Falana tells Buhari to end impunity for killings and violence

Falana tells Buhari to end impunity for killings and violence

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana SAN has urged “the security agencies and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to respect human rights and uphold the rule of law in their response to violence and crime in the country,” arguing that, “preventing and combating violence and crime must not put security before human rights, which can lead to erosion of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizens.”

Falana’s statement is coming on the heels of allegations by Amnesty International that at least 35 Nigerians were killed during air attacks launched by the military on villages beset by communal violence.  According to Amnesty, clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna have resulted in 168 deaths in January 2018 alone.

Falana said, “The government is failing in its most basic duty of protecting citizens and ensuring the rule of law. I am very concerned that these killings may go unpunished, as law enforcement and security agencies are rarely held accountable for serious human rights violations. To prevent further killings and violence, the authorities must investigate these latest allegations and bring anyone responsible to justice.”

Falana also said, “In failing to put in place appropriate and credible law enforcement measures to prevent killings, and fully investigate and punish perpetrators, the Nigerian authorities have neither respected, nor met their national and international legal obligations, including to exercise due diligence to protect human rights.”

The statement read in part: “This government cannot secure effective protection of the right to life, liberty and security of the person without a serious political investment in public security with respect for all human rights. Indeed, true security requires full protection of all human rights for all.”

“The government’s failure on internal security is also a serious breach of the government’s human rights obligations and commitments, including under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party. In addition, Nigeria has made the African Charter part of its domestic laws.”

“Both the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantee the right to life, physical integrity, and liberty, as well as rights related to due process. As a corollary, the government is required to ensure the effective functioning and operation of governmental apparatus and, in general, all the structures through which public power is exercised, so that it is capable of ensuring the free and full enjoyment of all human rights for all.”

“These Charter-based obligations must be performed in good faith, in keeping with Articles 26, 27 and 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties."

“On the right to security of the person, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the body charged with the responsibility to oversee states parties’ compliance with the African Charter has interpreted this right to include “the right to national and individual security. According to the Commission, national security examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from external threats, such as invasion, terrorism, and violence. “Individual security on the other hand can be looked at in two angles - public and private security.”

“By public security, the law examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from abuse by military and law enforcement officials, and by private security, the law examines how the State protects the physical integrity of its citizens from abuse by other citizens (third parties or non-state actors).”

“The government must truly make security and safety of those who live in Nigeria a public policy priority by tackling the root cause of violence and crime. Victims of violence and crimes must have effective access to legal and health services, and should have access to an effective remedy, including reparation. The government should also ensure that law enforcement and security agencies have the personnel and infrastructure to provide quality services and to ensure that they do not engage in indiscriminate killing of innocent citizens.”