Group tasks govts on rights protection, democracy

Following a two-day civic space protection training organised by the Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group (NDEBUMOG) at Umneak  Hotel, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, stakeholders in the civic space have come up with a set of resolutions to protect the rights of Nigerians.

The event was held between Monday July 29 and Tuesday 30, 2024, with support from Oxfam in Nigeria. Participants were drawn from members of the Nigerian Civic Protection Alliance (NCSPA), Shadow Budget Groups, civil society, women groups and grassroots stakeholders.

During the training, several presentations were made on different topics, as well as robust discussions by stakeholders in which certain observations and concerns were made.

According to a communique signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group, Dr. George-Hill Anthony, and a Member of the Nigeria Civic Space Protection Alliance, Stiv Obodoekwe, at the end of the training, the Nigerian system has become suffocating on economic and democratic values.

It noted that democracy without its values is like playing on the intelligence of the citizens. They stated that insecurity has continued to worsen across the country, despite huge allocations to security yearly.

They added that insecurity has worsened civic space challenges, as authorities often harp on insecurity to trample on the rights of citizens, especially on freedom of expression, free of movement and peaceful assembly, among others.

Other resolutions at the training include that although open civic space, human rights, rule of law and democratic freedom are the pillars of democracy, the civic space has continued to shrink as evidenced in gross violations of rights to freedom of expression, seeming privacy violations via technological means, stifling of free press, economic strangulation and subjugating poverty, among others.

They resolved that the most shocking is intolerance to voices of dissent, stressing that citizens are often subjected to all forms of intimidation and victimisation for exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights, among other observations.

The stakeholders, therefore, recommended that the government has a duty to promote and protect human rights of citizens. They also noted that the government should, therefore, begin to create an enabling environment for citizens to breathe and exercise their rights.

Considering the importance of human rights and civic space to the survival of democracy, the communique also recommended that a call on the government to prioritise citizens’ interest and human rights/civic space protection in its agenda, policies and actions has become essential.

Other recommendations include that government should take serious steps aimed at ensuring democratic freedom, safeguarding of civic space, human rights and rule of law. Government should allow citizens to exercise their rights of freedom of expression.

That authorities should ensure Incidents of rights violations and civic space suppression are properly investigated and state actors found culpable should be brought to book.

They also observed that tiers of government in Nigeria should wake up to their constitutional duty of protecting human rights by providing basic amenities to lessen the suffering and hardship citizens are subjected to daily, noting that such will reduce tensions that often force citizens to embark on agitations. 

That a safe and conducive civic space is an indication of a functional democracy, hence, the government in power should not toy with this critical element for a sustainable democracy.

The stakeholders, therefore, cautioned all those advocating regime change through the military, stressing that democracy, no matter how bad, is better than a minute of military rule.