Date Published: 11/16/09

HURIWA to sue government over road crashes, decries harassment of opposition politicians

Following what it considers as Federal Government’s culpability in the unprecedented rate of deaths and grave injuries sustained by tens of thousands of Nigerian commuters, a development focused and democracy inclined non-governmental organization- Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has disclosed that it is consulting with over one hundred other civil society groups to initiate a class action before the Federal High Court to demand that Government take responsibility for the high casualties recorded in road mishaps and pay heavy compensation to survivors and family members and to compel Government to upgrade the state of road infrastructure in the country in no distant time.

The Government was also criticized over the recent reported invitation extended to the aide of the former Presidential candidate of the All Nigerian Peoples Party [ANPP] Alhaji Sule Hamman and the This day online editor Joseph Ushiagiale for interviewing the former who allegedly called for violent change of Government. HURIWA averred that the harassment of journalists for interviewing opposition politicians amounted to a violation of sections 22 of the 1999 constitution which grants the media workers the constitutional right to serve as vanguard and conscience of the nation through the instrumentality of the mass media.

HURIWA urged Government to respect the freedom of expression which is guaranteed under the constitution since the said opposition politician did not advocate violent change of Government but only expressed his innocuous opinion on the state of the nation, which in the estimation of millions of citizens, has deteriorated in recent times. ‘’Government rather than chase shadows by harassing opposition politicians and independent media practitioners for highlighting the failure of Government, should embrace criticism as a challenge to tackle the unprecedented rate of poverty among a majority of Nigerians’’.

The decision of the human rights group was conveyed in a media release issued by its National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko even as the rights platform stated that her resolve to challenge Government in Court over what it calls Government’s culpability in mass murder of citizens was informed by a finding by the publicly funded Federal Road Safety Commission [FRSC] that over four thousand Nigerians perished this year in avoidable road accidents in Nigeria’s notoriously deteriorated Federal High ways across the country.

Specifically, between January and November 8 th 2009, the Federal Road Safety Commission [FRSC] reported that no fewer than 4,517 persons lost their lives to road accidents nation-wide and within the same period, 23,081 persons were injured in 9,226 crashes involving 12,165 vehicles. The Federal Road Safety Commission stated also that within the same period, 61,838,919 passengers travelled through various motor parks across the country.

HURIWA said it has commenced nation-wide consultations with stakeholders in the organized human rights community with over one hundred registered groups with a view to instituting a class action in favour of some citizens who lost their children and dear ones in the numerous road accidents that happened over time because it believes that Government’s unwillingness or incompetence in ensuring the regular maintenance of the Federal High ways all across Nigeria amounted to wilful culpability in mass murder of Nigerian citizens who have the constitutional protection to their right to security, welfare of their persons and right to life in accordance with the spirit and letters of sections 14, and 33 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria which is supreme and binding on all persons and authorities in Nigeria.

The group disclosed that some of her members also suffered the unfortunate fate of dying in avoidable road accidents because of the derelict nature of the nation’s road infrastructure over the years due to Federal Government’s serial negligence as a result of massive corruption in the agencies in charge of road repairs.