A front-line human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has asked the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, to sanction some Attorneys General he accused of paying lip service to the ongoing war against terrorism and banditry in the country.
According to him, the AGs, for over three years, failed to
initiate criminal proceedings against suspected terrorists who were arrested in
their various states.
Falana made the disclosure on Wednesday, in a keynote
address he presented at an event the NBA organised to commemorate the 2025
International Human Rights Day.
He maintained that such legal inaction was part of the
reasons the President of America, Donald Trump, threatened to storm the country
“guns-a-blazing,” insisting that the AGs, who are lawyers, have not lived up to
expectations.
He said: “The reason us that we, as lawyers, are not serious
about challenging unlawful killings in our country. We are not serious.
“In 2016, the Attorney General of the Federation gave Fiat
(authority) to all the AGs of States to prosecute terrorism, which is a federal
offence.
“Up till today, no AG has ever charged anybody with
terrorism in the state. As you are aware, culpable homicide or murder; armed
robbery and kidnapping, are state offences.
“But how many state governments are charging people? How
many of our members who are AGs are doing so?
“In Benue and Plateau were a lot of reports are oozing out
in the country. In fact, killings there were alleged to be the reason why Trump
is threatening our country.
“You can quote me, in the last three years, not less than
1000 suspected bandits and terrorists had been arrested and paraded by police
in those states.
“Inspite of the fact that some of us have shouted ourselves
hoarse, not up to 10 have been prosecuted successfully.
“So, the NBA must call to order and sanction Attorneys
General that failed to prosecute terror suspects, bandits and other killers in
our country.”
Besides, Falana condemned what he described as illegal
detention centers where citizens are subjected to torture, saying “two of them
are so notorious, Wawa in Niger state and Tiger Base in Imo state.”
He decried that though illegal activities in the two
detention centered were discussed at the last NBA conference, the association
had yet to take any concrete action about it.
He stressed that both section 34 of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015, and section 70 of the Police Establishing
Act, made provisions for Magistrates and Chief Judges to visit various
detention facilities within their jurisdiction, not less than once every month
to review cases, grant bail to those that deserve it, and recommend appropriate
sanctions for security operatives that were found wanting.
Falana noted that extant laws in the country mandated every
police station to have a lawyer, a requirement he said would further create
employment opportunities.
He waved off federal government’s recent order for
recruitment of more soldiers and police officers, saying “it is not about the
number, but about equipping and motivating serving members of the armed forces
and police.”
“On insecurity, the man in charge of our space technology
has just come out to reveal that whereas the President approved funds of about
N20billion to acquire Satellite Facility in May this year, up till now, the
fund has not been released.
” The terrorists now have better Satellite facilities that
the Federal Republic of Nigeria. They cab monitor our schools and offices,
including the General we just lost, because we don’t have the facility to
monitor their own activities.
“So, the NBA must also support the call for the procurement
of equipment that will be necessary to fight terrorists
” Let me concluds by saying that the NBA, we have our job
cut out for us. But apart from a few lawyers, we are not prepared yet to defend
our people and insist on Section 14(2) (c) of the Constitution, to the effect
that security and welfare of our people shall be the primary purpose of
governance.
“The NBA cannot afford to organize conferences of this
nature without actualizing the resolutions,” Falana, SAN, added.
While Justice O. A. Obaseki-Osagie, who represented the
National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, in her goodwill message, tasked the
NBA on the protection of rights of Nigerian workers, on her part, the
Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said
there was need for citizens to continue to project the positive image of the
country.
In his welcome address, the 1st Vice President of the NBA,
Mr. Sabastian Anyia, said the event was organized to amplify some of the human
rights issues the country is grappling with.
“Today, we gather as a people, to remind ourselves of the
nation we want to become,” he added.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
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