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This paper offers a critical assessment of the role that the media, and in particular peace and conflict-sensitive journalism, can play in peacebuilding in African countries with a primary focus on the history and roles of the media in Nigeria. The theoretical lenses offered by post-colonial and southern criminologies, along with emancipatory peace, global, and human rights journalism are deployed to engage with the prospects and challenges for peace and conflict-sensitive journalism in Nigeria. Overall, this paper aims to serve as a resource material for further research on the role of the media in Nigeria's conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of child marriages has been discussed at length. Some authors have analysed the Nigerian legal framework to provide appropriate strategies for addressing this problem. Building on the important foundational works of these authors, my paper analyses this problem from a different perspective by focusing on the ideological foundations for the increased perpetration of child marriages. I use institutional ethnography, a feminist socio-legal methodology by Dorothy Smith to show that the problem of cultural violence against girls, as seen in the practice of child marriages, is not in the culture but in the manner in which the social, political and legal environment is developed to only meet the needs of the dominant class. This methodology requires conducting an empirical investigation, which goes beyond the limits of this paper. For now, I use the tool of textuality adopted by Smith to reveal the organising power of texts and make visible how activities in local settings are coordinated and managed extra-locally. The paper focuses on the actions of those acting within the institutional process and shows how the ruling relations in Nigeria as a whole, and more specifically the Northern region, both rely on and determine the girl child's everyday experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its inception, Nigerian poetry in English has always been characterized by protest in nature. Beyond its aesthetic scope, it has been critical of socio-political and environmental problems that have bedevilled the nation. This paper is concerned with such literary instrumentalism; the use of poetry by Nigerian writers, living in Nigeria, as an instrument against abuses of human and environmental rights. The theoretical framework that is employed is drawn from the notions of protest writing in Africa and ideas of postcolonial ecocriticism. This will provide a context that brings the fate of humans and nonhumans together under the weight of a failed home government and multinational capitalism in contemporary Nigeria. This study will trace the development of literary and political events in Nigeria, followed by a textual analysis of selected poems. Attention will also be paid to the growth of environmental legislation in Nigeria since the colonial period. This article concludes by arguing that in the absence of an effective or practical legal framework, poetry remains one of the most significant instruments for highlighting the violation of human and environmental rights. As such, the study benefits contemporary scholarship by drawing attention to the social dimension of poetry – and the arts generally – as well as the role literature plays in foregrounding environmental crises in postcolonial societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper conceptualises appropriation as an analytical tool to capture the contradictory nature of human rights localisation. Here appropriation is understood as the intentional reinterpretation of ideas across cultural, spatial and temporal contexts aimed at definitional power. In the first part of the paper I lay out the concept and develop an operationalisation. In the second part I apply the framework to the case of contested gender reform in Nigeria. The analysis highlights the localisation of human rights norms as an amalgam of different competing appropriating acts, leading to a hybrid and contradictory outcome that bears both transformative and stabilising potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A viable way to establish a sense of inclusion for the physically challenged in Nigeria like elsewhere is to provide a sustainable infrastructural plan that integrates the utility concerns of the disabled. Overcoming the difficulties faced by people with disabilities requires interventions to remove environmental and social barriers. This paper examines the right of persons with disability to public vehicular and infrastructural use. It focuses on the recently enacted Discrimination against Persons with Disability (Prohibition) Act, 2018 as well as other international human rights instruments from which Nigeria derives her international obligations. It is observed that the Nigerian society is still unfriendly to the disabled as public infrastructure is constructed without considerations for the disabled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the emerging trend in the regulation of issues pertaining to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria. The trend is examined in the context of problems raised by the operation of multinational corporations (MNCs). The paper discusses conceptual issues relating to the regulation of externalities caused by MNCs' operations. It thereafter elaborates upon recent legislative attempts in Nigeria that may have impact on CSR practices of corporations including MNCs. The paper notes that the emerging trend in Nigeria underscores the importance of the law in shaping CSR practices by corporate actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional peacekeeping discourse has ignored the role of religious bodies (or individuals) in conflict resolution, preferring to focus on the activities of skilled diplomats