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  • 2019: learn from consequences of 1966 civil war – Onaiyekan

    *Blood of every Nigerian is precious, don’t allow it to be spilled – Onaiyekan

    *Boko Haram: Don’t sweep causes of soldiers death under the carpet – Onaiyekan

     

    With the February general elections fast approaching, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, on Sunday warned that Nigeria should learn from the lessons and consequences of the 1966 civil war.

    He gave the warning while delivering the message during the Interdenominational Church Service for the 2019 Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration in Abuja.

    January 15th every year is marked as Armed Forces Remembrance Day to honour fallen heroes and the living soldiers.

    Onaiyekan also pointed out that the blood of every Nigerian is precious and should not be allowed to be spilled even as the February general elections draw near.

    He said “Today, we cannot forget that so many have died in our series of self-inflicted killings, in the shameful chain of coups and counter coups. This seems to be the case of the untenable moral lie that might is right. In the logic of these often gory events, those who succeed rule, and grab the highest national honours.

    “Those who fail face the firing squad, after secret trials. The issue of right or wrong intentions is conveniently swept aside. We hope we have by now learned our lesson and that we will no longer allow such misuse of our Armed Forces and our military resources.

    “I do not know why January 15th has been chosen as the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. But to many people like me, it brings strong memories of that critical day, January 15th, 1966. We must learn lessons from that historic event which marked the beginning of military rule in our country.

    “We are still to fully assess, judge and comprehend its deep meaning and consequences for our nation. It started a chain of dramatic events, including the three years civil war which wasted the lives of millions of Nigerians, combatants and non-combatants, men, women and children.

    “January 15th should remind us of many pertinent lessons for our present and for our future. Perhaps, the greatest of these lessons is that morally, the end does not justify a wrong means. A good end must be pursued by a good means.” he said

    He went on “We cannot undertake a national revolution by murdering unarmed persons in their beds at night. We cannot successfully prosecute a ‘war against indiscipline’ by locking up innocent people for months in dungeons without legal recourse.

    “For the same reason, we cannot hope to win the ‘war against corruption’ by ignoring or bye passing basic human rights to the rule of law.

    “Furthermore, we must imbibe the lessons of the instability of injustice, the futility of violence, and the imperative of personal conversion and social moral revolution.” he stated

    Onaiyekan also warned the security agencies not to put their powers behind injustices and bad governance.

    He noted that the responsibility of the Armed Forces is to protect the nation and not to attack anybody.

    According to him, keeping an army is not the best defense for any nation, but maintaining good governance and justice.

    Read Also: Armed Forces Remembrance Day: IBB tasks Military to evolve New Combat Strategy

    He said “Our Armed Forces are under the Ministry of Defence. It is important to note that our Armed Forces are not under the Ministry of Aggression. Therefore, our soldiers have volunteered to defend the nation and not to attack anyone or oppress anybody.”

    Onaiyekan also called on the Federal Government not to sweep the causes of the killings of soldiers in the war against Boko Haram under the carpet.

    “We remember especially those who have died in the present on-going conflict in the northeast, whether they perished in combat or in an ambush, or as a result of alleged inadequate arms or culpable poor military tactics.

    “Complaints in this regard are rife, and they should not be silenced or swept under the carpet. Rather all such complaints ought to be properly investigated and everyone found responsible held accountable, no matter how high up in rank and position. The blood of every Nigerian is precious and must not be carelessly wasted.”

    Stressing that Nigerian Armed Forces have been actively involved in promoting world peace, he said that Nigeria’s responsibility for world peace should start from ‘around us.”

    While calling for good remuneration for the Armed Forces so that they can perform their responsibilities better, he also urged the government to timely pay the full pensions of retired security personnel.

    The failure to pay the pensions of the security personnel, he said, was a national shame that should never have been allowed to occur.

  • 2019: Onaiyekan cautions on use of security agents

    Catholic Archbishop of Abuja John Cardinal Onaiyekan has advised the Federal Government to ensure proper use of security agents during the election to avoid intimidation of electorate.

    He gave the advice yesterday in Abuja while celebrating the New Year mass at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Nyanya.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari had promised to ensure free and fair election.

    He prayed for God’s intervention to make it come true.

    “It is the government that is responsible for free and fair election in any country; the government has all the necessary things to make it free and fair.

    “The use of security agents should be handled properly to ensure that voters are not intimidated during election,” Onaiyakan said.

