The Nation Newspaper

Tag: freedom

  • Lagos CJ grants freedom to 20 prison inmates

    Lagos CJ grants freedom to 20 prison inmates

    The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade Tuesday granted freedom to 20 inmates of the Ikoyi prison awaiting trial.

    The Chief Judge had visited the prison as part of the activities marking the beginning of the 2016/2017 legal year.

    She said they were released on exercise of powers granted her under the Criminal Justice (Release from Custody), Special Provisions Act, Cap C40 2004 Laws of the Federation.
    Justice Atilade said those granted freed were among  a total of 104 names of inmates whose names were submitted by the Prison Decongestion Committee headed by Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye for consideration, out of which only 20 are worthy.

    She admonished those released from prison custody “to go and sin no more”.

    She reiterated that prison visit is one of the key pillars of her administration to regularly visit the custodial institutions of Lagos State with a view to granting amnesty to eligible and qualified inmates.

    The Chief Judge however lamented the high number of inmates in awaiting trials in prisons.
    She said: “A number of factors have contributed to the large number of awaiting trial inmates. These include ongoing investigations by police, the time lapse between the issuance of the DPP’s advice and filing of the case in court, operational delays such as transportation from prison to court and lack of legal representation.”

    Since her Inauguration as Chief Judge in 2014, Justice Atilade had granted freedom to a total of 265 prisoners. Thirty-seven inmates were released between September 2014 and September 2015 from Ikoyi and Kirikiri prisons while 228 were also released between September 2015 and September 2016.

    The Deputy Comptroller of Prison (DCP), Ikoyi Prison, Ezugwu Julius, lamented the over population of inmates at the Ikoyi Prison.

    ” Ikoyi prison was built in 1955 with a capacity of 800 inmates. However, our open out today stands at 2,358 inmates with awaiting trial persons numbering 2,037 out of which 321 inmates are convicts,” he said.

    He urged the Chief Judge to help stem the tide of awaiting trial person’s phenomenon and ultimately decongest our prisons’ through speedy conclusion of cases in courts.

    The DCP Julius said those granted freedom have been trained in various skills such as soap making, catering, among others, aimed at making them useful to the society following discharge from custody.

  • Cyberstalking vs. freedom of speech

    Sir: I have always maintained that the problem we have in Nigeria is not a dearth or lack of laws and policies. No. We have very good laws. But we lack a system that is capable of executing or enforcing these laws. A couple of months ago, there was hoopla about a proposed social media bill. Apart from some ungodly aspects of that bill, we do not even need it not because there were no offences in our cyberspace to curtail, but because we already had a law to deal with cyber offences: The Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015.

    The Act provides an effective, unified and comprehensive legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of cybercrimes in Nigeria. The act also ensures the protection of critical national information infrastructure, and promotes cybersecurity and the protection of computer systems and networks, electronic communications, data and computer programs, intellectual property and privacy rights.

    Section 24 of the Act defines, describes and penalizes a crime known as cyberstalking:

    “Any person who knowingly or intentionally sends a message or other matter by means of computer systems or network that —

    … (b) he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another or causes such a message to be sent: commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not more than N7, 000, 000.00 or imprisonment for a term of not more than 3 years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

    (2) Any person who knowingly or intentionally transmits or causes the transmission of any communication through a computer system or network — … (c) containing any threat to harm the property or REPUTATION OF THE ADDRESSEE or of another or the reputation of a deceased person or any threat to accuse… commits an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction— … (ii) in the case of paragraph (c) … of this subsection, to imprisonment for a term of 5 years and/or a minimum fine of N15, 000,000.00 “.

    Reading this provisions of the Act, one will wonder how enforcing this law infringes the Fundamental Human Right of Freedom of Expressionencapsulated in section 39 of the 1999 Constitution as amended that says:”(1) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.”