and negotiators. History suggests, however, that not only have religious bodies been engaged in peacebuilding efforts, they have produced some of the most rewarding successes. It is in this connection that the paper examines two notable case studies: the Quaker Mission during the Nigerian Civil War and Ephraim Isaac's mediation effort during the Eritrea/Ethiopia conflict. Using both primary and secondary sources, a historical and comparative methodology is adopted. It argues that while the case studies differ in many respects, there is a convergence in methods which yielded positive results. The essay concludes that whether acting as a foreign mediator (as in the case of the Nigerian Civil War) or an indigenous one (as in the case of Ethiopia), the religious "tag" they carry gave them an added advantage in the mediatory role they performed. This is more so the case since these bodies demonstrated the spirit of nonpartisanship, empathy, integrity and credibility; all of which are necessities for achieving success in religious peacebuilding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health and human rights are complementary approaches to promoting and protecting human dignity and well-being. The aim of this paper is to examine international provisions and national policies on health and human rights that regulate the health system in Nigeria, along with the institutional arrangements created for the design and implementation of health services. The paper reviews the framework for policy formulation and planning on health matters and emphasizes the responsibilities of the state to implement Millennium Development Goals and international obligations of human rights. It highlights the importance and impact of gender and reproductive rights on health system performance and concludes by proposing legal strategies to improve health outcomes in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to cast new light on the conduct of Nigeria's peacekeeping forces over the past 20 years by examining the Nigerian military's relationship with its own citizens. Time and again while on operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone, these forces have abused human rights and engaged in criminal activities. That they have continued to do so is evidence of the culture of contempt prevalent in the Nigerian military. The paper argues that this culture is, in part, the result of the military's treatment of its own civilian population. Its repeated interventions in the political process and actions in the Niger Delta and while performing police duties elsewhere, have given rise to abusive patterns of behaviour which its officers and men have then taken with them when deployed abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a neglected aspect of legislative reform, derogations and restrictions on the exercise of the right to strike in Nigeria. It draws on the international labour standards established by the International Labour Organisation to assess the derogations and restrictions on the right to strike. The paper argues that despite the important function of the right to strike, Nigeria lags far behind international standards and therefore infringes its obligations under international law through excessive derogations and restrictions placed on the right to strike, particularly in the essential services, the oil and gas sectors, export-processing zones, the right to picketing, and in interests disputes. The conclusion is that these violations must be redressed and the right to strike strengthened to enable collective bargaining to perform the important role envisaged in Nigeria's system of industrial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of domestic violence on the use of modern contraceptive methods in Ife-North Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria. The two forms of domestic violence discussed in this paper are wife beating and marital rape (non-consensual sexual encounters). The data for this paper was obtained from a survey of 408 married or cohabiting women aged 15-49 years in 2003, using multistage random sampling technique. Two-hundred-and-fifty-five eligible respondents were selected from Ipetumodu using systematic random sampling technique, while 153 eligible respondents were selected from Asipa using a combination of systematic random sampling technique and lottery method. Information was collected through the use of structured questionnaires and focus group discussions (FGDs). Four FGD sessions were held with some respondents chosen on the basis of marriage and age. Data management was done using Epi-Info version 6.0 while SPSS PC+ was used for the analysis. The statistical analysis was done using simple descriptive statistics, Chi-square and binary logistic regression model. Results showed that domestic violence in the form of wife beating and marital rape existed in the study area as 55.6% of the women reported having been threatened with physical harassment by their partners; and 62.0% had experienced physical abuse from their intimate partner. More than half of the respondents reported experiencing non-consensual sexual encounters with their partners (55.9%). Among the 17.2% who experienced domestic violence during pregnancy, only 13.7% took some steps to protect themselves. The major coping strategy for those who experienced these forms of violence was pacifying their partners in a crisis situation (25.7%). The study concluded that the threat of wife beating and experience of marital rape contributed to the likelihood of the women not using modern contraceptive methods in the study area. Population education should be intensified to sensitise both men and women more on modern contraceptive education. The education should emphasise the need for gender equality, advocacy against domestic violence, as well as women's rights generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how adequate are oil and gas companies to compensate the damage done by their oil exploration. The study is based extensively on primary fieldwork in local host communities in the oil-producing areas of Eastern Obolo in Rivers State, Nigeria drawing on the experiences and perceptions of 31 community heads, Chief fishermen, youth leaders, the chairman of the Eastern Obolo Community Relations Committee (CRC), the paramount chief and sub-chiefs, and Community Relations Managers of Oil Companies. The average age of participants was 37 years. