Tackle Insecurity, Rescue Chibok Girls and Others – NBA Body Charges Buhari

The Human Rights Institute of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-HRI) has challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to live up to his primary constitutional responsibility as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces by immediately tackling insecurity across the country.

NBA-HRI made the call in a communiqué issued at its First Human Rights Summit held at the NBA House, Abuja on July 15, 2022. The summit, attended in-person and virtually by over 450 lawyers from across the country, recounted that every part of Nigeria is currently experiencing massive attacks by terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal gangs, and the law enforcement agencies appear overwhelmed and helpless as only very few of the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted.

The communique notes that the summit expressed worry over the recent attack on the Correctional Service Center (prison) in Kuje, Abuja, which lasted for almost three hours and led to the forceful release of over 600 prisoners including terrorist suspects. The summit also noted that a prior terror attack on worshippers in a church in Owo, Ondo State, in which over 35 people were massacred had shocked the country.

Citing other terror attacks and kidnappings which had occurred in Kaduna and other parts of the country in recent weeks, NBA-HRI equally lamented that it had been over seven years that the Chibok school girls were abducted from their school by Boko Haram terrorists, and many of them are yet to be returned. A portion of the communique read:

“Survivors of numerous abductions and kidnappings across the country pay millions of naira in ransom to secure their release, and most are killed or still remain in captivity, including hundreds of passengers kidnapped on the Kaduna-Abuja train, are yet to be released after over one hundred days of the attack.

“The summit noted that under section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the security and welfare of the citizens is the primary purpose of government. The responsibility of the government is therefore to protect the citizens from violations of their rights including the right to life. President Buhari, as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has the primary responsibility to ensure that this constitutional obligation of his government is carried out. Where he fails to do so, as it seems at the moment, then there is a failure of governance.”

NBA-HRI also expressed concerns about the prospect of conducting the 2023 elections given the state of insecurity in the nation which had become a threat to the Nigerian state and governance. “How can elections be held in 2023 when every part of the country is unsafe” said one participant at the Summit.

NBA-HRI is established to promote, protect and advance human rights in Nigeria in line with  the standards contained in various international and regional human rights instruments ratified by Nigeria and local laws. The Institute is presently chaired by Mr Chinonye Obiagwu, SAN.

Download the full communique issued by NBA-HRI.

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