    Freedom of expression or speech is not the same thing as “… knowingly or intentionally send(ing) a message or other matter by means of computer systems or network that —… (b) … (is) false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, ill will or needless anxiety to another …

    (2) … knowingly or intentionally transmit(ing) or caus(ing) the transmission of any communication through a computer system or network — … (c) containing any threat to harm the property or REPUTATION OF THE ADDRESSEE or of another or the reputation of a deceased person …”

    You can criticize. You can rant. You can hold an opinion. You can blog. You can receive and publish intelligence from a source without revealing your source. You can damage anybody’s reputation with THE TRUTH. I repeat with the truth. But not with lies.

    The offence of cyberstalking is not an infringement of the Right to freedom of expression or speech unless you are saying that to propagate falsehood or tell fabricated lies on social media is what you understand as freedom of expression. That is not the understanding of the law.

    Let me be clear. You can be arrested and prosecuted for cyberstalking for just sharing even if you are not the one that wrote the original post or article. By sharing you are liable for the same offence as the original author.

    Freedom of speech is not the same thing as freedom to fabricate lies and disseminate falsehood. Those who fight to uphold the right to freedom of speech should also be seen fighting to defeat those who fabricate lies and propagate falsehood. We cannot enjoy Freedom of Speech when falsehood is allowed to reign supreme.

     

    • First Baba Isa (FBI),

    Abuja.

  • Kidnapped immigration officer regains freedom

    A Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) officer, Peter Omofulue,  who was abducted on Monday has regained freedom.

    It was learnt that the man resurfaced yesterday evening a day after his abductors contacted his family demanding N30million as ransom.

    Omofulue, an officer attached to the Ikoyi passport office was whisked away by gunmen around 6:30am at a jetty in Ikorodu, while trying to board a boat to work.

    His abductors, The Nation gathered, shot sporadically to scare people before whisking him away in an unregistered vehicle.

    The victim was said to have notified his relatives through a text message of his kidnap, who later reported the matter to the police.

    But while the police were still plotting on how to track his abductors, the man resurfaced yesterday.

     

  • Abducted Kogi monarch regains freedom

    Abducted Kogi monarch regains freedom

    The paramount ruler of Elaite, in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of Kogi State, Chief Ahmed Aminu Akwu, who was kidnapped last week Friday, has regained his freedom.

    The Ehtu of Elaite was allegedly kidnapped close to his domain, while returning from Adogo, headquaters  of Ajaokuta, on Friday night.

    Speaking with The Nation shortly after his release Wednesday in his palace, the monarch expressed gratitude to Allah, the state governor and the people of his domain, for his safe release

    He said his abductors who later discovered that he was a traditional ruler, treated him very well.

    His eords: “On friday around 9pm, I was kidnapped, but today around 5pm, I was released without payi any money.

    “I thank Allah for bringing me back to my throne, I thank the governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and I thank my community.”

     

  • Jonathan visits freed foster father, laments kidnapping

    Jonathan visits freed foster father, laments kidnapping

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Wednesday, lamented increasing trend of abductions for ransom across the country particularly in the Niger Delta region.

    Jonathan was said to have condemned kidnapping when he visited the home of his freed foster father, Chief Nitabai Inegite, who regained freedom after spending about a month in kidnappers’ den.

    It was gathered that the former President paid the visit in the company of some prominent traditional rulers from his Otuoke community in Ogbia Local Government Area.

    He reportedly appealed to security agencies to stem the tide by doubling their efforts.

    Relieving his ordeals, Inegite, said though he was not maltreated by his abductors, he was happy to be home.

    He expressed sadness over the killing of his nephew Samuel Oki by the kidnappers.

    He said he appealed to the kidnappers, who stormed his residence on two speedboats, to leave Oki alone.

    Inengite who said he was not aware that they later killed his nephew, thanked his sympathisers.

    King Lot Ogiasa, Paramount ruler Otuoke, King Lawson the clan head of Ogbia kingdom of chiefs were among the traditional rulers who accompanied the former President.

    Inengite who was abducted on February 17, was on Tuesday released from captivity.

