Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said the planned mass withdrawal of African states from the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not shield the continent’s leaders, who engage in genocidal acts from prosecution and humiliation.
Falana stated this in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday while reacting to last week’s decision of the African Union (AU) leaders and representatives of member states, who at the annual summit of the union voted to adopt a strategy to collectively withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He, however, hailed Nigeria asnd Senegal for refusing to vote for impunity in Africa.
Falana noted that the vote to quit the ICC was based on the allegation that the ICC has exclusively focused attention on African leaders in investigating and prosecuting cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He added that to justify the decision of African states to quit the ICC, the AU announced that the mandate of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights would be amended to include criminal jurisdiction.
The human rights lawyer said in accusing the ICC of “selective justice” , the African states did not denied that there was basis for opening investigation into war crimes committed in Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Central Africa Republic, Sudan, Mali, Libya and Cote d’Ivoire.
He noted that late last year, South Africa, Burundi and The Gambia had announced plans to withdraw from the ICC but President Adama Barrow of The Gambia has undertaken to fulfil his electoral promise of ensuring that his country did not quit the ICC.
He regretted that while taking the decision, the meeting of the AU leaders was silent on the need by member states to strengthen their criminal justice system and accountability mechanisms.
Falana said although the ICC has tried a number of political leaders in Africa, majority of the cases were referred to the court by African states themselves, African Union and the United Nations Security Council, which ensured that dictators were made to stand trial and account for the atrocities perpetrated by them while in office.
He, however, lamented that in the cases in which the ICC intervened, it was discovered that the states were either unable or unwilling to prosecute the suspects, who were involved in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He said as long as African leaders continue to pay lip service to the fight against impunity in the continent, victims of human rights infringements will not hesitate to seek redress in available human rights mechanisms with a view to bringing perpetrators to book.
Tag: Falana
-
Genocide: African states’ withdrawal from ICC ’ll not shield leaders from trial, says Falana
-
Falana to Senate: forward your report on SGF to ICPC
Lagos lawyer Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday urged the Senate to send its report indicting Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal, for alleged abuse of office, to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC “without any further delay”
In a statement, he said this was necessary “since the findings of the Senate have not been challenged by the federal government.”
Falana said: “With respect, the Presidency made a mistake in asking the Senate to “pardon” the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir David Lawal who has not denied the grave allegations of corruption made against him. Unlike Mr. Ibrahim Magu whose nomination is subject to the confirmation of the Senate Mr. Lawal was recommended for removal and prosecution by the Senate. So the Senate cannot ignore or set aside the findings of the Senator Shehu Sanni-led Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North East region.
“However, the criminal diversion of funds earmarked for the provision of relief materials to provide succour for internally displaced people is akin to crimes against humanity.
“Therefore, the former public officers who stole the fund allocated for the purchase of weapons to fight the Boko Haram terrorists and the serving public officers who diverted the fund earmarked for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons deserve to be prosecuted in like manner by the federal government which has said that there would be no sacred cows in the fight against corruption.
“To that extent any attempt to sweep the serious allegations of corrupt practices involving the Secretary to the Government of the Fedeation, Mr Babachir David Lawal, under the carpet will create a moral crisis for the war against corruption and impunity in the country.” -
Falana seeks pardon for 70 soldiers serving 10 years for mutiny
Lagos lawyers Femi Falana (SAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to pardon 70 soldiers found guilty of mutiny by various military court martial since 2014.
He made the request in a letter to the President on December 19, 2016, pursuant to Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution.
The 70 soldiers, whose death sentence was commutted to 10 years imprisonment, are in custody at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos State.
Falana argued that since the demand of the convicted soldiers and others for weapons found justification in the criminal diversion of the fund provided for the purchase of arms and armament to fight terrorists, there was no legal and moral justification for the conviction and sentences imposed on them by the courts-martial.
“In Your Excellency’s interview aired by BBC Hausa Service on December 28, 2015, you observed that “the government at that time sent soldiers to the battlefield without arms and ammunition to prosecute the war. That was what led some of them to mutiny. They were arrested and detained because of this.”
“In the light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree with us that since the armed forces were not equipped to defend the territorial integrity of the nation the convicts did not commit mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for weapons to fight well armed insurgents. But assuming without conceding that our clients committed any offence they have suffered enough, having spent over three years in dehumanising prison conditions.
