By Chuks Eke
Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a social crusader has stated that Nigeria’s democracy is suffocating under the iron grip of a national security architecture that exists not for the people but for the privileged.
He said until we dismantle this falsehood and reclaim the centrality
of citizens’ rights in our governance structure, we remain a nation at war with its own people.
In what he described as midweek musing press statement issued on Wednesday titled: “Citizens’ rights in chains, national security in myth: brutal truths from NBA-AGC”, Ejiofor noted that as the ongoing Annual General Conference, AGC of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA unfolds in the Coal City of Enugu, beyond the convivial reunions, intellectual sessions, and corporate razzmatazz, there are certain sideline engagements of profound national consequence that demand sober interrogation.
According to Ejiofor, Tuesdays session on “Citizens’ Rights and Security Concerns’ was, without equivocation. The most compelling I have witnessed since the inception of this revered NBA-AGC. The panel was an unusual assemblage of representatives of the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP and the Director-General of the DSS, D-G DSS”.
“And, in fiery contrast, human rights titans and legal giants such as Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Prof. Ojukwu, Chief Femi Falana, SAN, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, with Babatunde Ogala, SAN, moderating, the atmosphere at the International Conference Centre, ICC, Enugu was electrifying. Lawyers, young and old, packed the auditorium to hear the State’s security chiefs defend their record, and the country’s foremost defenders of liberty lay bare the unvarnished truth”.
“The truth, however, was brutal. As Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, pointedly declared: ‘in Nigeria today, national security is nothing more than a shield for those in power, while citizens’ security has been relegated to the dustbin. Our rulers are chauffeured around with truckloads of armed escorts, yet the ordinary Nigerian is abandoned to kidnappers, armed robbers, bandits, and the predatory whims of state security operatives”.
The security chiefs’ representatives sought to dazzle with polished presentations, papers, and theories. But their words collapsed under the weight of lived realities. Permit me to highlight just a few of the blatant misrepresentations that demand public scrutiny”.
“The Wawa Detention Facility, Niger State: The representative of the Chief of Army Staff stunned the hall by claiming that detainees in the notorious Wawa detention facility are treated ‘professionally’ and have access to their lawyers, a position echoed by the DSS delegate, who further alleged that eight Federal High Court judges sit within the facility to hear detainees’ cases, supposedly witnessed by Legal Aid lawyers”.
“This is a naked lie. No lawyer in Nigeria; I repeat, no lawyer, has been granted access to that notorious dungeon. The road itself is sealed off miles away from legal access. Those who emerge from Wawa after years of illegal detention are gaunt, malnourished, and broken, their bodies betraying tales of cruel neglect. I have credible evidence to this effect. To claim otherwise is deception of the highest order”.
“Tiger Base Police Facility, Owerri: When the NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, demanded clarity about the ongoing inhuman atrocities at the Tiger Base in Owerri, a black site where citizens are tortured, denied access to lawyers, and kept for years without their families’ knowledge, the representative of the IGP feigned ignorance. His weak promise to ‘consult the Commissioner of Police, Imo State’ was an insult to collective intelligence. Ignorance, in this case, is not just dereliction of duty; it is complicity”.
“Police Mobilization Myth: Perhaps the most farcical moment came when the IGP’s representative declared that the era of policemen demanding ‘mobilization’ from complainants before the investigation is over. He urged lawyers to report any erring officers. The hall erupted in laughter. For how long shall we pretend? Which Nigerian police officer, surviving on a salary that cannot sustain his family, will bankroll investigations from his personal purse?”
“To present this as reality is not just dishonest, it is contemptuous of the suffering of Nigerians. What the Nigerian Police needs is not cosmetic assurances but radical structural and ethical reform, root to stem”.
“Prof. Ozekhome, SAN, with his usual thunderous eloquence, ripped through these falsehoods with cold facts, confronting power to its face. Chief Femi Falana, SAN, spared no punches either, wielding the Constitution as a sword against systemic impunity. The auditorium trembled with applause. Lawyers, young and old, hungered for more time with these fearless truth-tellers”.
“This was not just a session; it was an indictment, an unforgettable clash between deception and truth. And truth, as always, was incandescent. Stay tuned, more reflections will follow in subsequent updates”.