    He prayed that Nigerians would elect good leaders in the coming election that would address the country’s challenges.

    Onaiyakan added that the country was faced with corruption, unemployment and poor infrastructure.

    “Nigeria need leaders that will carry everybody along to make the country a better place,” he said.

    According to him, other African countries have moved ahead leaving the giant “Nigeria” behind.

    The Cardinal said most countries suffer from national disaster while Nigeria was faced with human disasters.

    The cleric urged Nigerians to serve God more than ever before.

    He called on Nigerians to pray that peace, progress and unity would pervade the length and breadth of the country.

    Onaiyakan said great exploits would only be achieved through unity of purpose, brotherhood and peace.

    “We should do all we can to realise that we are all children of the same God, irrespective of our difference in religion, language or ethnic background,” he said.

    Commenting on the Pope’s new year message, he said that it should be practice in Nigeria during the election.

    “Political office and political responsibility thus constantly challenge those called to the service of their country to make every effort to protect those who live there and to create the conditions for a worthy and just future.

    “If exercised with basic respect for the life, freedom and dignity of persons, political life can indeed become an outstanding form of charity,” he quoted the Pope.

    He admonished politicians not to practice “do or die” politics.

  • Onaiyekan to politicians: care more for Nigerians not allowances

    Catholic Archbishop of Abuja John Cardinal Onaiyekan yesterday admonished politicians to put the welfare of Nigerians above their fat salaries and allowances.

    The cleric made the yesterday in Abuja at a special service organised by the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) to commemorate this year’s World AIDS Day, with the theme “Know your status”.

    He said: “It should be politics of care for Nigerians not politics of fat salaries politicians give to themselves. Let’s look at the way we pay public servants, if politicians go to parliament to recoup losses on business, they will not have the time for the people, we know that not much service will be rendered.”

    According to him, a good politician should be a well-disciplined personality with selfless service to make live better for his people.

    Onaiyekan said: “This should be reflected in the community where he lives in all ramifications. Discipline is necessary for an orderly society and political life, without it, the social life would become miserable.”

  • Onaiyekan blames ‘overnight preachers’ for religious disharmony

    Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Cardinal John Onaiyekan has attributed religious dishar-mony in the nation to proliferation of ignorant ‘pastors and imams in the country.

    He also raised the alarm over emergence of what he described as “overnight religious leaders” in the two main religions.

    Cardinal Onaiyekan spoke in Ilorin at the first international conference by the inter-religious council of the University of Ilorin.

    He said overnight religious leaders preached errors and led many people astray.

    “We have a major problem these days in our country where it seems everyone can become a “religious leader” overnight, without any credentials. There are too many ignorant ‘pastors’ and ‘imams’ preaching errors and leading many people astray.

    “Perhaps this is the price we have to pay for the freedom of religion that we enjoy. But surely a line should be drawn somewhere, especially when national order and harmony is at stake,” he said.

    In his paper titled religious harmony and nation building, the

    cleric said that religious harmony must be achieved in the nation to build a strong and united society.

    He also canvassed training and restraining of religious leaders to ensure preaching that would encourage religious harmony among adherents of religions, particularly in local communities.

    “For a long time, humanity lived in closed religious communities, with not much to do with others, who perhaps have their own faith, generally considered as erroneous and false.

    “But now that globalisation has packed us into a global village, we are faced with the fact of plurality of religions, all of us calling on the same One God.

    “There is need for a radical theological updating of our ideas of God and our faith, in such a way that we can accommodate others, just as God Himself has accommodated all of us.

    “This does not have to lead to doctrinal compromise or watering down of our convictions.

    “It simply means we recognise that God is far greater than our ideas of him and consequently than our religions, no matter how sublime we think they are.”

    Secretary General of the Nigeria Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, called on Nigerians to concretise interfaith relationship to achieve the purpose for which religion was institutionalised.

    He added that multi-religious nature of Nigeria is a divine design of the Creator to test whether mankind would be able to harmonise its differences or not.

  • Buhari: Age may not matter in 2019 polls, says Onaiyekan

    Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese John Cardinal Onaiyekan said yesterday that age may not matter as President Muhammadu Buhari seeks a return to office next year.

    He said what should be of importance to those seeking to rule should be their concern for others and service to the people in the name of God.

    Although he said there was need to give room to younger people to rule, he expressed regret that from experience, the young people put in office had not performed.

    The Cardinal, who spoke at the post-humous launching of the autobiography of a former Foreign Affairs Minister Chief Mathew Mbu, said those seeking re-election must give cogent reasons.

