PLAC Moves to Strengthen Citizens’ Access to Justice

• Launches guide to human rights litigation

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) has developed a guide that will empower Nigerians to seek justice when their rights are violated.

The organization yesterday launched the “Guide to Human Rights and Public Interest Litigation in Nigeria” in Abuja, designed to provide a comprehensive roadmap for advancing human rights within country’s justice system.

The document was put together by PLAC with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ((FCDO).

Speaking at the official launch of the document, Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Clement Nwankwo, said the guide on Human Rights and Public Interest Litigation in Nigeria was developed to strengthen citizens’ access to justice and provide practical tools for enforcing constitutional rights.

He said the publication examined rights guaranteed under the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as economic rights recognised under international instruments.

According to him, civil rights are protected under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other legal instruments in the country, while the major procedure for instituting such cases remains the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules.

He explained that through the guide, PLAC seeks to equip practitioners, civil society actors and citizens with the tools needed to use the law effectively to protect rights, challenge abuses and promote a more just and accountable society.

He said, “We have examined all the different rights in the Constitution, starting from the rights recognised in Chapter Two and those outlined in Chapter Four of the Constitution, and we have explained some of those rights for people to look at.”

Nwankwo noted that despite constitutional guarantees, abuses of rights continued across the country, citing violations of the right to fair hearing, bail, liberty, life, freedom of movement, freedom of worship, property ownership and freedom from discrimination.

He particularly condemned the practice of parading suspects on television without prosecution, describing it as a sign of laziness within security agencies.

“A lot of people are arrested and paraded on television and that is the end of the case. Ask yourself, how many people paraded on television do you later see being tried? I do not know any, really,” he said.

The PLAC Executive Director also described the right to privacy under Section 37 of the Constitution as one of the most abused rights in Nigeria.

He said, “You are walking on the street or travelling in public transport, and a policeman stops you, asks you to open your phone or bag, pries into your phone and forces passwords out of you, supposedly looking for cybercrime or fraud. These are things that should not happen in any civilised society.”

Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Emmanuel Agim, who unveiled the document drew attention to the need to promote constitutional rights.

He said that Fundamental rights do not necessarily cover all constitutional rights.

According to him, “Without promoting constitutional rights, or helping people understand them, the success of promoting fundamental rights may be affected.

“For example, the right to vote is one of the most significant constitutional rights. Without it, many fundamental rights become meaningless. Its exercise must therefore be promoted, and the constitutional provisions guiding it must be observed and protected. It is constitutional rights that provide the proper foundation for the observance of fundamental rights,” he said.

Agim said critics should avoid making sweeping judgments about the entire judicial process, adding that against one negative instance, there may be a hundred others of effective enforcement by the courts.

 On his part, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights in Nigeria, Hon. Abiola Peter Makinde said the unveiling of the publication by PLAC, “marked a significant milestone in our collective journey towards strengthening access to justice”.

Also speaking at the event the Country Representative of FCDO, Dr. Matthew Ayibakuro described the initiative as well critical to ensuring that citizens’ get justice when their rights are trampled upon.