ASSESSMENT OF THE VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE IN NIGERIA
INTRODUCTION
The right to life is the most basic of all rights. This is not only because of the sacredness of life but also because other fundamental human rights such as right to bail, right to association, right to fair and speedy trial, right to personal liberty, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, etc, can only make meaning and be enjoyed when the human being is living. Furthermore, life is noble, precious and enjoyable thereby making it a fundamental human right. Nigeria, being an ethnically and religiously diverse nation, has had numerous violent conflicts. The groups that constitute Nigeria, on getting independence for the country, were intensely competitive. As time went-by, the competition turned into agitation and apparently hatred has now come to replace competition and agitation. Consequent upon the deep seated divisions embedded in Nigeria’s socio-economic and political landscapes which appear to bear the toga of hatred, when conflicts erupt, they are astronomically deadly and materially costly. The mass massacre emanating from violent conflicts in Nigeria go contrary to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which is the supreme law of the land.