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants using in-depth interview techniques to gather the needed data. Our results show that distributive and procedural justice and people's rights to self-determination and fair compensation have been compromised in policy initiatives. Harmonising layers of critical laws, including the enforcement of social and environmental protection, must remain a priority though challenges inherent in the legal framework regulating compensation go beyond the impacts of social and environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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On Friday morning, 29 January 2001, Bariya Ibrahima Mugazu was given 100 lashes. Zamfara state of Nigeria tried and punished this young woman for having had sex unlawfully in the previous year. Until this case between Zamfara state of Nigeria and unmarried Bariya Mugazu, controversies surrounding the full adoption of Islamic law (Shari'ah) in northern Nigeria seemed to have remained only a local issue. Section 10 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria bars any of its federating units from adopting a 'state religion'. These states are, however, at liberty to adopt any suitable legal regime. So in 1999, when 12 states in the north of the federation opted for theocracy by adopting Shari'ah as state law, the predominantly Muslim public of the region claimed to be acting within the confines of the municipal law in embracing religiously based regimes. As such, the relationship between this religious and legal order and Nigeria's human-rights-friendly constitution remains controversial. Fornication or adultery may well not constitute an offence deserving criminal prosecution in the non-Muslim secular world. As shall be made apparent in this study, however, individuals' sex lives are highly regulated within the world of Islam. Since Islamic regimes strongly condemn fornication and adultery, this paper is concerned with reviewing Zamfara v. Bariya in order to establish whether the case succeeded in reflecting an Islamic concept of justice. If so, to what extent was the administration of justice by Shari'ah court(s) of law in Zamfara consistent with the ideals and teaching of Islam? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The struggle of the minority ethnic groups against the majority Hausa-Fulani ethnic-amalgam in the north of Nigeria has persisted. As a result of the twentieth-century jihad and politico-cultural and economic factors, Fulani (Muslims) are found in many parts of the minority areas of the geographical north. Many of the minority ethnic groups often claim to be 'indigenous' to the areas and regard the Fulani - and Hausa - as 'settlers'. The struggle for political, economic and social values and rights in these communities often produce violent clashes between these indigenous groups and the settler Hausa-Fulani. This paper uses the territorial claims and counter-claims over indigeneity in the Yelwa area between the Tarok/other ethnic (Christian) groups and the Fulani/other ethnic (Muslim) groups which degenerated into serial blood-letting in 2004 to interrogate the citizen-deficit in Nigeria, and the contradictions of reconciling indigenous rights with citizenship rights in a typical multi-ethnic postcolonial state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human rights NGOs were the vanguard of the struggle for democratisation in Nigeria, but they had to forge alliances with labour unions and other groups to galvanise this process effectively. This paper explores the alliances between labour unions and NGOs in the struggle against military dictatorship in Nigeria to analyse how horizontal relationships have fared in exchanges within civil society. It argues that the exigencies of sustained political struggle throw up conflicts over issues of participation, accountability, and egalitarianism that in turn promote social capital within civil society by mitigating hierarchically structured and asymmetrical patterns of exchange among its members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A healthy environment is an important precondition for the enjoyment of human rights. When framed in this way, environmental protection serves human interests rather than being an end in itself. Recognition of this relationship is evident in the European Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the jurisprudence of their associated judicial bodies. However, we question whether the European or African human rights frameworks might be capable of delivering a demonstrable benefit for environmental protection. Through an examination of two cases (Dubetska v Ukraine and SERAC v Nigeria), we argue that both frameworks benefit the environment to the extent they seek to secure optimal living conditions for humans. However, the regimes are designed for the promotion of human, not environmental, well-being and consequently are largely ill-equipped to address broader environmental challenges like climate change, pollution or biodiversity loss in a way that leads to lasting environmental protection, despite these complex environmental problems continuing to threaten human rights. Accordingly, our analysis highlights the need for other appropriate legal mechanisms for individuals and communities to advocate for their environmental