News

Human Rights: ‘Nigeria Democracy Is Without Democrats’-Former Labour Leader

Published

6 years ago

December 10, 2019

Govt Attempting To Gag Human Rights Space

A former labour leader in the defunct Bendel State, Rev. Olu Aderibigbe, Tuesday, December 10th, described the Nigerian democracy system as “democracy without democrats.”

Aderibigbe who made this assertion while speaking at the closing ceremony of the 2019 edition of World Human Right Day, noted that Nigeria democracy is without democrats.

This year’s World Human Rights Day with theme: “Youth Standing up for Human Right”, was organised by Edo Civil Society Organizations.

He said, “The situation in Nigeria is that we are in democracy without democrats, or how do one explain the situation where people stole billions of naira, money belonging to Nigerians and the most they get is ten years imprisonment, but when someone talks, they will say it is hate speech and the person is to be given death sentence.

He called on Nigerians to condemn the proposed penalty for hate speech partucularly the proposed death penalty.

“We should all condemn hate speech, they did not kill the former governor, who later became a senator, he was said to have stollen billions of naira. But when someone talks, they say hate speech and the person must be hanged. Look at the way Sowore was arrested in the court, we should all stand to condemn it.

Rev. Olu Aderibigbe (left)

He challenged Nigerians partucularly the youths to stand for their rights and also protect what belongs to them.

Corroborating Aderibigbe’s assertions, Leftist Omobude Agho, Coordinator-General, Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO), noted that this year’s Human Rights Day was United Nations call to youths to stand for their rights.

He said this year’s edition was a total shift of direction so that the younger generations wake up and take the fight of human rights and drive.

Speaking on how best the youth can know their rights, Agho noted that youths must first learn about what their right is and then take it upon themselves that it is their rights, adding that bring back civic education to the education curriculum is one of the ways.

“Youths can know their rights by first learning about what their right is, then take it upon themselves that it is their rights. I think they should also insist that government should bring back civic education to the curriculum. It must be thought in the primary as basic and then brought to the secondary and university and other higher institutions.

“Our history must be brought back, that is how we know about the past. Our society was a better society when we had all these courses in our schools. As soon as they removed them deliberately and systematically, which we were not sensitive enough, that is how we found ourselves in this mess. We now shout that we are in military era but we are in democracy”, he added.

Agho raised the alarm that the government of the day has been making everything possible to gag the human rights space in the country and to shut up everybody, stressing that this has made EDOCSO to let the younger ones know their lives is being endangered.

He noted, “And you can see presently in Nigeria partucularly on where our leaders and government is trying to shrink the human right space and to shut everybody up. So we are trying to let the younger ones know that it is not the lives of the elderly ones that is being endangered because those ones are already on their ways out, but the younger ones who are coming in, whose lives, whose destiny is about to be changed. So, they better rise as we are speaking.”

On Sowore’s recent arrest in the court room, EDOCSO C.G. decried all manners of human rights abuse perpetrated by security agencies in the country, calling on the younger ones to speak against such.

EDOCSO Public Relations officer, Leftist Osazee Edigin, said the programme was packaged to sensitise members of the public on their rights and also chart a new course for new agenda for 2020 so that people can be more equipped in knowing their fundamental human rights and enforce them accordingly.

He noted that one of the problems faced in the state was that youths are being oppressed and intimidated, while their rights are being utterly abused by security agencies

“And this has been a general problem we have been facing in Edo State, where Edo youths are being oppressed, intimidated and their rights are being abused excessively in Edo State by law enforcement agencies basically, and by some government agents by their ways of operations.

“As we speak, if you go to detention, you will be amazed by the number of youths held their. And some are their beyond Constitutional time, and even when we wrote letters to some of these institutions, some of them refused and denied us access to these detentions facilities. This is to tell you a whole lots of human rights abuses going on in these agencies and they don’t want the civil society to know”, he said

Osazee, however,scored EDOCSO high in her bid in fighting for human rights by saying that the Organisations has freed many who were illegally detained or who a huge amount were requested from for bail without paying a dime.

News

Divestment: CSOs Throw Weight Behind King Dakolo’s Suit Against Shell

Published

45 minutes ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

The Plaintiff, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom (Right) and environmental rights activist, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey at the court proceedings yesterday, June 20, 2025 in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

A coalition of civil society organisations has thrown its weight behind the suit filed by His Royal Majesty, King
Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, Bayelsa State, against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited in its divestment bid.

