The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday, warned the federal government against engaging into any form of negotiation with recognized terrorist sects in the country, insisting that “such meetings may send the signal to like -minded people that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.”
The legal body gave the admonition at its 2nd NBA president’s roundtable on Human Rights which held in Abuja yesterday.
The theme of the event was, “Human Rights and National Security: the challenges of terrorism and response of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
In his speech, the NBA National President, Chief J.B Daudu, SAN, urged security agencies in the country to buckle-up to their responsibilities as it relates to the fight against terrorism, stressing that “extra-ordinary actions call for extra-ordinary remedies.”
He said: “the theme of this roundtable is apt as this nation is presently engulfed in human rights violations of another dimension. It arises from terrorism and the challenges of security inadequacies to the rights of the Nigerian. For about a year now, rising steeply in the past six months, is the ill-wind of terror and violence unleashed by non-conformist groups, executed through the detonation of bombs, calculated or targeted assassinations, random killings, e.t.c, which have taken hundreds of lives of innocent Nigerians who ostensibly were going about their lawful businesses.
“The termination of life one way or the other is the prerogative of God Almighty. Even the right of the state to take a life in punishment is under serious criticism by relevant human rights groups on account of the fact that it is thought beyond the brief of the state to take what it cannot ordinarily give .
“That is why the challenges posed by terrorism poses the greatest test confronting this nation today.
“In my view, terrorism seeks to instill terror and fear into the hearts of the populace such that and indeed to the extent that they lose confidence in the legality of the existing government and their concomitant legitimacy and tight to rule.
“That is why when terrorism strikes in any part of the world, with its attendant damage, most rational governments exhibit zero tolerance to it. One of the first rules of democracy is that you must not sit on the table with terrorists on the negotiating table to discuss terms as if you are discussing with a legitimate opposition to government.
“The danger is not in the fact that negotiation on its own is not good but that (i) you are dealing with bounty-hunters and other opportunists and (ii) such meetings may send the signal to like-minded people, prone to engage in similar acts that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.”
While imploring security agencies to be more proactive, the legal body noted that, “the problem with the Nigerian law enforcement agencies who have been given demonstrable powers under existing law to curtail and or respond to crimes in relation to security and breach of the peace lies in their professional and administrative training, the quality of the facilities at their disposal and the unending vice of deep corruption within the system.
“By way of example, the following questions come to mind when a bomb or other acts of terrors are unleashed on the people. Did the police or adjunct security agencies have any intelligence prior to the occurrence? Do the law enforcement agencies have the appropriate preventative mechanisms to deal with perpetrators of such evil act?
If we do, are those facilities, i.e. police stations, prisons and other detention facilities humane and in line with international human rights standards? Are the techniques for arraignment and trial appropriate? Do security agents apply excessive force or indulge in reprehensible acts such as extra-judicial killings?
courtesy: vangard
The legal body gave the admonition at its 2nd NBA president’s roundtable on Human Rights which held in Abuja yesterday.
The theme of the event was, “Human Rights and National Security: the challenges of terrorism and response of law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
In his speech, the NBA National President, Chief J.B Daudu, SAN, urged security agencies in the country to buckle-up to their responsibilities as it relates to the fight against terrorism, stressing that “extra-ordinary actions call for extra-ordinary remedies.”
He said: “the theme of this roundtable is apt as this nation is presently engulfed in human rights violations of another dimension. It arises from terrorism and the challenges of security inadequacies to the rights of the Nigerian. For about a year now, rising steeply in the past six months, is the ill-wind of terror and violence unleashed by non-conformist groups, executed through the detonation of bombs, calculated or targeted assassinations, random killings, e.t.c, which have taken hundreds of lives of innocent Nigerians who ostensibly were going about their lawful businesses.
“The termination of life one way or the other is the prerogative of God Almighty. Even the right of the state to take a life in punishment is under serious criticism by relevant human rights groups on account of the fact that it is thought beyond the brief of the state to take what it cannot ordinarily give .
“That is why the challenges posed by terrorism poses the greatest test confronting this nation today.
“In my view, terrorism seeks to instill terror and fear into the hearts of the populace such that and indeed to the extent that they lose confidence in the legality of the existing government and their concomitant legitimacy and tight to rule.
“That is why when terrorism strikes in any part of the world, with its attendant damage, most rational governments exhibit zero tolerance to it. One of the first rules of democracy is that you must not sit on the table with terrorists on the negotiating table to discuss terms as if you are discussing with a legitimate opposition to government.
“The danger is not in the fact that negotiation on its own is not good but that (i) you are dealing with bounty-hunters and other opportunists and (ii) such meetings may send the signal to like-minded people, prone to engage in similar acts that government only listens when you intimidate and resort to terror.”
While imploring security agencies to be more proactive, the legal body noted that, “the problem with the Nigerian law enforcement agencies who have been given demonstrable powers under existing law to curtail and or respond to crimes in relation to security and breach of the peace lies in their professional and administrative training, the quality of the facilities at their disposal and the unending vice of deep corruption within the system.
“By way of example, the following questions come to mind when a bomb or other acts of terrors are unleashed on the people. Did the police or adjunct security agencies have any intelligence prior to the occurrence? Do the law enforcement agencies have the appropriate preventative mechanisms to deal with perpetrators of such evil act?
If we do, are those facilities, i.e. police stations, prisons and other detention facilities humane and in line with international human rights standards? Are the techniques for arraignment and trial appropriate? Do security agents apply excessive force or indulge in reprehensible acts such as extra-judicial killings?
courtesy: vangard
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