rights and obtain a suitable remedy when their human rights are impacted by environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum, Dutch and British private corporations were accused of having aided and abetted the violation of the human rights of individuals in Nigeria. A lawsuit, however, was brought in the United States, relying on the Alien Tort Statute--part of a Judiciary Act from 1789. In its final decision on the case, the US Supreme Court focused strongly on 'territory'. This use of a spatial category calls for closer scrutiny of how the making of legal arguments presupposes 'spatial knowledge', especially in the field of transnational human rights litigation. Space is hardly a neutral category. What is at stake is normativity on a global scale with the domestic courtroom turned into a site of spatial contestation. This paper explores the construction of 'the transnational' as space, which implicates a 'politics of space' at work underneath the exposed surface of legal argumentation. The 'Kiobel situation' is addressed as a case belonging to a broader picture, including the following contested elements of space: a particular spatial condition of modern nation-state territoriality; the production of 'counter-space', eventually undermining the spatial regime of inter-state society; and the state not accepting its withering away. How are normative boundaries between the involved jurisdictional spaces drawn? How does the 'politics of space' work underneath or beyond the plain moments of judicial decision-making? How territorialised is the legal knowledge at work and how does territoriality work in legal arguments? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approach to curbing the conflict between the Fulani pastoralists and farmers in Nigeria assumed a new dimension with the adoption of open grazing prohibition and establishment of ranches legislations in some Nigerian States. The legislations have implications not only on the relationship between the conflicting parties but also the protection of human rights of the indigenous and ethnic minority population. This article examines some pertinent provisions of the legislations and their implications from human rights perspectives, particularly concerning the obligations to respect, protect and promote human rights of an indigenous and ethnic minority population. The article argues that the legislations not only shielded their vicious objective of identity destruction and forced cultural assimilation, but have also adopted an approach that is discriminatory, retrogressive and violent. The legislations undermine critical human rights norms that protect an indigenous and ethnic minority against marginalisation and identity destruction. The legislation will foment rather than curb the conflict. The article recommends a revision that takes into consideration the human rights obligations of Nigeria, the cultural dynamics, and the social and economic conditions of the affected group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National education policies in Nigeria aim at addressing female disprivilege by improving girl-child enrolment in schools in line with Millennium Development Goal targets. In addition, the National Gender Policy and its Strategic Implementation Framework stress the importance of mainstreaming gender perspectives within the education sector by ensuring adult women and girls gain access to education. This article draws on empirical qualitative data from interviews with educated Nigerian women, religious leaders and principal actors in women's rights groups to demonstrate that merely increasing female access to education is an incomplete development strategy for reducing gender inequality. This is owing to the strong influence of pervasive cultural and religious gender bias. The article employs a redemptive-movement hermeneutic within a Christian faith ethic to argue for a critical interrogation of sexist interpretations of biblical texts. It concludes with culturally sensitive and practical action steps within the education sector to promote a gender-friendly learning environment and more equitable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The realisation of sexual rights remains a daunting challenge in most of sub-Saharan Africa despite the articulation of these rights in several international documents and national laws. In this paper, we highlight a possible but neglected reason why this is so. Current sexual rights declarations derive from the notion that the body, as a physical entity, belongs to the individual. However, our work in two southeastern Nigerian cultures, the Ngwa-Igbo and the Ubang, shows that there is at least one alternative view of the body, which constructs it as the property of the wider community, rather than that of the individual. In the two cultures in question, rights are embodied in the community, which also lays powerful claims on all its members, including the claim of body ownership. Individuals are thus more likely to seek and realise their rights within the communal space, rather than by standing alone. The assumption that individuals always hold the ultimate right to their bodies is problematic and may constrain the effectiveness of rights-based programmes and interventions in general, and of work around sexual rights in particular. Les droits sexuels demeurent difficiles à réaliser dans la plupart de l'Afrique subsaharienne, en dépit de leur inclusion dans plusieurs documents internationaux et législations nationales. Cet article donne une explication possible, mais négligée, de ce phénomène. Les déclarations actuelles sur les droits sexuels découlent de l'idée que le corps, comme entité physique, appartient à l'individu. Néanmoins, notre travail dans deux groupes du sud-est du Nigéria, les Ngwa-Igbo et les Ubang, montre qu'il y a au moins une autre conception du corps, considéré comme la