, they also have their mandate. They have their mission and vision to ensure that they bring together labour policies and socio-economic issues,” she said.

“If it is mandatory that every foreign employer who must come into Nigeria must be NECA compliant and must be CIPM (Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria) compliant in terms of their human resource department, CIPM will now have the right to go down and check.”