HURIWA to Buhari-: don't sell public assets to fund budget: *Considers suing federal govt to stop assets stripping:

A leading pro-democracy and civil society group – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of plotting to sell off public owned national assets to his cronies under the guise of seeking for fund to finance the 2018 national budget.

Besides, HURIWA has lamented the monumental compromise of Labour Unions; civil rights organizations and students’ bodies by the current administration which is why the government’s public admission that it would auction off publicly built assets to fund 2018 budget has not yet elicited nationwide civil unrests to compel the government to abandon the anti-people policy.

HURIWA has therefore warned that the apathy; lethargic and apparently compromised docile nature of civil society organizations and the mainstream private media houses to bad and evil policies churned out by the current government in their dozens will cripple constitutional democracy unless these forces are mobilized to resists the tendencies to accept federal government's juicy bribes so as to remain docile and allow anti-people's policies to be implemented by the current occupants of political seat of power in Abuja and the 36 states of the federation and the Federal capital territory.
However, the Rights group has charged Nigerians from all walks of life to take considerable interest in the ongoing sinister plots by holders of political offices to auction off at incredibly cheaper rates, public assets built and maintained for the general public to some few privileged persons with access to the seat of power under the deceitful pretense of seeking for ways to fund 2018 budget. HURIWA affirmed that the grundnorm and the Supreme body of law does not support the clearly deceitful manipulation of the Presidency to sell off public assets rather than ensure that these profitable assets are administered for the general benefits of all Nigerians.

HURIWA lamented that the federal government is pushing through with this sinister plot to convert public assets to private ownership at a time that the crude oil global selling prices have remained so high for nearly two years and counting just as the Rights group wondered what the current government has done with the external loans the government picked up from all manner of places including China in the name of building of capital projects.

“What has the administration done with the impressive returns made by the different heads of federal institutions and agencies that are revenue collecting bodies such as NNPC; Nigerian Ports Authority; Maritime Authority; Nigerian Customs and the Nigerian Immigrations. What about the multi billions of Dollars reportedly retrieved from looters by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Have all these billions of revenues generated in foreign denominated currencies stolen and stashed in offshore bank accounts of public officials?”

“We are aware that for over a year or so now the Brent Crude oil prices have witnessed phenomenal rise even as the crude oil rich but neglected Niger Delta communities have remained relatively peaceful since the armed militants declared truce.”

“Brent crude oil prices according to experts averaged $72.8 per barrel in 2018 and to $73.7 per barrel in 2019, according to the most recent forecast from the US Energy Information Administration's monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (EIA). This reflects an upward revision of $9.5/barrel to the EIA forecast for 2018 compared to last month's Outlook. The OECD Economic Outlook as of May 2018 was less bullish, pegging the real price of a barrel of Brent oil— i.e. price adjusted for inflation—at $69.4/barrel in 2018. Looking out to 2020, the IMF in its Primary Commodity Prices Projections released in July asserted that after modest growth in 2018, the nominal price of Brent crude will increase to $53.5/barrel by 2020 and West Texas Intermediate to $50.4/barrel. The World Bank anticipates that all three major benchmark oil prices, Brent, WTI, and Dubai, will continue to increase after 2020 to reach $70 per barrel in 2030.”

HURIWA said also that: We are aware based on knowledge from experts that crude oil price forecasts depend on the interaction between supply and demand for oil on international markets. Among the most important supply-side factors weighing on pricing expectations are US shale oil production, US crude oil stocks, and OPEC oil supply. In May, OPEC announced that oil production cuts would be extended until March 2018. The agreement from OPEC, along with decreasing US crude oil inventories, has buoyed oil prices during the second half of 2017. By late September, Brent crude price reached $59.8/barrel, which was $16 higher than the lowest price so far this year ($44/bbl in June) and $14 higher than one year ago. But, the robust recovery of US shale oil activity, which is expected to continue through October, is broadly expected to limit price gains in the future. According to the OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, world oil demand will increase by 1.3 million barrels per day in 2018, which is 0.1mb/d more than the increase expected from non-OPEC oil supply.”

“Also the current government has continuously borrowed from many creditor nations in the guise of borrowing to build infrastructures”, says HURIWA.

Quoting a variety of sources, the Rights group affirmed that: “Nigeria’s external debt commitment rose by $11.77bn in the last three years, investigation has shown. According to debt statistics obtained from the Debt Management Office, the country’s external debt rose from $10.32bn in June 30, 2015 to $22.08bn as of June 30 this year. This means that the country’s external debt commitment has grown by 114.05 per cent in the last three years.”

In the considered position of the Rights group, the decision to sell off public assets violates relevant sections of the constitution especially section 16 of the 1999 constitution because the policy if carried through will concentrate wealth in the hands of so few who are cronies of the presidency.

"The section 16 of the constitution states thus: (1) “The state shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this constitution – harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity; control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity; without prejudice to its right to operate or participate in areas of the economy, other than the major sectors of the economy, manage and operate the major sectors of the economy; without prejudice to the right of any person to participate in areas of the economy within the major sector of the economy, protect the right of every citizen to engage in any economic activities outside the major sectors of the economy.” (2) “The state shall direct its policy towards ensuring – the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development; that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good; that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group.”

HURIWA recalls that the Federal Government plans to dispose 10 state-owned assets to select investors and the public between now and year end, in order to fund the 2018 fiscal plan. This clarification was given by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, and her counterpart in the Budget and National Planning Ministry, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who also argued that borrowings and the assets sale not only constituted strategic actions to funding the 2018 budget, but were in the overall interest of the country.

HURIWA recalled that in the sale of the 10 ailing key national assets, two of which must be sold this month (Nicon Insurance Limited and Skyway Aviation Handling Co), the government is expected to earn the sum of $797m, that is N289b. A Director at the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Joe Anichebe, who revealed government’s plan to sell the outfits, informed that the privatization agency had pledged to raise N306b to help finance the planned spending.

HURIWA citing information from official quarters asserted that apart from the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele equally identified as one of the assets penciled for disposal, other firms that are up for sale are in the power, aviation and insurance sectors. Earlier in July this year, the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh, also informed that some entities had been prepared for privatization or for commercialization.

HURIWA has instructed a team of lawyers to try to stop this action to strip Nigeria of public assets.

KILLING OF SHIITES IN ABUJA BY SOLDIERS UNJUSTIFIABLE-: SAYS HURIWA:

Refusing to accept the official line of argument that the killings were provoked, a prominent pro-democracy and Non- Governmental organization- HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned as atrocious and reprehensible, the killings of scores of members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria by soldiers in Zuba town near the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja whilst on procession into the metropolis.

HURIWA has categorically blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for being in violations of binding Court orders to release on bail the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria and his wife just as the Rights group asserted that the right to peaceful protest and assembly is constitutionally guaranteed even though the Rights group expressed dismay at the reported decision of the protesting members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria to block the entire federal Highway thereby denying other Nigerians their rights to freedom of movement. HURIWA has called on the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria to go about their mass rallies and protest peacefully and lawfully.

HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf said the killings of members of the Moslem minority sect in Nigeria by soldiers were completely avoidable if the armed security forces from the Nigerian Army had deployed non- lethal weapons such as rubber bullets or water cannons/teargas canisters to disperse the members of Shiites Islamic minority worshippers who had had brushes with soldiers many times. 

HURIWA said it was completely incomprehensible why the Nigerian Army had to use maximum force to confront civilians just as the Rights group faulted the organizers of the religious march on their failure to coordinate their event in such a way as not to constitute logistical nightmares for other citizens who went about their legitimate businesses. HURIWA however stated that the alleged failure of the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria to give way for other users of the road to have their ways does not legitimize the brutal crackdown of the unarmed group which resulted in avoidable fatalities at a time that hundreds of innocent Nigerians have been gruesomely killed by armed hoodlums and armed Fulani herdsmen in many states without the security forces ever arresting or dealing with these armed marauders that are causing unquantifiable havocs. "Have the soldiers run out of water cannons; teargas canisters or rubber bullets? Why fire lethal weapons on civilians even if assuming they were throwing rocks and stones at the soldiers? These killings are indeed dehumanizing the Nigerian life and making Nigerian life seem so cheap. This is absolutely inappropriate and totally unacceptable".

"We condemn these deaths that were completely avoidable if maximum military force wasn't deployed. We are by this statement publicly asking that an independent investigation to be carried out by a panel of investigators to be drawn from the organized civil society community, the judiciary and representatives of the security forces be composed without further waste of time. Enough of this bloodshed. We completely condemn the President's persistent failure to comply with binding orders of several courts of competent jurisdictions that had granted bail to the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria Sheikh Ibraheem Elzaczacky and his wife who have been detained in the facilities of the Department of State Services since over two and half years". 

HURIWA recalled that five members of the Shiite Islamic sect were allegedly killed on Saturday during a clash with the military in Zuba, Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). According to eyewitness accounts, a cortège of Shiite members was marching from Suleja, Niger State, to Abuja when they clashed with soldiers.

