Human rights situation better but more needs to be done, UN envoy says

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Nigeria has acknowledged an improvement in the country’s human rights situation but says more remains to be done, news organisations reported. Soli Sorabjee told a news conference in Lagos yesterday there was a “noticeable change in the political atmosphere and in the attitude of the administration”. He said he had no doubt that military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar was “sincere and serious”. However, there were still many repressive decrees that had to be abolished, he added. “It is a mixed record,” he said. “The important thing is to keep up the momentum.” Sorabjee was appointed special rapporteur in 1997 but this is the first time he has been allowed to visit the country, following the death of former leader General Sani Abacha.