Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi
Falana, has described the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Bill as the
‘worst piece of legislation’ in the history of Nigeria.
Falana in a statement released on
Wednesday said the bill threatened the existence of a free and independent
civil society in the country, which would have bad impact on Nigerians.
The controversial NGO Bill aims
to regulate and monitor the activities of all civil society organisations and
labour unions in the country.
The lawmakers are scheduled to
hold a public hearing on the bill on December 13 and 14 in Abuja, the Federal
Capital Territory.
Falana further called on the
Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara to stop the passage of
the bill.
The statement reads: “This is
perhaps the worst piece of legislation in Nigeria’s history.
“Under the bill, any civil
society group advocating for human rights, basic freedoms and good governance
can be shut down and criminalised. The bill if passed will ultimately have a
disastrous impact on Nigerian citizens’ democratic participation in furthering
the development of their own country.
“The HB585 Bill seeks the
establishment of non-governmental organisations regulatory commission for the
supervision, coordination and monitoring of non-governmental organisations and
civil society groups among others and for related matters.
“I urge Speaker Dogara to reject
entirely the bill as it falls significantly short of international human rights
norms governing the rights to freedom of association and peaceful assembly, in
particular, Section 40 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and
Articles 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and Articles 10 and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to
which Nigeria is a state party.
“The bill allows government
authorities to de-register local and international associations and NGOs if
they consider them as not working in the ‘national interest’.
“Government can similarly deny
registration on the vague grounds that the purpose and goal of the associations
or NGOs are ‘inconsistent with the programmes of government’. Associations and
NGOs operating without registration in Nigeria will face criminal liability.
“The excessively broad and vague
provisions and administrative discretion given to the authorities in regulating
the work of community associations, labour unions, NGOs and other civil society
groups can be wielded as tools to intimidate, and even suppress, dissenting
views and opinions in the country.
“The bill places undue
restrictions on the right to freely associate, which is a fundamental freedom
and essential component of democracy, as recognised by the UN Human Rights
Council.
“Should the bill be passed into
law, I will vigorously challenge it in court on the grounds of its
unconstitutionality and incompatibility with Nigeria’s international and
regional human rights obligations and commitments.”
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