    The book, “Dignity in Service,” was written by Mbu before his death about six years ago.

    The cleric said: “At the end of the day, maybe it is not a matter of the age but a matter of your own mind, your intention, your love for doing the right thing, especially concern for others, politics and service to the people in the name of God.

    “If we start to take these things seriously, then probably, it would not matter whether we declare to seek reelection at 79 or whether we don’t.

    “The important thing is:  what do we want power for? Why do you want to seek re-election? We are waiting to see because we are told that we are going to see new things in the next year, I am looking forward.

    “New things can come from old people, you know and people can change.  People can have a change of heart. We are looking forward to that.”

    Notwithstanding, Onaiyekan sought opportunity for younger people to be in power in the country.

    He added: “M.T. Mbu is a good Catholic and you know we Catholics love ourselves very much.  In 1953 when he was a young minister, I was in standard three in primary school and we all knew M.T. Mbu as a minister.  There were not too many ministers then unlike today where you have to cover the whole 36 states. In those days, we didn’t have such problem.

    “The point I want to make is this, today, when you hear that a young boy was a minister, my mind always goes to those days too and I ask, how many people were old then? The people we now see as ancestors were all young people. I will like to find out the age of Tafawa Balewa and even Awolowo at that time.

    “They were all relatively young and when Awolowo and Azikiwe broke grounds then, they were young. I think this is the story we need to tell to our younger people but the question is, where is the space for our younger people when old people like me are still hanging around?

    “We have to find a way of giving room to younger people to show what they can do also. Mbu has shown that young people can perform but we have also had experiences of young people who have not performed.”

    A former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ignatius Olisemeka, described Mbu as a pacesetter and a hero.

    He said:  “I met him in London but I wouldn’t want to dwell on his personality but I will like to call attention to the issues Mbu represented as a man.

    “I had the privilege of flipping through the book and I will like to draw your attention to page 73. M.T. Mbu was such a meticulous man that when he purchased Nigeria House in London as our pioneer High Commissioner, he paid £35, 000 and he noted that in the book.

    He also noted that few years after, the property which still stands for which he paid £35, 000  was refurbished with £12.5 million. That tells of what he noticed. In the later years, he wanted to buy a residence for our High Commissioner in London and we had a bargain for the residence for £4 million. That was the going price. A few years after he left, the same residence was bought for £12 million.”

    Nigeria’s former Ambassador to the United States (U.S.) Ambassador George Obiozor expressed regret  that Nigeria was not good at honouring its heroes.

    He said: “Our country is a country of anti-heroes. We have to look for heroes and honour them. May we pray that a hero will come and salvage our country.”

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who was the chairman of the launch,  said: “I have learnt about his brilliance, honesty and hard work.”

    He added: “I thought I broke the record of being the youngest governor in Nigeria only to read that Mbu  became a Minister at 23. So,  I ask the question, what stops us from getting there now? Is it that his father was a rich man or what? The answer is hard work. If we work hard, we will get to where he got to and if we don’t,  we won’t attain  his height. The next thing I can attribute to him is his believe in one Nigeria.

    “Some of us are beginning to ask for the disintegration of Nigeria, I feel that whatever the issues are, they are things that can be discussed and they are things that changes can help propagate the difference that we have.

    Those at the book launch included the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Usani Usani;  a  former Minister of Defence, Gen. Aliyu Gusau; ex-governors Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Lucky Igbinedion (Edo); the Chairman of NDDC, Sen. Victor Ndoma-Egba;  the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Sen. Ita Enang, Amb. Ahmed Umar, who represented the Emir of Kano; Sen. Rose Okoh (who represented the President of the Senate) and Sen. Musa Adede, among others.

  • c, Onaiyekan, Apochi canvass unity against killings

    c, Onaiyekan, Apochi canvass unity against killings

    •As former Senate President dedicates church to God

    Former Senate President, David Mark, the  Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan and his Otukpo diocese counterpart, Michael Apochi, were unanimous yesterday in their quest for Nigerians to unite against criminality and fight for the liberation of citizens  from the grips of Boko Haram, violent herdsmen, kidnappers  and armed banditry  in parts of the country.

    Senator Mark and the spiritual leaders spoke at the dedication of an ultra-modern complex built and donated to St. Augustine  Catholic Church , Otukpo, Benue State by the immediate past President of the Senate and his family .

