Lawyers From Nigeria

"Senator Omo-Agege’s call is especially welcome at this time and must be supported by all legislators and the operating companies in order to ensure that balance between the community and the companies,”"

"MEMBER of the House of Representaives, Ms Temi Harriman has called on the Federal Government to widen its recent dialogue with Ijaw militant, Alhaji Asari Dokubo into a national conference involving all ethnic groups in the country."

"Harriman (PDP, Warri, Fed. Constituency, Delta) in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday said the urgency of a national conference had become imperative with the recent involvement of the presidency in brokering peace between the hitherto feuding Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force (NDPVF) and the Niger Delta Vigilante Force (NDVF)."

"My dad was in good spirit until he was taken into the theatre"

"You cannot be the judge in your own case but the records are there."

"Someone must be bold enough to challenge the status quo."

"In life, you can never choose for God; you can’t say that this is what I am going to be."

"If God says this is the place I am taking you to, people may try; people may do whatever they feel they can, if they succeed in doing anything, you cannot blame them."

"First Female Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly delivered a bouncing baby on Saturday."

"What God cannot do doesn’t exist."

"You cannot stop people from saying whatever they want to say; everybody is entitled to their own opinion."

"There is no way you can quickly say bye bye to politics, most especially if you are born into politics."

"If I want God to answer me, I have to forgive and let go of so many things."

"No, once you are in politics, you are there, you don’t quit. There is no way you can quickly say bye bye to politics, most especially if you are born into politics. It is very hard for a politician to quit politics; you will have your followers and supporters."

"“Her death is a huge loss not only to the female gender activist community but to the country as a whole. Our condolences to her family, friends, National Assembly and government and people of Taraba State.”"

"We must continue to make sacrifice for the good of all of us and our country."

"Power belongs to God and he gives it to whoever he wishes and desires at his own time."

"In leading the younger generation, we must instill in them utmost respect for the rule of law and constituted authorities."

"There is no wholesome condemnation or commendation because there is no society that is wholly good or wholly bad, If you want to change that situation, you have to come in there and change it, If we do not have a dominant counter force in the system, the system will continue to support its own, it will continue to define itself in the way it is defined. The beneficiaries of the system will continue to benefit from the system."

"The other reason you can read into things like this is some level of hostility over something. I am not suggesting I know of any problem between both countries but it’s not unusual for countries to harden their stance towards each other, to draw attention to something that is probably hurting one party at another level. I think we may have to look beyond the surface."

"“Unfortunately, the majority of Nigerians, especially the youths who fought with patriotism to reset their country through the ballot box, are now wondering if elections have not become the tool for legitimizing the corrupt takeover of Nigeria. This dark cloud of angst arising from a terribly mismanaged 2023 general elections has jolted the confidence and hope of many Nigerians, thus propelling us as Citizens of Conscience to take the bold step of beginning to resist and mitigate the intended and unintended crisis looming over our dear country.Therefore, we condemn the outright manipulation of the electoral process and abdication of responsibility by INEC as it has not only destroyed trust in the democratic process, but has rewarded wrongdoing, making it possible for persons of stupendous wealth, who lack legitimacy, to become the real beneficiaries of our electoral process."

"I am a member of the National Assembly inclined to make changes happen in the National Assembly but I will not succeed, I know it, I regret it, I sympathise with myself that I will not succeed. Why? Because I do not form a critical mass.I will remain an obedient participant without necessarily doing what they are doing. That is the reality. In politics you have to belong somewhere and that is why you have to stand on the platform of the party, you don’t (stand) outside of it and you have to represent it somehow."

"There are inhibitors which make it difficult for women to come out. The first thing you are told when you come into politics is to go and bring your money, you this prostitute! So the whole engagement with women takes more than ordinary courage to come out and become part of what is happening in governance. It is not an easy journey for women and society is not making it easier. So these bills are attempting to make it easier for women to come out. We are asking the National Assembly to step back, take a deep breath, reflect again on the five clauses that we wanted."

"The number of poor people have rather increased. Nigerians should run away from APC because they have compounded the socio-economic woes of Nigerians. Vote them out of power"

"There is no doubt that the NAPTIP and NIS are like Siamese twins whose roles in the fight against irregular migration especially trafficking in persons are quite germane in the development of our dear country."

"Many people are very ignorant of things that are going on. Most of the victims are taken from the rural areas, where they do not have access to the internet, if they had they would have seen or heard of the horrors of taking such journeys. Even their parents do not have access to the internet. This is partly responsible for the continuous illegal migration."

"Trafficking increases by at least, 500 girls daily, they bring them in their hundreds and now, they waybill them through well known motor parks in Cotonou.It also cuts across all 36 states of Nigeria and happens all over the world. It is no longer about the Edo girls being trafficked to Italy.I urge Nigerians to be alert and sensitive about their surroundings; they should report suspicious movements to the authorities, especially at our border posts.”"

"Our sister security agencies have engaged in rivalry and this has hampered our operations. The situation was such that we could not discharge our responsibilities optimally"

"Always encourage your daughters to open up whenever they face harassment. Sometimes, women will just carry their children to their neighbors house and travel to the market."

