The Senate on Tuesday resolved to investigate all cases of human rights abuses allegedly committed by the police, Nigerian Army and other security agencies purportedly inspired by the executive arm of government. It also set out to summon the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, for explanation.
The red chamber said it would identify the culprits, victims and offer redress where necessary.
This scheduled positions were listed on the order paper for sponsorship by Senator David Umaru entitled, “Alarming rise in cases of alleged human rights violations and consistent assault on the provisions of the 1999 constitution by the executive”.
Although this motion was adopted but stepped down for another legislative day, Umaru affirmed that in the last few years, Nigeria’s democratic credentials have become questionable following alarming cases of alleged state-inspired human rights violations and consistent constitutional infractions perpetrated by agencies of government.
Notable instances of such human rights abuses, according to the lawmaker, is the continuous detention of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), for over two years in total disregard of over four court orders including that of the ECOWAS court.
Other such violations are: the continuous incarceration of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) also known as Shi’ites, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, lack of accountability for human rights violations by security agencies and other militant elements including armed herdsmen, heavy-handed violent responses to peaceful protests as exemplified by previous crackdown on agitators from the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, (IPOB).
The upper chamber also interrogated the recent violent clashes between the police and suspected members of the IMN, who were protesting for the release of their leader, El-Zakzaky, in Abuja and Kaduna respectively.
The lawmakers, in addition, raised alarm over allegations of the country sliding into anarchy and despotism with indices of indiscriminate arrests, unconstitutional detention of citizens under questionable circumstances including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
The upper chamber also queried the recent enactment of the controversial executive order No. 006 which permits security agencies to freeze the assets of persons standing trial without recourse to court order, alleged violent attacks on judicial officers and the release of $496 million USA dollars from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for the purchase of 12 super Tucano aircrafts.
It is on this premise that the lawmakers urged the federal government to empanel a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate all the said cases of human rights abuse as allegedly committed.
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