The civil society organisations drumming support for King Dakolo in his suit before Justice Ayo Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, are: Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF); Social Action Nigeria; International Working Group on Petroleum Pollution and the Just Transition in the Niger Delta
(IWG); Bayelsa State Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (BANGOF); HEDA Resource Centre; Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre, among others.

In the suit marked: FHC/YNG/CS//2025, HRM, King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of Ekpetiama Kingdom, is the Plaintiff while Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) (1st Defendant); Shell Petroleum N.V.(2nd Defendant); Shell PLC (3rd Defendant); Attorney General of the Federation (4th Defendant); Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) (5th Defendant); Minister of Petroleum Resources (6th Defendant) and Renaissance African Energy Limited is the 7th Defendant.

The Plaintiff, through is lawyer, Chuks Ugburu, is seeking a declaration by the honourable court that “the purported sale, assignment, transfer or divestment of the onshore and shallow-water oil and gas assets of the 1st Defendant to the 7th Defendant executed without strict compliance with the mandatory provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Regulatory Divestment Framework, and without due consultation with and consent from the Plaintiff is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void.”

The Plaintiff is seeking “A DECLARATION that the failure and refusal of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to carry out a comprehensive and participatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Host Community Development Plan (HCDP), Decommissioning and Abandonment Plan, prior to initiating and concluding the divestment process, is a violation of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 and international environmental law.”

The Plaintiff is also seeking a “A DECLARATION that the 4th, 5th and 6th Defendants have failed in their statutory duties under the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, including their obligations to regulate and monitor the divestment process, ensure stakeholder consultation and due diligence and safeguard the rights and Interests of host communities like the Plaintiff.”

The Plaintiff is also praying the court to declare “the exclusion of Ekpetiama Kingdom and its leadership from the divestment process amounts to a denial of their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) under international law and renders the divestment process procedurally and legally defective.”

Also, “A DECLARATION that the continued degradation of the environment, livelihoods and health of the people of Ekpetiama Kingdom, as detailed in the expert findings of the report titled “An Environmental Genocide: Counting the Human and Environmental Cost of Oil in Bayelsa, Nigeria”, is a violation of the constitutional and human rights of the Plaintiff, and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants are liable for the same.”

“A DECLARATION that the continuous oil spills, gas flaring, and other environmentally harmful activities of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants in Ekpetiama Kingdom constitute a violation of the Plaintiff’s constitutional right to a clean, safe and healthy environment.”

The Plaintiff is seeking “A DECLARATION that the 1s, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants are jointly and severally liable for the environmental degradation, economic loss and public health crisis caused in Ekpetiama Kingdom.

“AN ORDER directing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants jointly and severally to immediately embark on comprehensive environmental clean-up, remediation and restoration of all polluted sites within Ekpetiama Kingdom.

“AN ORDER mandating the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants jointly and severally to establish and fund a Community Environmental Rehabilitation Fund for Ekpetiama Kingdom to the tune of $1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion United States Dollars).”

“AN ORDER directing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 7th Defendants to jointly and severally pay to the Plaintiff the sum of $2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion United States Dollars) as general and exemplary compensation for the losses, pain, and suffering occasioned by the 1 ^ m – 3 ^ m Defendants’ negligent and reckless operations.

“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants from continuing operations in Ekpetiama Kingdom without first conducting an independent and transparent environmental impact reassessment.

“AN ORDER nullifying the purported transfer, sale or assignment of oil and gas assets from the 1st Defendant to the 7th Defendant for substantial and material noncompliance with the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, including failures to comply with mandatory environmental, social, and host community obligations.

“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st 2nd and 3rd Defendants, whether by themselves, their agents, privies or assigns, from taking any further steps in furtherance of the said divestment to the 7th Defendant or any other person, unless and until full compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 is demonstrated and approved through judicial and regulatory processes.

“AN ORDER of perpetual injunction restraining the 7th Defendant from entering, operating, managing, or exercising any rights or obligations over the said divested assets located in or impacting the Ekpetiama Kingdom, until lawful compliance with all applicable statutory and regulatory obligations is ensured.

“AN ORDER directing the 4th, 5th and 6th Defendants to immediately conduct a thorough, independent, and transparent regulatory review of the divestment process, including Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, Financial and technical capacity of the 7th Defendant and Decommissioning liabilities and community obligations.”

“AN ORDER compelling the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants to publicly disclose all agreements, undertakings, financial arrangements and environmental plans relating to the divestment and publish a time-bound plan for remediating environmental harm caused in Ekpetiama Kingdom, with the involvement of the Plaintiff.

“AN ORDER directing the Defendants to jointly and severally undertake immediate remedial measures in Ekpetiama Kingdom as recommended in the “Environmental Genocide” report, including but not limited to clean-up of polluted water bodies and farmlands, provision of potable water and cultural heritage.”

Joining their voices to the Plaintiff, the civil society organisations called on the Federal High Court to “act decisively,” and “restrain Shell and its partners from finalising any asset sale or
divestment until full compliance with environmental and human rights obligations is demonstrated.”

They also urged the court to “compel regulators like the NUPRC to enforce the Petroleum Industry Act
and protect host communities; affirm the rights of indigenous peoples of the Niger Delta to clean environments, safe livelihoods, and full consultation.”

News

SEC Bans CEOs From Becoming Chairmen Without 3-year Break

Published

15 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Editor

The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a new directive prohibiting Chief Executive Officers and Executive Directors from immediately assuming the position of Board Chairman within the same company or group after leaving office.

A mandatory three-year “cool off period” has been introduced before such transitions can take place.

The directive is part of a wider effort to strengthen corporate governance and prevent the concentration of power in public companies and capital market operators deemed to be of significant public interest.

This was disclosed in a circular released by the Commission and signed by the management on Thursday on its website titled “Circular to All Public Companies and Capital Market Operators on the Transmutation of Independent Non-Executive Directors and Tenure of Directors.”

The SEC expressed concern over what it described as a “worrying trend of the transmutation/conversion of Independent Non-Executive Directors (INEDs) to Executive Directors, including to the position of the Chief Executive Officer.”

It warned that such practices undermine board independence.

The Circular reads,”This practice clearly erodes the neutrality of the transmuting INEDs, compromises their ability going forward to provide objective judgment and is generally antithetical to the principles which underpin independent directorship as outlined in both the National Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG) as well as the SEC Corporate Governance Guidelines (SCGG).”

As a result, the Commission has directed the immediate discontinuance of the conversion of INEDs into Executive Directors within the same company or group structure.

The new rules also introduce strict tenure limits. Directors in Capital Market Operators considered to be of significant public interest will now be limited to 10 consecutive years in the same company, and 12 years within the same group structure.

“A Chief Executive Officer or Executive Director who steps down after 10 or 12 consecutive years, as the case may be, cannot be appointed as Chairman until the expiration of a 3-year ‘cool off period’.

“The tenure of such former Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director as Chairman shall be for a maximum of 4 years and no more.”

The SEC said these changes are backed by its powers under Section 355(r)(iv) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, which authorises it to set governance standards for regulated entities.

“The foregoing directives take immediate effect and compliance is mandatory. Public Companies and Capital Market Operators are therefore required to take the directives into account in their board appointments and succession planning,” the statement added.

The Commission also clarified that years already served by current officeholders will count toward the newly established tenure caps.

News

We’ve Initiated Policies, Reforms For Sustainable Health Delivery System — Edo Deputy Gov

Published

18 hours ago

June 20, 2025

Editor

Deputy Governor of Edo State, Hon. Dennis Idahosa has
said that the Senator Monday Okpebholo-led administration has initiated policies and reforms that will ensure a sustainable healthcare delivery system.

Idahosa stated this while chairing the second meeting of the state taskforce on Primary Health Care (PHC), at the New Festival Hall, Government House in Benin.

According to statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Friday Aghedo, the meeting included the taskforce members, stakeholders, and developmental partners.

In his keynote address, the deputy governor called for societal vigilance and surveillance to help curtail the effects of the outbreak of Dengue Fever and Diphtheria.

He mentioned that the state was putting up concerted efforts at building a responsive and resilient PHC system.

He encouraged members of the taskforce to be solutions driven, as well as be an instrument of change in their quest to disseminate, enlighten and champion a result driven health process that benefits locals across the eighteen local government areas.

He noted that the plan was to make primary healthcare the most accessible form of healthcare in the state to aid better maternal and health outcomes.

Idahosa singled out and commended the Egor local government chairman, Hon. Kelvin Eguaekun, for his concerted effort to network and maintain cleanliness in his council area.

Idahosa informed the state government move to implement a reward system for local government chairmen who play critical roles in their domains by disseminating and implementing processes that showcase the benefits of a cleaner environment to drive down diseases.

Amongst chairmen who pledged to implement reached decisions at the stakeholders meeting included Hon. Haruna Mohammed of Owan East and Hon. Joy Ohonyor of Owan West.