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Balance Of Rights During A Pandemic: Enforcement Of Lockdown Regulations And Law Enforcement Brutality

Published

5 years ago

May 23, 2020

Mary Izobo and Folasade Abiodun

Since January 2020, COVID-19 pandemic, has held the world to ransom and has posed a threat to public health. It has put a lot of pressure on available medical facilities with a record of over 2,500,000 persons infected and 170,000 deaths globally with numbers set to increase.

In order to stop the spread of the disease, several countries are taking such measures as the closure of airports, ports and land borders, isolation and quarantining of persons, banning of religious gatherings, closure of schools, restaurants, public spaces and a complete “lockdown” or partial lockdown of countries.

Some of these measures as well as the implementation, have implications on the right to freedom of movement, the right to freedom of association and the right to freedom of assembly.

Almost all countries in Africa have been infected by the coronavirus. Most of the affected African countries have invoked restrictions highlighted above. The police, and in some case the army, have been called upon to compliance by citizens. However, the enforcement of these regulations by these law enforcement officials have generated a lot of controversies and public outcry as there have been severe violations of human rights.

As former colonies with long and difficult histories of war, several countries in Africa have had a history of violation of human rights and brutality by law enforcement officials. Two countries of note are Nigeria and South Africa. The arbitrariness and lawlessness perpetrated by law enforcement agents in these countries are not new nor peculiar to the present pandemic.

This can be traced to the culture of militarism in Nigeria and South Africa as both have long histories of military regime and apartheid rule respectively. It is safe to say that these law enforcement officials are locked in an aggressive mode where they suspend the rights of citizens whenever they are called upon to promote and defend national interests at the detriment of the citizens they are supposed to protect.

Thus, law enforcement officials in these two countries are used to forceful and violent means in enforcing the law and have adopted a muscular approach to alledged violators of the lockdown regulations.Nigeria is experiencing its longest uninterrupted democratic rule since it gained independence in 1960. From 1966 to 1979 and 1983 to 1999, Nigeria was led by the military junta who used the military as a tool to ensure and mandate cooperation from citizens by the use of force.

These periods were marred by gross violation of human rights by the military in Nigeria. In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria took measures to contain the spread by making laws and policies to restrict movement in order to contain the spread. Laws were made to restrict movement in several states, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC) received 105 complaints and eighteen people have been killed between 30 March 2020, the commencement of the lockdown and 15 April 2020 from law enforcement officials, more than the number of persons who have died from COVID-19 in Nigeria.

South Africa experienced a system of apartheid that upheld institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy from 1948 to 1994. The military was used as a tool by the government to forcefully remove black South Africans from areas designated as “white” to the homelands, terrorised and violated the rights of Black South Africans with impunity.

The Apartheid period gave the military excessive powers and carte blanche to torture citizens. In South Africa, to curb the spread of the coronavirus, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national disaster and a complete lockdown of the country. The lockdown started on 27 March 2020, and three days into the lockdown, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) registered 21 cases of police brutality complaints and over nine people have been killed by law enforcement officials.

The law enforcement officials in Nigeria and South Africa have assaulted, tortured, denigrated, unlawfully arrested, seized and looted properties, extorted and carried out corrupt practises in the enforcement of the compliance of lockdown regulations. Citizens going about their legitimate businesses without flouting the lockdown regulations are not exempted from the ruthlessness of these law enforcement agents. These law enforcement officials have abused power, deployed disproportionate use of force, and have blatantly undermined national and international laws. It is apparent that after years of military rule in Nigeria and Apartheid in South Africa, violence by law enforcement officials remains a confirmed way of treating the populace – a sad reality of both countries’ bitter, barbaric, and dark past.

Undoubtedly, those citizens who go against the lockdown regulations should be punished, but in the enforcement of the law, state actors must ensure compliance with the national and international standards.

There is the need to strike a balance in human rights and the public interest that the restriction regulations seek to protect. This is in order to cause the limitation law to be effective and achieve the aim it seeks to achieve.

With Nigeria and South Africa’s past, there should be a better way to deal with the populace. Reasonable and proportionate use of force should be used in7 ensuring compliance without having to violate the human rights of citizens.

Better accountability mechanisms should also be put in place in the event of an erring state actor who violates human rights. In addition, there should be transparency in the punishment of such state actor, as an avenue for reportage is not enough without an assurance of penalty that will serve as a deterrent of such acts.

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Featured

Dikko And The New Vision Accountability and Development in Sports

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2024

The Gleamer

Felly Mammah N.

Since the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhaji Shehu Dikko assumed office on the 30th of October, 2024, he has systematically and deliberately been putting in place structures that would result to proper development of sports in Nigeria. Shortly after he was first appointed by President Bola Tinubu as a leading strength of sports, the Director General (DG), Hon. Bukola Olapade was appointed to compliment his efforts.

