Politics

#EndSARS: Regional court indicts Nigerian govt of rights abuses

Published

3 months ago

July 12, 2024

The Nigerian government was indicted on Wednesday by the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for violating human rights during its response to the #EndSARS protest, specifically for its excessive use of force at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.

In a decision handed down by Judge Rapporteur Justice Koroma Sengu, the ECOWAS sub-regional court harshly condemned the N10 million payout to each of the victims listed in the lawsuit.

According to a statement made by human rights activist Chioma Chuka-Agwuegbo, a coalition of human rights activists and organizations filed a lawsuit before the ECOWAS Court alleging serious abuses of fundamental human rights by Nigerian security personnel.

Chuka-Agwuegbo claims that the ruling of the ECOWAS Court emphasizes the vital role that civil society plays in promoting justice and human dignity as well as the significance of regional judicial systems in keeping governments accountable and defending people’s rights.

The Court found that the Nigerian government’s conduct violated multiple international human rights norms, including Articles 1, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, after carefully reviewing the material and witness testimony.

The anti-police brutality protests in Nigeria, which took place after a tumultuous two weeks, seemed to be an attempt to challenge the country’s culture of respect through street demonstrations and social media. This powerful movement seemed to upset those in authority.

The Court discovered solid proof of infringement of the rights to liberty and security, assembly, free speech, and dignity, as well as the disproportionate use of force. It declared that the Respondent State’s responsibilities under the African Charter were violated and that the use of force was not necessary.

Additionally, it stated that the applicants had been tortured by the Nigerian authorities. The Nigerian government failed to provide evidence to counter the court’s findings that the Lekki tollgate incident, in which live bullets were fired into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators, produced a fearful environment.

The Respondent State violated the Applicants’ rights under Articles 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter, the Court further held, by refusing to provide the Applicants their freedom of expression, assembly, and association. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the ECOWAS Revised Treaty both judged Nigeria’s duties to conflict with the government’s conduct.

Related Topics:#ENDSARS Featured Nigeria

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Politics

Nigerian Air Force adds 34 Italian planes, helicopters

Published

3 days ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s air force is acquiring 24 Italian-made M-346 attack jets and ten AW-109 Trekker helicopters as part of a fleet renewal strategy, a spokesperson said on Monday.

Air Force spokesperson, Olusola Akinboyewa, said in a statement that a team led by Nigeria’s Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar met with executives from Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A, the manufacturer, in Rome who confirmed the first three M-346 aircraft were expected to be delivered by early 2025, with subsequent deliveries running until mid-2026.

The Trekker helicopters are expected by early 2026, Akinboyewa said.

“The M-346 and Trekker acquisitions are key steps towards fleet renewal,” Abubakar was cited as saying, emphasizing the need for a maintenance hub in Nigeria to provide long-term support, particularly for the M-346 fleet.

Nigeria, which has been fighting a 15-year Islamist insurgency against Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the northeast, as well as attacks by armed bandits in the northwest, has increased military spending in recent years.

Nigeria received two “Huey” helicopters in June to go with the two Trekkers it had previously purchased and the twelve American-built A-29 Super Tucano light attack jets it had been given in 2021 to combat rebels.

Wing Loong II drones manufactured in China are still awaiting delivery.

Politics

Cameroon prohibits discussing 91-year-old President Biya’s health

Published

6 days ago

October 12, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to growing suspicion that 91-year-old President Paul Biya was ill, Cameroon has banned any talk regarding Biya’s health, according to a letter released by the interior ministry.

The reports that the president had been unwell were brushed off as “pure fantasy” by the administration, which released comments earlier this week stating that he was in good condition and on a private visit to Geneva.

Paul Atanga Nji, the interior minister, stated that talking about the president’s health was a matter of national security in a letter to regional governors dated October 9.

“Therefore, it is strictly forbidden to have any discussion about the president’s condition in the media going forward.” The whole weight of the law would be applied to offenders, Nji stated.

He gave the governors orders to form teams to keep an eye on social media and private media broadcasts.

If Biya passed away or was too sick to hold office, the oil- and cocoa-producing nation of Cameroon—which has only had two presidents since gaining independence from France and Britain in the early 1960s—would probably be faced with a difficult succession situation.

The National Communication Council, Cameroon’s media regulator, could not be reached for comment at this time. Many criticised the action as an example of state censorship.

“The president is elected by Cameroonians and it’s just normal that they worry about his whereabouts,” said Hycenth Chia, a Yaounde-based journalist and talk show host on privately owned television Canal2 International.

“We see liberal discussions on the health of Joe Biden and other world leaders, but here it is a taboo,” he told Reuters.

Committee to Protect Journalists, an advocacy group for press freedom, expressed its deep concern.

“Trying to hide behind national security on such a major issue of national importance is outrageous,” said Angela Quintal, head of the CPJ’s Africa Program.

Since early September, when Biya attended a China-Africa summit in Beijing, she has not been sighted in public. His absence at a summit in France last weekend, which was scheduled, fuelled even more public speculation about his health.

President Biya is one of several long-serving African leaders, including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who has been in office since 1982, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame is also gradually evolving into the group.