France calls for justice in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria

Mr Jean Michel Dumond
French Ambassador to Nigeria

France calls for justice in the fight against terrorism in Nigeria
Ngozi John-Anigbogu, Abuja

France has advised the Nigerian government to take the path of justice and avoid a display of impunity in the fight against terrorism in the country.

French Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Jean Michel Dumond told Voice of Nigeria in an interview in Abuja on Wednesday that two factors were key issues to the problem in Nigeria and those are ‘justice and feeling of impunity’.

Culture of impunity

“I will like to stress two points; one is justice, the feeling of impunity is causing some distort among the Nigerian population and that is one of the main problems now which has to be solved. President Goodluck Jonathan has clearly stated that he wants to put an end to the culture of impunity,” Dumond pointed out.

The envoy said France was ready to cooperate with Nigeria on judicial legal mutual assistance under an EU development programme.

“There is a big programme developed by the European Union on Justice. 
We are an important contributor to the assistance given by the European Union and we are ready to contribute to that development. The second aspect; is the reaction of police and security forces.  We are willing to cooperate with Nigeria but it is clear that the fight against terrorism should be conducted with respect to human rights and with the aim of trying to preserve as many civilian lives as possible’’. 

“If you don’t do that and if there are incidents, there is the risk of escalation and/or radicalism,” he said.

Mr Michel Dumond acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian government so far but stressed that the way the police is performing is very important and pledged France’s support to the Nigerian authorities, the police and security agencies in order to ensure that the fight against terrorism in Nigeria is conducted in the most appropriate way.

Judicial cooperation agreement

According to the envoy, Nigeria and France signed an agreement on judicial cooperation in 2009 during the visit of the French Prime Minister, Francois Fillion, but this is yet to take effect because only one of the two chambers of the French Parliament has approved the agreement while the other is soon to approve the agreement. “When this is done, the implementation of the document would facilitate the execution of legal Acts between France and Nigeria,” he said.

On the recent visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to France for the meeting of the Honorary International Investors Council, Mr Dumond said it was a testimony to the deepening relations between France and Nigeria. He described it as the beginning of a very fruitful relation between Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Goodluck Jonathan and another opportunity for new partnership between French and Nigerian businessmen.

Improving investment climate

France is the second largest investor in Nigeria, after the United States, with about one hundred and twenty French Enterprises in Nigeria. Bilateral trade volume between France and Nigeria, at present, stands at four point five billion dollars.  

Ambassador Dumond said French Entrepreneurs were ready to increase their investments in Nigeria but stipulated conditions for this.

“What could improve the climate of investments in Nigeria is clearly the business climate. There are still some problems concerning security, concerning regulations and I think in particular of the Petroleum Industry Bill. You know some enterprisers invest for thirty, forty years so we need to know what will be the future in the coming years,” Mr Dumond stressed.
He also advocated the use of legal means to address business conflicts and stressed the need for Nigeria to shift from mono economy.

Mr Dumond recalled the excellent partnerships existing between France and Nigeria over the years on regional and global arena saying the two countries share a common future.

In his words, “Our common future is related to the development of the African continent. Africa is our neighbour. Africa is becoming one of the most populated continents in the world. Soon there will be two billion inhabitants in Africa and we need to have a relation between our continents which is beneficial for Europe and Africa.’’

He cited the desire for peace and security in Africa as one of the common interests of France and Nigeria.

Williams