National Human Rights Commission calls for strict legislation to ban cultism in the country.

The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, has called for strict legislation to ban cultism in the country’s institutions of learning.

The commission suggested that the legislation be made in such a way that it would not affect the rights of the student population in forming societies and organizations that promote human rights as well as intellectual curiosity and diversity.

The position of the Commission was made known on Friday in Abuja by Hillary Ogbona, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu, while presenting the monthly human rights dashboard on abuses for the month of April.

He said the issue in focus in April was cultism, saying that over 20 cultism-related deaths were recorded in three states of the Federation.

According to the Commission, cultism, especially in higher institutions of learning had remained a long-standing menace in the country, pointing out that the secret society movements rooted in violence, intimidation, criminal behavior and other bizarre and illegal activities, not only pose a grave threat to peace and security but also pose a significant challenge to the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by affected communities.