Below is a response by Prof Chidi Odinkalu to Hon. Umar Jibril, Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Reps and the architect of the obnoxious anti-NGO bill in Nigeria.
Hon. Umar Jibril, Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Reps in Abuja, now claims in a release yesterday that his NGO Bill is needed because NGO’s are sponsoring terrorism. That needs an immediate response.
The desperation in this release doesn’t bear thinking about. Almost every line in the release by Hon. Jibril drips with cheap mendacity. It’s difficult to think that Hon. Jibril himself has even read the bill that he claims to be sponsoring.
To begin with, this is coming from a NASS that refuses to say how much its members earn. But let’s not digress.
It is irresponsible for the leadership of the NASS to claim that NGOs who are sponsoring terrorism or stealing money in the NE can only be dealt with after we have got a new law, surely. Or violating immigration laws? You mean there are no laws nor means now to put them out of business?! You just need to mention this to realise how specious it sounds.
Meanwhile, we have a report, done by the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, no less, on the stealing by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (we will not say grass cutting any more) in the NE which is being blocked from being released to Nigerians. Would the report still be vegetating on some unknown shelf if it was about some PDP villain?
In 2011, the Galtimari Report on the situation in the NE made explicit identification & recommendations on those supporting Boko Haram & what to do with them. The White Paper on the report explicitly recommended prosecution. Those people are still in, around or hob-nobbing with government. No one in either the Osinbajo Panel’s work, or the Galtimari Report or in any of the work since then, has named any NGO as funding terrorism. Obviously, that would be beyond any pale. But the named politicians enjoy protection from the same people conducting this smear.
Terrorism has become the currency of the moment.
Look at the models they cite: Israel, where their law is used to target Palestinian NGOs & NGOs that work with Palestinians; Kenya where their NGO law was unlawfully used to try to de-register NGOs that blew the whistle on the rigging of the recent elections. The Supreme Court decision vindicated the NGOs; or Uganda where the NGO law is being used to oppress & de-register those advocating against Museveni’s eternal presidency project as he sets about lifting age limits that bar him from running again.
You still want to know where this is headed?
#ThisIsOurCountryToo!
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