“However, since the demand for weapons to carry out counter-insurgency operations in the Northeast zone was legitimately made by our clients under the Armed Forces Act, we urge Your Excellency to grant them pardon pursuant to Section 175 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 as amended”, he pleaded.
Falana listed grounds upon which he based his appeal.
He said: “The courts-martial, which tried our clients, deliberately failed to take cognisance of Section 179 of the Armed Forces Act, which permits “a soldier, rating or aircraftman to make a complaint to his commanding office and that he shall not be penalised for having made a complaint.
“The Arms Procurement Panel set up by Your Excellency has confirmed that the fund earmarked for the purchase of arms and ammunition was criminally diverted by former service chiefs and other senior military officers.
“The indicted military officers are being prosecuted by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for unlawful enrichment and criminal diversion of public funds.
He argued that members of the armed forces are not excluded from the application of fundamental rights, right to life, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, and right to freedom from discrimination.”
“In light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree with us that since the armed forces were not equipped to defend the territorial integrity of the nation the convicts did not commit mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for weapons to fight well armed insurgents. But assuming without conceding that our clients committed any offence they have suffered enough having spent over three years in dehumanising prison conditions”, he added. -
Falana urges pardon for jailed soldiers
Lagos lawyers, Femi Falana (SAN), on Monday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to grant pardon to 70 soldiers found guilty of mutiny by various military courts since 2014.
He made the request in a letter written to the President dated December 19, 2016.
The soldiers whose death sentence had since been committed to 10 years imprisonment are currently held in custody at the Ikoyi and Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos.
Falana argued that since the demand of the convicted soldiers and others for weapons found justification in the criminal diversion of the huge funds provided for the purchase of arms and armament to fight the terrorists, there was no legal and moral justification for the conviction and sentences imposed on them by the courts-martial.
“In Your Excellency’s interview aired by the BBC Hausa service on December 28, 2015 you rightly observed that “The government at that time sent the soldiers to the battlefield without arms and ammunition to prosecute the war. That was what led some of them to mutiny. They were arrested and detained because of this.”
“In the light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree with us that since the armed forces were not equipped to defend the territorial integrity of the nation the convicts did not commit mutiny or any other offence whatsoever in demanding for adequate weapons to fight the well-armed insurgents. But assuming without conceding that our clients committed any offence they have suffered enough having spent over three years in dehumanizing prison conditions.
“However, since the demand for weapons to carry out counter-insurgency operations in the north east zone was legitimately made by our clients under the Armed Forces Act, we urge Your Excellency to grant them pardon pursuant to Section 175 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended,” he pleaded.
Falana listed grounds upon which he based his appeal.
“The courts-martial which tried our clients deliberately failed to take cognizance of Section 179 of the Armed Forces Act which permits “a soldier, rating or aircraftman to make a complaint to his commanding office and that he shall not be penalized for having made a complaint.
“The Arms Procurement Panel set up by Your Excellency has confirmed that the huge fund earmarked for the purchase of arms and ammunition was criminally diverted by former services chiefs and other senior military officers,” he stated.
-
Why Nigerians do not trust insurance firms, by Falana
HUMAN rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) has identified unwillingness to pay claims and delayed payment as reasons Nigerians do not trust insurance firms.
Speaking at the Annual National Insurance Colloqium held in Lagos, Falana said while insurance companies are anxious to collect premiums, they are reluctant to pay claims. And when they agree to pay, the payment is deliberately delayed.
He added that owing to the delay in the payment of claims or in repairing damaged vehicles, people have lost confidence in insurance firms.
‘’One account of such delays is when motorists and drivers fight on the roads to determine who would fix their damaged vehicles,’’ he said.
He further said the lack of confidence in insurance operators had been compounded by the increasing wave of touts who sell fake insurance, noting that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has not adopted adequate measures to prosecute the promoters of fake insurance companies.
Falana called on the NAICOM to ensure that claims were paid promptly by insurance firms and that it should also enforce the provisions of the six compulsory insurance laws.
He said the Commission should embark on enlightenment programmes to enable Nigerians appreciate the benefits of insurance.
“For Nigerians to repose confidence in insurance, the public will have to be enlightened to appreciate the importance of insurance. Insurance companies should be made to pay claims without undue delay. At the same time the government should be prepared to prosecute those who operate fake insurance companies and others who dupe members of the public through fake insurance papers. However, the government cannot succeed unless the relevant stakeholders are determined to partner with it in sanitising the insurance industry.”