    Mark’s spokesman, Paul Mumeh, said in a statement that the Senator expressed  appreciation to God for empowering him  contribute to  the propagation of the gospel  needed to salvage mankind  and make the society a better place.

    Mark added that the church building was his family’s modest contribution towards spreading the gospel of God.

    It said the former Senate President hoped that the worship centre will help curtail evil in the society and transform perpetrators for good.

    Mark said: “I feel fulfilled that this church project is a reality. As long as I live, I will serve God and humanity. I am a ready hand  for God to use to transform our society”.

    In his homily, Cardinal Onaiyekan bemoaned the violent clashes in parts of the country, particularly the recent Benue massacre, that claimed scores of lives.

    He said:” We must, as a people of Nigeria ,unite against these forces of evil  to liberate ourselves .

    “These carnage and bloodletting orchestrated by hatred and wickedness cannot be a way of life. We must all join hands to stop this spate of killings.

    “As Christians , we pray for peace. Justice and love. We have no room for hatred or vengeance. Vengeance is for God. Let us do everything that promotes peace and harmonious relationship with our neighbors.”

    He reminded the federal government to include rebuilding of churches destroyed by insurgents as it prepares to rebuild the crisis- ridden North Eastern states.

    The host Bishop Apochi, expressed appreciation to Senator Mark and his family for the gesture believing  that the house of worship will help promote peace, unity and curtail the ills in the society.

    Four other Catholic Bishops; Peter Adoboh ( Katsina- Ala), Wilfred Anagbe ( Makurdi), William Avenya ( Gboko) and Michael Gokum (Pankshin) and about 50 Priests joined in the dedication of the new church.

     

  • Onaiyekan to Christians: nobody plans to Islamise Nigeria

    John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has urged Christians to rise up and Christianise Nigeria instead of complaining that Muslims want to Islamise the nation.

    Rev. Onaiyekan spoke yesterday in his homily at a Mass to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Gwarinpa II, Abuja.

    “So, let nobody deceive you. I don’t think there is anybody who has plan to Islamise Nigeria, but even if they do, they have every right to do so.

    “They have every right to do so provided they also know that I have the right to Christianise the whole of Nigeria.

    “The answer is not in complaining and crying; stand up like a man and Christianise Nigeria,’’ the Cardinal said.

    He said Christians had the mandate to preach Jesus Christ to everyone without being distracted with material things.

    Rev. Onaiyekan urged Christians to defend their faith by preaching the gospel in words and deeds without comprising the message of the Cross.

    He said the disciples of Christ preached the crucified Christ, accepted persecution and that many even died for their faith.

    “People complain that Christianity is being persecuted; they are saying that some people want to Islamise the nation. Just know that nobody canIslamise you unless you agree to be Islamised.

    “For as long as you are not ready to stand up and carry the Cross, you are on the verge of losing your faith; if you don’t want to lose your promotion for Christ sake, you are also not worthy to be a Christian.

    “Anybody who presents another programme different from the programme of Jesus Christ on the Cross will lose, you will drop; you will just drop like an overripe apple.’’

    According to him, Christians cannot achieve the feat by compromising their faith, it can only be achieved by carrying their cross and following Christ.

    “You don’t Christianise the nation by standing up and looking for prosperity or material benefits.

    “You Christianise a nation, if you are ready to stand up for the truth, preach the gospel, carry the Cross and follow the Lord Jesus.’’

    Quoting from the Gospel of Mathew Chapter 10 verses 37 to 42, Onaiyekan said anyone who loved his or her mother, father, children, husband more than Christ is not worthy of His kingdom.

    He, however, said the message of Cross is that of salvation, which was gradually being reduced to the message of prosperity, adding that it was natural to face suffering in the world.

    The cardinal said that Christianity had survived over 2,000 years and the religion became more established even when the apostles faced persecution and were even killed.

    “The apostles went through horrible suffering because of that, the Church took root when everybody thought it was the end of the story of Jesus, who died on the Cross.

    “That is the mystery of Christianity, if it is not God’s own doing, Christianity would not have survived,’’ he said.

    Rev. Onaiyekan administered sacrament of confirmation to 63 Catholics in the parish and also laid a foundation of the 2,000 capacity new church.

    According to Catholic teaching, the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.

    Thirty candidates received first Holy Communion at the Mass.

  • Peace only option for survival, says Onaiyekan

    Peace only option for survival, says Onaiyekan

    The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja,John Onaiyekan, yesterday said if Christians and Muslims are going to live to survive in Nigeria, everyone must find a way to live together in peace.

