Oath Of Secrecy: Odinkalu Drags NHRC To Court

Erstwhile Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof Chidi Odinkalu, yesterday, approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking it to abort plan by the commission to administer oath of secrecy/confidentiality on its staff.
Odinkalu, who recently raised the alarm over the alleged plot, urged the court to declare such oath illegal and unconstitutional, contending that the policy would grossly violate rights of staff of the commission to their statutorily guaranteed freedom of expression.
He, therefore, applied for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents to the suit from proceeding with the plan.
Cited as respondents in the matter were NHRC, its Executive Secretary, Anthony Ojukwu, Nigeria Civil Service Union (NHRC branch), and its Chairman, Comrade Efem Atu.
Odinkalu maintained that neither the NHRC nor its executive secretary was empowered by any known law in Nigeria to direct the commission’s staff to subscribe to an oath of secrecy/confidentiality, the observance of which would violate his (the applicant’s) right to freedom of expression guaranteed under Section 39(1) of the Constitution, among other provisions.
In an affidavit he attached in support of the suit, the plaintiff told the court that the NHRC had by an internal memo or circular dated July 3 and signed by one Ibe Obidigwe, directed all Heads of Departments/Units/State Coordinators of the 1st respondent, NHRC, to distribute copies of an oath of secrecy declaration to staff of their various departments/units to subscribe and return same to the 1st Respondent‘s Human Resources Management Department.