CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

The right of freedom of peaceful assembly began to gain recognition in Nigeria since the year 2004. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association are, together with the right to freedom of expression, at the core of a democratic and open society. The rights are clearly stated in most human rights instruments, including the UN Declaration on Human rights (art 21, 22) and the ICCPR, as well as in many regional rights instruments and national constitutions

1. Brief Background to the study

In an era of growing threats to peace, security and prosperity that jeopardize stability around the globe, especially in large metropolitan areas, innovators worldwide are struggling to cobble together new solutions[1]. Politically, economically and socially, ours are turbulent and divisive times. Pressures as diverse as terrorism, petty lawlessness, violent crime, unemployment, poverty and scarce governmental funds team up to menace our cities. This onslaught of challenges has led to increasing resignation and despair in many facets of society, which in turn result in a general neglect of our urban centers, further compromising their safety and upkeep[2]. To tackle such a broad range of complex issues, we must invent effective new approaches and paradigms aimed at combatting and counteracting their intricate and intertwined mechanisms. We must increase our cities’ resilience while leveraging their resources, especially human capital.

        Freedom of assembly acts as a glue that holds democratic society together. It serves critical functions that validate citizens’ need on many levels to share and clarify ideas, form plans, take action and feel like part of something larger than them that they can identify with. One distinguished author writes that freedom of assembly “provides a degree of safety and comfort in numbers.” While allowing individuals to formulate and strengthen their own views, it “emboldens them to come forward and to participate in social and political activities. This article will address several areas relevant to the constitutionally protected rights of assembly and association in the United States and Italy. First, it will provide an overview of the right of peaceable assembly and a brief historic panorama of this fundamental right internationally, and its development in Italy and the United States. It will also examine the constitutionally imposed requirements as mandated through Italian legislation for citizens to give advance notice of any meeting to be held in a public place, and compared to notice requirements generally in the United States.

1. Aims and Objectives 

The main aim of the study is to examine the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the importance of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Nigeria
2. to examine whether there is a correlation between freedom of assembly and the right to freedom of expression
3. to look at freedom of peaceful assembly in the context of other rights and freedoms
4. to determine the restrictions on freedom of assembly in Nigeria
5. to determine the rights and responsibilities of law enforcement officials
   1. Statement of the problem 

The current crises facing modern cities call for nothing less than collaborative, intense and efficient problem-solving innovation. Increasingly however[3], some governmental officials and even fellow citizens tend to view innovators themselves as potential threats, rather than as a crucial part of the solution required to instill the very resilience needed to overcome the daunting challenges facing us. Meanwhile, dramatic advances in technology – especially communications technology – have assured that continuous change is the only constant. On the one hand, this condition provides countless new opportunities for problem solving; on the other, it further destabilizes the precarious situations cities already face, and increases a feeling of inadequacy to overcome even the simplest obstacles. Skepticism and fear can stifle the optimism, intellectual curiosity and potential synergies needed to create solutions. Decisive actions must be taken, but by whom? And how? Think tanks and educators from every field struggle to formulate answers, gain consensus and inspire action. At the same time, governments fear that too much novelty resulting from groundbreaking ideas may provoke even more instability and unrest.

1.4 Research Question 

The study came up with research question so as to ascertain the above stated objectives of the study. The following research questions guide the objectives of the study:

1. What is the importance of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Nigeria?
2. Is there a correlation between freedom of assembly and the right to freedom of expression?
3. What is freedom of peaceful assembly in the context of other rights and freedoms?
4. What are the restrictions on freedom of assembly in Nigeria?
5. What are the rights and responsibilities of law enforcement officials?

1.5 Methodology 

The methodology for the study is derived from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. Freedom in the World is based on the premise that these standards apply to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographic location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

[1] Ovunda V.C. Okene, LL.B. (Hons.), LL.M., is a Senior Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Law, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. From 2001 to 2004 he was the Head of the Department of Business Law of the same university. He is also a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and Senior Partner in the law firm of Okene & Okene, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Mr. Okene is currently working toward his doctorate degree in law at the University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom. His research interests include human rights, labor law and labor rights, conflict studies, international and comparative studies, and interdisciplinary and socio-legal studies. He can be reached at ovcoke@essex.ac.uk or ovcokene@yahoo.com.

[2] Liberty in the Modern State (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1948), p. 195

[3] European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Sept. 3, 1953, 213 U.N.T.S. 222, as amended, http://www.echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf.