The state of the nation: insecurity and violations of Fundamental Human Rights in Nigeria.

Being a Paper presented at a conference on Democracy and Human Rights,
Organized by Initiative for Conciliation and Right Protection Held at University of Lagos, Akoka campus Lagos state

By: Professor I. H. Mshelgaru
7th February 2018

To write on the state of the Nation in relation to insecurity and violations of Fundamental Human Rights in Nigeria one will definitely produce a voluminous work and if care is not taken complications is bound because we are in the season of the two phenomenons and much can be harvested.
For nearly a decade now that the security situation in this country has been making headlines on the local and international media not for good or modern advancement but for the mess the country found itself in.
Before 2009, the country enjoyed relative calm in both areas of insecurity and violation of Human Rights. At that point people did go about their businesses almost around the clock without fear, anxiety or uncertainty. There were greater prosperities in national, public, physical, economic and political securities that a human being deserved in a country like Nigeria- the then giant of Africa.
At the apex of that enjoyment, little did we know that our share of the global terrorism that swept the entire Middle East was awaiting us around the corner. In 2009, after the dramatic show of the security and the “Nigerian Taliban” in Pamshekara-Kano State in 2014 and Kanaman-Yobe state in 2007, the so called “Boko Haram” suddenly and gradually slipped in.
Initially, it appeared faint like a dream in a faraway world but eventually became real and escalated into a full blown terror of international magnitude. Yes, I mean faint and simple because it’s said leaders, Muhammad Yusuf and the subsequent one Abubakar Shekau did not have any potential capability and influence to command garrison of terror troops and have international connections, seeing that the only handful semi-illiterate and novice Almajiris assembling in their single centre called Markaz around the state low-cost-housing in Maiduguri could never pose any serious threat. Nobody dreamt this wretched young men could ever acquire heavy weapons, tankers, APC, Anti aircraft, RPG, bomber aircrafts, helicopters, modern and sophisticated communication and intelligent equipment, and thousands of brand new Toyota Hilux truck to lunch massive attacks that could fright and sent the foreign trained and experienced Nigeria troops including their generals on their heels leaving behind their weapons, wives, children and the thousands of civilians that were looking up to them for defense. The invasion of Bama in Brono state and Mubi in Adamawa state in late 2014 were typical examples.
In the case of Mubi, it was reported that only 30 members of “Boko Haram” invaded the town populated with over 35,000 people and housing a military battalion, Mobile Police Training School and barracks. The presumed militarily novice “Boko Haram” displaced everybody and took over the town within few hours without or little resistance. Many towns and villages in the north were taken over in similar way and that was how the so called caliphate state was carved out.
After creating strong footholds in the North East and perfected in terror strategies similar to that of al-Qaida in the Middle East, “Boko Haram” severally attempted to expand its territory by moving inwards of the country to occupy more towns and villages. However, each time it advanced and reached where the Islamic Movement was more dynamic such as Kano and Potiskum, it did not only lose its mysterious strength but risked having the faces behind the gimmick ultimately revealed. For instance: the ‘Boko Haram’ used the tactics of terrorizing people by sporadic gunfire on people in market places, ceremonies, mosques, churches and other forms of gathering to kill and destroy properties. It did that with perfection and success in the North East for years, especially in Borno and Yobe States taking uncountable number of innocent lives. How they did it? The terrorists would plan to meet their prospective victims in an unsuspected risk mood, take strategic positions and unleash their horrendous assault to yield maximum casualties.
In a similar manner but not business as usual, in May 2012 at about 7:30pm, three masked armed men purportedly to be ‘Boko Haram’ members arrived one of the centers belonging to the Islamic Movement in the curfew and state of emergency ridden city of Potiskum at a time Muslims were preparing for night prayers. They took strategic positions as usual and concurrently opened fire to kill, but luck run against them that day, for the brave members of the Islamic Movement did not hesitate to gather courage and rushed towards the enemies bare hands amidst the rain of bullets and got hold of one. On realizing that their colleague was being subdued after a long period of struggle, the remaining two decided to turn their guns on their colleague in the grip of the member of the Islamic movement in order to kill both. Alas! Despite the multiple bullet wounds sustained both did not die immediately. Out of pain and agony, the “Boko Haram” members started calling real names of one another, Matthew, John and so on. In the process, a gun with Nigerian police identity and handsets were thrown away as they retreated to join a parked police van on stand-by for them in the next street. Going through Matthew’s contact, contradictory Muslim and Christian names were discovered between the ones in the phone and those against same numbers in the GSM database with the service provider, according to the survivours.
The security services in the state immediately went on the air to announce the occurrence of the incident but added that the dreaded ‘Boko haram terrorist group had claimed responsibility for the action not until the Islamic Movement clarified by made those facts available to the press. With that evidence, we knew who “Boko Haram” was.
Same method was used on the Islamic Movement in Zaria in July 2014 during Quds day procession, where the procession was attacked by some concealed armed men from a nearby sugarcane farm killing 34 members of the Islamic Movement including 3 biological children of the leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky. The assailants were pursued out of the bush to the streets. Can you guess who were flushed out and driven to the close by Chindit barracks in the broad day light? They were the Nigerian soldiers in their military outfit – Boko Haram. The Nigerian Army aired the claiming of the responsibility of the attack by the ‘Boko Haram’ terrorist group.
Some of the other ‘Boko Haram’ tactics that failed and as well exposed who ‘Boko Haram’ was when used on the Islamic Movement but whose details cannot be brought here include:
1. Blasting of bombs planted in strategic locations.
2. Blasting of bomb laden car, either stationary or in motion.
3. Suicide bombing (this claimed 23 lives of the member of the Islamic movement in a single blast, in 2015. One bomber was captured and interrogated by the Islamic Movement. The discovery was that the so called suicide bombers were as innocent victims as those killed in the blasts).
4. Issuance of threat, warnings and instructions to vacate settlements or face annihilation.
5. Kidnapping.
6. Use of artificial panic to subdue
