The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is to probe the murder of Wilfred Aondosoo Tondo, a lecturer with the University of Mkar, Benue State, it was learnt.
NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Prof Bem Angwe, spoke in Abuja yesterday while receiving a petition from relatives of the deceased, led by their lawyer, S.A. Orkumah.
The petitioners alleged that powerful individuals in the state were planning to cover up the case.
They queried the role of the attorney general in the release of those arrested for the murder.
“There are strong political forces trying to thwart prosecution of the suspects, despite the overwhelming evidence linking them to the murder.
“It is clear from the above facts that a script is being played out by the Office of the AG.
“The innocent blood of the deceased and his family is crying for justice, while some political forces are out to scuttle justice,” the petition said.
Prof. Angwe assured the protesters the NHRC would unravel the mystery behind the murder.
“We will look into this petition and work within our powers to address the issues you have raised. I assure you of our commitment to ensuring the rights of Nigerians are respected and the law allowed to take its course, no matter who is concerned,” Angwe said.
The late Tondo was killed on August 10 at his quarters.
Tag: NHRC
-
NHRC to probe murder of Benue lecturer
-
NHRC to probe murder of Benue lecturer
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is to probe the murder of Wilfred Aondosoo Tondo, a lecturer with the University of Mkar, Benue State, it was learnt.
NHRC’s Executive Secretary, Prof Bem Angwe, spoke in Abuja yesterday while receiving a petition from relatives of the deceased, led by their lawyer, S.A. Orkumah.
The petitioners alleged that powerful individuals in the state were planning to cover up the case.
They queried the role of the attorney general in the release of those arrested for the murder.
“There are strong political forces trying to thwart prosecution of the suspects, despite the overwhelming evidence linking them to the murder.
“It is clear from the above facts that a script is being played out by the Office of the AG.
“The innocent blood of the deceased and his family is crying for justice, while some political forces are out to scuttle justice,” the petition said.
Prof. Angwe assured the protesters the NHRC would unravel the mystery behind the murder.
“We will look into this petition and work within our powers to address the issues you have raised. I assure you of our commitment to ensuring the rights of Nigerians are respected and the law allowed to take its course, no matter who is concerned,” Angwe said.
-
NHRC blames prison congestion on indolent DPPs
THE National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has blamed the problem of prison congestion on the indolence of Directors of Public Prosecution (DPPs).
Its Executive Secretary Prof Bem Angwe said that beyond the delay in court process, the reluctance of the DPPs to issue legal opinion, account for the increase in the number of awaiting trial inmates in prisons.
Legal opinions from the DPPs are always required for the decision on whether or not a case should be referred for trial, and whether or not a suspect should be subjected to trial.
The NHRC chief desribed as saddening that awaiting trial inmates now account for over 90 per cent of the nation’s prison population. He gave an example of the Enugu Prison, where, of the total inmates of 1912, only 88 were convicted prisoners.
“The failure of the DPPs in various states to come up with legal opinion when required is responsible for congestion in prisons”, Angwe said.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday when a delegation from the Abuja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) visited him, Angwe identified the inadequacy of manpower and work tools at the disposal of relevant agencies as a contributory factor to prison congestion.
Angwe, who disclosed that the NHRC, in collaboration with some legal practitioners, secured the freedom of over 200 awaiting trial inmates last year, called for enhanced collaboration between the NBA and his commission.
Earlier at a meeting with some men of the Nigerian Navy (NN), Angwe commended the leadership of the organisation and its officers for subjecting themselves to the rule of law and other democratic norms.
The Naval men, led by Commodore Abdul Adamu, was at the commission to hononur a summon sent to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas and some other senior Naval officers in relation to allegations of rights’ abuses made against them by a company, Lexy Nigeria Limited.
Messrs Lexy had, in a petition to the NHRC, dated September 9, accused Ibas, Adamu (who is Managing Director of Naval Building and Construction Company Ltd) and some other unnamed Naval personnel of attacking its officials and violating their rights following a soured business deal.
Adamu, who spoke for the Navy team, apologised for Ibas’ absence, denied the petitioner’s allegations and assured that his organisation will cooperate with the NHRC in its investigation of the petition.
He informed the commission that the dispute between Lexy and Naval Building Company over a contractual agreement was currently before an arbitration panel.
Angwe assured the Navy that his commission will be fair to all in its investigation, promising that the NHRC will only deal with the allegations relating to rights’ abuses and allow the arbitration panel handle the issues relating to contractual dealings between parties.
Angwe, in a separate meeting with representatives of National Council of Women Societies (NCWS) led by its President, Mrs. Gloria Laraba Shoda, urged them to focus on how to better the lot of women and desist from acting as stooges to politicians.
