Twice in four days, the Ekiti State High Court was attacked by thugs believed to be loyal to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor-elect Mr Ayo Fayose. A judge was beaten up in an unprecedented act of hooliganism in the temple of justice. His suit was torn. The Chief Judge’s court was invaded, his staff roughened up and his record book shredded. To forestall further attacks, all courts have been shut indefinitely. wLawyers and activists are calling for the trial of Fayose and the perpetrators. But Fayose has denied involvement in the incidents. Will the perpetrators go scot-free? All eyes are on the judiciary to preserve its dignity, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.
Twice in four days, judicial activities were disrupted by thugs in Ekiti State last week. The hoodlums broke into the court, ransacked offices, destroyed records and attacked staff and judges with the tacit support of the police and other security agents.
There has been outrage over the incidents, described as desecration of the temple of justice. Will the thugs, believed to be loyal to the Ekiti Governor-elect, Mr Ayo Fayose, be brought to book? Some lawyers are calling for the prosecution of Fayose, who seemingly justified the attacks but denied involvement. He was in the court when the attacks were perpetrated.
The lawyers urged the judiciary to unite and resist intimidation. An example, they said, must be made of the perpetrators. Failure to punish those responsible, they argued, will set a bad precedent, endanger the rule of law, erode the judiciary’s integrity and encourage political urchins to beat up judges at will to intimidate and silence them.
The first attack
Last Monday was like a movie scene. Justice Isaac Ogunyemi of Court Six declared that he had jurisdiction to entertain the cases of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP) and Adeniyi Ajakaye and others challenging Fayose’s eligibility to contest the June 21 election, which he “won”.
The hoodlums openly disagreed with the ruling. They sang songs to condemn the decision, and threatened to deal with the judge, who was said to have been protected by a special group of about six officers from the Riot Squad.
However, panicky lawyers, litigants and officials ran out of the court room, screaming as scores of thugs hurled missiles at them. The police, apparently overwhelmed by the violence, looked helpless as windows were smashed and furniture broken. Those perceived to be obstructing the thugs’ aspirations were dragged on the courtroom’s floor and dealt with, using all sorts of objects.
Judges, lawyers including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), journalists and other court officials ran for dear lives, hiding in offices, court registries, under chairs, tables, or anything that could serve as temporary hideouts, as the hoodlums ran amok.
The second attack
The outrage over the first attack was yet to abate when, three days later, an army of thugs, unleashed violence on the court again. This time, Justice John Adeyeye was beaten up and his suit torn. Another judge was assaulted, while the office of the Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Ayodeji Daramola, was invaded. His workers were beaten up, his record book destroyed and proceedings disrupted. Lawyers, litigants and court clerks fled as the thugs smashed property.
Fayose was at the Elections Petition Tribunal for hearing of the case by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against his “victory”. The thugs were said to have surged forward, entering the court premises after the policemen manning the gate allowed Fayose in. There was commotion.
Several detachments of policemen in pick-up vans and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) took positions around the tribunal before it began sitting. At a point, tear gas was fired and people scampered away, but the thugs regrouped in defiance. Some were said to be jogging up and down the main road, singing songs and checking for supposed ‘enemies’
Reliving how the judge was assaulted, Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Wale Fapohunda said: “Justice Adeyeye, who was presiding over a case, accosted Fayose while moving around with his supporters (within the court premises) and advised him to desist from moving around and causing disruption of court proceedings.” According to him, that led to “the exchange of hot words between the duo, resulting in the manhandling of the judge.” Fapohunda said he was “informed that the irate youths attacked the judge on the order of the governor-elect.”
The developments forced Justice Daramola to order the closure of all courts due to “the spate of attacks perpetrated by political thugs and their persistent presence on the Ado-Ekiti High Court premises in the past few days.”
He said political thugs came in their hundreds, invaded the high court premises and assaulted the state’s third most senior judge, Justice Adeyeye “by beating him up and tearing his suit into shreds while the police officers on guard looked unconcerned and uninterested.”
