ISSN 2348-1218 (print) International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Innovations ISSN 2348-1226 (online) Vol. 8, Issue 2, pp: (1-7), Month: April - June 2020, Available at: www.researchpublish.com
INSECURITY THE MAJOR VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS TO LIFE IN NIGERIA Ignatius Nnaemeka Onwuatuegwu (PhD) Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Frig2014@gmail.com
Abstract: The right to life is not just a basic right, but a fundamental and universally acknowledged right accorded to all humans, irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, social class, religion, sexuality and political ideology. However, the extent of enforcement of the right to life may be influenced by the state of affairs in a given country, such as the state of peace, stability, security for lives and properties. Countries that are enjoying the determinants mentioned above may tend to have higher adherence to the right to life as opposed to countries caught in between domestic hostility and insecurity as seen in Nigeria. The scope of insecurity in Nigeria is very vast, resulting in an unimaginable loss of property, freedom, humanness and the eventual loss of thousands of lives. The humanistic crisis and human right violation resulting from the untamed growth of insecurity in Nigeria is enormous, daily the hope of families are shattered, parents are separated from their children, under-aged girls are kidnapped in their numbers and forced into marriage, people are adopted and executed in the most gruesome manner. Insecurity, therefore, is a significant threat to life, and constitute a severe violation to the right to life in Nigeria, because most deaths resulting from insecurity falls outside the corridors of the limitations to the right to life expressed in section 33, (2)of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This paper, therefore, critically explored how the insecurity challenge in Nigeria poses a severe threat to the enforcement and exercise of the right to life of the Nigerian people. Keywords: Human Right, Right to Life, Violation, Insecurity, Nigeria.
1. INTRODUCTION Growth in any society requires the presence of stability, peace, justice, and respect for human rights, especially human life. Respect for human life is an essential requirement of every society, which when tampered with could lead to an irrevocable imbalance in the many dimension of the society, as no human society can be called one when there are no humans to live in it. No nation, country or state can make any meaningful progress in the face of unjustifiable killings of her citizens. Hence, the right to life is not just a basic right, but a fundamental and universal right accorded to all humans, irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, social class, religion, sexuality and political ideology (Coman, Maftei & Negruț, 2012). Globally, the right to life is treated with priority because it is upon this right that every other right are built on. Simply put, for all other rights to take effect, there must be a living human to exercise those rights. Accordingly, article number three of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights clearly emphasized that everyone by being a human has been inalienably given the right to life, liberty and security. Many nations and continents have adopted this declaration and have reflected it in their charter and constitutions. In Africa, the right to life was meticulously documented and explained in Article 4, of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which noted that “human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right”(African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,1981).
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