Politics
By Benprince Ezeh
THE International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law, Intersociety, has said that human rights Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, and democratic institutions have failed to hold the government of Nigeria accountable for not protecting human rights, but collude with the government in muzzling the civil space and abusing the citizens’ rights with reckless abandon.
In a statement by Emeka Umeagbalasi, board chairman of the organisation, at this year’s World Human Rights Day, WHRD, themed: “Reducing Inequalities and Advancing Human Rights”, he said that “today in Nigeria, many of these NGOs and their leaders have become consultants for murderer-security agencies and their chiefs, including Nigerian Army and Nigeria Police Force, NPF”.
“Their consultancies include storming strategic international diplomatic quarters and other powerful institutions with counter petitions in defense of their paymasters, who also go behind the scene to mobilize millions of dollars mostly from stolen and borrowed public funds for the purpose of greasing the palms of their hosts through ‘lobbying’ or ‘tipping’ and other internationally codified thievery processes.
“Nowadays NGOs in Nigeria now organize rented crowds and carry mock coffins against their paymasters’ opponents or against credible indictable reports exposing their paymasters’ conduct atrocities such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other internationally prohibited acts or atrocities.
“This is not to talk of “Nigerian Virus” that infested the leadership, including the Presidency of the International Criminal Court, ICC, since 2018 and rendered it leprously inoperable till date. The above highlights are just to mention but a few,” it stated.
According to the organisation, It is, therefore, safe to say that the above named supposedly human rights NGOs and democratic institutions have not only failed to regularly and independently hold the present government of Nigeria to protect human rights and other democratic freedoms and account for their abuses and violations, including holding culpable public employees and private persons and institutions accountable; but also helped or colluded with the government in muzzling the civil space and abusing the citizens’ rights with reckless abandon.
“Unlike twenty years when the WHRD, was being marked with releases of shocking and indictable research reports on the state of Human Rights across the States or the country-with far-reaching recommendations and enough pressure on government to redress same and identify and sanction their perpetrators; today’s WHRD in Nigeria is awash with placement of costly adverts on pages of newspapers or impaneling of TV or Radio live programmes where institutional or individual ‘human parts dealers’ are celebrated and canonized as “Human Rights Champions”.
“This is to the extent that atrocious security chiefs and their institutions are openly celebrated and canonized in dubiously sponsored costly press conferences or paid TV/Radio live appearances or sponsored newspaper columns or editorials.
“As a matter of fact, most, if not all the human Rights NGOs and other democratic institutions under reference have been structurally uprooted, seized and taken over by undemocratic elements, including “human parts dealers”.
“Their consultancies include storming strategic international diplomatic quarters and other powerful institutions with counter petitions in defense of their paymasters, who also go behind the scene to mobilize millions of dollars mostly from stolen and borrowed public funds for purpose of greasing the palms of their hosts through ‘lobbying’ or ‘tipping’ and other internationally codified thievery processes,” the organisation said.
They, however, said that Intersociety as research and investigative organization, would continue to save lives and entire humanity by consistently exposing grisly rights abuses and violations and their perpetrators anywhere in Nigeria.
“These, we shall continue to do by ensuring that culpable governments at all levels, including the present Government of Nigeria and its security agencies and their chiefs as well as culpable non-state actors, are held to account for conduct atrocities perpetrated or aided and abetted.
“As it concerns the 2021 World Human Rights Day, Nigeria is sinking and sinking deeper in poor human rights records and for the avoidance of doubt, our research report on the country’s state of human rights and other democratic freedoms, especially in Eastern Nigeria is on the way,” the statement added.
Tags: Benprince Ezeh Intersociety NGOs