He added that insurance laws in the country are deficient while the rights guaranteed by those laws are usually breached with impunity.
Coordinator of the Colloquium, Johnson Adedapo, who spoke on the theme, “100 years after: Is insurance working in Nigeria?”, said Nigerians’ age-long apathy towards insurance is a threat to economic development.
“This is avoidable and unacceptable in a society that does not want to suffer deprivation and loss. There is no doubt that there are several potentials available to the citizens of this country from insurance. Equally, there are vast insurance products that could be developed for the people and to be brought to the market. Consequently, the consumers and providers of insurance services are not meeting.
“This colloquium seeks to bring stakeholders together to identify the problems militating against deepening insurance culture close to 100 years of insurance practice in Nigeria. It hopes to put the essential issues on the front burner and find the way forward, to ensure that a synergy is created as well as find common inspiration for action in dealing with identified challenges,” he added.
-
Falana knocks churches, mosques for domestic violence
Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said cultural and religious institu-tions, especially churches and mosques, promote sexual and domestic violence.
Falana vowed to challenge in court cultural practices such as the Oro Festival tradition of limiting women’s mobility through acts of violence in some parts of the country.
He spoke at a symposium tagged: “It’s on us to end violence against women and children”, organised by Access Bank’s Financial Control and Strategy Group in collaboration with Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT).
The symposium was organised to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and 16 days of activism against gender violence.
Guests at the event included Access Bank’s chairperson Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga, Group Managing Director (GMD) Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Lagos Attorney-General Adeniji Kazeem, the state’s Solicitor-General Funlola Odunlami and Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni.
Falana accused some religious leaders of trivialising sexual and domestic offences, adding that when such leaders are implicated in such acts, their followers gang up against the victims for daring to make a complaint.
He said: “If you report a case of rape, sometimes the community will gang up against you and you are stigmatised for ensuring that the law protects the victim.
“If we are going to talk about the law against domestic violence, we must look at our Bible and Quran, religious institutions: they are the greatest promoters of domestic violence.
“There’s no way you can run a modern society with what happened in the Old Testament. We have the New Testament because the Old was found to be not adequately relevant.”
The Quran, he added, did not support discrimination against women and urged people in authority not to condone such acts.
Falana also lamented that female police recruits were still not allowed to marry for the first three years without approval from their Police Commissioner, despite a court declaration banning the practice.
Wigwe, in his opening remarks, said victims of such violence were usually reluctant to come forward because of fear.
“This forum is long overdue, out duty is to mobilise public participation towards addressing this menace. Our little girls should be trained to dream big. As women, daughters and sisters, they deserve nothing less of us.”
-
Falana urges government to release Dasuki on bail
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has advised the federal government to release the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) as ordered by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Falana argued in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday that this has become necessary to allow Col. Sambo to enjoy his human right to liberty within the context of the bails granted him by the trial courts.
“Having loudly proclaimed to operate under the rule of law, Nigeria cannot afford to ignore the order of ECOWAS Court. Indeed, as a leading member state of the ECOWAS, the Nigerian government must contuinue to demonstrate leadership by example”, he said.
The senior lawyer argued further that if the federal government could persuade the former military dictators in Niger Republic to release ex-President Mammoud Tandja from custody in line with the order of the Ecowas court, “President Buhari should therefore direct the SSS to comply with the order of the ECOWAS Court by releasing Col. Dasuki (rtd.) on bail without further delay.
He recalled two courts, a federal high court, Abuja and a Fedral Capital Territory (FCT) high court had admitted the former NS, who was facing charges bordering on money laundering offences, to bail.
He noted that though the authorities of Kuje prisons released him having fulfilled his bail conditions on December 29, last year, he was re-arrested by the SSS and has remained in detention since then.
Falana claimed to have advised government to comply with the orders admitting the suspects to bail pending trial because the fresh arrest could not be justified under the constitution but that his advise was ignored for reasons best known to the government.
He reasoned that the development may have compelled the detainee to approach the ECOWAS court for the enforcement of his human rights to personal liberty guaranteed by Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
Although government challenged the jurisdiction of the court, he noted that the objection was dismissed while the ECOWAS court held that the detention of the former NSA could not be justified under the Nigerian constitution without a court order.