propriété de l'ensemble de la communauté, plutôt que comme celle de l'individu. Dans ces deux cultures, les droits relèvent de la communauté, qui a aussi de fortes prétentions sur tous ses membres, y compris sur la propriété du corps. Les individus ont donc plus de probabilités de chercher à réaliser leurs droits dans l'espace communautaire que dans l'isolement. Le principe qui confère toujours à l'individu le droit final sur son corps est problématique et risque de limiter l'efficacité des programmes et des interventions fondés sur les droits en général, et en particulier du travail autour des droits sexuels. El cumplimiento de los derechos sexuales continúa siendo un reto de enormes proporciones en casi toda Ãfrica subsahariana, pese a la articulación de estos derechos en varios documentos internacionales y leyes nacionales. En este artículo se proporciona una razón posible pero olvidada del porqué. Las declaraciones de los derechos sexuales se basan en la noción de que el cuerpo, como entidad física, pertenece a la persona. Sin embargo, nuestro trabajo en dos culturas del sureste de Nigeria, Ngwa-Igbo y Ubang, muestra que existe por lo menos otra visión del cuerpo como propiedad de una comunidad más amplia, y no de la persona. En las dos culturas en cuestión, los derechos son parte de la comunidad, la cual exige mucho de todos sus miembros, incluso el derecho de propiedad sobre el cuerpo. Por tanto, es más probable que cada persona busque y haga realidad sus derechos dentro del espacio comunal, y no como ser independiente. La suposición de que toda persona tiene siempre derecho a su cuerpo es problemática y podría limitar la eficacia de las intervenciones y programas basados en derechos, en general, y obrar en torno a los derechos sexuales en particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid escalation of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) elicited varying degrees of responses from governments. The escalation and community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic despite initial responses resulted in a lockdown strategy in some countries. Nigeria embraced a lockdown policy, albeit with some socioeconomic stimulus measures to cushion the resultant economic hardship. The inadequacy of the stimulus measures led to lockdown violations and human rights abuses. This study establishes the nexus between Nigeria's lockdown policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic, human rights violations, and the role of Nigerian civil society in mainstreaming civil rights protection during this public health emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is a contribution to the relatively few existing empirical studies on the effects of Boko Haram terrorism on human security in Nigeria. Because generating primary data on terrorism from the terrorists themselves is extremely difficult and first-hand information/statistics on the crime are often collated, classified, and restricted within the military and paramilitary formations, most researchers rely mainly on secondary sources of statistics and data to report the incident to the scientific community. Utilizing ex post facto survey research design, data were collected from newspapers and magazines, and analyzed using content analysis method. The results showed that both the intensity of terrorism and the anxieties it had unleashed on the population have resulted in social and moral panic, with dire consequences, particularly on educational development, food security, economy, national cohesion, and human rights. It was concluded that terrorism is a serious threat to human security in many fronts. The policy implication is that social capital, participatory politics, and trusted military-police-public partnership in community policing and security should be developed and sustained. The national security forces should be overhauled to eliminate sabotage, compromise, and other irregularities in the system, which has over the years, delayed winning the war on terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nigerian Government has taken measures to promote and protect rights of Nigerian children. This article reviews the practice of male genital mutilation or cutting (MGM/C) in Nigeria. It is the author's view that the practice of MGM/C of a male child in the country which inflicts agonising pain is barbaric, criminal, undemocratic, unconstitutional, unlawful and contrary to international human rights' norms. The author suggests the ban of MGM/C of a male child, except for medical indication in line with the approach in other countries, including the United States of America (USA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nigerian army has long had a poor human rights record. From the times of the Biafra War (1967-1970) to massacres of Boko Haram members in 2009 and clashes with the Shiite minority in 2015, soldiers and officers have perpetrated widespread and serious violations. Corruption, impunity, a weak chain of command and lack of accountability, qualifications, training, recruitment, supplies, and control by civilian authorities explain their wrongdoings, together with the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s and the war on terror since 2009. Such problems are still prevalent as Nigeria heads for general elections in 2019. This article thus shows that lessons were not learned despite the democratization process since the end of military rule in 1999. