THE National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) and a human rights organisation, Amnesty International, have agreed to collaborate to improve the legal rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement the NCPWD issued on Friday, September 9.
According to the statement, the Executive Secretary of the Commission, James Lalu, decried the unfair treatment meted out to PWDs in various parts of the country, which he said called for more attention to their basic rights.
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Lalu also noted that children with disabilities were being denied fundamental rights, including access to basic education.
“It will surprise you to know that some parents of disabled children maltreat them by depriving them access to good education, simply because they feel ashamed identifying with them in public,” the statement read.
The Executive Secretary said the NCPWD would partner with security agencies, including the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Legal Aid Council, to provide legal cover for PWDs in the country.
In 2021, The ICIR reported on the plight of PWDs in the FCT.
In a colony set aside for PWDs within the Karon-Majigi area of the nation’s capital, children with disabilities hardly acquire basic education due to financial constraints, among other reasons.
Rather than be in school, many are sent out to beg for alms, or hawk food items to support the family income.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.