HURIWA recalled that the group, in their hundreds, were reportedly protesting the continued detention of their spiritual leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, who has been held by the Department of State Services (DSS) since December 2015 just as competent Sources said the Army shot and killed five members of the sect during the clash, which occurred at the Dan Kogi checkpoint at Zuba.

HURIWA recalled that the sect members, clad in black outfits, were said to have rejected the entreaties of the soldiers stationed in Dei Dei, Dakwa and Zuba to back off and, instead, resorted to lobbing stones and other projectiles at the soldiers.

HURIWA recalled that the Army had through Major General James Myam the commander of Army headquarters Garrisons had claimed thus: "Troops of Army Headquarters Garrison on official duty escorting ammunitions and missiles from Abuja to Army Central Ammunition Depot in Kaduna State were attacked by some members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) sect at Zuba bridge, of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at about 3.00pm on Saturday 27th October 2018."

HURIWA also quoted the Army as stating that: "The sect who were supposedly in a procession, established an illegal road block denying motorists free passage. When the troops’ convoy attempted to clear the road block, they met stiff opposition from the sect. Members of the sect used various objects to barricade the road and also pelted the troops with stones and other dangerous items. They smashed both military and civilian vehicles’ windscreens and windows".

HURIWA however dismissed this official angle as substantially untenable and unacceptable even as it wondered why the Army did not receive prior intelligence on the procession of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria which was publicized just as the group also expressed shock that the Army could admit moving heavy weaponry in such a casual fashion to an extent that a motley crowds of civilians had in their words attempted to overrun the troops requiring additional troops to dislodge the so-called attackers. Why were these weapons not transported at dead of the night when there is minimum traffic? “This line of story doesn't add up. The Nigerian State must as a matter of necessity convoke a high powered judicial commission of inquiry to be made up of credible Nigerians drawn from the Supreme Court, the civil society communities, Faith based groups and representative of the Armed forces to unravel the remote and immediate causes of this massacre of civilians by armed soldiers."

Blame Governor Nasir Elrufai for Kaduna’s persistent crises:-HURIWA

A prominent pro-democracy and non-governmental organization – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has condemned as premeditated, atrocious and provocative,  the well-organized assassination of the traditional ruler of Atom Adara Chiefdom, Dr Maiwada Galadima even as it blames the intrinsically divisive style of the Kaduna state governor Malam Nassir Elrufai for the persistent incidents of tribal wars in the state.

The Rights group which also carpeted the presidency and the National Assembly for failing to check the excesses and the cacophony of illegalities of the Kaduna state governor over the last three and half years, also wondered why the Kaduna state governor has not come under security scrutiny even after admitting publicly that he offered cash settlement to alleged armed Fulani marauders to stop calling Southern Kaduna Christians.

HURIWA affirmed that section 308(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999(as amended) which is a legal immunity from prosecution of holders of certain executive offices does not forbid the placement of a governor on security watch if such a person constitute grave danger to public peace.

HURIWA lamented that unless actions are taken by the relevant security, legislative and executive institutions to classify Malam Nasir Elrufai as a national security risk and put him under intensive SECURITY surveillance, then the intermittent conflicts between divergent ethno-religious divides in Kaduna state may even escalate into full blown cocktails of civil wars.

“It is a notorious fact that the current Kaduna state governor is perceived as someone who has in the last three and half years of being in political office to have widened the gulf between the mainly Christian communities in Southern Kaduna state and the Northern part of the highly fragile and conflicts prone state. Kaduna needs a peace builder and someone who embodies tolerance and harmonious co-existent as governor in this twenty first century and not someone who is more or less an ethnic jingoist and an unrepentant religious bigot and an Islamic fundamentalist.”

On the killing of the popular traditional ruler who was reportedly summoned by the state government, HURIWA through the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, has demanded a transparent investigation by an independent panel of investigators to be drawn from competent and patriotic members of the public including judicial and civil society practitioners to ascertain the remote and immediate causes of this dastardly criminal act of planned assassination of this peace loving traditional custodian.”

“We once more call on the National Assembly to take up the task of law making process for the Kaduna state people in line with the constitutional provisions since the rubber stamped Kaduna house of assembly is completely compromised and the members have abdicated their constitutional task of making law for the security and wellbeing of Kaduna state people.”

“The security forces have also failed to put an end to the armed struggle embarked upon by suspected Fulani mercenaries and other hoodlums whose major diabolical assignment is to destabilize the stability and peace of the entire Southern Kaduna and to instigate civil unrests. This breakdown of law and order must be brought to an end even if it means declaring a state of emergency on security in Kaduna state. The Kaduna state governor has demonstrated that he lacks the charisma and temperament to dispense justice and equity to all the component parts of Kaduna state. Nigerians must not watch as the good people of Kaduna state are destroyed systematically.”

HURIWA recalled that the Kaduna State government had confirmed the death of the abducted traditional ruler of Atom Adara Chiefdom, Maiwada Galadima.

Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, disclosed this in a statement and described the killing of the traditional ruler in Kachia Local Government Area of the state as inhuman.

HURIWA recalled that gunmen suspected to be armed Fulani killer gangs had intercepted the convoy of the royal father at Maikyali village along Kaduna-Kachia Road on Friday last week and opened fire on the vehicles which forced them to come to a halt.

During the operation, the traditional ruler’s police orderly and three others in his convoy were shot dead by the gunmen who later took him and his wife away to an unknown location.

The traditional ruler’s wife had regained her freedom two days after, but he was held hostage by his abductors who demanded a ransom from his family.

2019: INEC should take tutorials from Gov. Okowa - HURIWA

A notable civil society group, Human Right Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to submit to a compulsory tutorial on how to conduct a free, fair and credible election in 2019.

National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated this in Abuja, Monday, while receiving Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Delta State on Civil Society, Comrade Felix Ofou, who paid the HURIWA boss a courtesy visit in his office.

Comrade Onwubiko observed that the leadership of INEC as presently constituted has failed, and would require tutorials from Dr Okowa, in order to meet the expectations of Nigerians in the forthcoming 2019 elections.

Making reference to what he termed as the obviously below average performances of the electoral body in recent major engagements in Ekiti and Osun, the HURIWA argued that INEC needs to consult the Delta State Governor to learn how to conduct credible and acceptable elections.

Onwubiko poured encomiums on the capacity of Dr Okowa to deliver on free and fair election on the recently conducted presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in which former Vice President; the Alhaji Atiku Abubakar emerged victorious.

“Dr Okowa did a marvelous job out of the highly anticipated Primaries. He did not only make the process to be transparent, but it was seen by all to have been transparently free and fair, more so that at the end, even the losers were happy and are currently working with the person that emerged. I think Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, the INEC National Chairman and his team require some lessons from your governor, if we Nigerians are to expect a free and fair deal in 2019", he declared.

Speaking further, the human right activist further commended Okowa for appointing Ofou, also a renowned journalist and activist, as a Senior Special Assistant on Civil Society and expressed the hope that the Governor would sustain the office even after the 2019 election, when he would have been returned for a deserving second term, while noting that Delta is a very vibrant state, with a huge number of community based organizations.

Speaking earlier, Comrade Ofou, said the visit was to familiarize with HURIWA , as a foremost human rights group and to seek partnerships with other civil society organizations in the country with a view to help provide capacity building for similar groups based in Delta State.

The Governor’s aide noted that Delta State is about the only state in Nigeria to have recognized the civil society for the purpose of effective partnership with government.

He also informed the HURIWA boss that the governor created an enviable standard in Delta, during the last PDP primary election, by not endorsing any candidate for any position, and ensuring that the umpires conducted a free, fair and transparent election in the state, a stand he argued was unprecedented.

The SSA revealed that during the recently concluded PDP presidential primaries, in Port Harcourt, which Okowa supervised, the latter took steps and made several personal sacrifices to ensure that the process was credible, one of which was by ensuring that he never interfered with the personal choices of all the over 150 delegates from Delta State, adding that the Governor refused to vote, to show he had no preferred candidate for the position of a presidential candidate.

The Oscar Romero lessons for Nigeria By Emmanuel Onwubiko

President Muhammadu Buhari last week rebuked religious leaders for in his words, poking their noses into political matters.

He (Muhammadu Buhari) was certainly not abreast with the pride of place that a certain celebrated theologian Archbishop Oscar Romero has occupied in the pantheon of global history due to his profound deployment of the powers of personal examples and his consistent dispositions for speaking truth to power from his pulpits in El Salvador.

If Muhammadu Buhari had had time to read broadly and followed the intellectual trajectories set by this reputable liberation theologian who held much of Latin America spellbound with his oratorical powers and his leadership candour in speaking for the voiceless, then certainly President Muhammadu Buhari would have exercised some levels of restraints and wisdom  and would have desisted from pouring undeserved invectives on some religious leaders who were seen attending to a reconciliation meeting organized at the home of the former military and civilian leader of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who left the Army in late 1970's as a full-fledged General.