He however clarified that that contrary to wrong impression created that Col. Dasuki was released by the court unconditionally, he said all that the ECOWAS court said was that the suspect be allowed to enjoy his human right to liberty within the context of the bails granted him by the trial courts.
-
INEC right on PDP candidate, say Falana, Keyamo
Frontline lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)to recognise the candidate of the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimoh Ibrahim, is right.
Last Thursday, INEC endorsed Ibrahim’s candidacy after an Abuja High Court declared him the authentic PDP candidate.
The electoral umpire had earlier recognised the candidate of the Ahmed Markafi-led faction, Eyitayo Jegede.
Falana said: “INEC has merely obeyed a court order.
“INEC has obeyed an order of a court pursuant to a valid and subsisting judgment.
“You want INEC to disregard the judgment?”
He said it was wrong for the Markafi-led PDP to seek a restraining order from another court of equal status.
He said: “Once there’s an order, you can only go and set aside the existing one.
“You can’t go and start another one. That’s what causes conflicting court order.
“You can’t go and initiate a process that will set one court in collision with another. It’s primitive. It’s not done in any civilised society.
“If there’s a judgment against you, you go to that same court to set it aside.
“You don’t go and file a fresh action in another court, and thereby set the courts on collision course, which may result in conflicting court orders.”
He said since the Markafi faction had appealed the judgment, it should have waited for the party’s outcome.
“There’s an appeal against the judgment of the Abuja court.
“No other person can go to another court, a lower court, to set aside the judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction. It’s not done.
“And I don’t blame the judges, like the judge in Akure, because nothing happened to those who gave conflicting orders in the PDP leadership crisis the other day. That’s why this mess has continued.”
He urged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to discourage his supporters from protesting because he became a governor after a court pronouncement.
He added: “You can’t take any step that will subvert the rule of law. What do they expect INEC to do? To disregard the order of a court because of sentiment and rely on expatiate order? No responsible organisation does that.”
Festus Keyamo also supported Falana’s position, insisting that the electoral umpire followed the law.
“There are conflicting orders. There’s no amount of emotion or protests that can change that. It’s a purely legal matter.
“It doesn’t matter the presence of a political group. There are two conflicting orders. INEC is in complete order to effect any of the orders until the Supreme Court decides.”
-
Falana: why NJC should suspend judges accused of corruption
Activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to suspend the judges accused of corruption without further delay.
He said the council did so 10 years ago when it suspended judges accused of corruption in an election petition tribunal pending investigation.
Falana said: “If the NJC had treated this national crisis with the urgency required, it should have investigated the matter based on the avalanche of materials placed before it.
“Interestingly, the NJC had handled a similar complaint of judicial corruption about a decade ago. That was in 2006 when it was alleged that the members of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had received bribes to pervert justice.
“Without prejudice to the innocence of the judges, the NJC suspended them and requested the Director-General of the SSS to conduct a discreet investigation into the allegation.
“Upon the receipt of the report of the investigation, it was found that each of the members of the tribunal had received a bribe of N10 million while a judge of the Federal High Court had acted as a conduit-pipe in the scandal.
“At that stage, the judges were confronted with the allegations. As their defence was found unsatisfactory, the NJC recommended their removal from the bench.
“Furthermore, the NJC referred the matter to the Independent and Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC). One of the indicted judges collapsed and died when the ICPC operatives wanted to arrest him in his house in Makurdi, Benue State.”
Falana said the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the large sums of money recovered from the homes of some of the jurists, asked the judges to recuse themselves until they have been absolved of the allegations of judicial corruption levelled against them.
According to him, rather than allow the judges react to NBA’s advice, the NJC said the judges would not step aside.
“Meanwhile, notwithstanding the gravity of the allegation of judicial corruption and the far-reaching implication for the image of the nation’s judiciary, the NJC has not deemed it fit to institute any inquiry into the matter on the grounds that the SSS has not submitted any report to it.
“Thus, the NJC has allowed the allegation of judicial corruption to continue to hang menacingly on the heads of the judges like a sword of Damocles,” Falana said.
The Senior Advocate added that in the communiqué issued after its emergency meeting, NJC condemned the manner of the arrests without denying the allegations of judicial corruption leveled against the judges.
Falana said: “The NJC ought to commence an investigation into the serious allegation of judicial corruption levelled against the embattled judges without any further delay.
