ASF France Launches The Procat Project In Ogun , Holds Advocacy Visits

In a move to expand its impact and ensure more Nigerians benefit from its intervention, Avocats Sans Frontières France (Lawyers without Borders France) recently launched the Promoting the United Nations Convention Against Torture (ProCAT) Project in Ogun State.

A project supported by the United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture (UNFVT) and targeted at addressing human rights violations of torture and putting an end to the systemic menace.

As part of the activities to kickstart the project in Ogun State, Nigeria, ASF France held advocacy visits to key stakeholders in the State from the 5th to the 8th April 2022. The stakeholders visited included; The Commissioner of Police, Ogun State Command, The Attorney General and Honorable Commissioner for Justice, Ogun State, The Chief Judge Ogun State High Court, The Nigerian Correctional Service and the Nigerian Correctional Service Borstal Home, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACON) Ogun State, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Ogun State.

During the visits, the Country Director of ASF France in Nigeria, Mrs. Angela Uwandu Uzoma-Iwuchukwu engaged with the stakeholders, highlighting the progress of the ProCAT project in other states and the plans for the project in Ogun State.

The need for continued partnership was also reiterated as the work to put an end to torture needs to be collaborative. The ProCAT Case Law Manager, Mrs. Edugie Amihere and the ProCAT Support Lawyer Ogun State, Mr. Daniel Shangotola, also formed part of the delegation. The stakeholders in return assured the ProCAT delegation of their support for the project and increased efforts towards putting an end to torture in the state as well as successful legal redress for victims of torture.

The ProCAT project intervention in Ogun State will represent victims of torture as earmarked in the overall projection of 85 legal aid beneficiaries for the Project for 2022. The project will now advance to full implementation mode in Ogun State to stigmatize torture and enhance access to justice for torture victims in the State.