A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar, presided over
by Justice A.F.A. Ademola had declared that De Norsemen Kclub (DNKI) is a legal
organization under the Nigerian laws.
This was a fall out of the suit with the number,
FHC/CA/M95/2010, some members of the organization in Cross River State after
they were arrested and detained by the police on the sole grounds that they
were members of the organization filed to enforce their fundamental human
rights of freedom of assembly and association which they consider belonging to
DNKI, a duly registered organization with the aim of rendering service to
humanity is part.
It is on record that on the 15th of May, 2010, the
Nigerian police in Calabar arrested 21 members of DNKI on the ground that they
were members at their Cross River State Chapter Secretariat located at 38 MCC
Road, Calabar.
The arrest was carried out after the organization’s
usual saturday sporting activities that took place ironically at the Police
Children Secondary School field in Calabar.
Consequently, the leadership of DNKI felt that they
needed to put the records straight having in mind that DNKI is not an illegal
entity but a duly registered organization with specific aims and objectives
which are in line with the laws of the Nigerian land and that any person that
meet the standard of recruitment into it is free to join and participate in its
activities.
Therefore, its activities are lawful and aim to render
service to humanity which coincidentally is its motto. It was based on this,
the suit was filed at a Federal High Court, Calabar by the 21 arrested members.
In his ruling on the 1st day of July, 2010, Justice A.
F. A. Ademola, declared that the applicants in the suit (i.e the 21 arrested
members) have the right to freedom of peaceful assembly as well as the freedom
of association with others and it is a universally recognized, justiceable and
inalienable fundamental right.
These rights he stated include the right to join an
organization like De Norsemen Kclub which he described as a registered body
under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 1990.
He went further to state that there should be no
restrictions on an individual’s fundamental right to peaceful assembly and
association unless prescribed by law and necessary in the interest of national
security, public safety for the prevention of crime, health, morality or
freedom rights of others.
He cited the following authorities and cases to back up
his declaration:
(i) Section 40 of the CFRN 1999
(ii) Article 10 (1) and 3 of the 1981 ACHPA
(iii) Akaniwo vs. Nsirim (1997) 9 NWLR (Part 520) 255 CA
(iv) Okafor vs. Asoh (1999) 3 NWLR (Part 593) 35 CA
In the course of delivering his judgement, he referred
to exhibits KGA1 and KGA2 which are the constitution of and certificate of
registration of De Norsemen Kclub respectively in the case and opined that
there is no such evidence to the contrary before the court.
Thus, De Norsemen Kclub is a legal entity in which the
applicants in the suit has the right to belong to in exercise of their
fundamental human right of freedom of association and assembly with others.
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