‘Arrest, prosecute Fayose now’
The All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said since Fayose does not yet enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution, he should immediately be arrested over ”the dastardly and barbaric attack, which represents an attack on justice and on the rule of law, and the violence that has gripped the state.”
The party said while Ekiti State Police Commissioner Taiwo Lakanu did well by rushing to the venue to help restore order after the judge had been beaten up, the role of the police in the two attacks was shameful.
It said: “According to published reports, which are yet to be refuted, police personnel stood by while litigants, lawyers and other citizens were being mauled by rabid PDP thugs in the first attack, and again seemed powerless as Justice Adeyeye was being manhandled and his suit torn until the Police Commissioner arrived at the scene. If this is not an act of collusion, then it is a case of unacceptable gross incompetence for which those security agents must be brought to book.”
Fayose denies attacks
After Monday’s attack, Fayose, through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said the perpetrators were angry Okada (commercial motorcycle) riders and others who voted for him.
“His Excellency has no hand in what happened. He didn’t send them. They have been coming to the court and they have been seeing the trend. Their hope is Ayo Fayose and they felt their hope was about to be truncated. They are Okada riders and not hoodlums. They are angry that their mandate was about to be taken away.”
Fayose denied that his supporters beat up Justice Adeyeye, describing the allegation as not only unfounded, but spurious.
“I am not aware that a judge was beaten up. In fact, this is strange to me. This is reckless and strange to me. I visited the election petitions tribunal as a party to the case and I was the only one that was allowed passage by security men. To the best of my knowledge, the three judges handling the tribunal case sat.
“How can I order the people to beat up a judge that has nothing to do with me? At what point was this judge beaten? Was he a member of the tribunal because I went to the tribunal and not the regular court?
“But I want to point out that a situation whereby judges or judicial officers, who should be custodians of the law, got compromised with politicians, then anarchy will set in. The judge handling the suit against my qualification dropped the case because of tension and because he lacks the confidence to continue.
“It would have been better for him to insist that he would try the case based on its merit. It is sad that most of our judges have compromised. If you have been defeated in all the 16 local government areas and you now want to come through the window, it won’t be like ice cream party to APC. I would not be too cheap like Segun Oni. I am not going to be cheap at all because I am elected by the people.
“I don’t care about whatever they write about me because I have grown a thick skin. The strategy of APC will not work. Nobody, no matter how highly placed, will remove me cheaply,” he said.
Fayose accused APC of a plot to truncate his inauguration on October 16 by trying to obtaining judgment through the backdoor.
On Monday’s attack on the court, Fayose said: “It’s unfortunate. But don’t forget that the average man on the streets knows what they want and they are equally more enlightened than before, when somebody would just come, pay a judge somewhere for a backdoor judgment, to stall a process, to steal people’s mandate. We want trials done through due process. What is the hurry for this judge? What is his interest?”
He alleged that the Chief Judge was an interested party in the matter. “We have been told that he wants to assign the matter to himself. He is a clear member of the E-11 – the petitioners. We want a judge, who is ready to carry out his assignment as a judge; who is ready to respect the Constitution of Nigeria, to try matters by being fair to all concerned and be accountable to Nigerians,” he said.
Is judiciary under threat?
At the height of the political crises in Rivers State, the courts came under attack. The High Court in Okehi, Etche Local Government, was torched by youths suspected to be thugs on January 6. The target of the arson was the office of a certain judge.
Earlier, the high court in Ahoada was hit with an improvised explosive device. The bombing happened shortly before hearing in a case seeking to restrain self acclaimed House of Assembly Speaker Evans Bipi was due to begin before Justice Charles Wali.
There was also a clash when armed policemen forcefully opened Rivers High Court’s main gate, which shut because of a strike by workers. A welder cut the gate’s iron bars.
