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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Human rights are moral principles or norms for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable, fundamental rights “to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being” and which are “inherent in all human beings”, regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status.They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as requiring empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others, and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances.(UN 2014).
Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, provides for fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to life,right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, right to private and family life, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to freedom of movement, right to freedom from discrimination, and the right to acquire and own property anywhere in Nigeria. Also, in chapter II, provisions are made for several other rights under the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy.
Despite more than a decade of democratic governance and endorsement of universal declaration of human rights charter, Nigerians still face a lot of human rights abuses. This is because contrary to democratic ethos, the state is still largely authoritarian in leadership and security operations (Akhaine and Chizea, 2011).
Human rights violations are pervasive in most emergencies. Many of the defining features of emergencies – displacement, breakdown in family and social structures, lack of humanitarian access, erosion of traditional value systems, a culture of violence, weak governance, absence of accountability and a lack of access to health services – entail violations of human rights. Cases of human rights violations which McCulley(2013) described as becoming a culture of impunity in the country includes extra-judicial killings, illegal detention, destruction of property by security forces etc. Other forms of human rights abuses in Nigeria include motorists‟ harassment and extortion by security personnel, political assassinations, undemocratic imposition of candidates in leadership and intimidation of political opponents (Akhaine and Chizea, 2011); rape, child abuse, education denial and domestic violence (Adesupo, 2013; Ayegboyin, 2013; Ayoola, 2013; Hamzat, 2013; Salahudeen, 2013). However it is against this backdrop that this study is set to do critical Analysis of the implication of human right violation in the Nigeria society.
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STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Nigerian citizens have had their political rights violated through intimidation, undemocratic imposition of candidates for political offices, assassination and the huge finances on prebendal political environment (Akhaine and Chizea, 2011). This human right violation is mostly found in torture and extra-judicial killings by government security operatives. For instance, Ero (2020) reported that over 20,000 civilians were massacred with other 50,000 displaced from their homes as a result of the brutal handling of the Niger-Delta crises, by the Joint Military Task Force (JTF).
There has been abuse of right to freedom of religion Contrary to the provision of secularity in Nigeria‟s constitution, Adeniji (2008) and Oyeweso (2013) reported frequent human right abuses among cleric fundamentalists. According to Adeniji (2008), over 1,000 reported cases of clashes between the Christian and the Muslim adherents were recorded in Nigeria between 2001 and 2008.
The Nigerian government is known to oppose anti – government protest and demonstration. For instance, on 3rd January 2009, police in Okeagbe, Ondo State allegedly killed and wounded some youths who demonstrated against local police extortion.Moreso the recent cases of sending military against peaceful agitators and peaceful protesters as in the case of Lekki Shootings and attacks of IPOB and Oduduwa agitators shows the arbitrary abuse of human right.
However Human rights abuse in Nigeria often leads to poverty which is so prevalent due to massive abuse of public fund. This is as a result of high rate of unemployment which has resulted in youth‟s involvement in crimes such as armed robbery, internet scams and kidnapping for survival. Secondly, human right abuse has obvious hindrance to national development.Therefore it is against this backdrop that this study is set to do a critical Analysis of the implication of human right violation in the Nigeria society.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The focus of the study is to do a critical Analysis of the implication of human right violation in the Nigeria society. Specifically it is set:
1. To examine the stipulations of human right as established United Nations and Nigeria Constitution
2. To investigate the forms at which human right violations has been exbited in Nigeria by security operatives
3. To determine the rate at which Human rights of Nigeria have been violated
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be significant to statesmen and all the arms of government. It will enlighten the legislature on the need to criminalize the inhuman maltreatment of the security operatives on the civilians. It will heighten the urgent need of poltical stakeholders and elites on the need to stop polticization of the military, bring an end of using the military as political tool to achieve their interest as this is detrimental to the human right of the citizens who are abused. Moreso it will raise an awareness to Human Right Activist, International bodies and other non-governmental organization on the need to summon Nigeria government to International court of Justice so as to call them to other to bring to an end all manifestation of human right violation masterminded by the interim government. Finally the findings of the study will contribute to the general body of knowledge; serving as a reference material for students. academia and give room for further research in related field.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study will cover from; critical Analysis of the implication of human right violation in the Nigeria society, to examining the stipulations of human right as established United Nations and Nigeria Constitution,to investigating the forms at which human right violations has been exhibited in Nigeria by security operatives and to determine the rate at which Human rights of Nigeria have been violated. The study is delimited to Owerri central Local Government in Imo State.
RESEARCH QUESTION
The following research questions will guide the study
1. What are the stipulations of fundamental human right as established by the United Nations and Nigeria Constitution?
2. Do you think there are rise in cases of Human Right Violation in Nigeria?
3. What are the forms in which human right violations has been exbited in Nigeria by security operatives?
4. What is the rate at which Human rights of Nigeria have been violated?
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
During the course of the study challenges encountered were exclusively but not delimited to the following numerous. These are
l Financial constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview)
l Time constraint: time factor pose another constraint since having to cope in this research which went simultaneously within the time schedule of other academic work making it impossible to undertake this study in large more representative skill.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Human Rights: Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life.These basic rights are based on shared values like dignity, fairness, equality, respect and independence.
Violation: Violation an action that breaks or acts against something, especially a law, agreement, principle, or something that should be treated with respect:
Human Right Abuse: Human right abuse is the violation of the basic rights of people by treating them wrongly. This is include unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non state actors; forced disappearances by both government and non state actors; torture by both government and nonstate actors and prolonged arbitrary detention in life-threatening conditions particularly in government detention
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