Clement Nwankwo

Clement Okechukwu Nwankwo born (9 May 1962) is a lawyer and human rights activist in Nigeria.[1][2] He is the Executive Director of Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre and convener of Civil Society Situation Room (PLAC).[3][4][5][6]

Clement Nwankwo
Born9 May 1962
Lagos
NationalityNigerian
Alma materUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka
Years active1980s–present
Known forHuman rights lawyer
AwardsMartin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders

Nwankwo became active during the military dictatorship of Ibrahim Babangida. In 1987, he was co-founder of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), one of the first non-government human rights organisations in Nigeria.[7] After the establishment of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 1998, in preparation for conduct of elections to return Nigeria to civil rule, Nwankwo founded the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of over 50 organizations that worked for the return of civilian rule in Nigeria.[8]

Education

Nwankwo was born in 1962 in Lagos and received his early education at Baptist Primary School, Apapa, Lagos and completed secondary school at Methodist College, Uzuakoli (now in Imo State) in 1979.[1] In 1984, Nwankwo graduated in law from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and in 1985 he was called to the bar.[1]

Activism

Along with Olisa Agbakoba, Nwankwo founded Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) in 1987, which investigated human rights violations, offered legal assistance and raised awareness of fundamental rights. In 1990, Nwankwo left the CLO and founded another non-government organization (NGO), the Constitutional Rights Project (CRP), which monitored Nigerian legal and government compliance with international agreements on human rights.[9] The CRP was one of the strongest human rights voices under Sani Abacha's military rule in the mid-1990s, a time when several leading activists were imprisoned, tortured, and in some cases executed.

In 2006, Nwankwo was vocal in his criticism of Nigerian legislature when it attempted to amend the constitution to extent presidential terms of office from two to three. President Olusegun Obasanjo was suspected of inducing legislators to amend the constitution to extend his term in office as he drew near the end of his second and final term in office.

In 2017, Nwankwo said a lack of laws was not the challenge to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria but the lack of electoral accountability.[10]

In February 2019, Nwankwo said foreign and local observers monitoring 2019 elections were in danger[11] after Governor Nasir El Rufai of Kaduna State said foreign observers who meddle in the 2019 elections would return to their countries in “body bags” while appearing on Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) program on February 5, 2019. Nwanko criticised the governor and called on the Nigerian government to take immediate action to protect election observers.[12]

In March 2019, Nwankwo criticised the involvement of the Nigerian military in elections as a threat to democracy. He complained that if the military would not comply with instructions from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during election security operations it should cease involvement.[13] Nwankwo further called for laws to be amended to forbid military involvement in elections if orders from civilian organisations were refused.[14][15][16]

Awards

In 1996, Nwankwo received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, he has also received awards from Human Rights Watch and the National Endowment for Democracy.[1]

References
  1. "Clement Nwankwo - Martin Ennals Award Clement Nwankwo". Martin Ennals Award. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  2. Sobechi, Leo (8 February 2020). "INEC's decision is an ambush, says Nwankwo". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  3. "Nwankwo: No reason to spend so much on elections, given our poverty levels". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  4. "Elections: Situation Room Asks INEC To Partner NSA On Security". Channels Television. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  5. "Clement Nwankwo: We are worried over security redeployment 7 days to election". TheCable. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-28.
  6. IV, Editorial (2019-01-30). "2019 : Civil Society outlines expectations for credible polls". Blueprint Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  7. Okafor, Obiora Chinedu (2006). Legitimizing Human Rights NGOs: Lessons from Nigeria. Africa World Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-59221-286-6.
  8. "Clement Nwankwo Leads Transition Monitoring Group". Punch. Vol 5 No. 1249: 2. July 30, 1998.
  9. "Nigeriaworld Feature Article - The role of human rights organizations in the democratization of Nigeria (Part Two)". nigeriaworld.com. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  10. "Laws not problem of elections in Nigeria – Nwankwo".
  11. Umoren, Brendan (2019-02-07). "Clement Nwankwo: Governor El-Rufai's threat dangerous signal to local-election observers too". TODAY. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  12. "2019 polls: We cannot take anything for granted – Nwankwo". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  13. "Clement Nwankwo: We are worried over security redeployment 7 days to election". TheCable. 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  14. "Militarisation of 2019 elections". Vanguard News. 2019-03-21. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
  15. "'Military Involvement In Nigeria's Elections Is Dangerous To Our Democracy' – Clement Nwankwo". Channels Television. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  16. Published. "2019 elections: Don't infringe on citizens' right, Situation Room warns security agents". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2020-06-23.
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