The respect for the inalienable rights of man is fundamental to the physical and psychological growth and development of man and the society at large. The Nigerian civil rights movement has a long fascinating history spanning over five centuries when the people rose up against tyrannical kings and war lords. Such instances include the rise against the then Bashorun Gaa in the old Oyo empire of the 17^th century.

Wars and conflicts have often emerged in the people’s search for representative government as against authoritarian regimes. In the early part of the 20^th century, Mrs Funmilayo Kuti stirred women and led them in the mass campaign against the repression of women by the then Abeokuta authorities. A certain Palaake of Irele-Ekiti was reputed to have led mass revolt against the martial tormentors from Ibadan around 1870.

In the pre and post colonial period, the human rights movement has remained one of the most remarkable engines of the country’s historical campaigns for democracy and liberty.