Following the confirmation by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of the index case of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Nigeria on February 27, 2020, the federal and some state governments, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration, intensified efforts to contain the spread of the virus with the implementation of NCDC Guidelines on personal hygiene and social distancing.
However, because of rising cases of the virus from March till date, President Muhammadu Buhari announced total lockdown of FCT, Lagos and Ogun States to give seal to the affected governments’ initial tough restriction of movements and public gatherings. In the same token, other state governments have issued ban on public gatherings, closed their borders, schools, markets, and other public places, including imposition of curfew in some cases, and enforcement of subsisting NCDC Guidelines to curb the spread of the pandemic.
To ensure compliance with the directives, security personnel, including the military and paramilitary operatives were drafted to enforce the law. But the security personnel’s law enforcement strategy has sparked outrage and condemnation from millions of Nigerians, who have complained about the application of brute force, crass human rights abuses and brazen show of impunity and unmitigated lack of discipline against unarmed civilians across states.
In his reaction, the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, appealed to law enforcement agencies to avoid any act of torture, cruelty, inhuman and other degrading treatments against the citizens as they enforce compliance to the federal and state governments’ directives to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
He drew attention to Article 2 of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading or Punishment which explicitly states that “each state party shall take effective, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction… No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war, a threat of war, international political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. It is imperative to note that an order from a superior officer or public authority cannot provide an alibi for any security personnel to perpetuate acts of torture or cruel treatment against innocent citizens.”
Similarly, the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, tasked Nigerian authorities to adopt a rights respecting approach and give clear instructions to security agencies not to abuse their powers as the nation tightens its effort to tame the COVID-19 pandemic, which compelled the authorities to impose lockdown and inter-state movement restrictions.
“While acknowledging the size of the challenge and efforts made by authorities to fight COVID-19 across Nigeria, we are also concerned by reports and videos circulating on social media showing violations of human rights, that include beatings by law enforcement agencies tasked with ensuring compliance with the lockdown,” she said.
The AI added, “As the nation observes the lockdown, the rights of citizens must be respected and protected, including the right to health care, security, and access to sufficient food and water. The lockdown must have a human face; enabling people to have access to vital needs and relief for those who can no longer earn a living since the majority of Nigerians are daily earners and live below poverty line. The national response to COVID-19 must be inclusive to ensure that prisoners, internally displaced persons and other marginalized and vulnerable communities are not left out at any stages of the fight against the virus”.
The Tide shares these concerns, and joins millions of Nigerians, civil society and rights groups who feel similar sentiments to challenge authorities of the various security agencies and the military to ensure that their personnel deployed to manage the situation play by the rules, and ensure that innocent civilians are not unnecessarily assaulted, humiliated or embarrassed while struggling to manage their lives in this difficult time. The sentiments are borne out of the desire to ensure that the nation’s democracy is nurtured to maturity as one of the strongest in the world.
We agree with the response of Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, that, “All police officers deployed for the enforcement of these restriction orders must be professional, humane and tactful, and must show utmost respect to the citizenry”.
While we affirm the measures taken by the federal and state governments to tame this contagious disease as well as the efforts of various health workers who have exhibited professional and patriotic zeal to contain the pathogene and ensure the safety of all Nigerians, we believe that security personnel deployed to enforce the restrictive social distancing measures must be tactful. These measures are in the interest of the public and, therefore, should not in any way be abused by those charged with the responsibility of enforcing them. Civilians too must respect uniform personnel deployed to enforce the law, and always obey extant government directives in order not to be found wanting.
This is why we appeal to law enforcement agencies across the country to ensure that they carry out their lawful duties in this regard without unduly violating the rights of Nigerians. In particular, any act of torture, cruelty, inhuman and other degrading treatments should not be employed in enforcing compliance. We, therefore, caution security agencies to be courteous and ensure they do not unleash punishment that will further inflict pains on the already traumatised members of the public. Respect for other people’s rights must be paramount, irrespective of the circumstances. And intimidating innocent civilians with guns procured with taxpayers’ money must not be tolerated anymore. That is our stand!