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Tag: Rights

  • Lawyer slams IG, Udu police DPO, others with N50m suit for breach of fundamental rights

    Lawyer slams IG, Udu police DPO, others with N50m suit for breach of fundamental rights

    The Publicity Secretary of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Udu Branch, E. E. Igbighogho Esq has slammed a N50M suit jointly and severally against the Divisional Police Officer, Ovwian Division, CSP Aliyu Shabba and five others for violating his fundamental Rights while on lawful duty at the station.

    Igbighogho in suit No: EHC/FHR/39/2022 at the Effurun High Court, Delta State is praying for an order of the honourable court that the forceful removal and detention till date of his android handset on the 5th of August by the 6th Respondent upon order of 5th Respondent is illegal and unconstitutional.

    He further prayed the court that the refusal of the 5th Respondent to release the Applicant’s android handset upon demand and the abusive treatment metres to him is illegal and unconstitutional.

    The suit had the Chairman Police Service Commission, Inspector General of police, Commissioner of Police, Delta State, CSP Aliyu Shabba, ASP Imrana Yusuf and Inspector Lawrence as 1st to 6th Respondents with E.E. Igbighogho as the Applicant.

    It was gathered that the lawyer had gone to the station to solicit for a client when the 5th and 6th Respondents maltreated him and seized his phone, bragging that he can go to hell and nothing will happen.

    Our Correspondent gathered that the police has been given 48 hours by the court to show cause. The suit is coming up Friday 12th August for hearing.

    The Human Rights Lawyer is praying the court for the sum of N50M only as damages against the Respondents jointly and severally for breach of the Applicant’s Fundamental Rights and inhumane treatment.

    Asked to comment on the suit on WhatsApp, Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe said he cannot comment as the document sent wasn’t clear enough to read.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your rights and privileges as a son [2]

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your rights and privileges as a son [2]

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Ephesians 1:3-22 

    Meditation verse: 

    “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your  salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of  promise” (Ephesians 1:13).

    Other privileges you enjoy as an adopted son, are: 

    The presence of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the guarantor and seal upon  your life that proves that you are a child of God. He is in you to teach, comfort,  intercede and help you in your walk with God. John 14:26 says “But the Helper,  the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all  things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you”. I have  received help from the Holy Spirit on several occasions in different areas of my  life. From showing me the specific area to focus on and study, when I had to  write an exam shortly after recuperating from a failed surgery, exposing attacks  of the enemy over my marriage before it was too late and teaching me several  life skills. The messages I write in this daily devotional are downloaded into my  spirit by the Holy Spirit. The greatest resource we have as Christians is the  presence of God’s Spirit in us, but you must be sensitive to His prompting if you  are to benefit from His leading.  

    An everlasting hope: Christ in you is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) and it is  an unending one. When all is said and done here on earth, you will reign with  Christ in eternity. John 14:2-3 says “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if  it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go  and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that  where I am, there you may be also”. 

    If you have not yet asked Jesus Christ to come into your heart, you are not yet a  son. Why not do so right away so that you can be adopted into the family of God  and begin to enjoy these privileges. Here’s a prayer you can say right away: “Dear Jesus, I believe that You died to save me from all my sins. Today, I confess  that I am a sinner and ask for forgiveness. I invite you into my heart and accept  you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive all my sins, fill me with Your Spirit and help me to live my life for You”. Congratulations!

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your rights and privileges as a son [1]

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Your rights and privileges as a son [1]

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Ephesians 1:3-22 

    Meditation verse: 

    “Having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according  to the good pleasure of His will” (Ephesians 1:5). 

