#EndSARS: How human rights were violated

There have been widespread violations of human rights across the country in the wake of the #EndSARS protests calling for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and for police reforms.

The protests started on October 8, 2020, following anger and outrage over police brutality against mostly youths, but the protests dragged on for weeks after the youths rejected government’s announcement to replace SARS with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) on Tuesday, October 13.

The otherwise peaceful protests eventually turned violent. Hoodlums who were allegedly unleashed on peaceful protesters attacked, injured and killed some people. Public and private property worth billions of naira were destroyed in the chaos in several parts of Nigeria.

Violence in Apo, FCT; Terminus, Jos, Plateau State; Sabon Gari, Kano; Oyigbo, Rivers State; Orlu, Imo State; Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos State; and Nsukka, Enugu State nearly degenerated into ethno-religious crisis with undisclosed number of persons killed.

This is in clear violation of the freedom of free expression, association, assembly and movement as provided under Sections 39, 40, 41 and 44 of the Nigerian Constitution and Articles 9, 10, 11, 12 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights as ratified by Nigeria.

Furthermore, security agencies were alleged to have shot and killed scores of unarmed citizens, tortured many and injured several others. The alleged Lekki Tollgate shooting of protesters proved to be a turning point in the protests. There are also reports of killing of security personnel. The police reported killing of 22 of its personnel nationwide. Also, police stations and operational vehicles were torched.

The Lagos State Police Command said it lost six personnel to lynching and that arms were taken from its armouries, 29 police divisions, 17 posts and 71 operational vehicles were burnt.

The killings violated the provisions of Section 33 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution and Articles 4, 5, and 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights as ratified by Nigeria.

Section 33 (1) provides that: “Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.”

Article 4 of the African Charter provides that: “Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.”

Hundreds of youths have been arrested across the states of the federation on allegations of breaching of curfew rules, looting of shops and warehouses, especially in search of COVID-19 palliatives, and carting away of security, medical and other kinds of property. In the process, many under-aged offenders were arrested with looted police accoutrement.

However, parading of the under-aged offenders and detaining them with adults has been criticised. Article 40 (3) (a) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has it that states are encouraged to adopt the age of criminal responsibility suitable for their respective jurisdictions. Eighteen years is the age recognised as the age of maturity in Nigeria. The Nigerian law recognises that the child lacks criminal responsibility and therefore cannot be prosecuted for any offence. Also, Section 277 of the Child’s Rights Act 2003 and Section 494 (1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 defines child as “a person who has not attained the age of 18.”

A Yoruba group, the Young Yoruba for Freedom, and the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have been accused of inflaming ethnic passions in the course of the protests. The former in a viral video ordered people of Igbo nationality to quit the South West within 48 hours.

Lawyers say ethnic discrimination resulting from the #EndSARS protests violates Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 2 of the African Charter.

Speaking on the violations, a lawyer, Nkemakolam Okoro, said the country’s human rights record had become very poor, citing this and the mass and indiscriminate arrest of citizens over the #EndSARS protests.

Okoro said, “Despite the persistent hunger and anger in the land, the government has gone ahead to inflict more pains on its citizens by this senseless and indiscriminate arrests and parading of innocent citizens.

“In the first instance, it is unlawful and unconstitutional for the government to parade people arrested over the EndSARS protests. What is the justification for such parading given the constitutional presumption of innocence in their favour? Why would the government arrest persons and keep them in detention beyond 48 hours against constitutional provisions? This action by the government, though not surprising, given their history, is, to say the least, very shameful.

“I call on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to massively mobilise lawyers to see to the immediate release of persons arrested in the wake of the EndSARS protests. If the police have any evidence to the contrary beyond the forcefully obtained confessional statements, they should charge the people to court within the constitutionally provided timeframe.”

He further said, “To continue to subject Nigerians to torture despite the apparent failures of this government is wicked. I call on the Nigerian police to desist from the incessant arrest of innocent citizens.

“Maybe it is time for the National Assembly to look into the power of arrest of the police and whittle down such authoritarian and dictatorial power by a constitutional amendment.”

Another lawyer, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, called on the government to investigate the sources/causes of the agitations in order to forestall subsequent events.

Jimoh said, “In my humble view and from my personal assessment and study of the events, all the demands made by the protesting youths are not far from those objectives as contained in the Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. But unfortunately, the military government on transition to democratic government, restricted the courts from entertaining any matter on the said Chapter II of the Constitution and held that same is not enforceable under Section 6(6)(c) of the constitution”.

He further said the National Assembly must use its democratic powers conferred by Section 9(2) of the constitution to amend the constitution to remove the provision of Section 6(6)(c) of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, so that any person in Nigeria could freely enforce any of those socio-economic rights contained in Chapter II of the constitution.

He added that, “The National Assembly should make laws and each of the Houses of Assembly must make laws respectively allowing any citizen of Nigeria to be able to sue in enforcing public interest matters/actions against the government just as the right under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, so that human and socio-economic rights activists or individuals would not be affected by lack of locus standi.”

Also, the Human Rights Agenda Network (HRAN), an umbrella body of all human rights NGOs and activists in Nigeria, condemned the Lekki Tollgate shootings, and urged the International Criminal Court to invoke its powers under the Rome Statute to intervene if Nigeria fails to investigate the reported killings.

In a statement signed by 14 rights NGOs, HRAN said it reckoned that “there were pockets of violence and brutality by Nigerian law enforcement agents in other parts of the country, including Jos, Abuja, Enugu, Benin and Abia amid the protests and imposed curfews.”

Also, a civil society group, Access to Justice (A2J), criticised the house-to-house search for looted relief or other materials without a valid search warrant duly issued by a court of law.