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2007 Assessment

Nigeria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Nigeria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Civil Society Organizations
Indicators		Score
1	Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?	100
2	Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?	75
3	Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?	100
4	Can citizens organize into trade unions?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Are anti-corruption/good governance CSOs legally protected?

1a: In law, citizens have a right to form civil society organizations (CSOs) focused on anti-corruption or good governance.

Score:

YES

Comments: This section contains a general provision to ensure the right to peaceful assemblies and associations. The exception is the powers conferred on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in respect to registering political parties.

References: Section 40, 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: This is generally true with respect to assembling for political purposes. However, civil society organizations are still required to be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under the provisions of Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990 (as amended). This requirement for registration sometimes presents challenges because there have been incidents of long delays in granting registration certificates.

1b: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are free to accept funding from any foreign or domestic sources.

Score:

YES

Comments: This is the law that governs CSO incorpororation and it has no clause preventing foreign or domestic funding.

References: The Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990

Peer Review Comments: I agree with the score but wish to add that an independent agency, Economic and Finacial Crime Commission (EFCC) has been established to verify funds donated from international organizations for projects in Nigeria. The interntion is to protect the international organizations from funding projects with ulterior motives.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, but when the government notices that a particular CSO or NGO is kicking against the ill or corrupt practices of the government, they usually bring up provisions in the legal frameworks and twist it to suit the government position. Now that Nigeria is beginning to have independent judiciary, we are gradually overcoming this type of challenge.

1c: In law, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs are required to disclose their sources of funding.

Score:

YES

Comments: This whole part of CAMA obliges companies to make annual returns to The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). They contain their whole financial details includig sources of funding.

References: 1. Part XII , Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990

Peer Review Comments: Yes, but that is in theory and it is not in practice.

Are good governance/anti-corruption CSOs able to operate freely?

2a: In practice, the government does not create barriers to the organization of new anti-corruption/good governance CSOs.

Score:

100

Comments: The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) handles the registration of CSOs. They mostly register CSOs without hitches, but may raise objections in connection with the proposed name in relation to prohibited names listed in CAMA.

References: 1. Emma Ezeazu, executive secretary, Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), ACE Abuja office, Aug. 23, 2007 2. Auwal Musa, executive director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC) Abuja, Pact Nigeria's Office, Aug. 23, 2007

Peer Review Comments: When they know you are focusing on anti-corruption, and the name of the organization has anything like "governance" in it, the organization responsible for CSO registration will not register such organization. They will request that the name be changed. Africa Centre for Democratic Governance faced this challenge, and the organization was not registered before the founder, prof. Aaron Gana, died last year.

2b: In practice, anti-corruption/good governance CSOs actively engage in the political and policymaking process.

Score:

100

Comments: Increasingly, CSOs are becoming relevant in policy and governance decision making. They are increasingly being recognized for their expertise on different issues and more formal spaces are being created. There are still issues of access to government officials and confrontational relationships based on distrust of both parties. For instance in the recently constituted Electoral Reform Committee, three CSO leaders were nominated in the committee of 21 members.

Peer Review Comments: CSOs are free to articulate opinions. While they do not directly get involved in policy decision making, they greatly influence the process by engaging in lobbying.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, but I would have been more comfortable with references that indicate what transpired. Naming and or indicating two organizations without explanation makes understanding the issues difficult. Secondly, it was an electoral reform panel and not a committee. Other examples are the public hearings and invitation of civil society to such hearings. One critical challenge to this involvement is that consultation is taken to mean participation, but most of the time the government consults the CSOs without acting on their advice and suggestions.

2c: In practice, no anti-corruption/good governance CSOs have been shut down by the government for their work on corruption-related issues during the study period.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned is there were no CSOs shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of their work on corruption-related issues during the study period. NO: A NO score is earned if any CSO has been effectively shut down by the government or forced to cease operations because of its work on corruption-related issues during the study period. The causal relationship between the cessation of operations and the CSO\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the CSO was forced to cease operations due to its work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: Anti-corruption NGOs have not been shut down in the period under review, but there have been instances of intimidation by the State Security Services, especially in the period leading to the elections.

Are civil society activists safe when working on corruption issues?

3a: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been imprisoned.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no CSO activists imprisoned because of their work covering corruption. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if any activist was jailed in relation to work covering corruption. The causal relationship between the official charges and the person\'s work may not be explicit, however the burden of proof here is low. If it seems likely that the person was imprisoned due to his or her work, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There have not been any known cases at the national level; there may be cases at the state level that are not attaining national visibility.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, but the researcher should have also interviewed anti-corruption organizations and not restrict the interview to the two organizations' (Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE) and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC)) directors.

Peer Review Comments: The recent national case of Mrs. Judith Asuni of the Academic Associate Peace work and NGO run by Azuni and Mr. Danjuma Saidu and others that were arrested and remanded for espionage by the government proves contrary to the above answer. This matter is pending before the court and no decision has been made. Though the duo has been granted bail, many questions are yet to be answered by the government.

Punch Newspaper, Wednesday October 24, 2007

3b: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been physically harmed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists covering corruption being assaulted in the specific study period. A YES score can be earned if there was an attack but it was clearly unrelated to the activist\'s work. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period of assault to an activist who covers corruption. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

Peer Review Comments: Monotonous and or repetition of description of sources suggest laziness on the part of researcher. There are other sources in academic research, literature and newspapers.

3c: In practice, in the past year, no civil society activists working on corruption issues have been killed.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of CSO activists being killed because of their work covering corruption in the specific study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases during the study period where a person was killed related to a corruption trial, scandal or investigation. The relationship between a mysterious death and an individual\'s history may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is reasonable that a person was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

Peer Review Comments: There is no public certainty of such murders, but there have been a few cases of unsolved murders and reports of missing persons.

Can citizens organize into trade unions?

4a: In law, citizens have a right to organize into trade unions.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Section 40, the Nigerian 1999 Federal Constitution;

Section 2, the 2005 Trade Union (Ammendment) Act [ LINK ](Amendment)Act2005.htm

4b: In practice, citizens are able to organize into trade unions.

Score:

100

Comments: Trade Unions are more recognized in the public sector; in the private sectors this right is being infringed on. The private sector has refused unionization and workers who attempt to form unions are punished. Also in the public sector they have been able to influence policy decisions through the instruments of industrial strikes (e.g. increase in VAT and fuel hike).

Peer Review Comments: Under the administration of Musa Yardua, Nigeria's current president, trade union and social activists enjoy greater freedom to express opinion and the government seems more likely to listen to them, unlike the previous regime of president Obasanjo, which harrased activists and ignored their opinions.

Peer Review Comments: Despite the fact that citizens are allowed to unionize in the public sector, their leaders are often victimized for their opinions and beliefs. In the private sector, especially in the banking industry, trade unionists are often sacked at will.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, but most of the time, the government intimidates the real activists spearheading certain protests.