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that when conceived as an adoption mechanism rather than a marriage simpliciter, the woman to woman marriage common in parts of Nigeria becomes juridically explicable, and with it, several other cognate customary law arrangements which have proved challenging to scholars and adjudicators historically as well as in recent appellate court jurisprudence. Thus reconceived, the woman to woman marriage and its cognates assail the negative appellate court jurisprudence thereon and their ramifications become amenable to exposition in ways that evince the genius of the arrangement and its designers’ ingenuity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) establishes a system or mechanism for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa within the framework of the African Union (formerly known as the Organisation of African Unity). The African Charter promotes a range of human rights such as civil and political, socio-economic and cultural, individual and collective rights. The African Charter is the first regional mechanism to incorporate the different classes of human rights in a single document. There have been a plethora of academic postulations indicating that the African Charter has impacted Nigerian Law minimally. This article contends that the African Charter has impacted positively on Nigerian law notwithstanding the academic postulations to the contrary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil is a major source of income for Nigeria and it is the mainstay of the country's economy. Nigeria's intensive oil sector accounts for nearly 40% of its gross domestic product, but declined steadily to an average of 14.71% of the country's total export between 2006 and 20111; and contributed about 80% of budgetary revenues that all tiers of government heavily depend on.2Oil spills and gas flaring are some of the effects of the unregulated exploratory activities of the oil multinational companies that have contributed immensely to the physical and mental illness of the local inhabitants of the Niger Delta region and violated most of their rights as guaranteed under international and regional human rights instruments and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) 1999. In view of the growing threats to human health and the environment (posed by human activities), the international community has agreed to a number of treaties to respond to the health and human rights challenges posed by environmental degradation. Although Nigeria is a party to most of these instruments,3it has done little or nothing to regulate the conduct of the oil companies that negatively impact on the health of the Niger Delta people. While the impact of oil extraction affects both men and women, the article focuses on its implications for women's reproductive well-being. This is because women are a disadvantaged and marginalised group and have continued to experience discriminatory practices in many parts of the country, including the Niger Delta area. The article discusses the health challenges associated with oil exploitation in the Niger Delta, paying attention to the position of women. It then proffers suggestions on measures and steps that could be taken by the Nigerian government and other stakeholders in ensuring the adequate protection of the health rights of local inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on the core commitments of Critical Terrorism Studies, and mostly, the ethic of emancipation, this article focuses on theBoko Haraminsurgency to investigate recurring violent conflict in Nigeria. It identifies a governance gap not adverted to in the official narrative which has led to gross discontent at the lower levels of the society. The governance gap has created fertile breeding grounds for the recruitment of disillusioned youths who are easily mobilised to violence and lately, insurgency. There are normative and pragmatic reasons to adopt and prioritise social welfare through the implementation of economic, social and cultural obligations and due-process rights as a viable approach to at least reducing the spate of violence in the country. The discussion has relevance for resolving situations of violence and conflict in sub-Sahara Africa in particular and elsewhere in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do Islamic political actors engage with international human rights discourse in new Muslim-majority democracies? While most scholarly research focuses on the role of transnational actors in shaping the local adoption of rights norms, this article focuses on how even incomplete democratization can empower religious actors to engage in meaningful local debates over how to define the relationship between religious values, democratic meanings, and rights. The article presents a case study of Nigeria, where Muslim activists have used “rights talk” to advance the implementation of Islamic law (sharia) under the post-1999 democratic regime. It also explores how these activists’ use of rights language to pursueshariapolicies that conflict significantly with international rights norms challenges human and women's rights groups in Nigeria, who must walk a careful line between appeals to universal norms and religiously grounded arguments in their own advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the legality or otherwise of the Mandatory Premarital HIV Testing Policy, often imposed by Nigerian churches on prospective couples. It dissects and analyses both Nigerian and international legal frameworks on this hotly debated global issue. The article finds that this mandatory premarital HIV testing barring HIV positives from marrying is a gross violation of the rights of people living with HIV; right to family life, privacy, confidentiality and right to freedom from discrimination. The article,inter alia, calls for the formulation of a uniform global policy to address this volatile issue and it also makes a case for urgent legislative reforms in Nigeria, banning mandatory premarital HIV testing and other forms of discriminations often meted out on people living with HIV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with the Independence Constitution of 1960, the right to freedom of information and other civil and political rights have been guaranteed by successive Nigerian