Many sports analysts believe that the duo of Dikko and Olapade who have been very visible in sports administration will be one of the best combination to take the sports sector to the next level. The DG no doubt, is the head of administration in the Commission, but it should be noted that the financial enablement to manage the affairs of staff and the political might that shops for the finance needed in the running of the sector rest on the Chairman who has the task of liaising with the President directly.

It is also, worthy to note that there is a huge difference between the administration of in the Civil Service as it is controlled by a Permanent Secretary and Directors while the administration of a Commission involves Board Members and experts whose voices and actions are also, game-changing; more so as Commissioners are likely going to take charge of the different zones to proffer solutions for a way forward. The defunct Ministry of Youths and Sports Development which later in 2023 metamorphosed into the Ministry of Sports Development on the assumption of President Bola Tinubu, produced a minister who was not versed in sports administration and as a result, faced mass criticism especially from men of the media.

These men of the pen profession are the torchlight of global sporting activity; they equally keep the history of both sports participation globally as well as the records of athletes’ performances. Their torchlight on past Minister’s and particularly the recent past, have revealed that most of the people who presided over sports administration do not really have any knowledge of the sector before their appointment.

The exit of the immediate past Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh, refreshingly paved the way for change and this has brought in sports personnels that are expected to place sporting activities in the digital world. Suffice it to also, say that the new management of Sports Commission in parts of her changes is expected to sanitize athletes’ attitude and character for better reflection of children who have seen and communicated with their peers in the Western world.

However, the clarion call for President Tinubu to remove politics in sports may have changed the leadership of sports going by what many sports fans saw in the last outing of both Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, where a country like Nigeria did not measure up to her potentials.

Despite the poor performance of atheletes during the World Olympics Games, the past immediate past Minister deserves to be commended that during his tenure, the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Games was reawakened as the participation of our Super Eagles brought back hope and jubilation to sports fans including the President and higher authorities. Yes whopping sum of N12 Billion was released two weeks to the Olympics Games and at a time the country was not financially stable. Despite the presidential financial support, the medals presented to the country were crisis and ignorant of both the atheletes, Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Atheletic Federaton to do the needful.

Therefore, it is heart-warming that the President harkened to the appeal of his fellow sports lovers to handpick a known figure in the sports arena to share his wealth of experience that gave him both a name in Sports and positions as the former Chairman of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Chairman League Management Company (LMC), FIFA match Commissioner of significance, 2nd Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and presently, CAF Committee Member, in addition to his new portfolio as Chairman NSC.

My reference point here is that Alh. Dikko has been given the authority to effect positive change in sports sector, co-ordinate over 40 Sports Federations in the sector, welcome ideas of both sports stakeholders, individuals and veterans of sports that will enable him x-ray the reasons for poor performances in the sector and to chat a way forward for success story. There can never be a new testament without an old testament, thus the reason Alh. Dikko’s doors have remained opened to receive courtesy calls that included the visits by past administrators and foreigners who want to facilitate with whom the cap fits.

Still, in the mood of celebration to formally welcome Alh. Dikko to office was the peculiar power of sports which gathered momentum and the crowd for happy moments as seen in the recent novelty match organized by his friends, associates and sports veterans at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja recently. That gathering clearly announced not just a man who has made a name for himself at a height in global political decision making in sports circle, but a man who has also, given voice to our country’s leagues and international activities.

Sports is a significant sector that comprises emotion, tension, happiness, sadness even death and hope irrespective of the fact that it has the potential to feed many mouths. The sector cannot be compared to other Ministries with delayed bureaucracies and frustration of abilities. While in the civil service the head will rather submerge a growing talent for fear of power thrown, a coach who discovers a talent takes the credit for showcasing a star athelete discovered. Sports has been proven to generate revenue as well as attract public partnership which are all aimed at enhancing podium performance by the athletes.

Shehu Dikko’s business vision and wide participation in football contributed in making him the right candidate to place the sector in its expected level, increase the GDP of the country’s economy and equally be accountable with administrative roadmap for success.

The novelty match organised for him by his sports fans and League managers had the likes of Samson Siasia, Victor Ikpeba, Mutiu Adepoju, Dominic Iorfa, Ahmed Musa in attendance to share their joy with him as they displayed their talent with their foot.
Others that graced the occasion were Super Sports General Manager, Felix Nwogu, former and present Chairmen of House Committee on Sports, NFF President, NOC members and persons from across the globe. That singular act indicated a clear fact that Dikko can actually gather momentum with persons that can support his ideology to deliver as charged by the presidency.

However, the Chairman’s meekness to open his doors to all does not mean weakness neither does it mean that he has not commenced work officially. His work is more of brain tasking because ideas actually rule the world. I will boldly say that he has resumed work with like minds that will not only be on the same page with him but will as well be on success Guinness Book with him.

Felly Mammah N.
Press Officer (NSC).

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