However, apparently due to lack of proper intellectual consultations and guidance, President Muhammadu Buhari embarked on a misplaced tirades when he went on to assert that religious leaders who become entangled in politics loses respect amongst Nigerians.

These weighty statements immediately sparked off a wild wind of controversies. Not necessarily because he made the comments to coincide with the top level successful fence mending mission in the home of Chief Obasanjo who recently openly rejected Buhari's second term bid but for a variety of factors.

For some who took Buhari’s words with a pinch of salt, his comments lacked empirical support and foundation and is actually hypocritical going by his association for a long time with religious leaders of diverse affiliations.

Even as i write, his deputy Professor Yemi Osinbanjo is a big time pastor in one of Nigeria’s most flambouyant Christian denominations- Redeemed Christian Church. He was the second in command in the Church's hierarchy before Buhari chose him as his running mate in the Presidential poll of 2015. 

From the benefit of hindsight too, the current president is known to have received high profile visitors from the two Nigeria’s dominant religious faith groups of Christianity and Islam.

Frequently featured on pages of newspapers and televisions mingling with top notch religious leaders, president Buhari it would be recalled is known to always consult top Islamic preachers from time to time. His selective appointments of only Moslems into top flight national security offices is blamed on the pedestrian influences of those Islamic preachers that frequently thronged the Presidential mansion known as Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria's political capital.
His repudiation of the religious leaders and his call on them to distance themselves from politics does not hold water.

Buhari is known to have made those scathing remarks against religious leaders against the backdrops of the media stories that trended in which two most respected religious leaders of both the Christian and Islamic faiths were seen negotiating truce between the erstwhile president chief Olusegun Obasanjo and his then erstwhile vice President Alhaji Abubakar Atiku.

Alhaji Atiku and Obasanjo have had running political bottles since the days of their presidency during which time the then president almost dethroned his vice but for his resilience and his determined deployment of good team of lawyers who successfully secured a Supreme Court’s reprieve stopping his then estranged boss from sacking him from office when the then vice president defected to another party.

But as run up to the 2019 presidential poll hots up, the former Vice President who just picked up the presidential flag of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored a significant milestone when his former boss who had parted ways with him was talked into reconciling with him (Atiku). This feat was occasioned by the interventions of Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah and Sheikh Abubakar Gumi.

Lest I forget, Nigeria’s most powerful and influential Pentecostal clergy Bishop David Oyedipo of the living faith church was indeed the third of the high powered religious celebrities that negotiated a successful truce between the two big political masquerades – Chief Obasanjo and Alhaji Atiku. Bishop Oyedepo is ranked by Forbes as one of the very few billionaire religious entrepreneurs in the World. He is extensively respected by millions of people all over the World.

The deal ended up with a public endorsement of Atiku by Obasanjo even as the religious leaders smiled in approval.

This move understandably caused tremendous political earthquake in the corridors of power whereby the current holder of the office of President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired military Major General a little lower in rank to Obasanjo desperately battles to retain his seat for a second and final tenure from 2019. 

The media desk of President Buhari went haywire by carpeting all the important personalities that were seen at the venue of the historic political reconciliation which took place in the retirement mansion of the former president in Ota, Abeokuta, Ogun state.

Not satisfied with the tirades released by his media boys, President Buhari went full throttle by criticizing religious leaders for mixing up politics and religion.

But only two days before this incident played out, president Buhari received in audience the head of the Deeper Life Bible Church Pastor Kumuyi even as his media team feasted on the photographs by circulating it in such a fashion as to create reactions from Christians who felt disappointed that one of the key Christian leaders visited Buhari and could not raise the issue of killing of Christians in North Central but was seen smiling from ear to ear. Many Catholic Priests have been killed by armed Fulani herdsmen in Benue state. Two female Christian preachers were openly hacked to death by Islamists in Abuja and Kano and for three years not one killer is behind bars but these religious leaders trooping into the Presidential villa in Abuja are not pursuing justice for the victims who we were unjustly deprived of their precious lives.

In what appears like a classic case of momentary loss of memory or even deliberate forgetfulness, president Buhari fired his missile at religious leaders who get involved in politics but in a collective amnesia, his supporters forgot that he had only just received the pastor and other high profile Islamic preachers who had gone to the Villa with the Kano state governor Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje on a goodwill visit.

Buhari stated thus: “Having recognized the role our religious leaders have been playing so far, I appeal to them to eschew partisan politics and appeal to their respective members to read the manifestos of each political party, discuss and pray for God’s guidance before casting their votes.”
He continued his tirades, “Religious leaders should not be seen to involve themselves in partisan politics or political controversies, otherwise they risk losing their status and public respect.”

However, in the year 2015, just before the election, a popular catholic priest in Enugu Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka had praised Buhari and urged Nigerians to vote for him. The then opposition candidate and current president expressed excitement at this endorsement. Mbaka was amongst the first sets of supporters that he hosted in the Presidential mansion in Abuja upon assumption of office.
Away from the conversations around the criticism of religious leaders made by president Muhammadu Buhari, what should worry us as Nigerians is the impacts that the visits to president Muhammadu Buhari makes in the way the nation is administered. Is the nation governed in the fear of God and is equity and equality of all citizens being observed? What about the concentration of all strategic offices in the hands of Moslems and mostly Hausa/Fulani?

Clearly, if those religious leaders such as the vice president and the litany of those who thronged the presidential palace would take their time to speak truth to power directly to the president, then by now the level of killings still going on targeting mostly Christian farmers would have abated. Kaduna is in turmoils now even as many have been slaughtered but the federal government looks on. Plateau state has been severally attacked and hundreds of Nigerians murdered because of their religion but the central government had failed to bring the killers to justice.

It is not shocking however that majority of the religious personalities who visit the presidency do go there to chase after what they can grab for themselves. Most Nigerians are known for cashing on to every opportunity and access they can have to the seat of power to maximize personal profits. Religious preachers are also afflicted by this virus of pursuit of selfish gains.

The vice president has recently stated that religious leaders do intervene to stop the government from adopting decisive steps to tackle corruption amongst political office holders. Closely following the Vice President’s disclosure is what Tunde Bakare, a pastor in Lagos said about how religious leaders troop in to see president Buhari just for photo opportunities and to be featured in the media.

The Senior Pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Dr. Tunde Bakare, said that Nigerians must speak truth to power and put aside what he called the culture of hypocrisy.

Bakare knocked the religious leaders who he accused of failing to take advantage of their visits to President Muhammadu Buhari to convey the true feelings of the people about the perceived excesses of those in power.

Bakare said this on Sunday at the Thanksgiving service to mark the 16th anniversary of Foursquare Gospel Church, Asokoro Abuja.

He said, “Look at the nation; look at those playing god; look at the godfathers who loom larger than life because of the level of authority they have. They forget that God brought them there and he has a way of removing them.

“When Samuel (in the Bible) entered the city, the king trembled but when some pastors visit Aso Villa, they are the ones shaking. All they want is photo opportunity (with the President),” he said.
Quoting from the Books of Genesis 6:12 and Phil 4:10 – 14 and 18, Bakare noted that the problem of corruption was not peculiar to Nigeria but insisted that the solution to the challenge must be people-driven.

“There is so much corruption in this country. But show me a country in the world which has no corruption. What is the solution? We are the answer to the dilemma of Nigeria but we keep playing church. We are the reason Nigeria is the way it is. You and I are responsible,” he stated.
He observed that the country was experiencing internal hostilities because certain individuals felt superior to the rest of the people.

This is exactly where the teachings and the power of personal examples displayed by Archbishop Oscar Romero should be internalized and externalized by the religious leaders in Nigeria.

This is for the very reason that Nigeria currently is in turmoils and witnessing the type of human rights abuses and killings that took place in El Salvador when Romero who has just been canonized a saint, lived and worked as the voice of the poor.

Julian Filochowski, the chair of Romero Trust captured the heroic lifestyles of Archbishop Oscar Romero in a piece in which he took time to discuss the teachings of the illustrious cleric which can be summed up as “option for the poor.”

Archbishop Romero was the voice of the voiceless poor. A life lived out in El Salvador, a Catholic country named after Christ the Saviour. A marksman’s bullet killed him in the middle of mass on March 24, 1980. No one was ever prosecuted.

There was disbelief and despair across the land but especially in the poor communities amongst the simple rural folk and city dwellers he had loved so dearly, defended so courageously and for whom in the end he gave his life.

In 1977 there was a Gethsemane experience for Romero. As he prayed beside the body of the murdered priest, Rutilio Grande, he realized that if he were to follow this through to its final consequences it would, as he wrote, “put me on the road to Calvary”. And he assented; he made a fundamental option for the poor and it took him to his martyrdom.

