The United States Government�s report on human rights practices has painted a dark picture of Nigeria�s human rights records, saying that its citizens were denied the right to change government in the 2007 general elections.
It emphasised that despite Nigeria�s democratic governance, citizens� rights remained unsecure.
It said the 2007 general elections were marred by what international and domestic observers described as massive fraud and serious irregularities, including vote rigging and political violence.
According to the report, �Election tribunals, which continued at year�s end, contested the results at all levels, resulting in the nullification of nine local level elections, six senatorial elections, and five gubernatorial elections.�
The report, which covered the year 2007 and published on the US State Department website after it�s release on Tuesday, noted that, �The government�s human rights record remained poor, and government officials at all levels continued to commit serious abuses.
�While civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces, there were some instances in which elements of the security forces acted outside the law.�
It said the most significant human rights problems included the abridgement of citizens� rights to change their government; politically motivated and extra-judicial killings by security forces.
According to the report, corruption was massive, widespread, and pervasive at all levels of the government and society in 2007 in the face of constitutional provision of immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for the President, vice-president, governors, and deputy governors.
Although the EFCC continued a strong anti-corruption campaign during the year and arrested a number of federal, state, and local government officials, seizing millions of dollars in assets, the report stressed that critics accused the commission of singling out political enemies of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Other highlights include, the use of excessive force, including torture, by security forces; killings by vigilance groups and impunity for abuses by security forces.
It stated other abuses as, �beating of prisoners, detainees, and suspected criminals; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and prolonged pre-trial detention; executive influence on the judiciary and judicial corruption; infringement on privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion, and movement.�
It also mentioned domestic violence and discrimination against women; female genital mutilation; child abuse and child sexual exploitation; societal violence; ethnic, regional, and religious discrimination; and trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution and forced labour as serious human rights problems in the country.
It held that in 2007, there were politically-motivated killings by the government or its agents, saying that the police, army, and other security forces committed extrajudicial killings and used excessive force to apprehend criminals and to disperse protesters during the year.
Detailing the abuses further, the report stated that the police and the armed forces were instructed to use lethal force against suspected criminals and suspected vandals near oil pipelines in the Niger Delta region.