Government officials were
enmeshed in widespread corruption in 2018 despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s
anti-corruption crusade, according to a report by the United States Department
of State.
The report, titled “Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018″ also indicted the government and security
agencies for disregard for human rights.
Nigeria was ranked 144 out of 180
countries in the Transparency International corruption perception index (CPI)
for 2018, with a 27/100 score.
“Massive, widespread, and
pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security
services. The constitution provides immunity from civil and criminal
prosecution for the president, vice president, governors, and deputy governors
while in office. There were numerous reports of government corruption during
the year,” the report read.
“Although the law provides
criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did
not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt
practices with impunity.”
Citing examples from several
agencies and non-governmental organisation, the report covered human right
issues across the military, media, prisons.
According to the report, while
the government took steps to investigate some of the cases, it did not “adequately”
prosecute offenders.
“Human rights issues included
unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non-state actors; forced
disappearances by both government and non-state actors; torture by both
government and non-state actors and prolonged arbitrary detention in
life-threatening conditions particularly in government detention facilities;
harsh and life threatening prison conditions including civilian detentions in
military facilities, often based on flimsy or no evidence; infringement on citizens’
privacy rights; criminal libel; substantial interference with the rights of
peaceful assembly and freedom of association, in particular for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI),” the report read.
“There were several reports the
government or its agents committed arbitrary and unlawful killings. The
national police, army, and other security services used lethal and excessive
force to disperse protesters and apprehend criminals and suspects and committed
other extrajudicial killings.
“The government took steps to
investigate alleged abuses but fewer steps to prosecute officials who committed
violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government.
Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. The government did
not adequately investigate or prosecute most of the major outstanding
allegations of human rights violations by the security forces or the majority
of cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power.
“Reports indicated soldiers,
police, CJTF and others committed sexual exploitation and abuse of women and
girls and such exploitation and abuse was a major concern in state-run IDP
camps, informal camps, and local communities in and around Maiduguri, the Borno
State capital, and across the Northeast.
“Authorities generally did not
hold police, military, or other security force personnel accountable for the
use of excessive or deadly force or for the deaths of persons in custody.
“Due to the inability of law
enforcement agencies to control societal violence, the government continued to
turn to the armed forces to address internal security concerns. The
constitution authorizes the use of the military to “[s]uppress insurrection and
act in aid of civil authorities to restore order.” Armed forces were part of
continuing joint security operations in the Niger Delta, Middle Belt, and
Northwest.”
On the state of detention centres
across the nation, the report said the prisons remain largely overcrowded,
while the inmates are tortured and and their rights violated.
According to the report, some of
the inmates have remained in detention over loss of their case files by the
authorities.
The report added that while the
government did not interfere with the investigation and reportage of the abuses,
it was quick to dismiss them without investigating them.
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com