Abiodun Baiyewu, Executive Director of Global Rights, a Non- Governmental Organisation, has condemned the extra-judicial killing of 16 hunters in Uromi, Edo State.
The Organization in a statement recalled the hunters who were mistaken for kidnappers were lynched last Friday by local vigilance group, who, instead of adhering to the rule of law, took justice into their own hands and unlawfully ended their lives.
Global Rights also called on the Government and security agencies to set up full scale investigations to bring the perpetrators to book
She said, “This gruesome act is yet another example of the increasing disregard for the sanctity of human life in Nigeria”
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“The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is unequivocal in its protection of the right to life, stating in Section 33(1) that “every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of a court sentence.”
She noted that the extrajudicial killing of these hunters was a blatant violation of this fundamental rights and an affront to the rule of law.
Furthermore, Section 43 of the Constitution guarantees the right of every Nigerian to own property and reside in any part of the Country.
She further maintained that every Nigerian is entitled to his full array of rights in any part of Nigeria’s territorial borders, whichever part of the Country he or she hails from.
“The unlawful targeting of individuals based on unfounded suspicion of their ethnicity and way of life contravenes this constitutional provision and underscores the dangers posed by unchecked vigilantism”, she added
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“While we acknowledge the growing frustration of citizens in light of the government’s seeming inability to curb the menace of banditry and kidnapping, nothing justifies this act of jungle justice.
“This incident also poses a grave risk of exacerbating ethnic and religious tensions, with potentially devastating consequences for national peace and security”, she added.
In light of this, Global Rights calls on the Nigeria’s Government and its law enforcement agencies to immediately launch a full-scale investigation into this barbaric act.
“Those responsible—both the perpetrators and those who aided and abetted them—must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”, she stated.
