Magu: Group lambasts SREAP, S/West CSOs
Alphonsus Nweze, Awka
A human right and pro-democracy group under the aegis of South East Human Right Coalition has lampooned the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Projects (SERAP) and other South West human rights organisations for defending the Senate rejected Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFFC), Ibrahim Magu.
The group in a Statement made available to Daily Times in Awka, the Anambra State capital , expressed shock and disappointment that SERAP in particular wrote to the United Nations Special Rapportuer on of Human Rights Defenders, Mr. Michael Forst, defending the Acting Chairman of EFCC.
In the Statement signed on behalf of the group by Nze Emeka Umeagbalasi, they wondered how SERAP could in their letter “dangerously mislead and insult the person and integrity of Forst as well as the collective image of the United Nations.
Describing SERAP’s letter as “meddlesomeness in the constitutional mandate of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution as amended , the Southeast based Coalition said it was despicable that what matters to SERAP was to baptize Magu as an “international human right defender” inspite of his “motley of rights abuses including long detention of suspects without trial, outright disobedience to court orders and late night invasion and violent arrest of suspects in their sleep”.
Justifying the rejection of Magu the group quoted an online medium, News Express which alleged that Magu rented an accommodation of N40million for two years in a high brow area of Maitama, Abuja, which was said to have been furnished with another N43million by FCDA.
“It is shocking that the man spearheading the anti-corruption crusade of the government will be involved in such a venture. More surprising is the involvement of FCDA in renting a house for EFCC and under what arrangement?” the group demanded.
They equally lambasted the South West rights groups which they alleged have abandoned their original mandate of defending the rights of the oppressed and promoting democracy and rule of law to now transforming into “despotisms and democratic barbarism”
The group said “what bleeds and saddens our heart is not the collective decision of the rights CSOs of Lagos extraction to collapse and nail best practices of human rights advocacy activities; but their refusal to leave the stage and retire into permanent politicking”.
They continued “today, through the magic of “APC-CS0s partnership” sacred cows in the so-called “fight against corruption” abound. To be “Mr. or Mrs. Clean” under Buhari administration, you must belong or join the federally ruling party and its “APC-CSO’ consortium”. It is also incontestable fact that the present Buhari administration and its consortium, parades the highest number of doyens of corruption both in Government and in the moribund Southwest CSOs circles’. The rate of aiding and abetting corruption and abuse of office under the Buhari administration has gone viral as well”.
The South East Coalition therefore condemned SERAP’s letter and called on Forst to disregard it as it was embarrassing, having seen clearly that Magu was a “ an arch human rights abuser with gross moral minus”.
“We consider Police Officer Ibrahim Magu as a serial human rights abuser and constitutional violator. Mr. Magu can never be a human rights defender, not to talk of his gross rights and constitutional abuses he perpetrated as an acting head of EFCC”.
The group advised the CSO’s in the South West to leave the stage and form a political party and become full-fledged politicians and invited new breed of activists to join in the promotion of democracy and rule of law in Nigeria”.