He said: “You should be concerned about how to better the lot of the Nigerian women, who are members of your association.You should not use it for political purposes.
“You are suppose to be neutral and remain apolitical because you have membership with different political affiliation. I do not want to see you follow politicians.
“When the leadership follow a particular political party, your members n who share other political beliefs will think you want to impose a party on them and that will create distrust among your followers.”
Stating the NCWS mission, Mrs Shoda said it was in furtherance of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between both organisations in June this year on the protection of the rights of women, youths and children.
Mrs Shoda said: “Our visit to you today is to open dialogue on how best to execute a range of collaborative programmes with you to address issues relating to the rights of women and girls.”
-
Oil spill fire: Victims petition NHRC on NNPC’s negligence
Victims of the December 2015 oil spill fire at Effurun in Delta State have decried the alleged refusal by Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to pay them N70 million compensation.
An oil spill from ruptured pipelines caught fire on December 4, last year, resulting in massive destruction of property; vehicles, homes, stalls and other valuables estimated at over N70 million.
Victims of the fire, through their estate valuer, Edwin Agammegwa, petitioned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the incident and make operators of the pipelines to compensate them.
The petition, which claimed the victims contacted the NNPC and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the government body responsible to victims of oil spills, said a damage assessment was conducted on the incident between February 11 and 12.
The petition said although a valuation report was conveyed to the NNPC, and reminders sent to its offices in Warri, no favourable response was received.
It added that the destruction subjected the victims and their families to untold hardship.
The petition said: “When the spill occurred on December 3, 2015, they mobilised to the site with their contractor. They began to recover the spilled oil. This area is the service lane of the expressway. It is also facing the fence of the army barracks. This area is occupied by roadside traders and motor mechanics. Some people also parked their cars on the service lane.
“When the spill occurred, the contractor stopped owners of the vehicles, mechanic workshops and trading shops …from removing their vehicles or the items in their workshop to avoid a fire.
“During the operation, the equipment they were using to dig holes to gather the oil, hit an electric cable and it caught fire. It burnt 11 vehicles, one bulldozer, mechanic shops with tools as well as trading shops.
“Our clients are suffering …because of the destruction of their means of livelihood. We, therefore, call on you to use your good offices to investigate this matter and compel them to pay compensation to the affected individuals.”
-
Lawyer faults inclusion in NHRC’s election offenders’ report
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), G. A. Adetola-Kaseem has faulted his inclusion in the report by National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) containing names of individuals allegedly indicted for election-related offences in 2007 and 2011 general elections.
The report featured Adetola Kazeem’s name under alleged professional misconduct in his purported handling of the case between All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) & Another v. Resident Electoral Commissioner of Akwa Ibom State & Others, reported in 2008) NWLR (pt.1090) 453 CA, particularly in the judgment by Justice Saulawa.
Adetola-Kaseem, in a statement yesterday, argued that his name was wrongly included in the report, as he was never indicted by the tribunal as allegedly portrayed in the NHRC report.
He said “although I (G A Adetola-Kaseem, SAN) was the lead counsel for the 2nd and 3rd petitioners, I was in fact not meant to appear before the Election Tribunal on October 25, 2007, having been excused from doing so two days earlier on October 23, 2007, when I last appeared before the tribunal. “Having indicated my inability to attend personally before the tribunal on October 25, 2007, the tribunal had been informed that my colleague, who was based in Uyo, Mr. Ndaeyo Ndaeyo, would appear in court on that day for the 2nd and 3rd petitioners.
“Unfortunately, as it turned out, Mr. Ndaeyo was unable to appear before the tribunal on October 25, 2007 and he caused a letter to be addressed to the tribunal to explain his absence, and applied for an adjournment of the matter to another day.
-
NHRC takes bold, sensible lead
AFTER completing its review of the 2007 and 2011 polls, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has released a 284-page report indicting some 118 politicians and officials for criminal offences and other general administrative, professional or judicial misconduct. The indictments were made pursuant to a review of available election petition cases, and were intended to serve as bases for the Minister of Justice and other administrative bodies to prosecute offenders or punish those who committed infractions, said the NHRC Executive Secretary, Bem Angwe. Immediately the report was released, it became hugely controversial, with many of those indicted already asserting their innocence or entirely denouncing the report. If what has been described as a bold step to sanitise and reform the electoral process is not to be lost, the Minister of Justice will have to prepare to prosecute those indicted, while other institutions must bring disciplinary measures to bear on their indicted officials in line with in-house rules and regulations.
