NHRC Summons Enugu State Waste Management Authority

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has summoned the Managing Director of the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA), Dominic Okonkwo over allegations of human rights abuse.

Mr Okonkwo is expected to appear before the NHRC on January 28, 2016 to respond to the allegations leveled against him and his Agency.

A statement by the spokesperson of the Commission on Wednesday, read: “This is the second time the NHRC would be inviting the Director and officials, who were alleged to have orchestrated widespread human rights abuses in the exercise of their duties.

“In particular, the ESWAMA officials were alleged to have assaulted private security guards in Enugu State, Messrs Koma and Haruna Koma, causing bodily harms to them”.

An earlier statement by the NHRC quoted the Executive Secretary of the commission, Professor Bem Angwe, to have cautioned the Director to heed to the invitation to appear before it or face the full wrath of the law.

The Commission reminded the Managing Director of ESWAMA that it was an offence under Section 6(4) (4) of the National Human Rights Commission Act of 1995, as amended for any person, body or authority to refuse to comply with the Commission’s lawful directives and such a person will be “liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of six months or to a fine of 100, 000 Naira or to both.

On October 29, 2015, the Office of the United Nations System’s Operational Activities for Development in Nigeria, referred a petition to the Commission at the instance of the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network.

In the petition, officials of the Agency, while on a revenue drive on October 23, 2015, were said to have brutally assaulted two security men for failing to present evidence of payment of sanitation fees by their employer.

The officials of ESWAMA were alleged to have beaten up the two security men and used shovel and heavy iron rods on them.