Romero was once asked to explain that strange phrase, ‘option for the poor’. He replied: “I offer you this by way of example. A building is on fire and you’re watching it burn, standing and wondering if everyone is safe. Then someone tells you that your mother and your sister are inside that building.
Your attitude changes completely. You’re frantic; your mother and sister are burning and you’d do anything to rescue them even at the cost of getting charred. That’s what it means to be truly committed. If we look at poverty from the outside, as if we’re looking at a fire, that’s not to opt for the poor, no matter how concerned we may be. We should get inside as if our own mother and sister were burning. Indeed it’s Christ who is there, hungry and suffering.”

Oscar Romero is simply demanding that leaders of all schools of thoughts must be ready and willing to resolve the challenges of violence and mass poverty afflicting the poorest of the poor. If you like, what i think Archbishop Oscar Romero is saying to us in Nigeria through his profoundly rich liberation theology is that we must work out the Nigerian option for the poor. We must stop the needless bloodshed. We must implement standards that promotes good governance.

One of those few Pastors in Nigeria who thinks like Oscar Romero is Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah. This refined gentleman who speaks truth to power is of the opinion that religious leaders must never see politics as dirty but must guide the followers to the path that will enthrone justice, fairness, equity and equality of all citizens. By that way Nigeria will become a better place for all and no particular tribe will see themselves as the ones with the birthright to rule Nigeria politically.

Kukah wrote thus: “Whenever the word ‘politics’ is mentioned in relation to faith, many Christians get rather nervous. Our minds go back to the old Biblical injunctions and we tend to recoil as if staying out of politics for Christians is the eleventh commandment. As it was in the time of the Master Himself, the faith has always remained intertwined with the politics of the day. The death of Jesus was an affair of politics and the early Christians lived under the shadow of the severely narrow political choices of their day", (From the book “The Church and The Politics of Social Responsibility” by Matthew Hassan Kukah).

To our religious preachers who are busy chasing after money from politicians and are not courageous enough like Oscar Romero to preach righteousness, justice and equality of all citizens, i say to you, your sins will catch up with you soon. When the eyes of the masses are liberated and opened, they will abandon you and strive to build a peaceful, prosperous and equitable nation.

*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwanigeria.com; www.huriwa@blogspot.com.

Comrade Felix Ofou the newly appointed Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State on civil society/Human Rights today visited the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) in Abuja on a working visit.

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Uzodinma: HURIWA tasks APC on Integrity

A leading pro-democracy and non-governmental body – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole – led All Progressives Congress (APC) not to arbitrarily substitute the name of Senator Hope Uzodinma, the winner of the originally accredited governorship primary poll conducted by an erstwhile presidential Adviser Alhaji Ahmed Gulak to suit the selfish bidding of governor Rochas Okorocha who is fighting tooth and nail to railroad his Son-in-law Uche Nwosu as his successor next year.

Besides, the Right group has lampooned the governor of Imo state Mr. Rochas Okorocha for seeking to convert the state to his family business empire by seeking to use the back doors to impose his son-in-law Mr. Uche Nwosu as his successor against the overwhelming will of the people of Imo state who are opposed to the personalization of government positions. HURIWA challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate that he is not a supporter of impunity by ensuring that the real winner of the first governorship primary conducted by Ahmed Gulak Senator Hope Uzodinma is sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the APC candidate in the forthcoming governorship poll.

The Rights group said it was laughable that the Imo state governor is actively depleting the scarce resources of the state to supplant his son-in-law as governor; make himself a senator and his wife as a member of the Federal House of Representatives as if to say the state has become his family business asset.

In a statement by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA affirmed that the hierarchy of All Progressives Congress (APC) would do great harm to the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity should the national chairman allow himself to be blackmailed into dropping the authentic winner of the governorship primary election in Imo state Senator Hope Uzodinma for the hand-picked choice of the governor and his son-in-law who is expected to cover up any traces of alleged financial indiscretions of the current Imo state administration for the last eight years.

“We support the call for probity in the administration of political parties as canvassed by the wife of the president Mrs. Aisha Buhari who has unambiguously criticized the reign of impunity in the highest echelon of the ruling party. We hereby asked president Buhari to stamp his authority and ensure that the result of the primary conducted by the Ahmed Gulak – led officially accredited committee is upheld. It is imperative that the ruling party respects the time honoured principle of integrity and honesty by ensuring that results of primary conducted by the officially recognized panel especially in Imo state stands and not unwittingly manipulated.”

HURIWA stated also that: “From credible sources and according to information circulated by the media, Senator Hope Uzodinma reportedly defeated Governor Rochas Okorocha’s in-law, Uche Nwosu to win the All Progressive Party’s gubernatorial ticket for next year’s election.

HURIWA recalled that the media reported that Senator Uzodinma polled 423,895 votes to pick the party’s ticket in the election conducted on Tuesday. Nwosu came seventh with just 10, 329 votes. The result was signed by the returning officer, Ahmed Ali Gulak.

HURIWA said the sanctity of that electoral process must be respected just as natural justice and ethics demands that the leadership of APC ought to have led the process of investigating the alleged threats to the life of the primary election panelists sent for the first time by the national hierarchy of the party following reports that Gulak had disappeared after declaring the winner of the primary election in the state.

This disappearance, HURIWA Quoted the media was after he had addressed newsmen about 11.30 Monday night, where he announced the postponement of the election to Tuesday. Gulak was said to have absconded from his hotel room, leaving other members of the committee behind.

HURIWA expressed shock at the level of insensitivity shown by the hierarchy to the claims made by the Chairman of the primary election panel that the party had initially delegated to carry out the primary election in Imo state but some persons including the Imo state governor ate clandestinely busy trying to substitute the winner with the Son-in-law of the outgoing governor of Imo state.

2019: Why Women Matter Matters By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Few hours back, I strolled into one of the key offices under the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria with a singular matter for constructive dialogue with a friend who is a senior aide of President Muhammadu Buhari.

My concern was on the observed lack of observation by the mainstream political parties of the policy framework that greeted the 1995 Fourth United Nations women conference in the Chinese capital of Beijing which basically recommended certain percentages of women inclusion in all aspects of political governance globally. Under the Sustainable development goals (SDGs) out of the seventeen key goals, the number five demanded gender equality in terms of appointments into decision making process.

Given the lack of adherence by the major political parties to the basic imperative of observing gender mainstreaming in deciding aspirants to run for public offices in the forthcoming election, i was seriously worried by the decline in the number of women that emerged from the fratricidal warfare that was termed the party primaries of such major political platforms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition party of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Of the two mainstream national parties, only the All Progressives Congress (APC) picked very insignificant percentage of women aspirants to run for the available slots in the forthcoming elections in 2019. Adamawa has two women who got tickets to stand for office of Senators out of the three slots.

On the other hand, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which for over the decade respected the mainstreaming of women participation in governance, unfortunately did very badly.

Take for instance the Federal government that was administered by the former university don Dr Goodluck Jonathan between the year 2011 to 2015, made sure that women got a greater chunk of the top flight federal appointments. Women got 33 percentage of top appointments made by the administration of Dr Goodluck Jonathan according to a statistics made available by the Nigerian Institute of management.

Women for instance headed both the petroleum and the national economy portfolio for the duration of the President Jonathan’s era. Jonathan also gave unfettered opportunities to his wife to engage constructively in pro-women projects which to a very large extent achieved a lot of mileages for the advancement of the rights of women and children. The current government of Muhammadu Buhari is reported to have offered only a paltry 19 percent of such appointments to women which is like 50 percent decline from the benchmark made by the immediate past administration as claimed by Professor Olukunle Iyanda, the respected President of the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM). Indeed the NIM accused President Muhammadu Buhari's administration of sidelining women.

Ironically, the list of those to run for elective offices in the coming election amongst the women members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has significantly declined compared to the All Progressives Congress which is accused of marginalizing women.

The party that is affiliated to the current president known as All Progressives Congress (APC) looks set to present more women to run for offices than any other political party of national significance.
For instance the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) schemed out the wife of the renowned South East legend the late Ikemba of Igboland Chukwuemeka Ojukwu. Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu was rigged out of the Senatorial Primary in Anambra state by a political party that rode on the good name of her late husband to gain tremendous acceptance amongst Igbo. These scheming out deliberately of women by political parties preparatory to the 2019 poll is worrisome. 

So this friend I met in the presidency also expressed shock and disappointment with the turn of events which according to her will not augur well for the advocacy for gender equity in governance that has gone on in Nigeria for so long.

She was rather sad that Nigeria instead of making progress in this area has suddenly declined.
She referred this writer to the practice in a place like Rwanda where by in the parliament, women make up over fifty percent representation.

Whilst still lamenting over the unfolding scenario, yours faithfully then flipped through a copy of the day’s newspaper only to behold a very sad story about a couple in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, who sold their week old baby boy for N200, 000 to human trafficking syndicate so they can relocate from a part of Ngwa land in Abia State to Port Harcourt in Rivers State or any other urban center.

The couple, who hail from Isiala-Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State, confessed to the crime, saying it was hard times that forced them into the decision.

Narrating her part in the deal, the wife said: “I have given birth to four children, one is late. I have two now. So when I became pregnant I told my husband that we would sell the baby and use the money to relocate from my village to township to start a better life. He refused but I forced him into agreeing with my plan.