Some youths, who gathered at the gate, protested the policemen’s bid to escort the court’s most senior judge, Justice Daisy Okocha, and some others into the premises. Tear gas was fired at passers-by; journalists, motorists and those around the court fled.
With last week’s attacks in Ekiti, some wonder whether the courts are still the common man’s last hope.
Outrage trail attacks
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), human rights groups and a retired judge condemned the attacks and called for the perpetrators’ prosecution to prevent a recurrence.
NBA, in a statement by its President Augustine Alegeh (SAN), said: “Reports from our members at Ado Ekiti indicate that policemen and other security agents present at the High Court Complex looked the other way while the hoodlums had a field day in perpetuating wanton criminal acts of violence and damage to property.
“We call on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in Ekiti State to perform their constitutional duty of providing security for the citizens of Nigeria. This unfortunate development portends grave danger to the lives of our judges in Ekiti State.
“There is, therefore, an urgent need to protect our judges and judiciary staff from these hoodlums whom we believe must be acting on instructions from some highly placed persons in Ekiti State to unleash mayhem on judicial officers and infrastructure.
“We condemn in very strong terms these detestable acts of brigandage intended to intimidate and infuse fear into the minds of judicial officers. Those behind these criminal acts of violence have desecrated the courts, which are our temples of justice.
“The administration of justice can never thrive in an atmosphere where judicial officers are brazenly attacked and, or intimidated in the course of carrying out their lawful duties. The administration of justice can never bow to the whims and caprices of persons who believe that judges must yield to their wishes.
“The NBA is sending a high powered fact finding team to Ekiti to investigate the facts surrounding this matter. Any person(s), no matter how highly placed, found involved in this show of shame and desecration of our courts shall surely face the full force of the law as NBA will ensure prosecution of any such person(s).
“We will not allow persons who do not mean well for our society take steps capable of plunging our country into anarchy.”
The Ekiti branch of NBA, through its chairman, Joseph Adewumi, said there could be a serious constitutional crisis if by act of commission or omission an atmosphere of anarchy is encouraged.
“If the current assault on the judges of the Ekiti State judiciary is allowed to continue, they would have lost the necessary independence that should be the bedrock of the performance of their constitutional duties,” he said.
A retired judge of the state, Justice Demola Bakre, said with thugs taking over the court, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for judges to carry out their duty freely without fear of coming to harm.
A human rights group, Access to Justice (AJ), condemned what it called unbridled affront on Justice Adeyeye.
“The attack is shameful, vile, barbaric and grossly contemptuous of the person of Justice Adeyeye and the authority he exercises as a Judge. It is a brutal attack on the administration of justice and the integrity of the justice system in Nigeria. It undermines the independence of the Judiciary and the duty of judges to decide disputes without fear or molestation.
“This attack on judges and the administration of justice must be repressed and repelled with all the power and authority of the state. Those responsible must be brought to book so that this impunity is not allowed to flourish,” the group said in a statement by Chinelo Chinweze.
Lawyers seek justice
Some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), who condemned the attacks, include Chief Felix Fagbohungbe; Malam Yusuf Ali; a former Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Director-General, Prof Epiphany Azinge; Chief Emeka Ngige; Deacon Paul Ananaba; Jibrin Okutepa; Femi Falana; Mr Mike Igbokwe and Dr Joseph Nwobike.
Others are Mr Ike Ofuokwu; AJ’s Executive Director, Mr Joseph Otteh; Dr. Utman Abdulazeez; Richard Chukwuocha and Charles Titiloye urged the judiciary not to treat the show of aggression with kids’ gloves.
Fagbohungbe said: “It’s an embarrassment to the judiciary. It’s an embarrassment to the society. The character (of the thugs’ leader) is beyond description. It’s awful. It’s terrible. I think he should not be allowed to get away with this.
“The Judiciary and lawyers must come together to let him know that he cannot get away with it, that the hands of the law is so long that it can catch up with anybody. It should not be allowed at all. I’m quite concerned and worried.”
