A global rights group, Human Rights Watch has again taken a critical look at the human rights profile of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, and left Abuja with a damning report. The group said although the Nigerian press remains largely free, ‘’several arrests and detention of journalists and activists in 2018 suggest a disturbing trend toward repression of freedom of expression and media’’.
In August 2018, a social media campaign for the release of Jones Abiri, a journalist and publisher of Weekly Source newspaper forced the secret police, Department of State Services (DSS) to bring him before an Abuja Magistrate court, more than two years after his detention in 2016.
‘’The court discharged him of the charges because the prosecution failed to substantiate them. Another court awarded him $270, 000 in damages for breach of his human rights. Similarly, an Abuja court conditionally released Premium Times journalist, Samuel Ogundipe, amid protests and campaigns for his freedom. He was arrested and prosecuted by SARS for allegedly refusing to disclose the source for a story about a police inspector general, Ibrahim Idris’’, the group said on its World Report 2019 on Nigeria.
According to the report, ‘’Nigeria, which currently sits on the UN Human Rights Council, in July abstained from voting on a resolution on the human rights situation in Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Burundi; and another resolution urging states to respect and protect basic human rights and civil society space.
‘’In November, under the HRC’s Universal Periodic Review mechanism, states made 290 recommendations to Nigeria, including to combat all forms of discrimination, especially against women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex persons; combat impunity; and abolish the death penalty.
‘’The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) continued its preliminary examination into the situation in Nigeria, with a focus on alleged international crimes committed in the Niger Delta, the Middle-Belt states and in the Boko Haram conflict. The preliminary examination also focuses on the status of national proceedings regarding these crimes.
‘’In August, President Buhari delivered the keynote address at the 20th Anniversary of the ICC’s Rome Statute event at The Hague and used the opportunity to mark Nigeria’s strong support for the ICC’s mandate.
‘’Nigeria, a member of the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC), in April led the PSC on a South Sudan field mission aimed at fostering peace talks in the nation, which entered its fifth year of armed conflict.
‘’In a letter to President Buhari in March, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) declared the government’s proscription of IPOB as a terrorist group and attacks against its members as prima facie violation of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. In April, Nigeria’s sixth periodic report on the implementation of the charter was considered at the ACHPR’s 62nd Ordinary Session in Mauritania.
‘’In July, President Buhari was elected chairperson of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States. International actors, notably the United States and the United Kingdom, continued to support the Nigerian government’s effort to tackle security challenges and provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities.
‘’In August, Nigerian Air Force urged the US to expedite delivery of 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft worth $496 million. The Trump administration approved the sale in 2017, lifting the freeze imposed by the Obama administration over human rights concerns. The US also provides training to the Nigerian military, and in June, announced $102 million in humanitarian assistance for people affected by the northeast conflict.
‘’During a visit to Abuja in August, United Kingdom (ex-Prime Minister ) Theresa May signed the first ever security and defense pact between both countries. Under the agreement, the UK will expand provision of protective equipment and training to Nigerian soldiers and deliver a £13 million ($14.7 million) program to educate 100,000 children living in conflict zones. She also unveiled a series of measures to tackle illegal migration and human trafficking in Nigeria, including a new UK and France-led project to strengthen border security and cooperation.
In July, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to increase cooperation between Nigeria and France to tackle security challenges posed by activities of Boko Haram and ISIS in Nigeria and the Sahel.
‘’During a joint visit to Nigeria in July, the United Nations Office on Counter Terrorism and the Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate pledged continued technical assistance, including support for criminal justice processes that comply with human rights and rule of law, to help Nigeria to counterterrorism.
‘’In September, Germany, Nigeria, Norway and the United Nations co-hosted a high-level conference on the Lake Chad Region in Berlin that raised over $2 billion in support, and $467 million in concessional loans for humanitarian, peacebuilding, and development activities in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.
‘’The European Union also announced the release of €138 million ($157 million) to assist vulnerable communities in the region affected by prolonged violence, insecurity, and environmental degradation.’’