Though the NHRC indictments are controversial, especially given the many high-profile names mentioned in the report, some of whom have begun to cry foul, many of the indictments have been based on completed and unchallenged legal processes. There is no reason for the Justice ministry and other affected institutions to pull any punches in bringing to account everyone mentioned in the report. They have been availed of the facts of the cases; it is now left for the government to act firmly if the electoral process is to be sanitised and restructured for enhanced operations. Former governors, a former electoral chairman, senators, security officials and even judicial officers have all been mentioned. It is inconceivable that this very thorough report would be ignored.
The NHRC under its former executive secretary, Chidi Odinkalu, and its current boss, Prof Angwe, has been a model in bureaucratic tact. The Commission is fortunate to have at its helm men who are more anxious about defending human rights and establishing the truth than compromising both assignments for fear of the government’s reaction. The NHRC is thus a model public institution in Nigeria determined to sustain its independence, nurture its courage, and seek to promote the well-being of Nigerians. Dr Odinkalu had been particularly outspoken when he supervise the Commission, and had discharged his tasks with great aplomb. Prof Angwe seems, so far, tarred with the same brush. The principles undergirding the formation of the NHRC demand no less of its leaders, though it speaks volumes of the character of its two executive secretaries that they have managed to build and sustain an enviable reputation for the organisation. Nigerians may gradually begin to repose trust in the Commission and avail it of cases of human rights abuses not remedied at lower levels.
One of the most celebrated cases handled by the NHRC since 2010 was the investigation of the killing of squatters in Abuja in September 2013. It discharged that responsibility admirably, though a closure to the case is yet to be achieved. In that raid at a location in Apo Quarters of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), eight squatters were killed inside an uncompleted building in the city, while 11 more sustained bullet wounds. The joint raid by the military and the Department of State Service was ostensibly to eliminate a small colony of Boko Haram elements. But after investigations, the NHRC found the army and DSS culpable. The squatters, many of whom belonged to various artisanal associations in the FCT, were neither criminals nor members of the Boko Haram sect. The Commission then ordered that substantial compensations be paid to survivors of the violence as well as families of the slain men.
Indeed, there has been no case investigated by the NHRC where it demonstrated timidity in the face of hostile law enforcement agencies or the government itself. Importantly, too, it has substantially demonstrated competence and thoroughness. The Apo killings investigation was probably the archetype. Now, in an unprecedented move, the Commission has done remarkably well to put a strong focus on election crimes and other electoral infractions. By taking this first tentative and momentous step, it reinforces the argument that electoral crimes are so significant that they impact sometimes very savagely on the survival of the polity. For those crimes not to be swept under the carpet, the NHRC has completed its review, mentioned names, some of them well-known personalities, and asked that they be prosecuted and/or punished. The relevant authorities must now complement the effort of the NHRC by acting on the report in cases where their staff are mentioned. Fortunately, court judgements are available to serve as a starting point. If the electoral process is to be sanitised, action must be taken on the NHRC report.
Given its antecedents, not to say its painstaking thoroughness, it is expected that the anticipated NHRC’s report on the December Zaria clash between the army and Shiite members will likely be more impactful if it is taken from the perspective of human rights rather than security. The challenge thereafter will be how the government at federal and state levels will handle the report or prosecute offenders if indictments are established with the customary candour the Commission is noted for. The Kaduna State government has already published the report of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led panel on the Army-Shiites clash. While the report clearly established extra-judicial killings against the army, it hemmed and hawed in assigning responsibility for the clash. It is unlikely any other panel will find the extra-judicial killings committed by soldiers justified by the intransigence or even irrationality of protesting Shiites. The NHRC report will, therefore, likely be more trenchant and discomfiting, especially in view of the fact that the Shiites allege that between 500 and 1000 of their members were killed in that December encounter.
Unlike the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the DSS, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) which are either overbearing, unduly feared or celebrated, the NHRC is less hysterical and virtually anonymous. In fact, until the Apo killings and its celebrated verdict, the Commission seemed to wink in the dark. Yet, it had apparently always worked conscientiously, perhaps now as Nigeria’s preeminent model public institution. Had the police worked as diligently as the NHRC without waiting to be ordered by the executive, and had they not preoccupied themselves with reading the faces and lips of the executive in matters they think government interests needed to be protected, law enforcement work would be tremendously boosted, and the public would have some measure of confidence in the justice system. The NHRC has its enabling law, an Act in 1995 establishing it, and the 2010 amended Act. It has since then not waited to be ordered around. Other institutions also have their enabling laws, but have remained at the beck and call of the executive. The mindset must change for these other public institutions to function without cultural, political or governmental biases.
