Falana Advices Police Over June 12 Protest Activities

A Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has asked the Nigeria Police Force to apologise for violating the fundamental right of protesters to freedom of expression.

As Nigeria celebrated Democracy Day on Saturday, protesters stormed major cities nationwide to demand better governance and improved living conditions for citizens.

VACANCY! VACANCY!!

ABIA LIVELIHOOD IMPROVEMENT FAMILY ENTERPRISES FOR NIGER DELTA (ABIA LIFE-ND)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTERESTS (REOI)

The Abia State Livelihood Improvement Family Enterprises for Niger Delta (Abia LIFE-ND) is inviting applications from suitably qualified candidates from the public for recruitment into the position listed hereunder:

ASSISTANT RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE OFFICER

Qualifications And Experiences:

A minimum of a Bachelor of Engineering. A master’s Degree in Civil Engineering, with specialisation in roads engineering, would be preferred.

A minimum of 15 years overall engineering experience on design and construction of infrastructure projects, at least 10 years of which should be on road design and construction and at least 5 years’ experience in the Niger Delta region.

Specific experience on the design and construction of low-volume rural roads/earth road in rain forest region, is mandatory.

Must be a COREN registered and/or licenced engineer with internationally recognized certifying body.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

He or she will work in collaboration with the RIC/RIO and other relevant stakeholders of LIFE-ND to review previous studies and reports, identify information gaps and implement additional studies and surveys as required, including the development of the necessary reports, to finalize the detailed information and data that will inform the design of the climate resilient roads;

He or she will assist to Assess and advice on low-cost design options to enhance the durability of the road and minimize maintenance costs;

He or she will assist to develop the preliminary design and technical specifications for the road for consultation with the RIC/RIO and other relevant stakeholders;

He or she will assist to finalize the design and technically and technically specifications, based on feedback from the RIC/RIO and other relevant stakeholders;

He or she will assist to develop and provide a Bill of Engineering Measurement and Evaluation (BEME) based on the design approved by the RIC/RIO and relevant authorities;

He or she will assist to prepare bidding documents and support the binding process, including the evaluation of bids and the preparation of contact document for the construction/rehabilitation of the road;

He or she will assist to provide the necessary guidance note and reports to guide the use of the design;

He or she will assist to set up and manage a quality assurance system to ensure that the work of the contractor complies with the design, technical specifications and documents.

APPLICATION TIMELINE:
Five (5) copies of all applications signed and sealed in an envelope should be addressed to ;
The State Project Coordinator
Abia LIFE-ND, ADP Premises , Umuahia, Abia State.

Applications can also be sent via email at abialifendadvert@gmail.com
between June 14 -August 14, 2021. That is from the date of this advertisement.

CRITERIA FOR SHORTLISTING

Only candidates with the required qualification and experience will be shortlisted.

CONTACT
Clearly written out Contact Address, Phone number and Email addresses must be included to facilitate responses.

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But the police fired tear gas at some of those protesting in Lagos, Abuja and Cross River State while others were arrested and later released.

Falana said in a statement yesterday that peaceful protests are fundamental rights of Nigerians as provided for in the 1999 constitution.

He, however, noted that the constitution was violated by the police who “banned rallies and protests throughout the country on June 12, 2021”.

He said: “For having the audacity to insist on their fundamental right to protest against unpopular policies of governments, teams of armed police personnel fired teargas to disperse the peaceful rallies. As if the unprovoked attack was not enough the Police brutalised and arrested scores of protesters in Lagos, Abuja and Calabar.

“Since the protesters who were arrested during the peaceful rallies did not commit any offence, they have since regained their liberty. But the Police Authorities ought to apologise for violating the fundamental right of the protesters to freedom of expression.

“More so that the police had deliberately contravened Section 83 (4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020 which provides that ‘Where a person or organization notifies the police of his or its intention to hold a public meeting, rally or procession on a public highway or such meetings in a place where the public has access to, the police officer responsible for the area where the meeting rally or procession will take place shall mobilize personnel to provide security cover for the meeting, rally or the procession.”

The senior lawyer commended the protesters for “conducting themselves in a peaceful manner” and condemned “the official lie that the protesters were teargassed to prevent hoodlums and miscreants from hijacking the peaceful rallies.”

“Why were the scanty pro-government protesters who were reported to have fought openly in Abuja over their booty not arrested for breach of the peace in the Federal Capital Territory?” he asked.

“The lessons of the unfortunate event of yesterday should be learnt by all sides of the debate on human freedom. The nation should henceforth be spared the periodic assaults on the civic space.”