Regardless of the situation of things within the context of Human Rights in Nigeria, Nigeria has made several strides in improving the effectiveness and applicability of Human Rights within her borders. This does not however mean that there are no restrictions on human rights in Nigeria, and they can be broken down into salient points. If a scorecard were to be kept as regards Human Rights, Nigeria as a country would not have, some might say not even an average score. From dictatorial regimes that led to blatant human rights abuses and restrictions, the dawn of a new era in light of civilian rule is yet to bring about the much needed and sought change in the application, and enforcement of human rights in Nigeria.
Violations of human rights including torture, suppression of freedoms of association and expression, detention without trials, abuse of rule of law and due process, excessive lawlessness, extra-judicial executions, expulsion from school and dismissal from work without a fair hearing, joblessness, unpaid salaries, pensions and gratuities for years, corruption, violations of women’s rights, discrimination against lesbians, gay, transgender and bisexual (LGBT) people, misappropriation of public resources, weak and inefficient oversight mechanisms have grown to become the country’s scourge and worst enemy resulting in a legacy of underdevelopment and abject poverty for the majority of the country.
The proposed types of restrictions that have ensnared Human Rights in Nigeria and its subsequent interference which bring about hindrances such as restrictions in acceptance, application, enforcement etc. The following restrictions will be looked at in order to bring about the most vivid depiction of how human rights in Nigeria have been restricted.
Restriction in Terms of Education and Access to Justice
It is popularly said that “knowledge is power”, as knowledge is the enabling factor that separates those that will be trampled on in terms of their rights or those that know and know how to enforce such rights. It is only someone who has been enlightened to the underlying factor of Human rights which every person save the restrictions of the law has. However access to justice after such empowerment through education of one’s rights is not enough. Access to justice poses a heavy restriction on the application and enforcement of human rights in Nigeria.
Access to justice which connotes the availability of accessible, affordable, comprehensible justice systems, and the dispensation of justice fairly, speedily and without discrimination, fear or favor, is crucial to human rights implementation.
Without nondiscriminatory access to justice, men, women and children alike may not be opportuned to be able to seek redress to human rights violations as experienced.
Restriction in Terms of Acceptance
It is imperative to come to the realization that acceptance in the context of any workable framework that has the force of law must come before the application of such law, as without acceptance there can be no application. In relation to the International Community most international law (specifically treaties) is based on consent such that those that are not signatories (third states) to a convention per Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Laws of Treaties are not obliged to be bound by the provisions of the treaty. Within Nigeria’s democratic society laws are subject to acceptance in form of either passing a bill at the national assembly or in terms of transformation of international law, subject to section 12 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Acceptance is first and foremost as without it even if a bill or already established international law is in existence being that Nigeria as a dualist nation in which treaties must be transformed within her domestic law.
Nigeria has ratified the following International documents in relation to human rights:
1. African (Banjul) Charter on Human and People’s Rights
2. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment of Punishment
3. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
4. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
5. Convention on the Rights of the Child
6. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
7. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Restriction in Terms of Application
Although Nigeria has become signatories to several Human Rights related treaties many of which have been ratified while some have yet to be transformed into Her municipal law thus making the International Law inapplicable within Nigeria. It is one thing for a legal framework to be accepted, a complete different thing for it to be applied. Numerous accounts of miss-application or non-application of human rights related laws have found a niche in the Nigerian Legal System. Several instances can be brought to light where human rights are not applied, a clear example are for those incarcerated they have the basic rights such as life, and dignity, but their dignity is compromised, upon entrance within the prison system.
The functional limitations of the various governmental and quasi-governmental bodies established in Nigeria to ensure human rights promotion and protection make it imperative to seek extra-governmental intervention in the quest for optimal implementation of human rights.
The government is tasked with the maintenance of the prison system. The purposes of prisons can be summed up into the three Rs; that is Reformation, Rehabilitation, and Re-integration of the reformed and rehabilitated inmates into society. However the achievement of these purposes are hardly attained where flagrant violations of human rights are practiced within a government sponsored facility.
Restriction in Terms of Enforcement
It is not a novel premonition that the Nigerian Legal System suffers many lapses, especially in regards to the sloth-like process of the court system. The legal system, with specificity to the courts inhibits the enforcement of Human Rights, when human rights cases are not effectively handled, or when a plethora of cases, either never see the light of day or take such a slow turn with the end result: a lack of true justice. In order to advance the adjudication on process in respect to infringement of Human rights cases. Nigerian legal luminary Honorable Justice Atanda Fatai-Williams, who at that time the Chief Justice of Nigeria promulgated the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules which came into force 1st of January 1980. “The object of the Enforcement Procedure Rules is to take applications for enforcement of Human Rights away from the purview of Rules and Procedure of Civil Actions which are bedeviled with technicalities and delays”. In the landmark case of Olisa Abgakoba v. The Director of State Security Service where it was clearly stated in relation to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules that:
The end purpose for the Rules is to ensure, where infringement of fundamental rights has been complained of or threatened, a speedy enforcement of such rights and simplification of procedure for dealing with such complaints.
However Human Rights cases are still yet to be enforced effectively despite the Enforcement Rules. ‘The first stage in enforcing Human Rights is for the Applicant to apply for and obtained the leave of Court to enforce his Rights’. An applicant must prove that relief he seek is centered on a breach of a fundamental human right as provided in the fourth chapter of the 1999 constitution. Failure for not adhering to the condition of obtaining the leave of the court prior to the commencement of an action will render that action incompetent. Application for enforcement of Human Rights must be brought within twelve months of the date of the breach of the Human Rights complained against. After the leave is obtained the applicant is then to file the motion on notice to enforce the human rights, this motion must be supported with the verifying affidavit and the statement. These technicalities do not aid in the enforcement of human rights as most human rights cases have either the illiterate, needy or poor as affected parties and may seem discouraged by the strenuous process without an iota of confidence of a justiciable or fair outcome. The courts in their methods of enforcement have done the best they are capable of doing especially where relief in terms of compensatory damages for human right where miniscule compensation has been given for severe human rights violation ranging from 50,000 naira to 100,000 naira. Not only is this putting a price on human rights abuses but it puts an incredibly negligible one at that. Enforcement of Human rights can only be properly tackled if these restrictions are dealt with and handled in an effective manner.