RIGHTS GROUP CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY..... Calls Respect For Freedom, Equality and Justice

"After being sworn into office with the constitution and a holy book, having undertaken an oath to 'preserve, protect and defend the constitution and laws' of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, elected officials hardly follow the constitution, parting with the oath administered on inauguration day." Nwafor

"In a 2023 report obtained from theglobaleconomy.com, Nigeria is currently ranked 21st as one of the countries with poor human rights and rule of law record. This should be a huge concern."

 

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development, FENRAD, a Nigerian-based environmental and human rights advocacy group has expressed its support to the rest of the world to commemorate International Human Rights Day; described as groundbreaking seventy-fifth and “diamond jubilee” event of the greatest article of freedom on earth. 

FENRAD, having remained strong in the quest for a better society for all, irrespective of tribe, religion and ethnicity, believes that, "having dwelled on rights as a global initiative, it is better we bring it back home, to Nigeria.

The group, in a statement issued in commemoration of the International Human Rights Day, said; Pursuant to the articles in the UDHR, Nigeria, in her 1999 Constitution (as amended) enshrined in Chapter Four thereof basic human rights, but have only “honoured in the breach than the observance,” these provisions, to quote Shakespeare, the great English Elizabethan writer. While the problem, the Foundation observes, could be because of the military background of Nigeria’s constitution and inherent hangover of military rule, the question of rights remains largely at issue. 

FENRAD, in the statement signed by its Executive Director Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, lamented that, "After being sworn into office with the constitution and a holy book, having undertaken an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the constitution and laws” of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, elected officials hardly follow the constitution, parting with the oath administered on inauguration day." 

Describing "Nigeria’s rights record as profoundly poor," Nwafor stated that, "In a 2023 report obtained from theglobaleconomy.com, Nigeria is currently ranked 21st as one of the countries with poor human rights and rule of law record. This should be a huge concern. 

The Foundation has in an earlier intervention, spotlighted “rule by court disobedience,” as witnessed in Nigeria, especially beginning from the last 8 years, as a contravention of rule of law. 

"Today, the Foundation wishes to amplify civil cases like: illegal arrest, indefinite detention, torture, enforced disappearance, slavery, harassment and intimidation, which are common features in the Nigerian rights landscape. This is a trend that must be jettisoned, unless we want to remain an embodiment of lawlessness and incivility in the 21st century." Nwafor stated.

The Foundation therefore called on the federal government to work on the rights sector and deepen human rights; the only guarantee humans have to live and maximize their potentials on God’s earth. 

The Foundation further wishes to call on the federal and state authorities to see that law enforcement officers do not go extra to their rights in the line of duty, and that when this is not the case, punishment is served. The police, army, and other law enforcement agents have variously been captured as human rights violators in documented reports of rights groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, to mention a few. 

"As the world celebrates this gift which Eleanor Roosevelt called “the international Magna Carta for all mankind,” the task before Nigeria, as the largest democracy in Africa, is to guarantee rights provision to all citizens and residents alike. The gains of the rights articles, being captured in the Chapter Four of our constitution, must be treated and adhered to like a creed by all, regardless of position or power." He said.

"In defending, promoting and preserving Human Rights, Nigeria must lead by example in the West African sub-region and Africa as a region, being a signatory to both ECOWAS and AU rights articles. To make it work, Nigeria must work towards ensuring that freedom, equality and justice are guaranteed." The statement concluded.