  • We didn’t lose struggle for freedom of our people, says Umana

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the April 11, 2015, election in Akwa Ibom State, Umana Umana, yesterday said despite the Supreme Court judgment affirming Governor Udom Emmanuel’s election, the battle to liberate Akwa Ibom people was irreversible.

    Umana, who led other chieftains of APC at a rally in support of the party’s House of Assembly candidate, Gabriel Akpan, for the March 12 rerun, also said the Supreme Court verdict cannot dampen the resolve of Akwa Ibom people to realise their dream of a free, liberated and prosperous state.

    He said the consciousness of the people to fight for their rights had been awakened, adding that the party didn’t lose the struggle for freedom of the people.

    “We didn’t lose the struggle for freedom of our people. Never again will anybody take our people for granted. Never again will anybody hold our people hostage. The consciousness of our people to stand up for their rights has been awakened. We fought a good fight.”

    According to Umana, in the course of the struggle, some people paid the supreme price.

    Umana said: “We lost over 30 people during the presidential and governorship elections. Notably, we lost Okon Uwah, a former deputy speaker, murdered by alleged PDP thugs. We must ensure that these patriots did not die in vain. I extend the condolences of our party to the families of the victims of  state sponsored electoral violence.

    “We had hoped that these families will have a sense of justice when we challenged the fraudulent governorship elections of April 11, 2015. But this was not to be. We couldn’t get the reprieve which would have consoled us and the bereaved families through the framework of our legal system.

    “I know that our people are justifiably angry and disappointed. I share in your disappointment and anger. But we should never lose hope, especially because we were not defeated. After the judgment of men, comes the judgment of God.  Those who have conspired against our people will be held to account by God.

    “Let’s thank God, for all things work together for good for them that love God. Our trust in God should never waiver, no matter what we see today. We will laugh last. God bless Akwa Ibom State. We may have moved on following the judgment of the Supreme Court but that does not change the fact that we had the most fraudulent and bloody elections in the history of our state.”

    Umana thanked the elders and leaders who stood by the party saying: “A big thank you to our leaders who stood by the people. Attempts to bribe and compromise them failed. History will note that they were men of integrity and honour who did not betray their people.  By their actions and example they demonstrated that we cannot all be bought with money.”

    Also speaking, a former Minister of Petroluem and member of APC’s Board of Trustees Atuekong Don Etiebet said the era of electoral impunity was over.

    He called on security operatives to play by the rules in the rerun election by remaining professional and non partisan in the discharge of their duties.

    He said: “Umana Umana is the governor the Supreme Court didn’t allow us to vote for. Don’t be discouraged because this is what happened in the march to freedom.”

    The state Chairman of APC, Dr. Amadu Attai, said despite the outcome of the Supreme Court, Umana remains the people’s governor and APC  the people’s party.

    Attai, however, called on Ibesikpo Asutan people to support the party’s candidate at the rerun.

    Others at the campaign train of the APC were the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang; Director General of Umana’s campaign organisation, Soni Udom; Umana’s deputy governorship candidate, Ben Ukpong.

  • Social Media Bill: An affront on freedom

    The proposed Social Media Bill has caused uproar in various segments of the nation. Activists and social media users have expressed their disgust at the bill which they regard as criminal and barbaric. To show the staunch rejection of the bill, Nigerians took to twitter using the #NoToSocialMediaBill hashtag.

    The bill, being sponsored by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah of the All Progressives Congress (APC), attempts to, inter alia, mandate that all petitioners, before making their petitions, get an affidavit from a court of law. Interestingly, the bill has passed the second reading and is left with just one stage before being forwarded to the president for assent.

    The reaction of the Presidency is quite relieving and comforting on the matter. President Muhammadu Buhari has shown once again that he is law abiding and well aware of the fundamental rights of the citizen. He has declined any connection to the draft bill and assured Nigerians that the bill, if passed, will never get his assent. This is as clarified by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, who reportedly said: “The President won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria”.

