Experts advocate rule of law, good governance
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, yesterday, lamented the stifling of public space by the government and its agencies despite being provided by the Constitution.
He also asked President Bola Tinubu to direct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to ensure compliance with judgments of all competent courts.
Falana spoke on the theme: “The state of Civic Space in Nigeria” at an interactive session, organised by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Lagos.
According to the senior lawyer, the government must ensure that courts’ verdicts are complied with in accordance with Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 24 of the Amended Protocol of the ECOWAS Court of Justice.
In addition, Falana said the Federal Government should without further delay make a declaration to enable aggrieved citizens to access the African Court after exhausting domestic remedies.
He noted that the Constitution expressly guarantees the protection of the public space, specifically, the fundamental rights of freedoms of expression, assembly and association under Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution.
Falana equally said the rights were captured Under Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap A9, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, while Section 22 of the Constitution has imposed a duty on the media to promote
The activist regretted that the Nigerian government has adopted ‘anti-democratic’ measures to constrict the civic space in order not to be held accountable.
He called on lawyers to constantly use public interest litigation to counter restrictions on civic space and hold the government at all levels to account for violations of human rights.
Falana noted that notwithstanding the coordinated plan of the government to shrink the civic space, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are fighting back.
He commended SERAP for being in the forefront of public interest litigation against government’s “anti-people” policies, as well as challenging CSOs to review the state of civic space in Nigeria.
SERAP, on its part sought establishment of a legal framework that recognises and respects human rights in the country. It equally called on the Federal Government to review laws like the Official Secrets Act, Criminal Code Act and Cybercrime Act for potential restrictions on free speech and press and amend them in line with international human rights standards and agreements.
The advocacy was made by Dr. Bunmi Afinowi of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), who presented a SERAP report titled, ‘State of Civic Space in Nigeria’, in Ikeja, Lagos.
The rights group, which also called for strengthening of the independence of regulatory bodies like the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) to ensure impartial regulation and promote self-regulation within the media, argued that the recent decision of the Federal High Court on the powers of the NBC was a step in the right direction.
The group further stated that the government should ensure a diverse representation in the NBC and NPC, including journalist unions, civil society and academia.
However, Afinowi advocated the need for professional bodies and civil society to encourage coalitions and ensure adequate funding, capacity building and technical support for civil society organisations working on media freedom and human rights issues.
Representative of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Simon Shingu, in his keynote address, said the promotion and protection of civic space were prerequisites for sustainable growth, good governance, rule of law and lasting development.
For Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Akin Rotimi Jnr, no amount of introspection on the civil space could be described as too much or too little.