    At salvation, you were adopted as a son into the family of God, through Jesus  Christ and this entitles you to certain privileges. Ephesians 1:18-19 says that “the  eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what the  hope of His calling is, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the  saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe,  according to the working of His mighty power”. As a son you have access to: 

    The name of Jesus Christ: Philippians 2:9-11 states: “Therefore God also has  highly exalted Him and given Him the name, which is above every name, that at  the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on  earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that  Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The name of Jesus is a refuge  and strong tower in times of trouble. I had a scary experience one night. Whilst  asleep, I suddenly became aware of a dark presence in the room. I tried to move  and open my eyes, but couldn’t, it was like an invincible force was holding me  down. I was very conscious of what was going on but could neither move nor  open my eyes. Then I realised my spirit was calling the name “Jesus”, so I tried  to open my mouth to call out the name, but my lips were sealed. I kept struggling  to open my mouth and eventually succeeded in screaming “Jesus”. As soon as I  called out that name, the invincible presence disappeared, and I was able to  open my eyes and turn around.  

    The blood of Jesus: Revelations 12:11 states “And they overcame him (the  accuser) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”  Hebrews 10:19 says “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest  by the blood of Jesus”. You have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. In your  redemption package, you can boldly access forgiveness for your sins, healing of  all diseases, wholeness, sanctification, restoration, deliverance, and victory  through the blood of Jesus. What an awesome privilege to be a son of The Most  High God.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • Murder: Convicted police officer, Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to violating late George Floyd’s rights

    Murder: Convicted police officer, Derek Chauvin pleads guilty to violating late George Floyd’s rights

    Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis policeman convicted of murdering African-American George Floyd, pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating Floyd’s civil rights –- his first acknowledgement of criminal wrongdoing in the case.

    Chauvin pleaded guilty in the courthouse in St. Paul, Minnesota, to federal charges of use of excessive force for holding his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly 10 minutes on May 25, 2020 until Floyd expired.

    Floyd’s death, which was filmed by a bystander on a cellphone, set off months of Black Lives Matter demonstrations throughout the country over police abuse of African-Americans.

    Chauvin was convicted in a state trial of murder in June and was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

    But he has not admitted guilt to the murder charges and is appealing that conviction.

    Chauvin had originally pleaded innocent in the federal rights case. But the judge told him that if he had not changed that to guilty, he faced possible life imprisonment, according to local WCCO TV.

    After he reversed his plea, federal prosecutors said Chauvin could be sentenced to between 20 and 25 years, served concurrently with and beyond the sentence in the murder conviction.

    That ensures the 45-year-old former Minneapolis policeman will spend years in prison, whatever happens with his appeal on the murder charge.

  • 2023 presidency: We cannot be intimidated to give up our rights to South, Northern groups reject ‘unconstitutional’ zoning arrangements

    2023 presidency: We cannot be intimidated to give up our rights to South, Northern groups reject ‘unconstitutional’ zoning arrangements

    The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) has opposed the zoning arrangement by political parties, describing it as unconstitutional and a plot to intimidate the north from contesting for the presidency in 2023.

    Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, CNG spokesperson, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman said the group aligns with the position of the Northern Governors’ Forum, asking the political parties to jettison the idea of zoning the post to the southern region of Nigeria.

    According to him, the north will not be obliged to any zoning arrangement for elective positions in the forthcoming general election.

    “We find the renewed desperation by the south to threaten [the] northern people’s right to franchise a deliberate attempt to bastardise democracy, cause greater instability in the guise of contentious undemocratic power shift arrangement and therefore unacceptable,” he said.

    “The CNG after due consultation with stakeholders, leaders and elders has categorically resolved to firmly and solidly align completely with the position taken by the Northern Elders Forum as expressed by Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed and that of the Northern Governors’ Forum that zoning of elective positions is unconstitutional, undemocratic and must be jettisoned.”

    The CNG spokesman further explained that the northern region is a major stakeholder in Nigeria, especially with respect to elections.

    The group’s comment came eight days after the governors of the 19 northern states opposed the call by their southern counterparts that the Presidency should be zoned to the south in 2023.

    After an emergency meeting with traditional rulers in the region at the Government House in Kaduna State on September 27, the Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, read out the communique containing the resolutions on behalf of his colleagues.