“My husband is a labourer, he is a wheelbarrow pusher. I owe debts everywhere and I needed to settle them. So, we sold the baby for N200, 000 but I later learnt the baby was sold for N500, 000.”Her husband, Richard said: “We were owing N10, 000 and the hardship was too much for us to bear. I went round seeking for help but no help came. We wanted to relocate to the township for a chance of a better life, that was why we sold the baby to enable us raise money and rent an apartment in the city.”

Parading the suspects alongside other seven child traffickers at the IGP complex in Aluu, Ikwere Local Government Area of Rivers State, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the IGP Monitoring Team, DCP Benneth Igwe, disclosed that the team rescued six pregnant women and arrested seven child traffickers in connection with the business.

He said: “Based on reliable intelligence about a notorious child trafficking cartel operating in Obigbo-Afam in Oyigbo Local Government Area and Omagwa, Aluu, the operatives burst into Afrique Hotel in Oyigbo and rescued six pregnant women awaiting delivery.

“The hotel is used as a harbinger by suspected child traffickers. Information further revealed that on October 7, the victims, one Richard Benson and his wife, Chidinma Benson, delivered a baby boy at Grace Land Maternity Homes, Afam Obigbo.

“The maternity is owned by a quack nurse called Grace Daniel. After delivery, the parents were paid N200, 000 by one Mrs. Rose Onyia and the baby was later sold to Mrs. Eucharia Jaja of Omagwa for N500, 000 and thereafter, the baby was resold by Mrs. Jaja to her potential client in Lagos. Operatives are on a trail to recover the baby.

“The cartel pay N150, 000 for a girlchild and N200, 000 for a boy to the mother. The baby is later trafficked to an unknown destination for amounts between N1 million and N1.5 million,” he said. Meanwhile, another couple, Eucharia Ihunna, aged 48 and her husband confessed that they have been in the business for four years and have sold over four babies.

Not long ago an ugly story also trended about the sexual slavery of Nigerian girls to some European nations just as international news channels found a notorious forest in France whereby Nigerian girls who are trafficked into sexual slavery are engaged in forced prostitution.

The US based Cable News Network reported only last month about the discovery of the forest in France and further reported that the trafficking of Nigerian women for prostitution began in the late 1980s, according to the UN, when women were sent to Italy and forced into sex work. Returning home, they became the first generation of madams. They, in turn, made other young women suffer as they did.

Aurélie Jeannerod, who works with NGO Aux Captifs, la Liberation, which visits and supports prostitutes in the Bois de Vincennes and other parts of Paris, says there are also men involved with the networks.

Happy Iyenoma, aka "Mama Alicia," the head of a Paris-based network called the Authentic Sisters, was jailed along with her husband Hilary in May.

They were both sentenced to 10 years in prison for charges including human trafficking. In total, 15 members of the network were found guilty of trafficking roughly 50 women.

A charity that was a civil party in the case said one of the victims claimed the network assaulted her parents in Nigeria in 2015. She claimed her father died of his injuries.

In France, the maximum sentence for human trafficking is life imprisonment. But their juju oath forbids the women from speaking to authorities, making it more difficult for police to take down the networks.

And some of the women on the streets have asylum documents, says Jeannerod. Being a prostitute isn't illegal in France, only paying for sex is. "What do you want [the police] to do with the girls?" she says.
Besides, says Nadège, "The people who are doing the real business, the real human traffickers, they are in Africa."

The head of the Paris police department in charge of prostitution and trafficking described the difficulties in fighting the crime. "As soon as you dismantle a network, you see the effect in the street," he told CNN, "but that only lasts, at most, 24 hours, because we create a vacuum for another network to set up."

What the two stories relayed above show is that Nigeria is experiencing unquantifiable degree of problems associated with promoting, protecting and nurturing the human rights of Nigerian women and babies.

This therefore dovetails into the next area of concern which is the necessity for demanding from all aspirants to political offices in the coming election to swear to a court affidavits explaining to the electorate what programmes and achievable projects and timelines they would implement in the next four years if they are elected with specific and unique reference to addressing the fundamental developmental issues affecting women and children.

If truth be told, the current government has not done well in the area of protecting the human rights of women and children.

Women and children have in the last three years suffered the most from the numerous criminal acts of terrorism and bloody violence unleashed by armed bandits including armed Fulani herdsmen.
Also, the different levels of government administrations have yet to vigorously implement and enforce laws against human trafficking and the emerging phenomenon of babies’ factory.

On the issue of healthcare for women, it is a notorious fact that most public hospitals are dysfunctional even as Nigerian women have become victims of maternal deaths.

The British Guardian recently reported this ugly incident of high maternal mortality of Nigerian women.

According to the latest UN global estimates, 303,000 women a year die in childbirth, or as a result of complications arising from pregnancy. This equates to about 830 women dying each day – roughly one every two minutes.

The majority of deaths are from conditions that could have been prevented had women received the right medical care throughout their pregnancies and during birth. Severe bleeding and infections after childbirth are the biggest killers, but high blood pressure, obstructed labour and unsafe abortions all contribute.

Accurate maternal mortality figures require strong in-country data collection, which is often unavailable in developing countries, so the number of deaths is likely to be underreported.
The overwhelming majority of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. About two-thirds of all maternal deaths take place in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria and India alone account for one-third of global deaths.

The maternal mortality ratio in the world’s least developed countries stands at 436 deaths for every 100,000 live births, which is in stark contrast to the corresponding number – just 12 – in wealthy countries.

In 2001, UN member states agreed the millennium development goals, which included a call for the number of maternal deaths to be cut by three-quarters by 2015. While the MDGs boosted efforts, the goal was not met in the countries with the highest death rates. In fact, it was the target that made the slowest progress. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 1990 and 2005, maternal mortality rates decreased by an average of 2.3% a year – way below the 5.5% needed to achieve the MDGs. And now the decline seems to have plateaued.

The electorate in Nigeria should therefore demand clear pro-women agenda from candidates running for all offices in the 2019 poll and the presidential candidate who has the most convincing pro-women agendum should be considered and voted for by the majority of Nigerians who are youngsters. Women by the way constitute over 50 percent of Nigeria's current population computed by standardized agencies locally and internationally. Women therefore should exercise their powers during the election to elect candidate whose blueprints include the issues of women and Children.
This is precisely why civil society groups should mobilize Nigerian youngsters who have already enrolled to vote to resist the tendencies to mortgage their votes to the highest bidder but should look at the developmental blueprints of each candidate before casting their votes in 2019.

Recently, the United Nations population agency told us that majority of Nigerians are youngsters going by the current statistical evidence. These youngsters must demand from political office seekers for a clearly implementable agenda for women and children.

The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, said that Nigeria’s population is 195.9 million at the moment.
UNFPA also stated that 76 percent of Nigerians are between ages 0 to 24.

In its UNFPA state of world population report themed “The power of choice: Reproductive rights and the demographic,” the UN agency further said that 148.8 million Nigerians are under the age of 25.

The UN report goes in contrast with National Population Commission, NPC, figures, which claimed that the country’s population was at 198 million as early as April 2018.

The UNFPA report added that 44 percent of Nigeria’s population is aged 0 to 14, while 32 percent are aged 14 to 24.
The UN agency also revealed that Nigeria has one of the highest fertility rates in the world, with less than 20 percent of married women in urban communities using a modern contraceptive method.

In rural communities within the country, less than 10 percent of married women use a modern contraceptive method, UNFPA added.
“No country can yet claim to have made reproductive rights a reality for all. Choices are limited for far too many women,” the report read.

“And this means that there are still millions of people who are having more—or fewer—children than they would like, with implications not only for individuals, but also for communities, institutions, economies, labour markets and entire nations.”
These are exactly why women matters must matter in the year 2019 elections.

*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwanigeria.com; www.huriwa@blogspot.com.

CISLAC Demands Independent Probe into $5M Bribery Allegation

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), the National Contact for Transparency International (TI), expresses concern over the committee set up by the Kano State House of Assembly to investigate the recent $5million bribery allegation attributed to the State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as displayed in a widely shared video clip.

While we commend the effort and ability of the Kano StateHouse of Assembly at setting up an ad hoc committee to investigate the alleged bribery, we are worried that theoutcome of such investigation would not command public trust and credibility respect except if handled by independent and competent ICT professionals with track record of integrity.

We are confident an independent inquiry outside the instrumentality of Kano State governance structure will to a large extent assure Nigerians of fearless fact-findings on the true nature of the video clip in fulfilment of the Federal Government’s readiness to combat corruption within and outside the ruling party.We must, therefore, reiterate that anything short of an independent investigation would seem stage-managed before the public.

We are also not unaware of the infringement of human rights, intimidation and harassment of the whistle-blowers and citizens who stepped out to peacefully protest thisallegation against the Governor. We find this disheartening and reiterates our persistent demand for the adoption of a Whistle-blower Protection Law. Citizens’ right to freedom of association and expression should in no way be muzzled in this issue.