All these and more were neutralized by the Islamic movement alone on different fronts. In about couples of major battles dreaded invisible ‘Boko haram’ was defeated. This defeat happened long before the President Jonathan Goodluck’s government envisaged any possible defeat of the terrorist group.
What next for the mission unaccomplished that led to postponement of the long time insulation of Nigeria breaking up by 2015? The ‘Boko haram’ was made to extend its tentacles to the southern, western and other parts of the country under different brand names such as Fulani herdsmen, cattle rustlers, militias, bandit, kidnapers, Tawatse Akwaza group and so on, using the same terror operators and techniques. The ‘Boko haram’ monster was basically in-reality meant to explore and pitch one religious group against another to cause chaos of destabilization. That was why it was given an Islamic characteristics, an Arabic name ‘Jama’atu Ahlul Sunnah Lidda’awati wal Jihad’ and an open motive of Islamizing Nigeria, even though most of its members were not Muslims as pointed out by Professor Murray Last. The current Fulani herdsmen and other terror mechanisms on the other hand intrinsically bend on creating regional tension by manipulating tribal and regional differences under the guise of land grabbing and domination to subsequently arrive at the same point of destabilization.
With terror everywhere now, the question being asked is who will ‘bell the cat’ in order to defeat this new terror? The Islamic movement does not have strong presence in every nooks and crannies of the country to equally confront it.
I wish we understand the true nature of these crises and destabilizations the way of the intelligence and political analysts. We simply need to have a little insight into the incidences of Somalia, South Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Afghanistan to realize that some greedy countries are behind our crises just to gain access to our precious resources. As a matter of strategy, as witnessed in the destruction of the aforementioned countries, concealed local players consisting of powerful and influential politicians, Military generals, security directors and generals, business tycoons, and rulers that are loyal to international partners, masters and communities are recruited and commissioned to do the job. These unpatriotic local “commissioners” supervise the execution of the scripts of destabilization through creations of insecurities at the detriment of their nation leading to gross violations of human rights, especially of the groups resisting or perceived as potential threat and those unveiling the mask of the disguise. The link between the human rights perpetrators, the local players and foreign masters is the main reason why killings are done with ease and impunity, undetected and when detected, perpetrators are set free.
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria under leadership of Sheikh Zakzaky for the past 40 years of existence has suffered tremendous right violations for confronting and resisting oppression, injustice, corruption, aggression, persecution, uniting and protecting rights of others. In this way, the Islamic Movement suffered right violation more than any group in this country; that is why it is a focal point for right organizations. Such violations reached a peak when the Nigerian Army under the leadership of Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, commanded and supervised by the Commander-in-Chief, President Muhammadu Buhari with impunity committed the brutal massacre of 2015 on the pretext of road blocking and assassination attempt, killing over 1000 unarmed men, women and children, including a 1.5 years old baby and addition 3 sons of Sheikh Zakzaky. The Army maimed, burnt alive, raped, demolished homes and buried hundreds of male and female in one mass grave. Since then, Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat have been kept in custody incommunicado with severe bullet wounds all over their bodies in contempt of Abuja High Court order to release him. From 2015 to date thousands of fundamental human rights of the members of the movement have been violated.
We all know the Nigerian constitution has never been silent on outlining the fundamental human rights of its citizens.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect to these rights states that, I quote;
(i) Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria (Section 33 of the 1999 constitution).
The Federal Government violated this section with the killing of over 1000 members of the Islamic Movement and other Nigerian
(ii) Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of person and accordingly no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment. (Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution).
(iii) No Nigerian shall be discriminated upon on the basis of his community, ethnic group, sex, place of origin and politician opinion.
In the determination of a person’s civil rights and obligations, every person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by the court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in like manner as to secure its impartiality (Section 36 of the 1999 constitution).
Minority Shiite and the Members of the Islamic Movement were discriminated by this APC and previous PDP governments including rights to fear and equal hearing as witnessed in 2015 Kaduna State judicial court of inquiry and the recent presidential committee on human right violations by the Nigerian Army.
(iv) Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions (Section 39 of the 1999 constitution).
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, every person shall entitle the right to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information.
Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom (either alone or in community with others in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or beliefs in teaching, worship and practice (Section 38 of the 1999 constitution).
(v) Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons or political party (Section 40 of the 1999 constitution).
The rights of the members of the Islamic movement to religion has been taken away by the government that is why they are hunted and killed for being shia. They also do not have the right to freedom of expression. Neither do they have right to peaceful assembly or association despite conducting their assembly in the most peaceful way. Hundreds of innocent lives have been killed by the military or the police for assembling and other rights.
(iv) Every Citizen shall have right to own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria (Section 35 of the 1999 constitution).
The Islamic Movement and its members had their legitimately owned immovable properties continuously destroyed and in some cases denied permissions to own.
These rights are every free citizen’s legal entitlements to enjoy without the fear of the government or other fellow citizens. With these rights in place the citizen can once again enjoy the inalienable rights close to what was obtainable before the imposition of terror on Nigeria.
Will violations ever come to an end? The end is farfetched if left unattended to but as Thomas Jefferson put it: ‘when injustice becomes a law, then resistance becomes a duty’, on every one the way of the Islamic movement.
Thank you all
Professor I. H. Mshelgaru
Tel: +2349027017690
E-mail: mshelgaruisa@yahoo.com
07/02/18

This Country is sick. We saw it coming in 1983/84. We complained in 2014. But God is in Control.