Human Rights Violation in Nigeria - Assignment Example

 After the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Nigeria was established as a British colony. The Royal Niger Company which was operating under a British charter had strong trade ties with the West African region.3 The company’s territory was taken over by the British government, which moved to merge its hold over the area in current Nigeria.3 The British government used the military conquest in economic pursuit, the main objective in the late 19th and 20th century, after the war (conquest of Benin in 18974, and, in the Anglo-Aro War (1901–1902).5 On 1st January 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate and part of the British Empire.

In 1914 the British formally united the Niger area as the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria by merging Southern Nigeria Protectorate of Nigeria and Northern Nigeria. Nigeria was split into northern and southern Protectorates and Lagos Colony by the government to achieve its economic targets. The British colonial administrators were not opposed due to the bold dictatorial display of power using the mechanisms of intimidation. Arms of coercion were created to carry out and maintain suppression within the colonized regions for continued economic gain which later evolved into the present-day Nigeria Police and the Nigerian Armed forces.

This is opposed to the common belief that human rights violation began at the onset of the military in politics, the violation of rights has its historical origin evidently from the pre-colonial to colonial era6. John Beecroft, the British Crown Consul in Nigeria compelled questionable agreements and treaties upon local rulers in the area through the concept of gun-boat diplomacy, offering them protection in exchange for allowing British traders exceptional and unrestricted access to economic activities and trade in their territories.

Failure to comply by some of the kings with his self-centered rule was extended to gun-boat diplomacy and violence and low-intensity war arose in the regions.