We call on the President and the Inspector General of Police to guarantee the rights of the people for a peaceful protest and ensure lives are secured.

We call for the Governor to immediately step aside to allow high level transparency, accountability and rule of law in the process of the investigation and prevent possible influence of the “fact-findings”. This will guarantee fairness and discourage undue interference in the investigation.

We call on the National Assembly and anti-corruption agencies to live up to the expectations and trust placed in them by Nigerians in ensuring perpetrators of corrupt practice are brought to book, while guaranteeing adequate protection for whistle-blowing effort through enabling policies implementation and transition into legislation.

We also call on the Ruling Party to stay silent on the issue if the party is really going to be believed that it is fighting corruption.

CISLAC remains committed to monitoring the government at all levels to ensure that she fulfills her promises to the citizens of our great country.

 Signed

 Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani)

 Executive Director, CISLAC

HURIWA condemns media trial of Fayose/Orji Uzor Kalu

A pro-democracy and non-governmental body – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to stop forthwith the choreographed media persecution of immediate past governor of Ekiti state – Mr. Peter Ayodele Fayose.

The group has also carpeted the anti-graft body and the court that purportedly granted the extra-legal remand order against ex-governor Fayose which purports to support the extra-constitutional detention of the outspoken member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) beyond the constitutionally stipulated timeline. HURIWA says EFCC's maltreatment of Ex-governor Fayose smacks of vindictiveness since there was no reason for this prolonged detention of someone on whose matter this same EFCC has dwelt on for over 5 years. Besides, HURIWA praised Fayose for turning himself in even when he had all the opportunities as a holder of constitutional immunity up until October 15th 2018 to escape from Nigeria under the guise of foreign investments drive ad a governor of Ekiti state as he then was.

In the same vein, HURIWA has condemned the spread of hate filled messages and perceptions by some Nigerians on the social media about the erstwhile governor of Abia state Chief Orji Uzor Kalu who is undergoing prosecution by EFCC over alleged financial infraction when he was Abia state governor between 1999/2007. HURIWA has exonerated ex-governor of Abia state of any blame in the delay that his trial has lasted but has criticized the EFCC for shopping for additional charges against Orji Uzor Kalu at a time it was becoming clearer that the Prosecuting team lacks tangible evidence of crime to nail the former governor to any of the initial charges which made the panicky EFCC to go fetching for dozens of additional charges.

The Rights group has also condemned the anti-graft commission for unduly padding up charges many years after the former Abia state governor was dragged to court just as the Rights group has tasked the EFCC to end the prosecution which is gradually becoming a choreographed persecution since it looks like there are no convincing and strong enough evidence linking Chief Kalu to the same charges which have just been increased to 39 from the initial 34.

Specifically on the case of ex-governor Ayo Fayose, HURIWA accused the anti-graft body of allowing itself to be deployed as an attack dog of the president who has consistently come under heavy criticisms by the immediate past Ekiti state governor and one of the most courageous opposition leaders of modern day Nigeria. HURIWA asked Nigerians to speak out in total condemnation of the gradual conversion of an otherwise noble national anti-graft institution to the armed attacking wing of the ruling All Progressives Congress of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The public conducts of the operatives of EFCC against ex-governor Fayose are despicable, reprehensible and condemnable because these spiteful and hate-filled treatment of the Ekiti State former governor even when he was the governor has depicted the EFCC as a highly partisan body which is being used to witch-hunt perceived opposition elements.”

HURIWA wondered why the EFCC did not grant administrative bail to Mr. Ayo Fayose who had voluntarily reported himself to the office of EFCC even when the likes of erstwhile secretary to the government of the federation Mr. Babachir Lawal indicted in alleged theft of almost a billion naira from North East reconstruction fund was never detained. HURIWA accused the EFCC of looking the other way whilst the First lady's chief security detail allegedly stole N2.5 billion from the first lady and wife of President Muhammadu Buhari. Why is the EFCC not going after this heinous crime of corruption that unfolded in the home of the President?

“The open and naked partisanship of EFCC against former Ekiti state governor has denied him his constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing as provided for in section 36 (1) of the Nigerian constitution which states thus: “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.” The Rights group accused the EFCC of deploying friendly mass media practitioners and partisan media owned by topflight chieftain of APC to engage in the spread of fake news and propaganda to portray ex-governor Fayose in bad light so as to pollute the mind of the judges that may adjudicate the matter when it gets to the court of competent jurisdiction.

HURIWA carpeted the Ibrahim Magu – led EFCC for playing to the gallery to please president Buhari by not allowing ex-governor Fayose to proceed on bail so as to prepare for defence of any charges that maybe instituted by EFCC even as the constitution has in section 36 (5) states that: “Every person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is found guilty.”

“We hereby condemn the resort to self-help measures as employed by EFCC with the connivance of some friendly judicial officers who clearly violated section 35 (4) of the constitution which spells out that: “Any person who is arrested or detained in accordance with subsection 1 (c) of this section shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time” even as subsection 5 states as follows; “In subsection (4) of this section, the expression “a reasonable time” means – in the case of an arrest or detention in any place where there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of forty kilometers, a period of one day; and in any other case, a period of two days or such longer period as in the circumstances may be considered by the court to be reasonable.” HURIWA said detaining Fayose beyond two hours or a day was extra-legal and is a show of political force to punish him for holding very strong opinions on the leadership style of the incumbent President who is enjoying the partisan endorsement of the EFCC's acting head who wore Buhari's campaign lapel badge publicly during the inauguration of the multibillion Naira worth expansive headquarters of EFCC. 

HURIWA has also condemned the hate messages targeting former governor of Abia state Chief Orji Uzor Kalu regarding his ongoing trial just as the group reminded Nigerians that the constitution is very clear that anyone who is being prosecuted is totally innocent until a contrary determination is reached by a court of competent jurisdiction.

HURIWA recalled that in one of the charges, the EFCC alleged that Kalu, who was Abia state governor between 1999 and 2007, “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited – company solely owned by you and members of your family – to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7, 197,871,208.7 on your behalf.”

The prosecution claimed that the N7.1bn “formed part of the funds illegally derived from the treasury of the Abia State Government and which was converted into several bank drafts before they were paid into the said company’s account.”

The prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said the ex-governor violated Section 17(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004, and was liable to be punished under Section 16 of the same Act.

Kalu has denied all these charges and given evidence to show that he was already a very wealthy man before venturing into politics just as it was reported that he even contributed N100 million to the campaign of the then President Olusegun Obasanjo with whom he later fell apart that resulted in the ongoing trial.

Peter Ngene NEF Fellow 2017-2019  Back to NEF Fellows; Country: Nigiera; Area of Research: Nanomaterials/Nanotechnology; Institution: Utrecht University

Peter was born in Enugu, South East Nigeria. His interest in science started in elementary school because of a tutor who showed him how science and technology had changed the world. His interest was then fostered by his high school physics teacher who mentored him. From this mentorship, he was sure he wanted to be a scientist and focused his courses in subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics. After secondary school, he went on to study Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Nigeria, where he graduated in 2002. After his bachelor’s degree, he worked for two years as a Process Engineer in Dangote Sugar Refinery to gain some practical experience.

During this period, he was fascinated by the emerging field of nanotechnology and its potential to revolutionize almost every aspect of our life. Based on this, he enrolled in a dual master in Microsystems (MEMS) and Nanotechnology in 2006. The master’s degree program was jointly offered by ESIEE (École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs en Électrotechnique et Électronique) in Paris and Nanyang Technological

University (NTU) in Singapore. This was a turning point for his scientific career because it gave him the opportunity to be engaged in cutting edge research in the areas of nanomaterials, especially their application in renewable energy (energy storage). After graduating in 2007, he got a PhD position in the group of Prof. Krijn de Jong and Prof. Petra de Jongh at Utrecht University, the Netherlands, completing his PhD in 2012. After his PhD, Peter was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow for 3 years in the Materials for Energy Conversion and Storage (MECS) group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. There, he continued to work on nanostructured materials for energy applications and sensing.

In 2015, he returned to Utrecht University where he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
group, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science. In a nutshell, Peter’s goal is to develop new materials that will enable the widespread use of energy from renewable and sustainable sources such as wind and solar. The major problem with these energy sources is that they are intermittent, therefore requiring some form of storage. Peter and his team are investigating several options to overcome this challenge. For example, he is developing novel materials that will enable energy to be stored efficiently via hydrogen or ammonia, materials for next generation rechargeable batteries for long driving range electric vehicles, heat storage and catalysts for energy conversion processes.

His work has had a high impact in the field of energy storage using metal hydrides. For example, Peter developed a strategy which is now widely used to make complex hydride nanocomposite materials for reversible hydrogen storage applications and solid-state
electrolytes for rechargeable batteries. He was the first to demonstrate that the kinetics of hydrogen release from complex hydrides can be improved significantly by co-confinement with catalysts in nanopores of carbon. He also developed inexpensive eye-readable hydrogen sensors for the diagnosis of lactose intolerance via hydrogen breath test.

