AN APPRAISAL OF THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (NEMA) IN THE PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPs) IN NIGERIA

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Author

Presented To

Department of Law

ABSTRACT
This thesis entitled : An Appraisal of the Legal Framework of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria is aimed at examining the constitutive legal instruments guiding the National Emergency Management Agency in the protection and assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria, through the study of other constitutive International instruments and standards on this subject matter. The justification for this research is the concern for the plight of the displaced persons in the last five years which has been criticized by research experts and international bodies on various grounds such as; the unwillingness of Government to take bold significant measures to address the problems of internal displacement till date, lack of long term strategic planning, implementation and evaluation framework by key Institution and, the prevalence of corruption which to a large extent disrupts humanitarian efforts, among others. However, in the course of this research, the findings of the researcher (among others) revealed that there is no specific National Legal Framework on the Protection and Assistance of displaced persons in Nigeria apart from the general provisions of fundamental human rights provided in the Nigerian Constitution which is a legal right of every citizen. On this note, the objective of this research is to principally address the gaps and inadequacies in our national laws under which the National Emergency Management Agency operates. Thus in the final analysis, the researcher concluded by recommending that apart from the general legal provisions which directly or indirectly touches on the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons,, there should be specific provisions guiding the protection and assistance of the affected population as a legal basis for which the Government and the relevant institution and stakeholders can be held directly accountable for where they do not meet the required standard. There should also be an expansion of the National Emergency Management Agency Act to equip the Agency to go beyond conducting comprehensive disaster management around the country to providing durable solutions for internally displaced persons.