Ngige said the attack was a consequence of voting for the wrong candidate in the governorship election. “It is a clear manifestation of a return of anarchy to Ekiti State. It’s unfortunate that this is what Ekiti people bargained for by voting against Dr Kayode Fayemi. The only unfortunate aspect of it is that the innocent people will also suffer along with those who voted for ‘stomach infrastructure’,” he said.
Ananaba described the attacks as sacrilegious, saying: “This is a situation we must all unanimous speak against. Even those who think that they are benefiting from the hooliganism today will suffer its ripple effects in the long run. The act is sacrilegious and it must be treated as such. The perpetrators must be brought to book.”
Okutepa said the attacks were a threat to the rule of law. “If the rule of the jungle is now taking over the rule of law, then might will soon become right and the peace and tranquillity currently being threatened, would have been completely wiped out,” he said.
Falana said the mayhem unleashed on the court by a gang of hired hoodlums confirmed that “Ekiti people have fully returned to the wilderness.”
“So far, those who perpetrated the barbaric attack and their sponsors have their admitted ignoble role through public statements issued by them. The Ekiti State governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose has justified the shameful attack on the rule of law in Ekiti State by saying that his election cannot be challenged in court.
“This is a reminder of the Idi Amin era in Uganda when judges were killed while discharging judicial functions. Mr. Fayose and his thugs should not be allowed to kill judges and lawyers before calling him to order.
”Since the Ekiti State police command is completely compromised, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abbah is called upon to ensure that all the assailants are arrested and prosecuted without any delay. Any attempt to cover up the brazen contempt of court should be resisted by the Attorney-General of Ekiti State, Mr. Wale Fapounda, who should take decisive measures to bring the criminals to book,” Falana said.
Azinge said the attacks were “thuggery taken too far” and “totally unacceptable to a democratic setting”. “To that extent it stands to be condemned. The police must ensure that the courtrooms are well protected, not just when the court is sitting, but all round the clock to make sure that not just the personnel involved, but all documents and property of the court are continuously protected. If we don’t do that, then it means that we’re bidding farewell to the judiciary and to an extent our constitutional democracy in this country,” Azinge said.
Ali described the attack as “an abomination that should not be encouraged,” while Igbokwe called it “a desecration of the highest order of the temple of justice! Indiscipline! Contempt of court!”
“Who did they want to intimidate? The culprits should be fished out, tried and if found guilty, punished accordingly so as to deter similar occurrences in the future. Security at the courts/tribunals should henceforth be beefed up and their members protected,” he said.
Nwobike said he could not imagine “this extent of institutional failure in Ekiti”, while calling on the Acting Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Services “to investigate and punish all those responsible for the ugly development.”
Ofuokwu described the incident as judicial terrorism, adding that the perpetrators must be severely punished to serve as a lesson to others.
“The perpetrators of this act of judicial terrorism and their sponsors no matter how highly placed they are must be investigated, tried and severely punished if found guilty. Failure to do this would breed anarchy which we will have to live with as a nation for a very long time,” Ofuokwu said.
Otteh said any attempt to interfere in the judicial process through such “crude, deplorable, and treacherous” means “must be repelled and rebuffed with all the power of the state” to prevent a very dangerous precedent.
Abdulazeez said: “This is the worst we should be willing to accept as a nation. Let’s watch and see how this Federal Government will treat this great act of desecration of the hallowed temple of justice. We are doomed in this country. God help us.”
Chukwuocha described the attacks as “the height of contempt in the face of the court,” adding perpetrators of the mayhem “should be arrested and prosecuted, and if found guilty, should be prosecuted according to the law.”
Titiloye urged the IGP to arrest Fayose. “We must remind the IGP that nobody is above the law. Fayose has no immunity from arrest and prosecution, having not taken oath of office as the governor of the state. His utterances are clear acts depicting his complicity in the criminal attack on the High Court. He must be brought to book in the interest of protection of institution of justice in Nigeria and protection of law and order in Ekiti State,” he said.