    Nigerians, Onaiyekan explained must stay and live together in peace no matter what happens.

    The clergy spoke in Abuja at a Christian training programme on countering violence extremism organised by the Kukah Center.

    He said Nigeria: “We will never get over the phenomenon Boko Haram if we cannot sincerely within ourselves find out what kind of messages we are giving everyday in the churches and in the mosques, even families.”

    Onaiyekan advised government to stop violence and killings going on in the country.

    His words: “If we simply want to face really, the fact is this country called Nigeria is made up of people who are both Christians and Muslims. If we are going to live to survive in this country, we have no choice that to find a way for all of us to live together.  It is not an option because even if we decided for the other option then it is time now for everybody to sharpen their cutlasses where will we draw the line of battle.

    “We must live together in peace no matter what happens. No matter what some people do or say. In a situation like this we must continue to talk to ourselves. Is like we are in one boat in the middle of the occasion, and if we start fighting in the boat, everybody is going to drawn. If you want to throw away those who do not agree with you, the struggle is enough to drawn everybody. We are all together in the same boat.

    “The way people propose and propagate their faith; there is a lot of violence. This dialogue must go from top to bottom. I am afraid that the Boko Haram event has damaged considerably these common minds that we see at the grassroot level and we need to do a lot to recover it, to build on the strong foundation. This incidence of violence, killings here and there must stop and we know who to stop them that is where government comes in.”

    Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Mathew Kukah  politicians should step up and take responsibility of their duties.

    Kukah said it is not good that people do not feel secure in their own country adding that there should be a sense of urgency in resolving the unending crisis of killings.

  • Onaiyekan: don’t blame Fed Govt on Chibok Girls

    Onaiyekan: don’t blame Fed Govt on Chibok Girls

    The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, yesterday asked Nigerians to stop blaming the Federal Government for the plight of the Chibok girls.

    He urged them to blame Boko Haram insurgents because the group had killed and inflicted hardship on the people in the North.

    The clergy spoke at a briefing jointly organised with the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, in Abuja.

    He said rather than condemnation, the Federal Government should be praised for rescuing 21 of the missing girls, asking for persistent efforts to seek release of others.

    Onaiyekan said: “We thank God that 21 have returned. We thank God for life. We cannot forget that there are still others that are not accounted for.

    “This is why we cannot say the job has been done. We are still waiting. As far as Boko Haram, Chibok girls and all other kidnapped people are concerned, I think we Nigerians should put the blame where it belongs.

    “We say government is not doing enough to help the Chibok girls but who kidnapped them in the first place. We cannot say they are faceless individuals, don’t let us deceive ourselves.

    I think the media ought to challenge Boko Haram and all its supporters.”

    The Sultan said Jihad was not a representation of Islam.

    Abubakar, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Abuja National Mosque Management Board, Alhaji Ibrahim Jega, appealed to the media to promote peace and co-existence through their reporting.

     

     

    According to him, the international conference is targeted to promote unity, peace and development through co-operation among inter-faith groups

     

  • Onaiyekan to Fed Govt: force won’t end insurgency

    Onaiyekan to Fed Govt: force won’t end insurgency

    •Cleric
    recommends dialogue

    CATHOLIC Bishop of Abuja Arch Diocese, John Onaiyekan yesterday said that the use of military force will not solve the problems posed by Boko Haram insurgents in the Northeast and  Niger Delta Avengers in the Southsouth.

    The cleric, who noted that the application of force to solve such uprising has never worked in any part of the world, urged the Federal Government to dialogue with the groups to restore peace in the country.

    Besides, he urged the government to stop seeing anyone with a link with Boko Haram members as terrorist, but rather to encourage such people to talk to members of the sect.

    Onaiyekan spoke in Abuja on yesterday at the National Inter-faith Dialogue Meeting organised by IPCR and International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) in collaboration with the Interfaith Media Center (IMC).

    He said: “We have been hearing about Boko Haram; we have been hearing about Niger Delta militants and others and it probably seems to be taken for granted that all we need is better arms, better trained soldiers and we shall solve the problem.

    “I am afraid it has never worked that way anywhere in the world. At some point, after the soldiers have finished their job, human beings must seat around the table and talk. There is nobody that you cannot talk with because everybody is a human being – the child of a mother and maybe the sweetheart of a woman.

