Mr Douglas Ogbankwa, a former Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has called for sanctions against perpetrators of human rights abuses in Nigeria.
By Sandra Umeh
Mr Douglas Ogbankwa, a former Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has called for sanctions against perpetrators of human rights abuses in Nigeria.
Ogbankwa made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos, in commemoration of the World Human Rights Day.
The Human Rights Day is
observed annually around the world on Dec. 10. It commemorates the anniversary of one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
This landmark document enshrines the inalienable rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being – regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Speaking with NAN, Ogbankwa, who is also the Convener of the Vanguard for Judiciary Independence, noted that Nigeria could improve its human rights preservation index, in which there are clear sanctions for abuses.
According to him, there are issues of human right abuses in several areas of the society, ranging from the mode of arrest of citizens, to detention and even prosecution of criminal cases.
Ogbankwa noted that the nation’s human rights index, although not encouraging as it were, could be better improved if adequate modalities are put in place to serve as a check.
“There are several categories of human rights abuses ranging from the multiple road blocks we see in some parts of the country which restrict the freedom of movement, to indiscriminate arrest of citizens.
“When random arrests are made by the police, who simply assess the appearance of an individual that they consider unpleasant, such act amounts to a deprivation of the liberties of such individuals,” he said.
He noted that every arrest must, mandatorily, conform with the provisions of section 36 of the 1999 constitution which spelt out the fundamental rights of citizens.
“The law provides that any person arrested must be charged to court within 24 hours or 48 hours, depending on whether or not there is a court within a specific radius.
“This provision is often abused as we find cases where suspects are in police custody for days, weeks and even months .
“Again, where some of these matters are eventually charged to court, we find that there is often the absence of fair hearing, as envisaged by the constitution.
“The judicial process is almost like on “auto remand mode” because some Judges or Magistrates do not ask questions once a person is brought to court.”
He further explained that “the state of the prison system was depriving and degrading and this is akin to torture, yet, every citizen has a right to be free from deprivation and torture.”
Security agencies, according to the ex-NBA officer, often remand suspects without allowing them the opportunity to alert their relatives or even get legal representation.
On the way forward, he called on government to spell out clear sanctions for cases of human rights violations, adding that this would help check incidences of frequent violations in society.
“There must be clear sanctions for cases of rights abuses in society; if this is done, then, we may be on the right path to achieving a society free from right violations,” Ogbankwa said. (NAN)
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