Original Post on Environewsnigeria
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) and sixteen other NGOs have joined forces to issue a complaint about permits allegedly issued by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) for genetically modified (GM) cotton and maize in Nigeria.
The NGOs are asking the court to dismiss the permits granted to Monsanto Agricultural Nigeria Limited for the commercial release of BT Cotton. They are also asking for the dismissal of the permit NBMA allegedly granted the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) for the confined field trial of Maize in Nigeria.
According to the groups, the permits given to Monsanto were issued on May 1, 2016, a Public Holiday being Sunday and Workers Day were “illegal, null and void.” They also contended that the permit issued to NABDA violates the fundamental human rights of the general public.
Last week, we posted a report on GM maize in Lagos where the General Manager of the NBMA pledged to protect Nigerians by ensuring all GM maize imported goes through the proper vetting process to ensure they are safe for consumption.
The groups avowed that the issuance of the permits to both Monsanto and NABDA constitute a threat to the fundamental human rights and safety of the general public and a breach of the 1999 Constitution as amended in 2011.