The Stop Impunity Nigeria Campaign will hold a two-day National Summit on Impunity in Nigeria in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on June 24 and 25, 2014.
The Summit will be chaired by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais, who is also expected to declare it open. The Summit is aimed at bringing together stakeholders from different sectors, including representatives of anti-corruption agencies; civil society organizations; community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, grassroots organizations and government agencies, among others, to deliberate on the problem of impunity, identify what has been done so far, ongoing efforts and initiatives and what remains to be done, which can then inform a comprehensive strategy for carrying on the campaign in a coordinated and focused manner, with all the actors reinforcing and supporting each other’s activities and efforts.
The Stop Impunity Nigeria (S.I.N.) Campaign is a collaborative campaign by a multi-stakeholder group of civil society organizations, religious bodies and a Federal Government agency which was launched in mid-2013 by four implementing civil society organizations and their partners with an overarching objective to awaken public awareness to the corrosive effects of impunity on the prospects for development in Nigeria.
According to the Campaign’s spokesman, Mr. Edetaen Ojo, who is also the Executive Director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the specific objectives of the proposed National Summit include:
- To identify and bring together the various groups working on anti-impunity issues in Nigeria so as to develop and agree on a mechanism for coordinating and optimizing their efforts.
- To bring together critical stakeholders cutting across civil society, the media, the private sector, government institutions, religious, anti-corruption agencies and regulatory bodies as well as other actors, to discuss the issue of impunity in Nigeria and develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy for arresting the problem.
- To map out wide-ranging strategies for ensuring greater public awareness of the problem of impunity in Nigeria as well as how ordinary citizens and various other stakeholders can respond, including identifying the roles which various stakeholders can play in the campaign.
- To create a platform through which the senior and middle level government officials and other public officers can be sensitized about the issue of impunity in Nigeria and its debilitating effect on all aspects of Nigeria’s development
- To create a platform for an intensive appraisal of ongoing campaigns against impunity in Nigeria, including identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and for developing follow on campaigns which will take into account lessons learned and build on the successes recorded.
- To develop and adopt a comprehensive plan of action for combating impunity in Nigeria in which the diverse competencies and resources of the various actors harnessed for maximum effect.
- To raise the profile of the anti-impunity campaign through a high-profile and high-visibility activity.
The Summit is expected to draw greater attention to the fight against impunity in Nigeria and galvanize actions around issues of impunity and will end with a broad strategy document incorporating the roles and approaches of various stakeholders in the campaign against impunity.