“Having regard to the embarrassing disclosures in the letters addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria by the judges, the NJC should follow the advice of the NBA by placing them on suspension pending the conclusion of full scale investigation in line with section 2.2.3 of the National Judicial Policy of the National Judicial Council which stipulates that the Council shall have the ‘powers of interim suspension’”.
-
Judiciary shares part of blame for judges’ arrest, say Judge, Falana
A retired judge of the High Court of Lagos State, Ebenezer Adebajo, and Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) have said the judiciary should take part of the blame for the plight of some judges in the hands of the Department of State Security (DSS).
Adebajo described the arrest of some judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Federal and state high courts at the weekend as an attempt to destroy the judiciary for which the National Judicial Commission (NJC) was partly responsible.
Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) described the development as a matter of grave concern.
He blamed members of the legal profession for allowing the denigration of the hallowed temple of justice because of the misconduct of a few corrupt judges.
Justice Adebajo said there was an intention to destroy the judiciary and blamed the National Judicial Council (NJC) for this.
He said: “The way and manner the DSS has gone about the arrest of the judges, has shown an intention to destroy the judiciary. It is an attack on the judiciary itself. Not just on these judges, but an attack on the judiciary and the NJC is the party to blame.
“Once the NJC could have ‘agreed’ , I used the word ‘agreed’ in every sense of intention, to the crucifixion of Justice Olamide Oloyede, there was no doubt that the gate had been opened for the dogs of hell.
“What we are seeing is the attack of the dogs of hell. How can such a thing happen to a judge? What is the respectfulness for an institution of a state? Does the misconduct of a few people out of a thousand, does it represent the destruction of an institution? What has happened touches every judge, serving or retired”.
The retired judge submitted: “Whatever the merit or demerit of the conduct of the judges might be, it is stated in the Constitution that the first port of call for any complaint against a judge is the National Judicial Council (NJC).
“If there is a complaint against a judge, and we have been informed that in the last three weeks, they have been talking to the authority in respect of this, why can that complaint not be laid before the Judicial Council? And if the Judicial Council found them guilty of this misconduct, the NJC will on its own, turn them over to the civil authority for prosecution.”
Falana noted that for several years, judges who committed grave criminal offences were not prosecuted but merely retired by the authorities on the recommendation of the NJC.
Although the NJC recently recommended the dismissal and prosecution of a judge for extorting the sum of N197 million from a litigant, he noted that the authorities had paid lip service to the menace of judicial corruption in the country.
“About two years ago, an anti-graft agency found N2 billion in the account of a high court judge. As soon as the judge was invited for questioning she reported and made a statement and was granted bail.
“But as she could not defend the lodgement in her bank account she obtained an interlocutory injunction from one of the judges in the custody of the SSS.
“It is common knowledge that two Senior Advocates of Nigeria are standing trial in the Lagos High Court for allegedly bribing a judge. Even though it takes two to tango the judge has not been charged to court for allegedly receiving bribe,” Falana said.
He regretted that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) which he said had information on all corrupt judges and lawyers in the country had continued to shield them “to the embarrassment of incorruptible members of the bar and the bench”.
“It is on record that when both the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission sent invitation letters to judges suspected of corruption they had rushed to the Federal High Court to obtain interlocutory injunctions to prevent their arrest, investigation and prosecution,” he added.
Falana argued that the legal profession had itself to blame for the harassment of judges by security forces “having failed to take advantage of the relevant statutory disciplinary bodies to purge the bar and the bench of corrupt elements within its ranks.”
He added: “it is on account of negligence on the part of the body that the DSS which screens candidates before they are recommended by the NJC for appointment as judges has now engaged in the arrest of judges for alleged corruption and abuse of office.
To avoid further embarrassment, he advised the Bar and the Bench to immediately strengthen their disciplinary bodies with a view to removing “the few corrupt judges and lawyers whose criminal activities have continued to erode public confidence in the judiciary.”
Falana also pointed out that since the detained judges were presumed innocent until the contrary was proved by the State, they should be admitted to bail on self-recognizance.
He counselled the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to ensure that the suspects were arraigned in court without further delay.
“It is painful to note that, before now, the demand of the human rights community to the effect that the fundamental rights of lowly placed criminal suspects be respected by the police and other security agencies have been treated with disdain.
“But having regard to the fact that judges and other influential citizens have since become victims of institutionalised abuse of official harassment, it is high time that all stakeholders demanded that every criminal suspect be treated with dignity in line with the provision of the Constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015”, Falana added.