He has published 28 peer reviewed articles, including in high impact journals like Angewandte Chemie, Energy and Environmental Science, Nano Energy, Advanced Functional Materials etc., with high number of citations. He was the Chair of the renowned Gordon Research Seminar on Metal-Hydrogen Systems in 2013, and was the recipient of the prestigious KNCV (Royal Dutch Chemical Society) prize for the best PhD thesis in 2012/2013.

Einstein Challenge: Peter is working to develop novel energy storage materials that will enable an energy revolution. This includes nanomaterials for efficient production of hydrogen from renewable sources, and its storage, so that hydrogen (in combination with fuel cells) can be used as an energy carrier for vehicles and stationary applications.

HURIWA to Buhari: You failed by not stopping Hauwa Limam’s gruesome murder

A pro-democracy and leading non-governmental organization – HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) has tasked President Muhammadu Buhari to admit his spectacular failure in stopping the taking into hostage and gruesome murders of some aid workers by the armed boko haram terrorists.

HURIWA said that by virtue of a plethora of municipal and international humanitarian laws that are binding on all persons and authorities holding such political position of a head of state and head of government, President Muhammadu Buhari has no valid, justifiable, rational, coherent, verifiable and cogent excuses to make for his administrations serial failures to effectively curb the heightened situation of terror attacks by such non state actors like the armed Islamists known as boko haram terrorists. HURIWA quoted the 1994 declaration adopted by the United Nations as measures to eliminate international terrorism, states are obliged to put practical measures to ensure that their territories are not used for terrorist installations, training camps or for the preparation of terrorist acts against citizens even as it wondered why Sambisa forests have yet to be totally liberated going by video evidence circulated by the terror masterminds.

Besides, HURIWA has also asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare as national heroines all those girls slaughtered by boko haram terrorists including Leah Sharibu and others still being held by the diverse factions of the dreaded armed Islamists in the North East of Nigeria.

As part of the national declaration of those massacred by boko haram terrorists as heroes/heroines including the aid worker Miss Hauwa Liman, the Federal government must pay heavy compensations of not less than N50 million to the families and grant full scholarships up to university levels to the children of those left behind by the victims of terrorists and most especially those taken as hostages. HURIWA argues that it is the constitutional obligation of government not to allow armed bandits and terrorists to roam freely and abduct citizens just as it stated that the blame for this failure lies squarely with the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces of Nigeria.

HURIWA stated that the capture of the three or so aid workers embedded with the international committee of the Red cross/crescent, including Miss Hauwa Liman and her colleagues were completely avoidable given that her capture was reportedly recorded on the social media.

“The successes recorded by the terrorists in capturing hostages of high value and other successes they have recorded in the recent deadly attacks of military formations and the killings of hundreds of soldiers must have been caused by poor intelligence gathering and failure to act when information is relayed to the armed security forces.”

“President Buhari should stop insulting our sensibilities by claiming that his government did all they could but never succeeded in stopping the hostage scenarios and the consequential gruesome killings.”

"This is because that statement is a total admission that this current government no longer has workable strategy to stop these spates of attacks by armed terrorists. The primary duty of government legally is to protect lives and property of Nigerians. The failure to stop the killings of hostages by boko haram terrorists is a failure of constitutional responsibility for which the Nigerian government was elected. Instead of apologizing to the parents of the dead, we are regaled with the press statement that president Buhari personally called the parents to claim that he did his best. It means his best is not good enough.”

HURIWA recalled that expert opinion has it that although in principle human rights can be violated by any person or group, and in fact human rights abuses committed against the backdrop of globalization by non-state actors (transnational corporations, organized crime, international terrorism, guerrilla and Para-military forces and even intergovernmental organizations) are on the increase, under present international law, only states assume direct obligations in relation to human rights.

HURIWA stated also that: We hereby remind the President of Nigeria that: "By becoming parties to international human rights treaties, states incur three broad obligations: the duties to respect, to protect and to fulfill. While the balance between these obligations or duties may vary according to the rights involved, they apply in principle to all civil and political rights and all economic, social and cultural rights. Moreover, states have a duty to provide a remedy at the domestic level for human rights violations.”

“The state ‘obligation to respect’ means that the state is obliged to refrain from interfering. It entails the prohibition of certain acts by Governments that may undermine the enjoyment of rights. For example, with regard to the right to education, it means that governments must respect the liberty of parents to establish private schools and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in accordance with their own convictions.”

“The ‘obligation to protect’ requires states to protect individuals against abuses by non-state actors. Once again, the right to education can serve as an example. The right of children to education must be protected by the state from interference and indoctrination by third parties, including parents and the family, teachers and the school, religions, sects, clans and business firms. States enjoy a broad margin of appreciation with respect to this obligation. For instance, the right to personal integrity and security obliges states to combat the widespread phenomenon of domestic violence against women and children: although not every single act of violence by a husband against his wife, or by parents against their children, constitutes a human rights violation for which the state may be held accountable, governments have a responsibility to take positive measures – in the form of pertinent criminal, civil, family or administrative laws, police and judiciary training or general awareness raising – to reduce the incidence of domestic violence.”

CJN DEFENDS GRAFT CHARGES AGAINST Supreme Court’s Nominee

The attention of the National Judicial Council has been drawn to a publication by the Civic Society Network Against Corruption urging President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, not to forward the name of Honourable Mr. Justice Uwani Abba-Aji recommended to him by the Council for appointment as a Justice of the Supreme Court to the Senate for confirmation otherwise it would challenge the action in Court.

The Group premised its objection to the appointment of Hon Mr. Justice Abba-Aji to the Apex Court on the report of an online newspaper of 16^th October, 2016, which featured his name as one of the Judicial Officers under investigation for corruption by Security Agencies for accepting bribe from a Senior Lawyer who is currently facing trial at the Law Court;

The Civil Society group concluded by imploring President Buhari, GCFR, to withhold submission of Hon. Mr. Justice Abba- Aji's name to the National Assembly until  he is purged of the allegation of corruption;

In as much as the National Judicial Council would not join issues with anyone on this matter, it is necessary to put the records straight. Members of the public would recall that sequel to the request of the Attorney-General of the Federation, in 2016, Hon. Mr Justice Abba-Aji and seven (7) other Judicial Officers were directed by the Council to recuse themselves from performing their judicial functions pending their investigation by Security Agency;

However, Hon. Mr. Justice Abba-Aji and five (5) others were recalled as only three (3) out of the Judicial Officers then under investigations were arraigned in Court;

For the avoidance of doubt, Hon. Mr. Justice Abba-Aji has since been sitting in Court and no Investigation Agency has filed any new allegation against His Lordship, in fact, his international passport had been returned to him and he had been travelling outside the country without any hindrance, signalling that the investigation agencies have nothing new against His Lordship;
The law of the land remains that no one is to be punished except for an offence established by due process of law;

The National Judicial Council hereby re-affirms its commitment to zero tolerance for corruption which is the stand of The Honourable, The Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the Council, Hon. Mr. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, GCON.

Soji Oye, Esq.
Director, Information

PRESS RELEASE
16^th October, 2018

How Money and Life will shape 2019 By Emmanuel Onwubiko

The most significant election since independence in 1960 will take place in February next year which is approximately four months away.
The year 2019 presidential election particularly is significant for a number of reasons and extenuating circumstances.

Firstly, the election is being intensely contested by two Northerners made up of the incumbent, a retired military general and one time military ruler major general Muhammadu Buhari (retired) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Atiku was Vice president of Nigeria for eight years between 1999 to 2007.

Another factor that has made the forthcoming presidential election very historic is that only three years ago, Nigeria witnessed what is considered around the World as a very peaceful transfer of political power from an incumbent president Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to the then opposition leader Muhammadu Buhari who scored about 15million votes to the twelve and half million votes recorded for the then incumbent.

The forthcoming presidential poll is closely monitored to see how transparent, peaceful and free and fair it will be given that the president who is the incumbent is the beneficiary of a very peaceful hand over of power which is a model for Africa – a continent known for sit tight presidents.

The 2019 presidential poll has already attracted widespread cynicism because of a number of negative indices such as the unnatural fact that the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mohmood Yakubu who was appointed by the incumbent president is a kinsman of the incumbent president who desperately wishes to win the coming election. There is therefore the suspicion that the Chairman of the electoral commission could sway and manipulate the process to railroad his kinsman and benefactor to be the winner.

Again, this election period is the first since independence that the umpire of the election is from the same tribal and religious affinities with the incumbent president.

Additionally, the incumbent president also appointed his niece Mrs. Amina Zakari as a national commissioner.

This national commissioner who is a biological relations of president Buhari has come under increasing criticism for her unsavoury roles during the serial electoral heists that happened in Ekiti, Osun, Bauchi, Katsina, Kogi states both in the governorship and national assembly elections during which the police aided and abetted the manipulation of the outcomes in favour of the political party affiliated to the incumbent president.