If the NHRC continues to boast of competent and independently-minded leaders, it can be relied upon to function within the laws establishing it and the framework of the tradition and culture fostered by its foundation leaders. It has worked hard and passionately, and it has kept its head when many other institutions are losing theirs. All that remains is to live up to its culture of fearless intervention in the grave and sometimes portentous issues that affect human rights. Nigeria is a signatory to United Nations and African Bill of Human Rights, but it has fared very badly in respecting them, leading some non-governmental organisations like the Amnesty International to indict Nigeria on series of rights abuses. If it sustains its courage in doing what is right, as indeed it has done so far, the NHRC could help Nigeria gradually transform from a country reeling under impunity to one sensitive about the rights and privileges of its citizens.
-
My inclusion on election offenders’ list wrong – Uduaghan
A Former Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has accused the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of not thoroughly studying the circumstance surrounding the nullification of his victory in the 2007 governorship poll before including his name in the list of electoral offenders released on Thursday.
While asserting that he was wrongly removed by the Appeal Court, the former governor said the position of law on the “burden of proof” which the court relied on to nullify the election had been clarified by landmark rulings and judgments, which reverted the onus to the accuser.
“Therefore the Appeal Court judgement in Benin was wrongly used against me. Unfortunately, the National Human Rights Commission did not study my case properly before making their recommendation,” he said during a telephone chat with our correspondent.
Uduaghan, who described the report as lazy, insisted that his name wouldn’t have been included if the commission had looked at the circumstances that led to the nullification, adding that a latter clarification on the position of the law on “burden of proof” had since emerged that he was wrongly removed as governor by the Court of Appeal, Benin.
He added, “The Court of Appeal nullified my 2007 election based on the law of burden of proof. Who does the burden of proof rest on, the petitioner or the respondent?”
-
NHRC lists Uduaghan, Iwu, others indicted for election offences
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday named former state governors, a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, INEC staff, politicians and institutions as some of those indicted for various offences allegedly committed during the 2007 and 2011 general elections in the country.
About 60 people and institutions named were indicted for criminal offences, administrative, judicial and professional misconduct.
Names of the identified individuals and organizations are contained in the final report of past decisions in electoral cases, released in Abuja by NHRC under an exercise termed: “Electoral Accountability Project/and Electoral Impunity Project,” which commenced in June 2003.
The commission recommended among others, that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector General of Police, INEC and other relevant institutions, take necessary steps on the report including prosecuting and ensuring that disciplinary measures were taken against those found wanting.
The ex-governors named in the report are – Clarence Obafemi (who acted as Kogi State governor in 2008), Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor (Edo State) and Dr. Emmanuel E. Uduaghan (Delta State).
Also listed are – Senator Hosea Ehinlanwo, Senator Ayo Arise, Mukhtari Shehu Shagari, Prof C. E. Onukogu, Resident Electoral Commissioner, Anambra State in 2011, Major Gen. Abubakar Tanko Ayuba (rtd), Hon. Aminu Sule Garo and Tarzoor Terhemen.
-
Electoral offences: NHRC to release names of indicted individuals today
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will today make public names of electoral officials, politicians, security personnel and others indicted for electoral offences during the 2007 and 2011 general elections.
The commission yesterday said it would today launch a report titled: “End electoral impunity,” containing among others, names of people indicted for electoral offences by the various election tribunals.
NHRC’s Executive Secretary Prof Bem Angwe disclosed on July 20 in Abuja that the committee “will soon begin to release report of its various investigations”.
Angwe said the NHRC would also make public the report of its investigation of the last clash between some soldiers and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN)
The commission had last year submitted to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) an interim report on names of people indicted by electoral tribunals for election related offences.
NHRC had recommended the prosecution of those indicted to the AGF in the interim report with names of some prominent Nigerians.
Prof Angwe said the commission has since compiled a final report on the issue of election offences and has identified culprits for prosecution.
“In the next two weeks, we are going to release the report of our investigation of the clash between men of the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.
“We have also concluded works on our final report on those indicted for electoral offences by the election tribunals in relation to the 2007 and 2011 general elections.
“We will proceed to hand the list containing names of those so indicted to the Attorney General of the Federation for prosecution.
“We will also send the names of policemen indicted to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and names of officials of to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the necessary actions,” Angwe said.
-
Election offences: NHRC to unveil indicted people Thursday
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said it will release on Thursday names of electoral officials, politicians, security personnel and others indicted for electoral offences during the 2007 and 2011 general elections.
The commission said on Wednesday it will launch a report titled: “End electoral impunity,” containing among others, names of people indicted for election offences by tribunals.
The NHRC Executive Secretary, Prof. Bem Angwe, had disclosed last month in Abuja that the committee will release reports of its investigations “very soon.”
Angwe said the NHRC will also release the outcome of its investigation into last year clash between the army and members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.