Dear gentlemen of the press, thank you for honouring our invitation today.
1. We are here to once again remind ourselves of our shared humanity and to draw attention of the general public to the unfortunate humiliating, disgustful, disdainful and oppressive conduct meted to Mr. Debola Daniel in the presence of his family by the management and staff of KFC fast food restaurant at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos.
2. As you already know, on 27th of March 2024, the management of KFC branch located at Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos, Nigeria, dehumanised and discriminated against a member of the Disable Community in Nigeria, Mr. Debola Daniel. KFC branch manager told Mr. Debola that persons of his nature are not allowed in their facility and prevented him from assessing the restaurant. All efforts to let her see the embarrassing and illegality of her action proved abortive.
3. We’ve weighed the action of KFC management and found it very repugnant, subverting, illegal and embarrassing coming from such a multinational brand. This action goes contrary to the extant laws guiding against discrimination of persons with any form of disability in Nigeria, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD) 2007.
4. The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 which was signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari on 8th January 2018, in section 1 subsections 1 and 2, condemns any form of discrimination. It clearly states that “A person with disability shall not be discriminated against on the grounds of his disability by any person or institution in any manner or circumstance. A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to, if the person is;
(a) a body corporate, a fine of One Million Naira (N1,000,000)
(b) an individual, a fine of One Hundred Thousand (N100,000) or six months imprisonment or both.
5. It is of utmost importance that we understand that every society have laws that governs and guide their affairs. And for every responsible organisation in any society, the first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is to abide by the laws of that society. And we all know that no one is above the law, NOT even KFC!
At this point we must give thumbs up to the management of the Federal Airports Authority (FAAN) for its vigilance, patriotism and empathy as well as its prompt reaction to the heinous action of KFC.
In the same breath, we are grateful to Lagos State Government for indeed being the CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE. Lagos is a pathfinder for good governance and protection of the basic rights of all its citizens and visitors. it is on record that Lagos State leads in domesticating laws that protect all Lagosians.
6. Members of the disable community have continued to suffer inhumane treatment from fellow citizens and corporate organizations because of conditions that they did not willing bring upon themselves. We have on our record, several cases of discrimination against persons with disabilities in Nigeria. individuals, corporate organizations and even some government agencies that have refused to abide by the tenets of the Discrimination (Prohibition) Act. This will no longer continue, as a body, our major focus is to fight these injustices and encourage the members of the disable community to see beyond their disabilities.
7. On this current discrimination against Mr. Debola Daniel, we have instructed out legal team to institute a case against KFC. The management of KFC will not only be made to experience the full weight rebound of their action, but also be made to ensure that all their facilities in Nigeria comply with the “Accessibility of physical structure” provisions of the Discrimination (Prohibition)Act if they wish to continue to operate here in Nigeria. The Act, in section (4) stated that ” A public building shall be constructed with the necessary accessibility Aids such as Lifts (where necessary), ramps, and any other facility that shall make them accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities”. We have observed most KFC outlets across the country and they fall short of this provision and they will have to comply with the law of the country to continue to operations.
8. Many Nigerians live in ignorance of the Discrimination (Prohibition) Act.
The Federal ministry of information in 2018 was mandated to ensure that proper education of citizens on the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities. Sadly, this has not been done, and ignorance of the law cannot be used as yardstick for perversion of injustice. As a body, we have dedicated our efforts since 2020 in educating the public about the rights of persons with disabilities, discovering their Talents, Skills and training them on how to live beyond their disabilities.
We’re glad that the office of the current Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities (SNEO), Comrade Mohammed Abba Isah is on same page with us on this matter and we already reviewing and recalibrating public awareness programmes to mainstream the rights of PWDs in the minds of the Nigerian public.
9. We call on the Media, Corporate organisations, and all stakeholders in the disable community to join forces with us to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities are protected.
10. Thank you
Hon. Steve Rodstick Ezeh
Director of Operations/Advocacy lead BDHAF
