Human Rights

Dec
21
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
Courts And Criticism: Why Abia’s Democratic Space Is Not Being ‘Shut Down’ – But Being Defined By Law – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Courts And Criticism: Why Abia’s Democratic Space Is Not Being ‘Shut Down’ – But Being Defined By Law – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Good Governance, Human Rights, Politics
COURTS AND CRITICISM: WHY ABIA’S DEMOCRATIC SPACE IS NOT BEING ‘SHUT DOWN’—but BEING DEFINED BY LAW In any constitutional democracy, citizens have the unequivocal right to question the use of public funds, project execution, and governance decisions. But rights have limits; freedoms must be exercised responsibly, and democracies do not collapse because individuals are held to account for demonstrably defamatory conduct. Recent commentary alleging Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and human-rights abuse in Abia State under Governor Alex C. Otti, however earnest in tone, mischaracterises legal norms and misunderstands both the facts of the N100 bn defamation suit and…
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Dec
17
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
NMDPRA Boss, Farouk Ahmed, Finally Responds To Dangote’s Allegation

NMDPRA Boss, Farouk Ahmed, Finally Responds To Dangote’s Allegation

Columns/Opinions/Letters, Human Rights, News Flash, Oil & Gas
NMDPRA Boss, Farouk Ahmed, Finally Responds To Dangote’s Allegation The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, has responded to recent claims regarding the financing of his children’s education and his integrity in office, insisting that the allegations are misleading and ill-timed. In a detailed statement, Ahmed said the allegations “necessitated this response, not because I fear scrutiny of my finances, which I welcome, but because the timing and nature of these claims demand context that only three decades of public service can provide.” Ahmed highlighted his career in Nigeria’s petroleum…
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Dec
03
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
Gov Otti Meets Tinubu Over Efforts To Secure Nnamdi Kanu’s Release

Gov Otti Meets Tinubu Over Efforts To Secure Nnamdi Kanu’s Release

Abuja, Human Rights, News Flash
Gov Otti Meets Tinubu Over Efforts To Secure Nnamdi Kanu’s Release President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday met with Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Governor Otti’s meeting with President Tinubu is believed to be part of ongoing engagements aimed at securing the release of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. The meeting comes just days after Governor Otti visited Kanu at the Sokoto prison facility, where the IPOB leader is serving his sentence. Otti undertook the Sokoto visit alongside Kanu’s younger brother, Emmanuel Kanu; the Abia State…
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Nov
30
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
“President Tinubu, If Your Proxy War Against Ndigbo Requires Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Death, Then Kill Him Openly And Return His Body To Us” – By Okey Anyanwu

“President Tinubu, If Your Proxy War Against Ndigbo Requires Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s Death, Then Kill Him Openly And Return His Body To Us” – By Okey Anyanwu

Columns/Opinions/Letters, Human Rights, Politics
PRESIDENT TINUBU, IF YOUR PROXY WAR AGAINST NDIGBO REQUIRES MAZI NNAMDI KANU’S DEATH, THEN KILL HIM OPENLY AND RETURN HIS BODY TO US Okey Anyanwu What is unfolding under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s watch is not governance. It is not justice. It is not even prosecution. It is a slow, choreographed persecution. It is a continuation of a long and ugly history of hostility toward Ndi Igbo, masked behind the robes of a judiciary that has become the executive’s loudest whisper and its most obedient dagger. Watching the witch-hunt, the institutional bullying, and the judicial suppuration directed at Mazi Nnamdi…
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Nov
25
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
US To Provide Intelligence Support, Defence, Equipment To Nigeria – FGN Reveals