    According to the governors, zoning the office of the president as being agitated by southern governors is against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    They stated that any president elected must meet the constitutional requirements which include scoring the majority votes, and polling at least 25 per cent of the votes cast in two-thirds of the 36 states of the federation.

    Governor Lalong noted that although some northern governors had endorsed the power shift to the south, the regional governors collectively fault such calls.

     

  • Nnamdi Kanu’s rights must not be trampled upon in your custody, World Igbo Congress tells FG

    Nnamdi Kanu’s rights must not be trampled upon in your custody, World Igbo Congress tells FG

    The World Igbo Congress (WIC) is calling on the Nigerian authorities to ensure the safety of the self-acclaimed leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, saying the rights of the secessionist leader must be protected.

    Kanu who jumped bail in 2017 was rearrested and brought back to Nigeria on Tuesday. He is facing treason charges and was remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) following an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

    But the World Igbo Congress in a statement signed and issued by its chairman Anthony Ejiofor and spokesperson Basil Onwukwe, urged the federal government to treat the IPOB leader according to universally accepted laws.

    The group on Wednesday called on the “Nigerian Government to ensure that Nnamdi Kanu is treated in accordance with the rules and international conventions that guarantee that his rights and personal safety are protected.”

    Kanu, a UK citizen, had been in the country after jumping bail. The government did not, however, say where he was rearrested, triggering speculations about how he was recaptured.

    The WIC, however, claims that the Biafran agitator was not captured in the UK and called on the British Government and the international community to investigate the circumstances surrounding Kanu’s rearrest.

    “The UK government needs to investigate the collusion of any other country or party in this saga,” the Igbo group further stated.

    “The government of the US, the UN and the international community to take note of the ongoing abuse of human rights in Nigeria including this matter of abduction of Nnamdi Kanu.”

    In 2017, the Nigerian government proscribed IPOB and designated it as a terrorist organization but the World Igbo Congress has faulted the move, accusing the government of double standards and targeting the Igbo.

    “The world has taken notice of the disparity in the treatment of Boko Haram insurgents and Fulani herdsmen who have been designated as terrorists by known international agencies,” it added in the statement where it called for the protection of the rights of Ndigbo.

    “These killers are routinely arrested, compensated, released, and oftentimes absorbed into the Nigerian security services. On the other hand, the Igbo has been subjected to massive shoot-at-sight order, arrests and abduction. We would like to emphasize that no government in the world or any international security agency has designated IPOB as a terrorist organization and Nnamdi Kanu is not on any terrorist watchlist anywhere in the world.”

  • Respect citizens’ right, reverse suspension of Twitter, U.S. tells FG

    Respect citizens’ right, reverse suspension of Twitter, U.S. tells FG

    The President Joe Biden-led United States government has called on the Nigerian government to respect the rights of its citizens to freely express themselves by reversing its suspension of Twitter’s operations in the West African country.

    In a statement issued on Thursday evening by the spokesperson of the Department of State Ned Price, the US explained that freedom of expression and access to information are both essential ingredients in any democratic setting.

    “Unduly restricting the ability of Nigerians to report, gather, and disseminate opinions and information has no place in a democracy. Freedom of expression and access to information both online and offline are foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies,” read a statement posted on the Department of State’s website.

    “We support Nigeria as it works towards unity, peace, and prosperity. As its partner, we call on the government to respect its citizens’ right to freedom of expression by reversing this suspension.”

  • ‘Mum I blame you’ – Ozioma Onyenweaku

    ‘Mum I blame you’ – Ozioma Onyenweaku

    By OZIOMA ONYENWEAKU

    Do you recall the sexual assault case I used as an example last time? I stated there that the girl would not have forgiven her mother if she was eventually violated by her father. A lot of people have asked me why I felt so; and why the girl would blame her mother and not her father.

    Is that also your question? It is not that I ‘feel’ that the girl would blame her mother. I know so. I have interacted and involved a lot in children matters to know so. She, sure, would hate her father for violating her but she would blame her mother and might go as far as hating her mother too; that, I can conveniently tell you. You see, children, have a huge expectation of their mothers; expectation next to what we expect of God.

