By George Mgbeleke <\/p>\n
Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group: Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned in the strongest possible terms the judgement delivered against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by a Federal High Court in Abuja, describing the ruling as anti-democratic, unconstitutional, oppressive and a direct attack on civic freedom and freedom of expression in Nigeria. HURIWA accused the judge of shamelessly doing the bidding of the security institution involved for a reason that may become open soon because the judgement lacks logical grounding and is fundamentally defective and fallacious. <\/p>\n
HURIWA said the judgement, which awarded N100 million damages against SERAP in favour of two operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), represents one of the most disturbing examples in recent times of the weaponisation of the judiciary to intimidate civil society organisations and suppress legitimate criticism of government institutions.<\/p>\n
The rights group said the verdict raises troubling legal, constitutional and ethical questions which the court completely ignored.<\/p>\n
HURIWA asked: \u201cHow did an allegation of defamation involving unnamed DSS operatives suddenly become a case that carried the full weight and institutional influence of the DSS? Since when did the disclosure of an encounter with security operatives become defamation? When did crying out over intimidation become a civil offence? Who were the credible witnesses that testified and attested to the claims by the DSS operatives who alleged that they were defamed and averred that their respect for those officers were affected negatively by that innocuos publication from SERAP? <\/p>\n
The leasing civil rights campaigners HURIWA, maintained that SERAP merely exercised its constitutional duty and democratic right to alert Nigerians and the international community to what it perceived as intimidation and harassment after the organisation criticised alleged corruption in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and opposed worsening economic policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is shocking that a court of law failed to interrogate the fundamental issue of whether the DSS is even a juridical personality recognised by law. DSS is not known to law as a corporate legal entity capable of suing and being sued in the manner it was portrayed in this matter. Why did the court deliberately avoided addressing that critical jurisdictional defect?\u201d<\/p>\n
HURIWA said the judgement gives the frightening impression that the judiciary is increasingly being manipulated to legitimise official intolerance, shield powerful state actors from public scrutiny and criminalise civic advocacy.<\/p>\n
The group further questioned the circumstances surrounding the visit by DSS operatives to SERAP\u2019s office.
\n\u201cDid the DSS operatives visit SERAP on invitation or appointment? If the visit was truly \u2018friendly\u2019 as later claimed, why were staff members reportedly questioned about the organisation\u2019s operations, leadership structure and activities? Why were there reports of unmarked vehicles stationed outside the office in a manner capable of causing fear and panic?\u201d<\/p>\n
HURIWA said no responsible civil society organisation confronted with such an atmosphere would remain silent.
\nAccording to the association, the judgement dangerously suggests that citizens and civil society groups can now be punished merely for publicly disclosing encounters with security agencies, even where those encounters generate fear, apprehension or intimidation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis judgement is a direct assault on free speech and civic engagement. It sends a dangerous signal that Nigerians may now be sued and punished simply for speaking out against perceived harassment by state institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rights group also demanded full disclosure on the funding and prosecution of the case.
\n\u201cWho retained and paid the lawyers that prosecuted this suit? Were public funds deployed for what was presented as a private defamation action by two individuals? If this was truly a personal case by two DSS operatives, why does the entire litigation bear the unmistakable imprint of state backing and institutional coordination?\u201d<\/p>\n
HURIWA further faulted the order directing SERAP to pay litigation costs and publish public apologies, insisting that the ruling was excessive, vindictive and clearly intended to humiliate and weaken one of Nigeria\u2019s most vocal accountability organisations.<\/p>\n
The Rights group said the verdict evokes painful memories of the era of military dictatorship under late General Sani Abacha when sections of the judiciary were routinely used to validate repression, suppress dissent and intimidate pro-democracy activists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened in this case is reminiscent of the substandard and politically convenient judgements associated with the darkest era of authoritarian rule in Nigeria. It is a dangerous setback for constitutional democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
HURIWA warned that allowing such rulings to stand would create a chilling effect on anti-corruption work, investigative advocacy, human rights reporting and democratic participation.<\/p>\n
The civil society group therefore called on the Nigerian Bar Association, civil society organisations, labour unions, student movements, media practitioners, pro-democracy groups and all defenders of constitutional freedoms to rally massively behind SERAP as it heads to the Court of Appeal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is no longer just about SERAP. It is about the survival of civic space, the protection of democratic freedoms and the right of Nigerians to question authority without fear of judicial persecution.\u201d
\nHURIWA expressed confidence that the appellate court would overturn what it described as an unjust, politically coloured and constitutionally defective judgement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group: Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has condemned in the strongest possible terms the judgement delivered against the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) by a Federal High Court in Abuja, describing the ruling as anti-democratic, unconstitutional, oppressive and a direct attack on civic freedom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13505,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13504\/revisions\/13505"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}