Human Rights Situation in Nigeria in the Eye of the International Community

That the International community considers human rights situation frightening in Nigeria even in the face of democracy currently being enjoyed in the nation is not surprising after all at least to key observers. If for anything, the Nigerian government has failed to put certain factors right so that its citizens can enjoy certain natural priorities and necessities of life available to mankind.

It is as a result of this development that amnesty international still scores the nation very low in this regard and believes that it may certainly take time before an improvement is recorded in the nation as far as human rights in Nigeria is concerned and only a very sincere leaders will bring about this. Criminal justice system in Nigeria is indeed nothing to write home about in Nigeria and this has taken a negative toll on the nation’s perceived promotion of human rights, and as they say only he who wears the shoes feels the pain, so we Nigerians know better.

Human rights is one area that I have always wanted to write about, maybe not to crave in the indulgence of the Nigerian government but to let the whole world know just how it is and what should be done for the simple reason that the Nigerian government know better than I do, after all, in any nation the government of that country is the most briefed and the case of Nigeria is not an exception.

I begin this write-up by establishing that as some of the most brilliant people ever made by God, Nigerians know their rights but have not enhanced it because there is no money, the people are extremely too poor to do this, so the government take advantage of this, the wealthy therefore assert their dominance over the poor thus extending the gap between the rich and the poor in the country. The Agencies of the government are the tools used to actualize this. Like the Bible puts it “money answereth all things.” Without money what can the righteous people of Nigeria do but watch and pray that they may not fall into temptation, and when temptation comes they nothing but plead their guiltless course, such is the way of life of Nigerians.

The Legal Aids Council in Nigeria at present is having about 91 lawyers in Nigeria and one is left to wonder how 91 free lawyers can serve about 150 million impoverished people of Nigeria including even our politicians who also love free things. I therefore conclude that Legal Aids Council does not exist in Nigeria, and since this happens a suspect simply walks his way into the prisons where he either gets sentenced or awaits trial. People cannot represent themselves in courts so they sometimes plead guilty to avoid money “wahala” as we put here.

This writer will not go into the area of people abuse of people’s rights in the country because it is a very long story. Police in Nigeria still extract confessional statements from suspects even in local and state police stations in the country according to transparency international. Need we state that this use of this very method is known to all no matter how we want to pretend about it? The difference is just that no one is visibly willing to delve into this area for the fear of incurring the wrath of the police. Bail in Nigeria is supposed to be free but the police still collect money before suspects are released and our government does nothing about it while this undermines the fundamental human rights of Nigerians, as pointed out earlier in this work, Nigerians have learnt to accept this as their fate because the resources to pursue the usual rigorous litigations in the Nigerian courts of law are lacking. The police station should have a place people freely walk in to acquire or give free information but in my country Nigeria, the fear of police stations is the beginning of wisdom.

The Bill in National Assembly on detention has been lying idle since 2006, with no one laying emphasis on it simply because it concerns the welfare of mostly the ordinary masses of the country.  It is for this reason that I commend the efforts of the Lagos State Government which has decreed that anywhere in Lagos where the police are taking statements from suspects, camera must be present, and maybe in the presence of suspects lawyers too. This will no doubt reduce drastically the any fowl play on the part of the police and give individuals confidence in the police.

Again, our police stations must be computerized so that the challenges of the future as well as the present can be met with, files in police stations should be electronically documents and this must also be extended to our law courts to avoid the a “certain Mr. James Onanefe Ibori” saga where another court had to seat up to the highest level to determine who was convicted by same court with legal operational business in the country, which to me is a very funny development. Recently, the Economic and financial Crimes Commission reportedly announced that the files of Ex-governors standing trials were missing, only electronic propelled files can avoid this.

Corruption is one area Nigerians have not fared well either, corruption in Nigeria is systemic and Transparency methodology is clearly incapable of perceiving Nigeria according to Rev Iloh as reported in the Vanguard, 14 October 2008. Corruption bites hard in Nigeria. Religion has not helped Nigeria as millions troupe to churches and mosques yet transformations elude the country.

Obasanjo, the former president of the country invented the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) an idea which for the first time created the fear of looting the nation’s treasury for the first time but we did not see the Commission function up to the average as jail sentences handed down to convicts were rather amusing and senseless. A big fish who stole the nation’s money in billions only end up serving between two and three months jail sentence while a frustrated unemployed youth who snatches a 3310 nokia phone goes in to serve three years imprisonment usually after spending more than 2 years in detention perhaps with his file missing.

The news of people in high places in Nigeria who steal in billions and are never convicted at all but faced with unending trials often encourage the youth to work hard and steal some monies too in dollars go to jail return and enjoy these monies. What kind of societies is our government building?  

Prison conditions in Nigeria is not different as people waiting to be executed stay in detention for between 7-9 years according to Transparency International, again need we deny this fact? Several cases will establish this fact to the extent that one of your friends or relatives may have been a victim now or in the past. Prisons should be rehabilitation centers and not punishment rooms where correctional forms of reforms should be carried out. This was at its height in decades of military rule in Nigeria where the regimes had hoped to teach civilians as well as khaki men hard lessons.

Interestingly many of the once victims of this ugly developments when freed and returned to fruitful positions especially in this present democratic dispensation forgot their ugly experiences to the neglect of the bad prison conditions and continued life as usual, unmindful of Ibusa people in Delta State of the country’s adage that “the broom used in sweeping out the first wife is waiting for the second wife.” A situation which connotes our prisons as places where criminals visit and return to become harder and even more dangerous to the communities must be avoided.  

The Nigerian government should do something today to make the Nigerian society more meaningful and useful to the international community. Nigerians certainly are not the worst rogues as characterized by the outside world, however only a good promotion of the social development of the society will return to the lost glory to the nation and greatly advance our society.