The Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED) has mourned the passing of Comrades Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma.
This is just as the Centre noted, that there is no mistake in the fact that the demise of the two committed and courageous Comrades is a big blow to Nigeria’s community of activists and the nation at large.
Speaking in a press release on Sunday, the CHRICED Executive Director, Comrade Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, stated that with the exit of the two activists, the tribe of indefatigable fighters leading the struggle for human rights, democracy and accountable governance has been further depleted.
“Going down memory lane, the contributions of the duo to the struggle for the enthronement of a just, equitable and fair social order cannot be discountenance”, Zikirullahi said. “At great personal risks and inconveniences, the late Odumakin and Chukwuma committed themselves to the campaign to push the military out of Nigeria’s political arena”.
He further noted that, “Specifically, Yinka Odumakin’s energy and forthrightness was felt in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which became the effective counterforce to the despotic rule of the military in the 1990s. On his part, Innocent Chukwuma remained a consistent voice in the pre-1999 days and thereafter, as he made valiant efforts to rally Nigerians to demand for democratic accountability and participatory governance”.
The CHRICED boss, added that Chukwuma’s indelible footprints in the thematic issues of electoral and security sector reforms are evident in his stint at the Civil Liberty organization (CLO), and the leading roles he played in the Transition of Monitoring Group (TMG) and Centre for Law Enforcement Education (CLEEN Foundation).
“In this very difficult and excruciatingly painful moment, CHRICED commiserates with the family, friends and colleagues of Comrades Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma.
“We pray the loved ones they have left behind will find the fortitude to cope with the huge loss. It is also our fervent prayer that the Almighty Creator will grant the souls of the departed eternal repose”, he concluded.
