Niger Delta communities having human right violation and enforcing court judgement issues have been asked to reach out to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project( SERAP) Volunteer Lawyers’ Network (SVLN) in the region.
The Senior Legal Adviser SERAP, Adelanke Aremo stated this during the inauguration of the Niger Delta chapter of SVLN as well as interactive session on Strengthening stakeholders’ capacity to enforce court judgements in Nigeria, which was held on Thursday, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
” When there are issues of human right violation or you have complaints in your various communities that have to do with human right violation, please feel free to reach out to us. We would ensure that we get any of these lawyers to represent you free of charge”, she said.
While performing the induction of the new members who will pilot the affairs of the chapter, Aremo explained that the Niger Delta chapter was put in place to strengthen SERAP’s network in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers states.
“Today, we are please to inaugurate an additional 16 members who will strengthen our network in Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers states.
“This expansion reflects the great demand for committed legal advocates who leverage their knowledge to amplify the voice of ordinary citizens and Nigerians”, she said.
Speaking further, she said, “The SERAP Volunteer lawyers Network was established on the 22nd of March, 2022 and it has grown into a powerful coalition of legal professionals committed to justice, accountability and public service.
“The network aims to mobilise lawyers across Nigeria who are passionate about using their skills to advance public interest causes.
“It is worthy of note to know that we started with about 30 dedicated members who are united under a shared commitment to uphold socio-economic rights and defend marginalised communities.
“These volunteer lawyers generously contribute their time and expertise to provide pro-bono services, tackling issues such as corruption, human right violation and socio-economic injustices across Nigeria.
“Through their collective efforts, they are making meaningful impact, driving legal actions that advocate for accountability, environmental protection and justice for vulnerable communities.
In his own speech at the occasion, Kehinde Oyewumi, Legal Adviser, reeled out SERAP’s expectations from the lawyers, the community stakeholders and the media.
He urged them to maintain cordial relationship with SERAP so that they can share ideas and ensure that nothing which can jeopardise public interest should not be allowed to thrive in the society.
His words, ” SERAP is expecting the following from the lawyers. First of all, we expect that the lawyers will appear in court to undertake cases for SERAP; offer robust legal opinions that will help to advance everything that we have discussed today; update us on how the cases are going in court; help us to ensure that any judgement that we obtain from court of competent jurisdiction will be enforced through our activities.
“To the community stakeholders, we expect that you will go back to your respective domains and propagate these messages because we all know that judgements from court can only have effect on the people if they are enforced. If they are not enforced, it will remain like that.So, your job is to ensure that in your locality people are properly sensitized on how we can take the next effort in enforcing judgement so that the desired result can be achieved at the end of the day. Also, we.expect that you will report to us timeously cases of human right violation in your area because it is only when we know that we can take action. For the fact that we cannot be in all places at the same time that is why we felt it is important for us to have people who can undertake these activities for us in their localities and when we interface we can have a very quick response to these issues.
” To the media, we expect that you will amplify these issues for us. You will be consistent on these issues until the people concern take action on them.
“The bottom line is that we expect a society that will work for us and if we fail to act, the society cannot work and from our research we have discovered that a society that works obey the rule of law”.
Earlier on in his opening remarks, the Deputy Director SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, thanks Ford Foundation and the participants for their support and attendance.
He said, the aim of the interactive session was to enhance the capacity of key stakeholders and develop a plan of action for mobilizing stakeholders to press for the enforcement of court judgements and decisions relevant to environmental and social justice actions in the Niger Delta region and ensure transparency and accountability in the management of oil and gas resources in Nigeria.
Our correspondent reports that the event was attended by representatives of the Attorney-General of the Federation, representatives of the Human Rights Commission, Royal fathers, Community leaders and members of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Also, human rights advocates, Civil Society Organizations, media houses, community networks, women, religious, professional groups, persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders.
It featured discussions on strategic actions and approaches to promote the enforcement of court judgments in Nigeria and paper presentation on “Public Interest Litigation and Enforcement of Judgement in Environmental Matters in Niger Delta Region of Nigeria”, by Dr. C.A.J. Chinwo.
