How mandatory COVID-19 cert violates human rights – Lawyers

Lawyers have noted that the new official pronouncement on the COVID-19 vaccination certificate would cause a breach of constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens. The federal government had declared that from December 1, 2021, its employees shall be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, […]

Lawyers have noted that the new official pronouncement on the COVID-19 vaccination certificate would cause a breach of constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens.

The federal government had declared that from December 1, 2021, its employees shall be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, to gain access to their offices, in all locations within Nigeria and its missions.

Reacting, the National Coordinator of the Advocates for Peoples Rights and Justice, Victor Giwa Esq., threatened to sue the federal government over the COVID-19 certification policy announced for government workers.

In a letter addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, dated October 14, 2021, Giwa said the order is unconstitutional, illegal and a gross violation of the fundamental right of citizens particularly the civil servants.

He stressed that every citizen has a right to privacy of his medical status within their exclusive preserve, adding that the policy of display of the certificate is a patent exposure of the private information, which violates medical privacy and other international conventions.

“It’s our position that the government should stop such policy as it violates the rights of the citizens, especially exposing the citizens to all forms of embarrassment. It also infringes the right of citizens to free movement, access to public institutions, public information and assembly as enshrined under sections 39, 40, and 41,” he said.

The NGO advised the federal government to continue to apply and implement the “wear a mask” policy and other COVID-19 protocols rather than mandate civil servants to display the certificate.

Similarly, the chairman of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Dr. Monday Ubani, has threatened to drag the federal government to court if it goes ahead to enforce the directive on compulsory vaccination for civil servants in the country.

“The punishment of denial of access to the office by the directive is a clear violation of the contractual terms of employment, and secondly a restriction to freedom of liberty and movement guaranteed under Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights,” Ubani said.

“When these civil servants were employed, compulsory vaccinations and its attendant punishment for non-compliance were not part of their terms of the contract,” he averred.