    Unfortunately, this comforting news may not be comforting on the long run. The bill even without the assent of the President can still be passed to law. According to Section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution, “Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required”. This provision gives the legislature the power to turn the bill into law even without the president’s approval. Hence, it seems to me that the President might not be all that is needed to be on the people’s side to win this war.

    Luckily, there is one entity that is bigger than the president, the National Assembly, and even the citizen as a whole. And then, our constitution. Interestingly, whoever this document supports wins every battle he engages in within the realm especially when such battle is connected to the provisions of chapter four of the document.

    A survey of this document is thus important at this moment, a task that this legal piece is orchestrated to embark on.

    Pursuant to Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. This provision gives every person the right to “speak and hear” information. The necessary words of this section in this situation we found ourselves are “without interference”. Everyone is free “to speak and to hear” without interference.

    The phrase “without interference” has received judicial clarification in the case of Tony Momoh v. The Senate to mean that nobody can be compelled to reveal the information (and its source) which he holds. In that case, Mr Tony Momoh, the then editor of the Daily Times published an article about senators lobbying for contracts from the executives. He was then summoned by the Senate Committee of Inquiry to disclose the source of his information. The court held that disclosure of his source will be a violation of his freedom of expression and that except the need for the source overrides this right, he cannot be compelled to disclose such.

    Also, in the case of Oyegbami v. A.G. Federation, the court posited that “no person, be he an editor, reporter, or publisher of a newspaper can be compelled to disclose his source of information for any matter published by that person and non-disclosure cannot be contempt of court”.

    From the foregoing, it has been established that the draft bill negates the dictate of section 39 and therefore inconsistent with the constitution.

    The constitution is the most powerful legal document and pursuant to Section 1(3) of the constitution, “If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

    The passage of this bill is, therefore, an act in nullity and the National Assembly is beckoned upon to strike it out.

     

    • Sodiq is a Law student, UNILAG

  • Social Media Bill, an affront on freedom

    The proposed Social Media Bill has caused uproar in various segments of the nation. Activists and social media users have expressed their disgust at the bill which they regard as criminal and barbaric. To show the staunch rejection of the bill, Nigerians took to twitter using the #NoToSocialMediaBill hashtag.

    The bill, being sponsored by Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah of the All Progressives Congress (APC), attempts to, inter alia, mandate that all petitioners, before making their petitions, get an affidavit from a court of law. Interestingly, the bill has passed the second reading and is left with just one stage before being forwarded to the president for assent.

    The reaction of the Presidency is quite relieving and comforting on the matter. President Muhammadu Buhari has shown once again that he is law abiding and well aware of the fundamental rights of the citizen. He has declined any connection to the draft bill and assured Nigerians that the bill, if passed, will never get his assent. This is as clarified by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Mallam Garba Shehu, who reportedly said: “The President won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria”.

    Unfortunately, this comforting news may not be comforting on the long run. The bill even without the assent of the President can still be passed to law. According to Section 58(5) of the 1999 Constitution, “Where the President withholds his assent and the bill is again passed by each House by two-thirds majority, the bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required”. This provision gives the legislature the power to turn the bill into law even without the president’s approval. Hence, it seems to me that the President might not be all that is needed to be on the people’s side to win this war.

    Luckily, there is one entity that is bigger than the president, the National Assembly, and even the citizen as a whole. And then, our constitution. Interestingly, whoever this document supports wins every battle he engages in within the realm especially when such battle is connected to the provisions of chapter four of the document.

    A survey of this document is thus important at this moment, a task that this legal piece is orchestrated to embark on.

    Pursuant to Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. This provision gives every person the right to “speak and hear” information. The necessary words of this section in this situation we found ourselves are “without interference”. Everyone is free “to speak and to hear” without interference.

    The phrase “without interference” has received judicial clarification in the case of Tony Momoh v. The Senate to mean that nobody can be compelled to reveal the information (and its source) which he holds. In that case, Mr Tony Momoh, the then editor of the Daily Times published an article about senators lobbying for contracts from the executives. He was then summoned by the Senate Committee of Inquiry to disclose the source of his information. The court held that disclosure of his source will be a violation of his freedom of expression and that except the need for the source overrides this right, he cannot be compelled to disclose such.

