Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to rescind
his assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 [CAMA 2020].
The body told him to send the
legislation back to the National Assembly to address its fundamental flaws,
including removal of “repressive provisions particularly sections 839, 842,
843, 844 and 850 contained in Part F of the Act, and any other similar
provisions.”
“Please note that SERAP has
instructed its Legal Counsel Femi Falana, SAN to take all appropriate legal
actions on our behalf should your government fail and/or neglect to act as
requested”, a letter dated 22 August, 2020 warned.
Signed by deputy director
Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged Buhari to instruct Registrar-General of the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Garba Abubakar, and Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Abubakar Malami, not to
implement the CAMA 2020 until the legislation is repealed.
The rights group said the CAMA
law gives the government discretionary powers to arbitrarily withdraw, cancel
or revoke the certificate of any association, suspend and remove trustees, take
control of finances of any association, and to merge two associations without
their consent and approval of their members.
“Rather than taking concrete
measures to improve the legal environment and civic space that would ensure
respect for human rights and media freedom, your government has consistently
pursued initiatives to restrict the enjoyment of citizens’ human rights. These
rights are protected from impairment by government action.
“These restrictions, coupled with
repressive broadcasting codes and Nigerian security agencies’ relentless
crackdown on peaceful protesters and civil society, demonstrate the
government’s intention to suppress and take over independent associations.
“By seeking to suspend and remove
trustees, and appoint interim managers for associations, the government seems
to want to place itself in a position to politicise the mandates of such
association, and to undermine the ideas that the right to freedom of
association and related rights are supposed to protect in a democratic
society,” it said.
SERAP said the government
granting itself the powers to suspend and remove trustees of legally registered
associations and to take control of their bank accounts constitute an effective
restraint on human rights.
The body said it considers the
CAMA 2020, “the most repressive legislation in Nigeria’s history, especially
given the unlawful and impermissible restrictions contained in Part F of the
Act. Sections 831, 839, 842, 843, 844 and 850 of the Act are manifestly
inconsistent with sections 36, 39 and 40 of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999.”
Under section 831[i][ii], the
government through the CAC is empowered to treat any unregistered association
as part of an already registered association, and without any lawful
justifications whatsoever.
The government also has the power
to treat two or more associations as a single association if the associations
have the same trustees.
Section 839[1] and [7] of the Act
also grants the government through the CAC the powers to suspend and remove the
trustees of any legally registered association, and to appoint an interim
manager or managers to run the affairs of any such association, if CAC believes
that there is misconduct, mismanagement, and fraud in the association, or on
the basis of undefined public interest.
Sections 842, 843 and 844 grants
the government through the Corporate Affairs Commission overly broad powers and
discretion to arbitrarily, unlawfully and unilaterally regulate the finances of
any association, and to take control and take over bank accounts lawfully
belonging to legally registered associations under Part F of the CAMA 2020.
Section 850[2][e] empowers the
government through the Corporate Affairs Commission to arbitrarily and
unilaterally withdraw, cancel or revoke the certificate of registration of any
duly and legally registered association.
“We would be grateful if the
requested action and measures are taken within 14 days of the receipt and/or
publication of this letter.
“If we have not heard from you by
then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions
to compel you and your government to take these measures in the public
interest”, SERAP told Buhari.
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