Mrs. Zakari headed the operations department of the Independent National Electoral Commission until recently when due to overwhelming public pressures, she was moved to another department.

But the story coming from INEC says that the presidency has started mounting pressure on the hierarchy of INEC headed by Mohmood Yakubu to restore Mrs. Amina Zakari back to the operations department in time for the February elections.

Aside the very weighty issue of apprehension by millions of Nigerians who do not repose any confidence and trust on the leadership of INEC to do what is right and legal during the coming strategic presidential poll, there are two main campaign issues that would inevitably shape the outcome of the presidential election.

These are money and the fundamental human right to life. So money and life are the two key determinant factors.
In another way, the economy and security are the two key issues that should determine who wins the 2019 presidential election.

In the area of economy, it is a notorious fact that the current administration led Nigeria to economic recession in the year 2015 due to poor policy implementation. Buhari took nearly half a year to put together a cabinet and till date most agencies of government are administered on ad hoc basis.
Perhaps, this snail speed process of administration informed the allegation by the Sokoto State governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal that President Muhammadu Buhari is a surrogate President because members of his family resident in the Presidential mansion are calling the shots.

According to a factual account by BBC, Nigeria slipped into recession, with the latest growth figures showed the economy contracted 2.06% between April and June in 2016.
The country has now seen two consecutive quarters of declining growth, the usual definition of recession.

Its vital oil industry has been hit by weaker global prices, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
But the government says there has been strong growth in other sectors.

Crude oil sales account for 70% of government income.
The price of oil has fallen from highs of about $112 a barrel in 2014 to below $50 at that time but has risen sharply.

BBC reports that Outside the oil industry, the figures show the fall in the Nigerian currency, the naira, has hurt the economy. It was allowed to float freely in June 2016 to help kick-start the economy, but critics argued it should have been done earlier.

The government, however, has found some positive news in the figures.
"There was growth in the agricultural and solid minerals sectors... the areas in which the federal government has placed particular priority," said presidential economic adviser Adeyemi Dipeolu.
Nigeria, which vies with South Africa for the mantle of Africa's biggest economy, is also battling an inflation rate at an 11-year high of 17.1% in July.

"A lot of Nigeria's current predicament could have been avoided," said Kevin Daly from Aberdeen Asset Management.

"The country is so reliant on oil precisely because its leaders haven't diversified the economy.
"More recently, they have tried, and failed, to prop up the naira, which has had a ruinous effect on the country's foreign exchange reserves and any reputation it might have had of being fiscally responsible."

In the analysis reported by Martin Patience, BBC Nigeria correspondent this economic recession is said to have happened as no surprise to millions of Nigerians. Many say they've never known it so tough.

The slump in global oil prices has hit Nigeria hard. The government depends on oil sales for about 70% of its revenues.

But critics say government policies made a bad situation even worse. The decision to delay devaluing Nigeria's currency meant many businesses struggled to get foreign currency to pay for imports, which had a cooling effect on the entire economy.

The economic recession lasted nearly a year even as millions of Nigerian families became much more impoverished with the spiraling costs of living and lack of economic opportunities for millions. Many who graduated from schools can't find jobs.

Indeed, even when the Nigerian government announced that the economic recession had ended, the economy of over 100 million Nigerians did not improve but instead Nigeria became a home to the largest number of poor people in the world.

The lady who headed the Finance Ministry and the economy for President Buhari Mrs. Kemi Adeosun was forced out of office due to forged credentials she obtained purportedly as her exemption certificate from the National Youth Service Corp.

During her tenure in office under Buhari, the government borrowed excessively and returned Nigeria to the inglorious position of a heavily indebted third world nation. This is the shape of the Nigerian economy which should define the election.

However, the incumbent president in his wisdom has implemented a small scale interest free loan scheme that poor traders are targeted.

The government had earlier, against all rational opposition decided to share to poor Nigerians the sum of nearly $400 million that the Swiss government returned to Nigeria from the humongous loots stolen by the late maximum ruler General Sani Abacha.

Those who opposed the decision to share these looted fund but returned public fund had questioned the transparency and accountability that would characterize these redistribution of these national wealth. The identities of the beneficiaries are shrouded in secrecy.

The opposition to the sharing of the Abacha loot is also boosted by the fact that the sharing is coming just before the 2019 election which means that the incumbent president might deploy such huge fund to buy over voters.

Another seemingly pro-campaign economic policy being implemented by government is the interest free loan scheme which was only last month inaugurated by the vice president Yemi Osinbanjo who is also the running mate to the incumbent president in the next poll.

According to Osinbajo, the scheme is aimed at spreading prosperity and reducing poverty, especially for petty traders irrespective of their socio-political background.

In a statement by the Vice President’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said that the programme is part of the Social Investment Programme of the Buhari administration.

He explained that it has been launched in Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Abia, Osun states and would be extended, in quick succession, to traders in all the states of the federation by the end of 2018.

Speaking to traders at the Utako market shortly after witnessing the disbursement of funds to beneficiaries, the Vice President said every petty trader was eligible to benefit from the scheme and urged petty traders across the country to take advantage of the scheme to improve their businesses.
“This programme is for the petty traders selling in the markets, it is not for bigger traders. It is for the petty traders to improve their businesses.

“For now, we are giving you N10, 000, if you pay back in six months or less, you will get another N15, 000. We want to encourage petty traders so that they can have sufficient amount to improve their businesses”, he stated.

He assured beneficiaries that the amount given to them would be increased if they paid back their loans within the stipulated period, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari himself was interested in the welfare of the traders.

“The one we did before was for big traders under the GEEP programme, we gave them as much as N100, 000. If you do well with this one we are giving you now, we will increase the amount.
“Everybody can benefit from this scheme, the President himself has said that he wants to make sure that those who are selling small items in the markets benefit from this programme.

“When we give you this money, we want you to pay back and no interest is involved”, he added.
Earlier on arrival at the market, Prof. Osinbajo went round interacting with petty traders before he proceeded to address traders who had thronged access roads around the market to receive him.
He was accompanied to the programme by two Ministers of State: Industry Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar and Zainab Ahmed among other top government officials.

Obviously, these eleventh hour attempts to placate poor Nigerians by the incumbent is only but a drop in the ocean because the state of general infrastructures which are supposed to improve wealth creation on a grand scale is very poor and dysfunctional.

 Nigerians in their millions lack access to electricity; good roads and millions of rural farmers have not really benefitted from the media celebrated pro-farmers' credit schemes by the central bank of Nigeria. This much celebrated credit scheme only exists in the imagination of government spin doctors.

In the second issue which is the state of security, the last three years can be regarded as the worst in the sense that armed hoodlums including armed Fulani herdsmen upped the ante of their attacks even as the federal government failed spectacularly to arrest, prosecute and punish these mass killers.

The boko haram terrorists have also continued their serial bloody violence with hundreds of soldiers becoming the latest sets of victims of the violent attacks of the terrorists. Scores of civilians including hostages seized by them have been killed with government not sure of what measures to put in place to curb these attacks.

However, it could be recalled that Defence and national security was the pinnacle of the electoral promise made in 2015 by the incumbent but his administration has failed. The next strategic item that should shape the election is the protection of the right to life of Nigerians which has deteriorated rapidly.  But this item is strategic going by the cardinal position it occupies in the hierarchy of human rights.

An international law scholar wrote as follows: “Certain rights may not be derogated from in the various human rights instruments even in times of war or other public emergency threatening the nation. In the case of the European Convention these are the rights to life (except in cases resulting from lawful acts of war), the prohibition on torture and slavery, and non-retroactivity of criminal offences."

 The author Professor of law Malcolm N. Shaw also averred that: "In the case of the Inter-American Convention, the following rights are non-derogable: the rights to juridical personality, life and humane treatment, freedom from slavery, freedom from ex post facto laws, freedom of conscience and religion, rights of the family, to a name, of the child, nationality and participation in government. By article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the rights to life and recognition as a person before the law, the freedoms of thought, conscience and religion and the prohibition on torture, slavery, retroactivity of criminal legislation and imprisonment on grounds solely of inability to fulfill a contractual obligation are non-derogable. Such non-derogable rights clearly are regarded as possessing a special place in the hierarchy of rights. In addition, it must be noted, many rights are subject to a limitation or clawback clause, whereby the absolute right provided for will not operate in certain situations. Those rights therefore that are not so limited may be regarded as of particular value.” (From the book “International LAW, Seventh Edition by MALCOLM N. SHAW).

The two mainstream presidential candidates Muhammadu Buhari and Atiku Abubakar and a sprinkling of other important Presidential hopefuls including erstwhile Vice President of World Bank Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, Publisher of Sahara reporters Mr. Omowole Sowore, former Cross Ricers governor Donald Duke and former Deputy Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria Dr. Kingsley Moghalu are expected to dwell more on these two key campaign issues as they are billed to commence full blown campaigns.

*Emmanuel Onwubiko is Head, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and blogs @ www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www.huriwanigeria.com; www.huriwa@blogspot.com.