A human rights activist and lawyer, Barrister Blessing Joseph Af­ang, has faulted the President Bola Tinubu admin­istration in terms of human rights.

Speaking to Sunday Indepen­dent on the first year of Presi­dent Tinubu in office, Barrister Afang, President, the Interna­tional Human Rights Protection Service Florida, USA, Nigeria Chapter (IHRPS/F), stated that a lot of human rights abuses have been going on in Nigeria.

The lawyer, a philanthropist and Founder, Jessejed Children Foundation, which also handles issues relating to child abuse, es­pecially the girl-child, also said that Nigerian journalists are not free from government ha­rassment and abuse.

Barrister Afang, Director for Women and Children Rights, In­ternational Human Rights Com­mission (IHRC), also pointed at the problems of the poor to ac­cess justice, harassment, intimi­dation, arrests and brutalisation of citizens and journalists with­in the period under review.

Responding to Sunday Inde­pendent’s question on the hu­man rights record of the Tinubu administration within one year in office, Barrister Afang said: “I will attempt to examine both progress and ongoing challenges across various areas.

“On Freedom of Expression, journalists and activists often face harassment, intimidation and arrests, even though Nigeria has a vibrant media landscape.

“I think journalists and activ­ists should be allowed to perform their duties free of government intimidation. The government attempt to regulate social media and suppress dissenting voices is strongly condemned.

“Police brutality and securi­ty forces remained a significant issue. The EndSARS movement in 2020 led to nationwide protests and called for accountability highlighting widespread abus­es by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Nigeria. Has this call made any changes to this?

“Judicial system and Rule of Law in Nigeria is faced with consistent undermining of the rule of law and access to justice through corruption in the sys­tem, prolonged pre-trial deten­tion and inadequate access to legal representation.

“Gender-based violence con­tinued to be prevalent; efforts to combat these issues require stronger enforcement and soci­etal change.

“A lot of human rights abuses is ongoing in Nigeria from the above mentioned to more, such as minority and indigenous people’s rights, conflict and dis­placement, economic and social rights, where as a matter of fact, poverty, unemployment and in­adequate access to healthcare, education, lack of access to clean water, etc, impact the enjoyment of economic and social rights in our country today.”

However, a Lagos-based law­yer, Barrister Emeka Iheonu, said that although he has not really heard much about dis­respect for human rights and non-adherence to the rule of law by the current administration, he would not be able to say much on what obtains in the different parts of the country as regards the issue of human rights.

According to him, “The main problem is that most Nigerians are poorer now than they were a year ago. The poverty level has tripled while the cost of governance has tremendously increased.”

In other words, he main­tained that the high level of hun­ger and poverty resulting from insecurity and poor economy have been impacting negatively on the existence of citizens and their rights to enjoy good life.

Both lawyers called on the government at various levels to ensure that the citizens’ rights and the rule of law are not tram­pled upon by those on the corri­dors of power. (Sunday Independent)