Speaker Dogara, Ben Bruce, others nominated to brainstorm on terrorism, human rights in Nigeria

Speaker Dogara, Ben Bruce,
others nominated to brainstorm
on terrorism, human rights in
Nigeria
- A group has nominated the speaker of the
House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara
to speak on terrorism and human rights
issues in seminar in Nigeria
- The group also nominated the Senator
representing Bayelsa east constituency, Ben
Bruce, alongside other international
speakers
- The organizers said the seminar will help
proffer solution to Nigeria's commitment to
getting rid of terrorism and its impact on
her national life
The speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, the
senator representing Bayelsa east
constituency, Ben Bruce among many
others have been nominated to speak on
issues of terrorism and human rights in
Nigeria.
Dogara and Bruce will join many other
international speakers and stakeholders
in a seminar organised by a civil society
organization, Save Humanity Advocacy
Centre (SHAC).
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on
Tuesday, November 28, the executive
secretary of SHAC, Ibrahim Abubakar
said the seminar has become imperative
in view of some subjective assessment
done on the fight against terror by the
organized force in Nigeria.
He said the seminar themed, "Global
War Against Terrorism: For Nigeria, A
Choice Between Law and Life", will help
provide a platform for a collective and
objective assessment of the war against
insurgency in Nigeria.
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Abubakar said the seminar is also
expected to proffer solution to Nigeria's
commitment to getting rid of terrorism
and its impact on her national life.
He added that SHAC has spent quality
time over the years monitoring crisis
situations across the country and in
recent years concentrated both in the
North and south-eastern part of the
country.
Abubakar said: “In the course of our
work, we have noted that ongoing
conflicts across the world have been
assessed with such worrying relativity
that the issues are easily confused. The
standards for evaluation are dangerously
fluid and definitions constantly shift
depending on who is doing the
evaluation, who is being evaluated and
where the evaluation is taking place.
“With Nigeria and the Boko Haram
terror group, this kind of subjective
assessment of the crisis situation has
proven to be out-rightly dangerous and
sometimes purely irresponsible when
viewed against the greater responsibility
to humanity, which is safeguarding the
well-being of local populations that are
the victims of terror attacks.
The legitimate authorities - military and
security agencies that are saddled with
curtailing these terrorists are now
branded as if they are the ones
committing crimes when in reality they
are the ones preventing further carnage
against the innocent civilian
populations.
“It is therefore imperative that the
issues around humanitarian and human
rights issues are better articulated to put
both practitioners and citizens in a
better position to understand what is at
stake. This is why the Save Humanity
Advocacy Centre (SHAC) is organizing a
two-day seminar that will assemble
stakeholders to interrogate the issues
and proffer useful suggestions on how to
proceed in the times ahead," Abubakar
said.
Abubakar said participants for the
seminar are drawn from Nigeria and
abroad to cover those working in crisis
management, academics, judiciary and
NGOs.
He said the participants boast a
collection of people that have proven
pivotal in shaping how Nigeria is
perceived.
The seminar is expected take place
between Wednesday, December 13, and
Thursday, December 14, at the Shehu
Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.