"As the Executive Chairman of Roost Foundation, I am saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the Foundation keeps up with its mandate of offering financial, humanitarian and legal support to victims of human trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence. Roost Foundation also has a skill acquisition centre, guidance and counselling unit, etc and alongside other members of the board of trustees, it is my duty to ensure that we provide a safe haven for victims of human trafficking, sexual and gender-based violence."

"Growing up, I was passionate about helping the less privileged in the society. This led me to founding the Julie Donli Kidney Foundation. Through this Foundation we have helped hundreds of women and children with kidney issues get treatment."

"Working with local civil society organizations and the human rights community, Amnesty International Nigeria will campaign for accountability and safeguards for victims of human rights violations. Protecting human rights in Nigeria is crucial and will have wider impact across the continent."

"I haven’t looked back in terms of using not only my legal skills but my knowledge as a civil society actor in order to ensure that people use these institutions in order to pursue justice, but also to bring the voices of women and girls to these conversations. Oftentimes when peace or security is being discussed, or when people are talking about justice, women and girls are not decision-makers, and I thought that by adding my voice and my expertise, I can raise the visibility of the issues of women and girls as well."

"Amnesty International is an impartial organisation. We are non-political and do not support any particular regulatory arm. We do our report without fear and favour. What that means is that whatever position we take is based on human rights principles. We recognise the work we do and that some people might disagree with our approach, but we always explain the methodology of the research that we do and also how we carry out those activities"

"When a woman is giving birth, she is helping to build the nation. She is contributing to national development. A woman should not pay the price with her life because she’s giving birth.”"

"I will say that access to justice in Nigeria is still crawling, especially for women victims of violence. There are a lot of cultural taboos around women’s bodily integrity which is already a barrier to accessing the services they need."

"The representatives have security operatives allocated to them; they would consider the risk of targeting such a high profile person compared to the villagers who they can easily overwhelm. So, it is really about letting the leadership know that it is not about personal interest, but public interest. And when the people are crying, you have a responsibility to address it. We have had situations when officials heard about a crisis and simply hired more security officials instead of tackling the issue so you don’t need to spend more money on your personal security. It is that awareness about public security that we really need to get the lawmakers, governors, and President to pay attention to."

"As I join the Board of Trustees for the next three years, I envisage an exciting future for the Fund as we seek to broaden and deepen its support and assistance to victims of trafficking all over the world in view of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on this vulnerable segment of our society"

"She has worked in many different sectors of the Nigerian government during the past 10 years. She was appointed as the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development in 2008 and went on to become the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in 2010"

"So, when you’re voting, you’re not voting the individual but the party, which will in turn ensure women comprise 35% of the list created for position. In every country where an increase in governance has happened for women, the party list was used. Now, it is left for voters to look at the party list and decide to vote for a party based on their likeness for whoever catches their fancy on the party list. So, the seats won by each party will now be proportionally distributed to candidates, but ensuring by law that 35% of the distribution goes to women."

"I cannot think of anything better than having legislation that whatever part of your body you use on a child while defiling the child, that part should be cut off. If it is your finger, if it is your mouth, if it is your private parts. I think men will take it more seriously when you come up with such LEGISLATION. I hope a man in the House of Reps or Senate sponsors a bill like that."

"I belong to the kitchen, I belong to the living room and I belong to every room created by God. So also other women. We are created by God to do more. In my own case as a judicial officer, I also belong to the courtroom. Other women belong to different rooms, depending on their professional calling."

"I think men will take it more seriously when you come up with such legislation. I hope a man in the House of Reps or Senate sponsors a bill like that."

"The fact remains, while technology has come as a great relief and a major boost in the way of life of people, the same has left much to be concerned about because human traffickers have also caught on to this digital transformation. There is a shift from physical recruitment to virtual recruitment through virtual assessment of victims and proxy negotiations."

"Everywhere in the world there is poverty. So, there are people who have need for good education. And the more education we give to people, the more light we bring into our communities."

"There is a strong nexus between trafficking and sports and we know that young people are involved in sporting activities, this was why we thought it was important to dwell on sports to create this awareness. We are collaborating with other partners, agencies to carry out this sports sensitisation, not just to sensitise the young people but also sensitise their parents for them to be able to recognise the red flag."

"It is the duty of authorities to ensure that people can freely express critical opinions, without fear of reprisals."

"I thought that it’s apt because each time a woman gives birth she puts her life on the line. Giving birth is a service to the nation and contribution to national development; so we don’t want a situation where a woman puts her life on the line because she wants to contribute to nation building and that’s why we are adopting this labour ward and FIDA is contributing in ensuring that every woman who gives birth as much as possible, the incidents of death arising from giving birth and other maternity issues are reduced."

"Education is under attack in northern Nigeria. Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life. Other children have had to abandon their education after being displaced by frequent violent attacks on their communities, and many teachers have been forced to flee to other states. The Nigerian authorities must act immediately to prevent attacks on schools, to protect children’s lives and their right to education."

"Education is not just a tool for preventing trafficking; it is a shield that empowers individuals to recognize the signs and protect themselves and others"