Constitutions as fundamental human rights. The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which incorporated the provisions of the African Charter on Human and People's Right into Nigerian law in 1983 consolidated these and a plethora of other social, economic and cultural rights and imposed a positive duty on the government to adopt legislative and other measures to give them effect. This article develops this potentially revolutionary principle of positive obligations, which amazingly remains unsung and unused more than a quarter of a century after it became an integral part of Nigerian law. The first part of the article proposes the principle as the most effective basis to compel the enactment of a Freedom of Information legislation, which successive governments have refused to enact despite overwhelming public support and sustained lobbying for a Freedom of Information Bill first introduced in the National Assembly in 1997. The second part critically analyses the latest (2007) version of the Bill. It concludes that its provisions are inadequate to give effect to the right to freedom of information in view of the legal and bureaucratic environment under which it will operate, and suggests remedial measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1999 and 2007, a broad-based labour-led movement which focused most of its energies on its struggle against unpopular fuel price hikes in Nigeria was able to exert considerable, though limited, influence on an Obasanjo-led executive arm of government that was at best quasidemocratic in its orientation. This article argues that, despite the very important roles played by other factors (notably the presence of more democratic space in Nigeria post-1999), the movement's adoption of a mass social movement approach facilitated its ability to exert such influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the contemporary reversal and rupture of the Nigerian diasporic flow to Ireland through the circumstances of deportation; emphasizing the utility of deportations in the discursive context of national identity, global standing, human rights and racism. Through an examination of the unique relationship between the Nigerian and Irish diasporas, it is argued that the state-level discourse and public policy regarding the deportation of Nigerian migrants in Ireland highlight the presence of 'parallel' and 'catalytic' diasporas that form what can be considered paradoxes of diaspora. The article also maintains that deportations: 1) facilitate the proliferation of national racisms and human rights violations through the legitimating mechanisms of international law; 2) expose the attempt at insuring a national Irish identity that is racialized as White; 3) bring into sharp relief the simultaneous determination of Nigeria to secure a reputation as democratic and Ireland to preserve its standing as a philanthropic and benevolent nation in the global arena and; 4) highlight the post-national significance of diasporic belonging in a contemporary global context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria, with an estimated population of 150 million, is currently the largest country in Africa. Notably, Nigeria has extensive natural resources, particularly the vast proven petroleum and other hydrocarbon reserves. It is internationally recognised for political and military contributions to the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for peace and security operations. Additionally, it has assumed a leading role in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and the African Peer-Review Mechanism. Within this context, the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007 is of utmost importance. President Obasanjo's handover of power to another civilian administration represents a milestone achievement in Nigeria's history as a sovereign state and an important consolidation of the nation's post military democracy. It represents a considerable contribution to regional stability and international security as well as democracy worldwide, which explains the use of the Defender of the Faith Role concept to explore Nigeria's presidential election vis-a-vis its past human rights records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great deal of optimism has surrounded the recent globalization of telecommunications. One such benefactor of this telecommunications revolution may be international non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International. Conceivably, human rights violations will become increasingly visible and states more accountable. However, concerns about the privatization of media and the growing involvement of multinational corporations in human rights abuses gives cause for ambivalence about the globalization of telecommunications. This article investigates the public relations battle that occurred between Amnesty International and Shell Oil Company over human rights violations in Nigeria in the 1990s, highlighting the problems of the liberalization of telecommunications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of non-governmental agencies in promoting respect for human rights by the Nigerian government. It documents NGOs' efforts, between 1995 and 1998, to respond to government indifference toward human rights violations in Nigeria. The NGOs attempted to influence United States and other Western governments to impose an embargo on Nigerian oil products. NGOs believed that an embargo would force the Nigerian military regime to demonstrate respect for environmental and human rights. NGO efforts failed, in part, due to influence that the multinational oil industry had on the economic interests of Western governments. In addition, NGOs failed because they were unable to generate a public reaction that would force Western policy makers to change their policies toward Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]