STRUCTURAL DEFECT IN THE PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Human rights freedom are enshrined in chapter IV of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended including the right to life, the right to personal liberty, the right to a fair trial, freedom of expression and of the press, freedom of religion and the right to dignity of the person. The protection of human rights in its comprehensive has been too far from reality in Nigeria. This is because of some defects in some provisions in our laws that clog the enforcement of the guaranteed rights. The defects are either from possible oversight by our craftsmen or a conscious act bythe government to violate the rights of citizens in order to perpetrate their political power. The author examined these defect and how it has affected the protection of some rights of the citizens and suggested some panacea.