State Of Law Enforcement And Human Rights In Nigeria -NOPRIN

Gentlemen of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen, NOPRIN warmly welcomes you all to this media briefing where we want to present to you our two new books ‘Waiting for Justice’ and ‘Through the Lens of the Media’ which we have published with the support of Mac Arthur Foundation. We also wish to use the occasion to respond to some very disturbing developments in the polity in relation to law enforcement and human rights and how they affect the day to day lives of the majority ordinary Nigerians. 

Gentlemen of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen,

NOPRIN warmly welcomes you all to this media briefing where we want to present to you our two new books ‘Waiting for Justice’ and ‘Through the Lens of the Media’ which we have published with the support of Mac Arthur Foundation. We also wish to use the occasion to respond to some very disturbing developments in the polity in relation to law enforcement and human rights and how they affect the day to day lives of the majority ordinary Nigerians.
NOPRIN believes that civil society must lead the charge in pushing Nigerian leaders to commit to genuine police reform and the fulfillment of Nigeria’s voluntarily undertaken human rights obligations under the 1999 constitution and regional and international law to which Nigeria is a party.
We have published these books in pursuit of one of our cardinal mandates: to monitor, document and campaign against police abuses in Nigeria. It is part of our contribution towards redirecting and deepening the on-going reform in the Nigeria Police Force.
‘Human Rights in Retreat’: State of Law Enforcement and Human Rights in Nigeria.
President Goodluck Jonathan has lost the confidence, goodwill and support of the Nigerian people who voted him into power. The simple reason is that his government has failed to fulfill the raison-d’être of government which is security and welfare of the people. His government is dominated by extremely corrupt people who have no interest of the country and people at heart. The President has defaulted on and betrayed the social contract which he entered into with the Nigerian people. Having utterly failed to tackle corruption and provide good governance, he has resorted to fear, desperation and panic. The government is now afraid of its shadows. At the slightest move by the people to demand good governance, government rolls out the tanks as we are witnessing now at the Gani Fawehinmi Park, Ojota. Hunted by the success of the January 2012 ‘Reclaim Nigeria’ protests against the so-called removal of oil subsidy, government has turned paranoid and repressive. Human rights have come under attack as free expression and dissent are now suppressed using security agencies. Evidence from the probe report confirms Nigerians’ conviction that the whole episode called subsidy is a fraud. Its corruption. It has exposed how corruption is killing Nigeria and Nigerians. It has exposed how corruption is retarding national development. Nigerians must determine now to fight back corruption before corruption finally decimates Nigerians. Of course, as expected, patrons and beneficiaries of corruption are already fighting back, but Nigerians must remain resolute and seize the opportunity thrown up by the report of the Hon. Farouk Lawan-led House of Representatives Committee and the expressed determination of the House of Representatives led by Hon. Speaker Tambuwal to deal a decisive and mortal assault- once and for all- on corruption.