US To Provide Intelligence Support, Defence, Equipment To Nigeria – FGN Reveals

FGN, Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Security
US To Provide Intelligence Support, Defence Equipment To Nigeria – FG Reveals The Federal Government says the United States has agreed to step up its security partnership with Nigeria. According to the Presidency, Washington has committed to providing intelligence support, defence equipment, and other strategic assistance to help Nigeria tackle terrorism and violent extremism more effectively. Officials described the development as a major outcome of last week’s engagements between a high-level Nigerian delegation and key US institutions. The delegation, led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, held several meetings across Washington, including with senior officials from the US Congress, the…
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Nov
22
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
Emotions Aside; Facts, History, Constitutional Realities Surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s Case – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Emotions Aside; Facts, History, Constitutional Realities Surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s Case – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Abia State, Columns/Opinions/Letters, Human Rights, Judiciary
My brother, let us put emotions aside and sit with the facts, history, and constitutional realities surrounding Nnamdi Kanu’s case. Leadership is not always loud. Sometimes, the loudest noise is a signal of distance, not influence. Federal Crimes Are Not Resolved in State Government Houses Nnamdi Kanu is being prosecuted under federal laws, before a federal court, by the federal executive.No governor — not from Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, nor Imo — has the constitutional authority to negotiate or interfere in: Federal charges DSS custody High-profile national security trials Even the Supreme Court, in AG Federation v. AG Lagos (2004),…
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Nov
21
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
MNK Deserves Acquittal, Not Pardon – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

MNK Deserves Acquittal, Not Pardon – By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Columns/Opinions/Letters, Crime, Human Rights, South East
MNK DESERVES ACQUITTAL, NOT PARDON MNK is not a violent man.MNK is not genocidal.MNK is not a commander of militias.MNK does not need a pardon.MNK needs acquittal.Period. The Nigerian Constitution is clear in Section 36(5): “Every person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty.” The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, domesticated in Nigeria under Cap A9, reinforces it: No one shall be deprived of liberty except on grounds and procedures established by law. And internationally, Article 14 of the ICCPR insists that punishment must match proven personal conduct, not political interpretation. Philosophy is…
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Nov
21
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
US Panel On Christian Genocide In Nigeria Condemns Conviction Of Nnamdi Kanu, Mayor Sanction Justice Omotosho

US Panel On Christian Genocide In Nigeria Condemns Conviction Of Nnamdi Kanu, Mayor Sanction Justice Omotosho

Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Judiciary, News Flash
US Panel On Christian Genocide In Nigeria Condemns Conviction Of Nnamdi Kanu, May Sanction Justice Omotosho A United States Congressional panel sitting in Washington, D.C., at a public hearing on alleged Christian persecution and genocide in Nigeria has strongly condemned the conviction and life sentence handed to Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Members of the panel described the ruling of the Federal High Court in Abuja as a travesty of justice and an assault on international human rights norms. The panel, made up of lawmakers, policy analysts, and human rights advocates, reviewed recent developments…
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Nov
20
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
Justice, Power, And The Moral Collapse Of Selective Leadership- By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Justice, Power, And The Moral Collapse Of Selective Leadership- By Prof Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke

Columns/Opinions/Letters, FGN, Human Rights, Judiciary
JUSTICE, POWER, AND THE MORAL COLLAPSE OF SELECTIVE LEADERSHIP The life sentence delivered against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by Justice Omotoso stands today as one of the most contested judicial decisions in the history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Not merely for what was decided, but for what it exposes: the hypocrisy of power, the selective vibrations of political morality, and the collapse of leadership where it is most needed. Philosophers across centuries have warned that justice becomes tyranny the moment it begins to discriminate. Aristotle, in Nicomachean Ethics, defined injustice as “unequal treatment of equals or equal treatment of unequals.” This…
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Nov
11
2025
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By Abia ThinkTank
Why President Tinubu Can’t Intervene In Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial – Aide

Why President Tinubu Can’t Intervene In Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial – Aide

FGN, Human Rights, News Flash, Security
Why President Tinubu Can’t Intervene In Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial — Aide The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-East), Mrs Chioma Wesley, says President Bola Tinubu will not make any pronouncement on the ongoing trial of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. She spoke to State House correspondents on Monday after she and three other regional aides briefed the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. “Nnamdi Kanu’s case is in court, and the President cannot make any pronouncement on it. He abides by the rule of law. So, for now, we…
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