Our Correspondent
The United States Government has indicted the Nigerian government; as well as security agencies in the country of flagrant and recurrent abuse of human rights.
The indictment was contained in its 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
The report, which was released late last week, was signed by the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.
The report covers seven sections including Respect for the Integrity of Persons; Respect for Civil Liberties; Freedom to participate in the Political Process; Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government; Governmental attitude regarding NGOs’ Investigation of Human Rights Abuses; Discrimination, Societal Abuses and Trafficking in Persons and Worker Rights.
The 46-page document painted a damning picture of human rights abuses by the Nigerian government; which the United States government also accused of not holding security forces to account for the use of deadly force.
Also, the report accused the Nigerian government of setting up several Federal and State panels of inquiries to probe atrocities; of which the reports are never made public.
The report cites significant human rights issues in Nigeria to include unlawful and arbitrary killings; including extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detention, all perpetrated by both government and non-state actors; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; unlawful infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; criminal libel; violence against and unjustified arrests of journalists; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons and religious minorities; widespread and pervasive corruption; crimes involving violence targeting LGBTI persons; criminalization of same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and forced and bonded labour.
‘‘The government took some steps to investigate alleged abuses but there were few public reports of prosecutions of officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government.
‘‘Impunity remained widespread at all levels of government. No charges were filed in some of the significant allegations of human rights violations by security forces and cases of police or military extortion or other abuse of power.’’
It stated that as at September 2019, the Buhari government was silent on investigating or holding individuals accountable for the 2015 killing and mass burial of Shiites other civilians by the Army in Zaria, Kaduna State. It also queried why the report on the 2017 Air Force bombing of an IDP camp in Rann, Borno State; which killed and injured more than 100 civilians and humanitarian workers, among others, has not been released.
Furthermore, the report cited attacks on journalists who opposed the government. Among those mentioned were Jones Abiri, publisher of Bayelsa State-based tabloid, the Weekly Source; Stephen Kefas, Agba Jalingo and the missing Abubakar Idris aka Dadiyata.
Also condemned was the activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police; which the report accused of illegal detention, inhuman treatment, and torture of criminal suspects, militants, detainees and prisoners.
Further, the report lampooned the Justice System in Nigeria as well as the condition of prisons; arrests without prosecution and alleged deaths of thousands of deaths in custody.
The 2019 election which returned Buhari to power for a second term was not left out.
The United States claimed there was evidence that military and security services intimidated voters, electoral officials, and election observers.
“There were reports that corruption, including vote buying were historically high during the 2018-19 electoral season. Examples of vote buying were apparent in the re-run of the Osun gubernatorial election in September 2018; and during the Kano gubernatorial election on March 9.’’
Massive corruption was also alleged to be going on under the Buhari administration.
‘‘Although the law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively; and government officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government, including the judiciary and the security services. The constitution provides immunity from civil and criminal prosecution for the president; vice president, governors, and deputy governors while in office. There were numerous reports of government corruption during the year.”
Among other issues raised, the report also decried forced labour, sexual discrimination, religious intolerance, early forced marriage, baby factories; violence against children and women, domestic violence and Female Genital Mutilation in Nigeria.
