OJO ON THE CROSS
... Human rights community tackles Justice Minister over sack
of Bukhari Bello, NHRC boss
By GODWIN TSA, Abuja
Monday, July 24, 2006
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Bayo
Ojo
Photo: Sun News
Publishing |
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The serene atmosphere of the Rockview Hotel Abuja was charged
July 12, 2006. The Nigerian Human Rights Community who had
converged at the hotel for a mock trial of the Federal Attorney-General
and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo [SAN], accused him
of subvertion of protection of human rights in the country.
For the justice minister, it was certainly a black Wednesday
as he was lampooned and condemned by the rights activists
who called for his head over the removal of their beloved
colleague, Mr. Bukhari Bello, as the Executive Secretary of
the National Human Rights Commission [NHRC].
Though the justice minister is at home with controversies,
the events of July 12, jolted him. Ever since he emerged as
the attorney-general of the Federation under controversial
circumstances, controversies have continued to live with him.
While some of the crises were initiated by him, others are
a fall out from government’s unpopular decision which
have some direct bearing on his office.
For instance, soon after his appointment as the justice minister
and attorney-general of the federation, his learned colleagues
almost tore him to shreds for accepting to serve as minister
while still holding the post of the president of the Nigerian
Bar Association [NBA]. The crisis lingered through out the
early part of his tenure until it was finally resolved after
some consultations with relevant stakeholders.
But the dust raised by the crisis was yet to settle, when
Ojo was once again embroiled in the political crisis that
swept away the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye
Alamieyeseigha.
Before the controversy over the removal of Bukhari Bello,
the justice minister was in the news over his proposed plan
to privatize the four campuses of the Nigerian Law School.
He was seriously tongue-lashed by his learned colleagues including
very senior officers of the judiciary who condemned his action.
He has survived all these.
Background to the NHRC crisis
On Monday, June 19, 2006, the Attorney-General and Justice
Minister, Chief Bayo Ojo, had through a letter signed by the
Director of Pesonnel in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr.
A.S. Durajaiye, directed the "re-deployment to the Ministry
of Mr. Bukhari Bello, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian
Human Rights Commission [NHRC].
In sacking the executive secretary, the justice minister alleged
that President Olusegun Obasanjo was unhappy with him and
had instructed the termination of his appointment for three
reasons, namely:
• Recent press briefing by the executive secretary criticising
numerous incidents of harassment and intimidation of journalists
by Nigeria's internal security agencies;
• A statement read by the executive secretary at the
39th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and
People's Rights in May 2006, in his capacity as the chaiperson
of the co-ordinating Committee of African National Human Rights
Institutions and on their behalf, condemning the practice
of procuring tenure extension through constitutional amendments
as an unconstitutional change in government;
• A recent statement by the executive secretary reiterating
the position of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights that the Guantanamo Bay detention facility was incompatible
with the obligations of the United States of America (USA)
under International law to ensure the protection of human
rights and should be closed.
No doubt, the removal of Bello was widely criticized both
within and outside the country, especially the human rights
community who viewed the action as undue interference with
the independence of the NHRC. For instance, the special representative
of the United Nations Secretary-General on Human and Peoples'
Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani, and the Special Rapporteur
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Reine
Alapini-Ginsou, jointly condemned Mr. Bello's removal as "
a reprisal for his critical work in the defence of human rights."
On the home front, a coalition of Civil Societies and Human
Rights groups, in condemning government's action, called for
sanctions against Nigeria if the decision was not reversed.
In a petition to the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Mme Louise Arbour, dated June 21, 2006, the
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, drew the attention
of the commission to what it described as "serious violations
of the Paris Principles in relation to the independence and
integrity of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission."
The group alleged that in taking the decision, the justice
minister did not notify or consult with the chairperson or
other members of the council, of the National Human rights
Commission, adding that the action of Nigeria contravened
the provisions of Principle 3[a][iv] and 6 of the Paris Principles.
They described the termination of Bukhari's appointment for
his diligent execution of his remit as an act of undermining
the stability of tenure of the members of the commission in
an attempt to compromise its institutional efficacy and independence,
and to subvert the protection of human rights in Nigeria.
The gathering storm
Coming from the above background, the Nigerian human rights
community had convened the mock trial to highlight the role
of the justice minister in recent threats to the independence
of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission and associated
deterioration of human rights practice in Nigeria.
In a report entitled, "The People Vs The Federal Attorney-
General" in the matter of the independence of Nigeria's
National Human Rights Commission, the rights activists took
a critical review of the activities of the minister in the
removal of Bello and "stand down as Attorney- in the
public st." pronounced him guilty of subverting the protection
of human rights in the country.
They also found the minister guilty of acting beyond his powers,
noting that under the National Human Rights Commission Act,
the justice minister lacks the power to remove the executive
secretary of the NHRC or appoint a replacement.
"These are powers that only the president can exercise.
Moreover, as a presidential appointee, Mr. Bello, was not
and could not be available for re-deployment unless he had
been lawfully removed from his statutory office. This has
not yet happened. Contrary to the claim by the minister of
justice, the office of the executive secretary of the NHRC
is a statutory creation, not an appendage of the ministry
of justice. This is the legal basis for insisting that its
independence
deserves to be defended."
To hold this session and present their positions, the group
had paid for a hall at the Rockview Hotel as the venue for
the mock trial which was slated for July 12, 2006.
Ambush and attack
However, unknown to the right activists, as early as 8.30
am on the D-day, a call was put to the hotel officials by
the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja, Mr. Lawrence Alobi, "ordering them to seal off"
the venue of the proposed tribunal and refuse access to the
venue to any person.
As a follow up to the call, "five operatives of the State
Security Service (SSS) visited the venue to ensure that it
was in fact sealed. Simultaneously, a combined team of SSS
and police operatives took over the premises of the hotel
and turned away scores of participants who wanted to gain
access to the venue.
When confronted by one of the participants, an operative of
the SSS claimed that they had taken over the organization
of the tribunal and had instructions not to allow it to hold.
The security men pushed, shoved and rough-handled a contingent
of over 30 representatives of the National Association of
Nigerian Students [NANS], who succeeded in gaining access
to the grounds of the hotel, before dispersing all participants
who had gathered at the venue.
Addressing journalists, leader of the security team and Area
Commander of Abuja Metropolis, Mr. Femi Ogunbayode, an Assistant
Commissioner of Police, explained that the police decided
to stop the meeting because the conveners did not obtain police
permit to organise the event.
Never say die
Not wanting to be seen as failures, the organizers relocated
to the secretariat of Centre for Democracy and Development
[CDD] where they took turns to lampoon Chief Ojo, describing
the unlawful and forceful dispersal of the "Peoples'
Tribunal" as a "vindication of the growing fears
within and outside the community that the Federal Government
is now fully committed to subverting the protection of human
and constitutional rights in Nigeria."
But before the relocation, the participants sat on the bare
floor at the entrance to the hall rented for the meeting where
they addressed the gathering amid solidarity songs.
The Executive Director of CDD, Mr. Jubril Ibrahim, said since
the constitution guarantees freedom of assembly and the fact
that the public order is out of fashion, the body needed no
permit to discuss issues affecting members.
Mr. Jubril said the sack of Bello had wiped off all the gains
recorded by the Obasanjo administration in terms of human
rights.
Also speaking at the new venue, President of the Civil Liberties
Organization [CLO], Mr. Titus Mann, and the Executive Director
of Women Rights and Advancement Protection Agency[WRAPA],
Saudatu Mahdi, said the intimidation by security agents would
not deter them from pressing on with their struggle to ensure
that the NHRC become independent.
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