    Children actually see mothers as capable of doing possibly anything. Mothers can fix anything; virtually everything. I remember when my little boy then asked me to remove his face and give him his sister’s kind of face. Funny, isn’t it? But he was quite serious.

    To him, mum could do it! I found myself sweating. I just did not want to tell him mum wouldn’t be able to do that. However, I handled it perfectly well! I came out victorious! Yeah! (You’ve got to write in if you want to know how I did it without disappointing the boy). Take it from me, children believe mothers have special powers, and unseen eyes all over their bodies to observe and discern what goes on around them. I once asked a girl why she believed her mother should have known about an issue. Her reply? “Is she not a mother?” Children simply want you mothers to pick the clues, observe the signs, and discern the changes. One of the participants at a workshop for girls, in giving a vote of thanks, requested my team and I to plead with mothers to sit up and be more involved in their children’s lives. She bitterly complained that many mothers did not know what went on in their homes, the companies their children kept, the habits they had picked, and (in her words) “and they call themselves ‘mothers’” I believe that mothers are naturally endowed with certain foresight. Mothers are quite observant, quite intuitive, meticulous, and are given to details. It is the application of these natural endowments that stand the mothers out, and make them the pride of the home. We are going to delve more into this.

    Meantime, let us take a look at this true life story as a case study. Rose (name has been changed) was a lively 12 year old girl whose mother was her world. Rose’s father had died before Rose turned 7. Rose was the only child. She had an uncle that she was very fond of. Rose was always at her best any time this uncle visited; she would jump on him, hug him and be all over him. The uncle, on his own part, was showering Rose with many gifts. A loving uncle! On one of his visits, Rose’s mother left Rose and her uncle at home and went to the market. That day the devil struck! Rose was raped by her uncle. Rose cried herself to sleep. When Rose’s mother came back, Rose did not come out of her room to welcome the mother as she was wont to do.

    The uncle was in the sitting room. Rose’s mother had to call out several times before Rose sluggishly came out to greet her mother. When she came out, she smiled at no one and spoke to no one. The mother was surprise, and asked if Rose was not happy that she was back. Rose said nothing. “Maybe, because the big girl just woke up from sleep”, the uncle playfully interjected, and tried touching Rose; Rose cringed and drew away from him. Rose’s mother accepted waking up from sleep to be the reason for the change in attitude, and did nothing.

    That, of course, was the beginning of several sexual abuses that Rose suffered at the hand of her uncle. Rose grew to hate her mother. What do you think could be Rose’s reason for hating her mother over the rape incident? Can you identify the underlying cause of what happened between Rose and her uncle? Do you see this case as revealing any area for parents to work on in safeguarding their children against sexual abuse? Please write in. See you next week. Stay safe.

  • Consumers, producers get website for rights protection

    Consumers, producers get website for rights protection

    An independent online website has been formally launched in Lagos for protection of the rights of consumers and producers.

    The website known as Feedbackhall will give consumers and producers the opportunity to send feedbacks on products and services.

    Pat Utomi, a Professor of Political Economics, said at the launch that the platform would relieve many consumers being hurt but lacked outlets to complain.

    “There is the need for people to be assisted to find their voices; in consumer protection, I don’t think that the civil society has done enough, neither has media.

    “Consumer protection needs part of activism from the media and other organised people to help those complaining to find their voices.
    “Getting realistic feedback is critical for competiveness,” Utomi, the Chairman of the occasion, said.

    The professor said that aim of Feedbackhall should be how producers and consumers should get better.

    In a keynote address, the Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Mr Babatunde Irukera, said that information was key in the protection of consumers and producers’ rights.

    Irukera spoke on: “Information as a Tool of Accountability”.
    “There is no space abused in our country than the consumer space. Full disclosure to consumers is not just the best but the only dimension that would modify content.

