A leading human rights organisation in Nigeria, Lawyers Alert, has initiated a legal action against Federal Government and the Attorney General of the Federation at the Federal High Court in Makurdi, over the ongoing humanitarian crisis affecting Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State.
The lawsuit seeks to address Benue State IDP crisis with a specific focus on the government’s failure to provide adequate security and facilitate the return of displaced citizens to their ancestral homes.
The Director in charge of Legal Department at Lawyers Alert, Bamidele Jacobs, said the objective was to ensure the fundamental rights of the effected vulnerable groups were upheld.
He said: “The lawsuit is grounded in provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, both of which guarantee the right to life, dignity, personal liberty and security.
The lawsuit highlights the legal obligations of the Federal Government to protect the lives and property of its citizens, particularly IDPs in Benue State as enshrined in sections 33(1), 34(1), 35(1), and 14(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantee the rights to life, human dignity and personal liberty.