FLEDGING ISSUES ON HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Since the adoption of the universal Declaration of Human Right in 1948, human rights have not only acquired global status and importance but have grown tremendously both in conception and content. The issue of human rights has become inexplicably important in promoting respect for dignity and activities in order to enhance mutual existence among men and states. Human rights are more or less the rights which nature has endowed to every human being. They are those inalienable rights which are deemed natural but the advent of positivism and constitutionalism led to divisions between fundamental and supposedly non-justiciable rights in the absence of which a chaotic world emerged. While the internalization of human rights was energized and strengthened by a number of developments, the present status of human rights in Nigeria is also without any historical antecedents. There has been some progress in this respect such as the creation of awareness, standardization, institution of public interest, removal of limitation period and liberal interpretation approved by court. However despise this progress there are still some inherent challenges and difficulties in the protection and realization of human rights in Nigeria. Some of these difficulties are jurisdictional problems between Federal High Court and State High Court with regard to the provisions of section251 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, unjustifiable government influence on implementation mechanisms amongst others. These short comings prompted this study which is purely theoretical and based on doctrinal approach. This study examined both international and domestics instruments in Nigeria together with other primary and secondary sources such as case laws, text books, journal articles, statues and media publications. The paper concludes by making some recommendation that will strengthen the enforcement of human rights. There is need for the amendment of chapter ii of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 in order to ensure that economic, social, environmental and Health rights are justiciable and in line with international best practices operational in other countries.