    “It is more important now that technology changes everything and improves everything,’’ he said.

    He advised the owner of the website, Dr Catherine Kanu, to determine to overcome any discouragement.

    “You are providing a critical interphase that industries may not necessarily be ready to support.’’

    Mr Mathias Bassey, who represented the Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), described Feedbackhall as an eye-opener.

    Bassey said that SON’s Feedback Unit would partner with Feedbackhall to promote protection of the rights of consumers and producers.
    The Chief Executive Officer, Feedbackhall, Kanu, said that the aim of the website was to give consumers the power to drive innovation and change products.

    Kanu said that it would encourage sharing and effective utilisation of product experiences for the benefit of society.

    According to her, Feedbackhall would encourage consumers to provide feedbacks on products and services and encourage producers to use feedbacks to develop user-centred innovative products.

    “Feedbackhall believes that these aims have a mutual relationship because, as consumers share experiences, responsive producers could use the information to improve their products,’’ she said.

    According to her, new entrepreneurs will also benefit from the website by using shared experiences as a guide to develop products, while researchers will obtain reliable information and consumers’ protection and regulatory agencies gain insight into consumer issues.

     

  • PDP begs Trump to caution Buhari on rights abuses in Nigeria

    As President Muhammadu Buhari begins his official visit to the United States of America on Sunday (today), the Peoples Democratic Party has drawn the attention of President Donald Trump to alleged constitutional and human rights violations in Nigeria.

    Also, the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Uche Secondus, on Saturday, accused Buhari of running a “police state”, warning that clamping down on those with opposing views was capable of truncating democracy.

    Addressing journalists at a press conference on the state of the nation in Abuja, the spokesman for the party, Mr. Kola Ologbondiya, urged Trump to stand up for democracy and take Buhari to task on constitutional and human rights violations in Nigeria under his watch.

    Lamenting that the nation had become a police state, he said Buhari had taken the country back to what it was in 1984, when the military under Buhari, took over the government violently.

    Ologbondiyan said Buhari’s administration had destroyed the nation’s democratic order and eroded constitutionally- guaranteed rights of citizens, while foisting a siege mentality on the people.

    He said, “Nigeria is facing a perilous time; our constitution has been technically suspended; we have now become a police state; governance has reverted to the nightmares of the 1984 era, when draconian leaders held sway and forcefully held our people under the grips of military Decree 2.

    “Currently, there is a total collapse of respect for constitutionally-guaranteed personal freedom. There is no regard for the natural course of justice, life in Nigeria is gradually returning to the state of nature and there is fear everywhere.

    “Today, Nigerians are being hounded, arrested and directly detained on ‘order from above’, without warrant. Citizens are locked up in dehumanising detention centres without access to medical care and legal assistance just for holding political opinions that run contrary to the views of those in power at the centre.”

    Citing the recent United States Department of States report, which alleged cases of extreme human rights violations under the Buhari administration, Ologbondiyan called on Trump to ask Buhari questions on the way he runs his government.

    He added, “Indeed, the height of human rights abuse being witnessed in our country today is the worst in our national contemporary history.

    “As we speak, government’s inaction and aloofness have led to escalation of killings in Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kogi, Kaduna, Borno, Yobe, Nasarawa, Edo, Zamfara, Ekiti and Enugu by insurgents and marauders, who are having a field day as the Presidency has abandoned governance for 2019 reelection bid.”

    Secondus, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Ike Aboyi, said nobody “is safe again in Nigeria under President Buhari. “

    The PDP chairman, however, said Nigerians would never surrender their sovereignty to an individual.

    He added, “Legislators are not safe, judges are living and working in fear; the media are being harassed, security agencies have all become tools of oppression for the government. Dictatorial signs are all over the place, threatening our democracy.”

    Meanwhile, American companies in Nigeria have advised that infrastructure development and intelligence on counter-terrorism should be part of the agenda of Buhari’s meeting with his US counterpart.

    The companies are operating under the auspices of the American Business Council, an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce.