A prominent rights campaign platform, the Human Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has told President Muhammadu Buhari to order the immediate release of the dethroned Emir of Kano, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II.
The group blamed Buhari for the continuous humiliation and illegal detention of the dethroned Emir in Nassarawa State even though the President has distanced himself from the ordeals of the just deposed monarch.
HURIWA asked President Buhari to release Sanusi and stop painting Nigeria graphically as a medieval cave whereby law and order were breached with reckless abandon.
Demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the incarcerated erstwhile traditional ruler, the rights group said as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and as the head of the executive arm of government which supervises the department of State Services (DSS) and other para-milital and policing institutions, Buhari is to be blamed absolutely for the unwarranted violations of the constitutionally guaranteed human rights of Sanusi.
“The so called banishment of Citizen Sanusi Lamido Sanusi against constitutional norms, laws and practices, has brought unquantifiable global opprobrium on Nigeria and is a disgraceful policy that has made the current administration the topmost candidate for the award of global infamy and disrepute,” the group said in a statement to DAILY POST on Thursday, signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko.
HURIWA said that “It does not make sense for anybody to attempt to exonerate President Muhammadu Buhari from the gross breach of the fundamental human rights of the immediate past Emir of Kano Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
“There is indeed no logic or rational bases for any attempt at deploying sophistry to try to exonerate The president. The president by virtue of the provisions of section 218(1)(2)(3) and 215(1)(2) and (3) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria of 1999 (as amended) is empowered by the constitution as the head of the command and control infrastructures of the armed forced and police.
“These policing and security forces are actively involved in the violations of the constitutional rights of the dethroned Emir. Section 218 states : ‘The powers of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the armed forces of the Federation.
‘”The powers conferred on the President by subsection (1) of this section shall include power to appoint the Chief of Defence staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and heads of any other branches of the armed forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly.
‘”The President may, by directions in writing and subject to such conditions as he think fit, delegate to any member of the armed forces of the Federation his powers relating to the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation.’
“Section 215 states: ‘There shall be – (a) an Inspector-General of Police who, subject to section 216(2) of this Constitution shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Nigeria Police Council from among serving members of the Nigeria Police Force; (b) a Commissioner of Police for each state of the Federation who shall be appointed by the Police Service Commission.
“‘The Nigeria Police Force shall be under the command of the Inspector-General of Police and contingents of the Nigeria Police Force stationed in a state shall, subject to the authority of the Inspector-General of Police, be under the command of the Commissioner of Police of that state.
“‘The President or such other Minister of the Government of the Federation as he may authorise in that behalf may give to the Inspector-General of Police such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public order as he may consider necessary, and the Inspector-General of Police shall comply with those direction or cause them to be compiled with.’”
HURIWA cited a plethora of human rights provisions being actively breached by the security forces detaining the former Emir to include-: Section 41 states: “‘(1) Every citizen of Nigeria is entitled to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof, and no citizen of Nigeria shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry thereby or exit therefrom.
“‘Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall invalidate any law that is reasonably justifiable in a democratic society- (a) imposing restrictions on the residence or movement of any person who has committed or is reasonably suspected to have committed a criminal offence in order to prevent him from leaving Nigeria; or (b) providing for the removal of any person from Nigeria to any other country to, (i) be tried outside Nigeria for any criminal offence, or (ii) undergo imprisonment outside Nigeria in execution of the sentence of a court of law in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty: Provided that there is reciprocal agreement between Nigeria and such other country in relation to such matter.’
“Section 40 states: ‘Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests: Provided that the provisions of this section shall not derogate from the powers conferred by this Constitution on the Independent National Electoral Commission with respect to political parties to which that Commission does not accord recognition.”’
Section 38 states: ‘“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, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
“‘No person attending any place of education shall be required to receive religious instruction or to take part in or attend any religious ceremony or observance if such instruction ceremony or observance relates to a religion other than his own, or religion not approved by his parent or guardian.
‘”No religious community or denomination shall be prevented from providing religious instruction for pupils of that community or denomination in any place of education maintained wholly by that community or denomination.
‘”Nothing in this section shall entitle any person to form, take part in the activity or be a member of a secret society.
“Section states 36: ‘”(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.”’
HURIWA cited the articles from the Universal declaration of human rights that President Muhammadu Buhari is violating by detaining Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to include-:”Article 1: We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas and we should all be treated the same way.
“Article 2: The rights in the UDHR belong to everyone, no matter who we are, where we’re from, or whatever we believe.
“Article 4: No one should be held as a slave, and no one has the right to treat anyone else as their slave.
“Article 5: No one has the right to inflict torture, or to subject anyone else to cruel or inhuman treatment.
“Article 6: We should all have the same level of legal protection whoever we are, and wherever in the world we are.
Article 7: The law is the same for everyone, and must treat us all equally.”
