Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja Tuesday declined to quash the report of investigation into violent clashes recorded during December 10, 2016 re-run legislative elections in Rivers State.
In a judgment Tuesday, Justice Kolawole declared as illegal a Special Joint Investigative Panel set up by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to investigate the incidents.
The judgement was on a suit by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike in which he challenged the legitimacy of the IGP panel, which comprised members of other independent security agencies like the Department of State Services (DSS).
The judge faulted the validity of the report for use in any judicial proceedings; he ruled that he was unable to quash it because a copy of it was not presented before him.
He said the report was, at best ministerial and could only be useful if it was turned to a law enforcement agency that was duly created and established by law for use as a material proper investigation.
The judge rejected Wike’s prayer to disband the special investigative team and quash its report which he said was prepared and submitted to the IGP during the pendency of the suit.
He (the judge) also refused Wike’s prayer that he declare that the investigative panel’s activities and report was intended to witch-hunt him.
The judge said Wike failed to show how the decision of the defendants (IGP and others to set up the joint investigative team had violated any of their legal and constitutional rights.
He said, as against Wike’s contention, the setting up of the police joint investigative team did not distract from the governor’s powers, under Section 2(1) of the Judicial Commission Inquiry Commission, Laws of Rivers State 1999, to constitute his own judicial commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of violence during the election.
Justic Kolawole granted only the first prayer relating the legality of the joint investigative team out of the 12 contained in the originating summons filed by Wike.
On the first prayer, the judge described the joint investigative team headed by a police officer, Mr. Damian Okoro, as “a contraption unknown to any law and the Nigerian criminal justice system”.
He said the defendants were unable to cite any law, from the Constitution, the Police Act or the National Security Agencies Act, enabling the Inspector-General of Police to set up such joint investigative panel.
“Plaintiffs’ relief 1, having regard to the analysis that I have made on the legal status of the Special Joint Investigation Panel as an unknown body to the Nigerian criminal justice system ought to succeed and granted as prayed,” the judge ruled.
On prayer relating to alleged witch-hunt, Justice Kolawole ruled, “Relief 4 fails because the exercise of investigative power is neither judicial nor quasi-judicial in nature but purely ministerial and does not carry with it obligation that pertains to one which is required to decide dispute because the primary obligation of an investigation from the prism of investigative and prosecutorial agencies is to establish facts that can be used to indict a suspect rather than to vindicate him except where he is to be used as prosecution witness.”
He also said, “Relief 8 fails as the obligation of the investigative body is ministerial and not judicial or quasi-judicial.
“Relief 9 is ungrantable as it smacks of relief seasoned with political consideration which the court lacks the power or jurisdiction to inquire into and/or to ascertain.
“Relief 10 too is ungrantable as Exhibits AGR2 (letter by the IGP to Wike seeking the governor’s cooperation with the joint investigative team) has already executed its mandate and third defendant’s (Okoro) Special Joint Investigative Panel has, by the defendants’ deposition in their counter-affidavits, already submitted its report to the first defendant and granting relief 10 in the originating summons will be an order made in vain as the event which it seeks to quash has been accomplished.
“Although the court can exercise its disciplinary jurisdiction pursuant to section 6(vi)(a) of the 1999 of the Constitution as amended to quash the report which was not only prepared by a body unknown to the Nigerian criminal justice system but allegedly prepared in the middle of the proceedings in which the investigative report it was going to prepare was in issue being contested by parties and can be seen as an act of defiance by the defendants.
“It is an the elementary proposition of the law that in exercise of its powers pursuant to Order 34(2) of the Federal High Court Rules 2009, on judicial review that the court will not make such order unless the report is produced before it in whatever form the plaintiff can provide it. But no court of law will make an order to quash a report not produced before it.”
The judge warned the Attorney-General of the Federation to be wary of the fact that the validity of the special investigative team was in doubt.
The judge said, “As I earlier relied on the ipse dixit of the deponet to the defendants’ counter-affidavit none of whom -the deponets – was a member of the Special Joint Investigation Panel to make an order to quash a report I have not seen.
“But far from this, I am contended, judicially speaking, (with) the decision I have reached that the said report earlier submitted to the first defendant (the IGP) was a product of a body not known to any law in Nigeria.
“This, in my view, has put its validity for the purpose of any judicial proceedings in great doubt except a law enforcement body duly created by law uses its content as a working document to conduct a proper investigation for the use of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“In conclusion, plaintiffs’ suit only succeeds with respect to relief 1 which granted as prayed. Reliefs 2 to 12 fail and they are dismissed.”
“In any event, it is left to the Attorney-General of the Federation, if he can, in exercise of his powers under section 174 (1)(a) of the Constitution use the said report against these issues which relate to its legality when presented to him initiate in filing criminal charge on the strength of section 174(1)(a) of the Constitution against such a report with its substantive validity may have been indicted.
“Plaintiffs’ counsel has argued that the report which was prepared while the proceedings were pending be quashed.
“I could have done so in exercise of the disciplinary jurisdiction of this court pursuant to section 6(6)(a) of the Constitution but the same report was not produced before this court so that an appropriate judicial disciplinary order could be made to vindicate the precedent authority of the Constitution which this court is bound to uphold by the exercise of its judicial powers,” the judge said.
The Office of the Governor of Rivers State, Wike (in his personal capacity) and the Attorney-General of the state are the first to the third plaintiffs respectively in the suit filed in January this year.
The IGP, the DSS and the head of the police investigative team, Damian Okoro are listed as defendants.
Justice Kolawole’s judgment came about more than two months after the Office of the AGF charged 23 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the Federal High Court, Abuja for allegedly receiving N360m bribe from Wike in relation to the rerun elections.
