Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C, TY Buratai Block, Abuja. There was one presentation made by the Subject Experts on Eastern Europe.
The presentation was made by Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) subject experts on Eastern Europe, he discussed how Russian Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny died in Jail. Russian opposition leader, 47-year-old Alexei Navalny who died on Friday 16 Feb 24 after spending more than three years behind bars on a 19-year jail term in a penal colony inside the Artic Circle, was regarded as President Putin’s most prominent domestic foe and ‘high-profile nemesis’. His death has prompted outrage and condemnation from his supporters and Western leaders who rallied to blame Putin and threatening imposition of sanctions of different dimensions on Russia.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen AK Egwuagu (Rtd) noted that, despite the fragility and fluctuating frame of Nigeria’s democracy, human rights are not so badly trampled upon as in some countries where hereditary monarchs like in Saudi Arabia and pseudo-democracies like Russia where Putin regarded Alexei Navalny’s opposition as an enemy action attracting his unlawful imprisonment and untimely death.
He buttressed that, “The ups and downs of Nigeria’s democracy has not fully allowed the dividends to flourish hence some levels of freedom of expression and association are viewed with misgivings in some cases by the government which had resulted in recorded instances of arrests, detention and incarceration of some opposition elements”.
He recommended that, Governments at all levels should jealously guard and continue to improve on the adherence to the provisions of human rights/freedom of expression as enshrined in our constitution, also the FGN should release all political prisoners in detention, but if suspected of any infringement, direct the judiciary to grant accelerated hearing to their cases to avoid unnecessary scandal or sanctions from the international community in case of health complications and subsequent death of such prisoners.
