Even the rich don’t know their rights – Angwe, HRC boss

[MrVan]

By Soni Daniels, Regional Editor, North

Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Prof. Bem Angwe, came to the job with a rich pedigree in Human Rights advocacy and is credited with being one of the brains behind the enactment of the Child Rights Act in Nigeria.

In this interview he unveils the shape and structure of the new commission which he claims is now wholly focused on promoting the rights of all classes of Nigerians. Excerpts:

Is the commission in a position to enforce the rights of Nigerians?

The new law was assented to by Mr. President on 25th of February 2011. And by the passage of that law, this commission is an independent commission and it is clearly stated that in carrying out its operations the commission is under the control of nobody or any authority.

Bem Angwe So in this respect, the law is very clear and the government is not supposed to interfere with the operations of the NHRC.

So, are you now convinced this commission has been well placed to be able to effectively defend and protect the rights of Nigerians?

Yes, strictly speaking and in accordance with the law, the commission is strictly independent. It is now dependent on the persons who have been given responsibility to manage the affairs of the commission. If the person who is at the helm of affairs believes in what he is doing, he can provide that leadership that will ensure that the commission is truly independent.

But if the person decides to compromise and mortgage its independence to the government that is a different thing because the law has given the commission the guarantee and the person responsible for managing the commission is also protected.

This is because the law stipulates that you cannot even be removed unless by a resolution of the National Assembly. Even at that there are grounds that you can be removed. These include bankruptcy, insanity and incapacitation. But you cannot be removed just because somebody feels that you are too powerful. But you see Nigerians sometimes are too afraid to lose an office and they begin to compromise the independence of an institution just to be able to stay on sometimes indefinitely.

In all the cases you have tried to handle, have you ever been dictated to by the government?

Indeed, since I assumed duties, we have not been having that kind of relationship with the government as far as our operations are concerned. We have been operating independently and I have never received any call from anywhere trying to dictate to me what we should do or not. The government has never told us to act in any particular manner or whatever.

What mechanisms have you put in place to ensure that the rights of Nigerians as enshrined in the Act are adequately protected?

We have also taken some steps to ensure that Nigerians are allowed to exercise their rights. In the first instance, as soon as I assumed duties there was this fuel scarcity following the removal subsidy and Nigerians went to protest the action of the government.

It was a serious protest and the security agencies wanted to stop Nigerians from expressing their feelings over the matter and we advised the government not to stop the citizens from expressing their rights. We made it clear to the government that it was their fundamental right to do so.

We also told the people not to take laws into their hands so that they don't give room for the disruption of their protests and violation of their rights.

We have also taken steps to stop illegal demolition of residential areas and destruction of people's property in Mpape and other places where people have been living for many years without payment of compensation and resettlement plans.

In Lagos, there was a place that was marked for demolition and we went there and stopped them and the government has promised to hold on until an alternative place is provided for the people.

We also did the same thing when the Rivers State Government wanted to demolish the various waterfronts in the state. We reached an understanding with the government to ensure that the right thing is done and that the rights of the inhabitants of the waterfronts to be demolished were adequately catered for by the administration. All these are aimed at protecting the rights of the people.

Is the commission aware of the demolition of over 500 units of houses by the FCT in Lugbe?

To be candid the commission was not alerted of the plan to demolish the place and has not been informed after the demolition. We only saw the debris on the way to the airport.

So far, the FCT is insisting that the developers went against its laws. But till date nobody has come forward to brief us on what actually led to the demolition. But the commission will take steps to unravel the truth about the unfortunate situation.

Looking at Section J of the NHRC establishment Act, it says that the decision of the commission shall be enforceable upon registration as an order of a High Court. Can you explain what that means?

What that means is that the commission is extra-judicial machinery for the attainment of justice in relation to human rights. The commission is therefore empowered to carry out some judicial functions and these functions include taking decisions to compensate for the grievances suffered as a result of violations of the rights of the people.

So, when the commission takes a decision that decision is equal to that of the court and can be registered and enforced as if that was done by a court of competent jurisdiction.

What it means is that once you take a decision you take it to the court and register it and becomes enforceable?

Exactly.

You say that the commission may intervene by investigation. Is there any kind of avenue to handle proper investigation and get justice for the victims of human rights violations?

That is why the commission is today a short cut to justice as far as human rights violations are concerned. Today, if your rights are violated, you don't need to engage the services of a lawyer before you can have your grievances redressed.

What you need to do is to come to the commission and tell us your problem and we can reduce your complaint into writing, if you cannot write. We will then investigate it and seek justice for the complainant.

Secondly, where a matter is before a court, like somebody is unlawfully detained and maliciously prosecuted in court, and that is brought before us, the commission can request for the case file and investigate the circumstances surrounding it. If the commission is of the opinion that the person is unjustly or maliciously prosecuted, the commission does not need to wait for the person to go through further injustice before the matter is determined. The commission can intervene in that case. It can make a submission to the court and ask it to strike the matter out. For instance, today Nigerians spend many years in jail without trial. Some spend as many as eleven years awaiting trial.

If we get such information that somebody is maliciously prosecuted and then sent to the prison, and we get the facts indicating that the person has been unjustly sent to prison, we will not allow the person to await trial for a long time but will intervene and ask the court to free the person in the interest of justice.

We can even approach a superior court to quash the charge. What we want Nigerians to know is that the doors of the NHRC are open to them and they should take advantage of the commission to protect their rights.

Vanguard Nigeria