By CHUKS EKE
Authorities of Centre for Social Awareness, Advocacy and Ethics, CSAAE have reiterated their commitment to bring to an end all forms of police brutality against the citizenry
within the Southeast geopolitical zone and at the same time entrench the rule of law and order in the society.
CSAAE also pledged to train and empower a movement of passionate and patriotic youths selected from each of the 21 local government areas of Anambra state through the instrumentality of Youth Empowerment Solutions Project Initiative, YESP-I.
“We will also engage the selected youths to work as community gatekeepers to track and monitor human rights violations.
Founder/Executive Director of CSAAE, Rev Fr Dr Godswill Agbagwa who disclosed at their enlightenment program in Awka, Anambra state capital, explained that the group would equally channel the Soro Soke Project towards supporting the police and other security agencies in the quest to build a society free from human rights abuses and other related crimes while working to deliver justice to unjustly detained youths.
Rev. Fr. Agbagwa who spoke through the project leader, Davidson Nwaonu, maintained that the project which is equally led by the Centre for Health Education and Vulnerable Support, CHEVS and powered by Voice is out to fight for good governance, rule of law, human rights and anti corruption; advances quality education, enterpreneurship and job placement, as well as trains and promotes effective leaders, aimed at making Africa a better place to live in.
In a lecture titled: ” an average policeman is a citizen of Nigeria “, Anambra state Police Public Relations Office, PPRO, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, pleaded with Nigerian citizens to be civil and humane to policemen whose own lives are also at stake in their efforts to maintain security of lives and property.
Ikenga however urged the civil populace to report any act of brigade from policemen to Police Public Complaints Bureau or the monitoring squads set up by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP and state police commands for investigations and appropriate disciplinary actions against such police officers, if found guilty as according to him, the police high command do not condone acts capable of tarnishing the image of the force.
Deputy Director, Programs Department, National Orientation Agency, NOA, Anambra state, Sir Joseph Uchendu, in his own lecture, identified the major problem of Nigeria as bad leadership, adding that a situation where 21.7 million Nigerian youths are currently unemployed, while 25 percent of national resources go to national Assembly alone does not augur well for the advancement of the nation.
Uchendu who noted that the system of sharing monthly federal allocation encourages corruption, described political dimension as the worst form of insecurity, among psychological and other dimensions of insecurity currently plaguing the nation.
Vice Chairman of Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Aba branch in Abia state, Barr. Victor Onweremadu, in his own lecture, described the present Nigerian leadership as the worst so far in terms of human rights abuses, adding that Chapter 4 of fundamental human rights guarantees every body rights to life which no one has the right to tamper with
Onweremadu however cautioned youths against engaging in violence and criminal activities, adding, “as a lawyer, I don’t encourage violence and crime but at the same time, I abhor torture and other forms of human rights abuses”.
Permanent Secretary, Anambra state Ministry of Justice and state Solicitor-General, Barr. Ngozi Anuli Iwouno, advised youths to shun crime and other forms of social vices and urged law abiding citizens to feel free to come to the public complaints department of the ministry to lay their complaints in case of human rights abuses and molestations against the dignity of their person or persons, adding that the ministry has provision for a free legal aid.
