How Lawyers Can End Human Rights Abuses In Nigeria – Falana-Led Group, ASCAB

Chairman of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), Femi Falana (SAN), has said that human rights including incessant arrests and detention of innocent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies can be brought to an end by Nigerian lawyers.

According to Falana, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which is the national body of Nigerian lawyers should as a matter of urgency go beyond verbal commitments to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights in Nigeria and mobilise its members to ensure compliance with the several regional and international human rights treaties which have been ratified by Nigeria.

The ASCAB chairman noted that in celebrating the annual Human Rights Day on December 10, 2022, the NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikayu (SAN), in a press statement stated that the NBA under his leadership would “continue to champion and uphold our fundamental human rights as enshrined in the three landmark documents we subscribe to as a Nation: Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.”

But he insisted that beyond the verbalisation of such commitment, it is high time the NBA actualised “the promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights”, which is one of the core aims and objectives boldly enshrined in its constitution.

“In particular, the NBA should adopt urgent measures to end the incessant arrest and detention of innocent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies,” he added.

The Senior Advocate said that to achieve the objective, the NBA should direct the members of the human rights committees of its 128 branches to accompany Chief Magistrates during the monthly visits to all police stations in each of the magisterial districts in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

He noted that such visits will end the incessant arrest and detention of suspects and other people as the Magistrates are empowered to grant bail to suspects, order their release or direct that they should be arraigned in courts of competent jurisdiction.

Falana recalled that about three years ago, he was “compelled to institute the case of Femi Falana (SAN) v Chief Judge of the Federal High Court (Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/764/2019) at the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court seeking to compel the defendant to designate Judges to conduct monthly visits to the other detention facilities in accordance with section 34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act”.

He said, “Incidentally, Mr. Yakubu Maikayu (SAN) is the counsel for the defendant. Although the defendant has not adduced any reason for not carrying out his statutory duty, my locus standi to institute and maintain the action has been challenged. In view of his current leadership of the NBA, it is hoped that Mr. Maikayu (SAN) will prevail on his client to designate the Judges to conduct monthly visits to the detention facilities of the armed forces, anti-graft agencies, security agencies and other law enforcement bodies authorized to arrest and detain criminal suspects.”

He pointed out that the NBA President and other national officers are official visitors to all the correctional centres in the country by virtue of section 21 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.

He said, “The NBA leaders should visit the correctional centres regularly and ensure that the rights of convicts and other inmates are respected in line with the provisions of the Nigerian Correctional Services Act and the Regulations made pursuant to the Act.

“Nigerian lawyers should apply the provisions of the Anti Torture Act, 2017 to end the torture of suspects and other people in Nigeria. The NBA ought to let all police and other law enforcement officers know that the penalty for subjecting suspects to torture is 25 years imprisonment and that officers who torture suspects to death are liable to be tried for murder.

“In addition to the prosecution of torturers, the victims of torture are entitled to sue for monetary compensation.”

He argued that although the Administration of Criminal Justice Act has since 2015 restricted the prosecution of criminal cases to legal practitioners, “lay police have continued to prosecute criminal cases in our courts.

“The NBA should ensure the immediate implementation of section 106 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and section 66 of the Police Establishment Act which have prohibited the prosecution of criminal cases in all Nigerian courts.

“Not less than four judgments of domestic and regional courts have prohibited parade of criminal suspects on the grounds that it constitutes a breach of the fundamental right to fair hearing guaranteed by section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

“The NBA should enforce the terms of the said judgments. More so that the practice is discriminatory as only poor suspects are paraded by the police and the anti-graft agencies.

“Finally, the NBA should request the National Judicial Council to direct the Chief Judges of the Federal High Court and State High Courts to comply with the letter and spirit of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 by assigning human rights cases expeditiously and ensuring that they take precedence over other matters including political cases.”