The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) has commended the Federal Government (FG) for protecting the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers at Seplat Energy PLC.HURIWA hailed the Federal Ministry of Interior for investigating and sanctioning Seplat’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, over alleged racist practices, discrimination against Nigerian workers and favouring of expatriate workers, by revoking his visa, work and resident permits.
The National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, stated this in a statement to mark the International Workers’ Day in Abuja.
The civil rights advocacy organisation said no Nigerian should be made to suffer such humiliation on his or her own soil.
The group, however, frowned at the reported withdrawal of the four-court criminal charge against the company, Mr Brown; its Board Chairman, Mr. Basil Omiyi, and six others in relation to the alleged breach of the Nigerian Immigration Act 2015.
HURIWA said that if it was okay for the UK government to put a serving Nigerian Senator, Ike Ekweremadu, through trial without bail in a “clearly bailable offence,” there was nothing wrong in trying a UK citizen for the violation of Nigerian laws.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the FG had, in March, revoked the immigration documents of Brown, citing racist practices and breach of Immigration Laws and Regulations.
The Ministry of Interior, in a letter written on March 3, read in part: “I write to inform you that the ministry is in receipt of a petition from the solicitor to the concerned workers and stakeholders of Seplat Energy PLC, accusing Mr. Rogers Thomson Brown, the CEO of the companies of various allegations.”
The company, however, announced recently that the FG had withdrawn and discontinued the charges.