    Also, in the case of Oyegbami v. A.G. Federation, the court posited that “no person, be he an editor, reporter, or publisher of a newspaper can be compelled to disclose his source of information for any matter published by that person and non-disclosure cannot be contempt of court”.

    From the foregoing, it has been established that the draft bill negates the dictate of section 39 and therefore inconsistent with the constitution.

    The constitution is the most powerful legal document and pursuant to Section 1(3) of the constitution, “If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this constitution, this constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”

    The passage of this bill is, therefore, an act in nullity and the National Assembly is beckoned upon to strike it out.

    • Sodiq is a Law student, UNILAG

  • NGOs seek financial freedom for women

     

    The Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF) and Cherie Blair Foundation (UK), have urged the government to establish financial structures for supporting women to expand the frontiers of business development.

    Speaking at an event tagged “Evening of Celebration, Experience Sharing and Networking” organised by the foundation in Ikoyi, Lagos, Chief Executive Officer of Murtala Muhammed Foundation (MMF), Mrs. Aisha Murtala-Oyebode said there were a lot of challenges which budding women entrepreneurs experience. She added that if they receive help in terms of financial structures, their businesses will grow.

    Mrs. Aisha also advised the government not to make financial access difficult for women so that they would contribute towards the development of the economy.

    “It is important to create structures that will support women in terms of finance. Though they could have good mentors who help them in developing their businesses, if they don’t have access to finance, their businesses won’t grow.

    “So, what we need is the government to help us develop that capacity so that Nigeria women can attain their goals. It’s a one-year-programme and the women are doing extremely well.

    “It is not about financing alone; we have to stop making access to finance for women difficult. It is important that women maintain their families and keep their homes. At the same time, they need financial independence if they should realise their potential,” she added.

    She also advised women to be determined and not to be discouraged in their businesses.

    Continuing, she said: “We can do it and if we are determined, we are the ones who will help break some of those barriers that we talk about across the continent. We have the capacity; we can lead so that others will follow. Men should always support their wives.”

    In a chat with Southwest Report, Dr. Dotun Akande of Patrick Speech and Language Centre also called on the government to train and support women in different fields.

    He said: “What I think the government should do for women is the provision of capacity building which is key. When you train a woman, she trains the nation. It is important that government should continue to support women in terms of training in every field such as education, health, wellness and farming, among others. This is very important because if you support a woman you have supported the entire family.”

    During their presentation, women mentors from different fields complained about the Nigeria educational sector.

    President, International Federation of Business and Professional Women, Mrs Titilayo Adisa said the government should include thinking skill in school curriculum to help discover creativity and problem solvers among the students.

    “I want the school curriculum, from primary to the tertiary levels to include robotics planning in their curricula because if we are able to make thinking skill as part of our curricula, the thinking skill will allow us do creative and innovative thinking.

    “Again, we will have problem solvers. From youth, one can learn how to do other things because creativity is as important to education as literacy,” she said.

    Women should serve as change agent because the more we give to the society the more it gets better. It is not about the money but the passion.

     

  • Lover of strangled NYSC member regains freedom

    Mr Olusola Babalola, who is the lover of the 29-year old corps member strangled in Ibadan, Olusola Babalola, has regained freedom from police.

    Babalola was released Thursday evening according to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Oyo State, Mr Adekunle Ajisebutu.

    His release came after spending four nights in the police custody following the murder of Miss Abogunrin Sunday evening in Apata area of Ibadan, the state capital.

    He was arrested for being the last person to speak with the deceased on telephone before her death.

    Miss Abogunrin was raped and killed about 1,000 metres away from Babalola’s house. She was on her way to the latter when she was attacked by unknown criminals who raped and snuffed life out of her.

    The incident occurred at about 1:30 pm last Sunday.

    The love birds had slated their wedding for October 17, the day Omolola would have turned 29 years old.