A pro-democracy non-governmental organisation named Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed worry at the ‘silence’ of the top management of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to alleged serial violations by President Muhammadu Buhari of bail orders granted by Federal High Court to detained leader of Indigenous People of Biafra Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and erstwhile National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki.
The rights group said the silence would undermine the integrity and credibility of the Rights Commission, which “as currently constituted without a governing council after the expiration of the tenure of the previous council chaired by Prof. Chidi Odinkalu has turned into a mere apparatus of the federal government of Nigeria and the management has since abandoned the mandates for which it was established”.
The rights group has also expressed disappointment that while several Nigerians languish in the detention facilities of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Ombudsman known as the NHRC was more interested in chasing after politicians and monitoring elections.
In a statement jointly signed by the national Coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf the Rights group said it has written to the Federal Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alhaji Abubakar Malami (SAN) to facilitate the monitoring by credible civil society groups including HURIWA of the human rights’ situation of the detention facilities administered by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC); Independent Corrupt Practices and other offences Commission (ICPC); Police, and the DSS.
The group lamented that the detention of suspects under dehumanising conditions which constituted grave human rights crimes are being overlooked by the Nigerian Government and institutions such as the NHRC.
“We are shocked that several weeks after courts of competent jurisdiction gave binding bail orders in favour of the duo of Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and Colonel Sambo Dasuki which President Muhammadu Buhari bluntly refused to comply with, the hierarchy of the NHRC has said nothing in condemnation of this affront to constitutional democracy but the management is busy frittering public fund to monitor elections.
“What is the role of the national institution for the protection of human right if not to serve as the conscience of the nation and to shout loudly in condemnation of this act against our constitutional freedoms by armed security operatives with the approval of Mr. President?, the group noted.
HURIWA further disclosed that it would send a petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council to demand that President Buhari be sanctioned by the global rights body so as to stop the disrespect of lawful orders of competent courts of jurisdiction from spreading in Nigeria. It said it may also report the NHRC’s gross professional incompetence to the UN Human Rights Council.
HURIWA stated: “On 18 June 2007, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 5/1 entitled “Institution-Building of the United Nations Human Rights Council” by which a new complaint procedure was established to address consistent patterns of gross and reliably attested violations of all human rights and all fundamental freedoms occurring in any part of the world and under any circumstances.
“National human rights institutions, established and operating under the Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions (the Paris Principles), in particular in regard to quasi-judicial competence, may serve as effective means of addressing individual human rights violations. We are scandalised that the management of NHRC has abdicated from carrying out its monitoring of human rights violations but have chosen to chase after politicians”, the group added.
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