    “Our own Boko Haram has not taken 52 years. We are only talking of three, four years. Surely, it is not too late to now move seriously in line of dialogue. That does not mean impunity. That does not mean that nobody cares about atrocities committed.

    “What it does mean is that no matter the atrocities, it is always possible for human beings to see one another as brothers and sisters.”

    Cardinal Onaiyekan urged the government to show more interest, put more effort, resources a bit more and a little bit of interest in getting some dialogue going.

    He said: “The Federal Government should be prepared to dialogue with everybody. Very often, the military reaction or response can prepare the way for a fruitful dialogue, but you must keep dialogue constantly in mind. My fear is that we are not thinking of dialogue now. Things can go hand in hand.

    “And dialogue is not something you do in front of cameras. Generally, it is a bit quiet, in the background; there is not much noise and even when the whole thing is over, people, who were involved in the dialogue, or that prepared the way would not even be seen or heard.

    “People who want to work for peace are not there to score political points or to appear in public. They just want to do the right thing and I think there are many people in Nigeria who are ready to work for peace.

    “If you take Boko Haram for example, I have always said that government should encourage Muslims who want to talk to them to do so instead of seeing everybody who has any link with Boko Haram as terrorist which is what seems to be what I am seeing.

    “It is only people who are closed to them who can talk to them and that needs to be consciously promoted because you can never kill every Boko Haram member and even if you do, it is not in the interest of Nigeria to kill our brothers and sisters. We must find a way of getting back them as brothers and sisters that they are.”

    Earlier in his remarks, Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, condemned the incessant killings of innocent civilians by herdsmen.

    He called on government to wake up to its responsibility and stem this tide of incessant killing of innocent people in their villages.

    “The government must wake up to its responsibility and stem this tide of incessant killing of innocent people in their villages. Fulanis have been killed I know that. Reports have been made in the past couple of years but at the same time too, those who also take revenge do it disproportionately. Whether it is right or wrong, it does not matter.

    “It is wrong to take any single life unjustly. For us Muslims we know that. Therefore we will never agree with the killings of innocent people. That innocent person can be anybody. It can be a Hausa man, a Fulani man, a Yoruba man, an Ibo man, whatever that person is. That is why we should all come together, identify the criminals amongst us and fish them out. That is the only way we can all have peace.

    “But if you only subscribe any murder, any killing to Fulani or Islam, you are not making matters any better. You are making matters worse because we will always preach that,” he stated.

    SERAP: UN intervenes to end harassment of BBOG campaigners

    THE Office of the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association may have stepped in to “end the harassment of #BringBackOurGirls protesters and has asked for additional information on the matter,” the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said yesterday.
    The intervention followed SERAP’s September 9 appeal to the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Maina Kiai, drawing his “attention to continuing harassment and intimidation of the #BringBackOurGirls (BBOG) group by the Federal Government and the impermissible restrictions on the rights of members to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”
    Executive Director of the group Adetokunbo Mumuni who disclosed the development yesterday day said: “SERAP has been in communication with Marion Mondain, Consultant Equality, Non-Discrimination and Participation Unit UN Special Procedures Branch (SPB) who confirmed the Special Rapporteur’s interest in the matter and asked for additional information.
    “SERAP has worked closely with the BBOG leaders to provide the Office of the Special Rapporteur with the information requested. We are very grateful for the interest shown by the Special Rapporteur in taking action in this matter, as we believe the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and protest is so fundamental that it cannot and should never be denied under any pretext whatsoever.
    “The consideration of the matter by the Special Rapporteur is indeed timely as the BBOG marks later this week the 900th Day of the Chibok girls in Boko Haram’s captivity. We hope that this government will allow the members of the BBOG and other Nigerians who may wish to do so to peacefully exercise their constitutional and internationally recognized right to freedom of assembly.”
    According to Mumuni, the additional information that SERAP, in consultation with the BBOG sent to the Officer of the Special Rapporteur reads in part: “Following the release of the ‘Plea-for-Rescue’ video on 14 August 2016 wherein the Chibok girls, abducted from their school Government Secondary School, Chibok on 14 April 2014 and have been in captivity since then cried out for help; the BBOG movement expected a strong response and decisive action from the federal government.”
    “The police was combat armed and their provocative actions against the protesters could have easily degenerated to a major breakdown of law and order. The Inspector-General of Police was inciting the public against BBOG humanity-based advocacy for abducted school children by impugning the motives of BBOG members. His actions are targeted at maligning and tarnishing the reputation of BBOG Movement in order to weaken BBOG advocacy.