The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice

  • I will ensure justice in Cross River, says Attorney-General

    The Cross River State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Joe Ushie, has promised to ensure that justice is served to all.

    In an interaction in his office in Calabar, Abang said he was in the state to render service.

    He said: “I have great plans for the ministry and for the growth of the profession in general. There is a lot to be done. The governor trusted me to give justice, andjustice I would give.

    “I want to provide an enabling legal environment for the legislature and executive and judiciary to work and the beneficiaries of this would be of course the common man. That is my vision. There a lot of innovations I am brining to the table. I have sent a team to understudy the judiciary in Lagos. I want to set up the office of a public defender and a citizen’s mediation centre, which would be removed from the Ministry of Justice.

    “Domestic issues, landlord issues, truancy and so on would be dealt with here. All these issues that should not take people to court, they can go there and ensure that we have lawyers there who would render these services to the public free of charge because we realize that it is not everybody that has money to hire lawyers. So as part of the governor’s contribution to the people of Cross River State, they give you the go ahead to establish that office, so the public can go there and ventilate their rights and wrongs, especially for those who cannot hire lawyers.”

    He said he met a ministry with a lot of potentials which with proper motivation would ensure over the best that it can.

  • Ekiti election ‘fraud’ debacle: What hope for even-handed justice?

    Ekiti election ‘fraud’ debacle: What hope for even-handed justice?

    The dust raised by the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State will take more time to settle. In this article, Lagos-based public affairs analyst ADESEGUN OMOLEWA is urging the international community, especially the United States (U.S.), to review their judgment of the poll in view of the report and recommendation of the Army Panel that probed the role of military personnel drafted to monitor the elections and the recent revelation of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Dr Temitope Aluko on the integrity of the poll.

    No election crisis in the history of Nigeria’s political contest has lingered for so long and generated controversies and landmarks like the June 21, 2014 governorship election in Ekiti State between the then sitting Governor Kayode Fayemi, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Mr. Ayodele Fayose, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Cutting an image of June 12, 1993 presidential election in reverse order, June 21 election still looms large with the main protagonist of June 12 not able to live to fight for his victory while that of June 21 election is still alive with APC insisting that its resolution remains an essential element in the growth and sanitisation of democracy in Nigeria.

    In what has been described as a magic electoral contest between a man who was impeached over alleged sundry crimes, including alleged multiple murders and sleaze, involving N1.3 billion poultry project fraud, and a United Nations award-winning Governor Kayode Fayemi in administrative style and performance, electoral victory for the former was a new political paradigm in political contest anywhere in the world.

     

    Between organised campaign and shoddy preparation

    Besides coming from this baggage of moral deficit and shoddy campaign strategy, Fayose’s victory in that election caught political analysts napping, unable to come to terms with the political sociology that could have explained preference for a man earlier impeached over alleged crimes and with a tattered political camp that could not find its voice among the critical stakeholders during the processes leading to the electoral contest.

    While Fayemi had a comprehensive campaign itinerary, spanning the 177 wards in all the 16 local government areas of the state, Fayose adopted a guerrilla campaign strategy, in which case there was no campaign tour plan, but chose to visit some towns at random and skipped days before visiting other communities.

    At the end of the day, Fayose did not visit one quarter of the state. Neither did he have any manifesto to create election campaign appeal in the few towns he visited in contrast to Fayemi, who was armed with his election campaign manifesto, and flaunting his achievements in each of the community across the state. Fayose’s trump card was the assurance that he would win in all the 16 local government areas, insisting that belonging to the mainstream politics at the federal level would give him victory to enable Ekiti benefit from the Aso Rock largesse. He also called himself the friend of the poor, but what he would do for the poor, he did not tell them.

    With this background of a serious and performing governor and an opponent that had nothing to show to convince the electorate for victory, it was thought that the coast was clear for a landslide victory for Fayemi.

     

    Orchestrated compromise

    But, few days to the election, signs that Fayose had a trick under his sleeve began to manifest.

    In his campaign trail were armed policemen, led by MOPOL Commander Gabriel Selenkere. Selenkere was the officer who led the assault against Governor Fayemi on the streets of Ado-Ekiti a day after former Vice President Namadi Sambo, graced Fayose’s rally at the Oluyemi Kayode Stadium in Ado-Ekiti. He commanded his men to tear-gas Governor Fayemi and even threatened to “waste” him.

    During Fayemi’s campaign grand finale, Governors Adams Oshiomhole and Rotimi Amaechi of Edo and Rivers states were prevented by security agents from entering Ado-Ekiti to attend the rally. Amaechi was barred from entering Ekiti State through Ondo State and Oshiohmole’s chattered flight was prevented from taking off at the Benin Airport.

    Prior to the campaign, Fayemi’s research team had conducted several opinion polls on the expected outcome of the election. Their results supported similar independent polls results conducted by research groups, giving victory to Fayemi in the final tally, thus creating optimism in Fayemi’s camp that the election was a walk-over for the sitting governor.

    As earlier hinted, this was not without basis: Fayose had his name in red ink in the hearts of Nigerians, including Ekiti people, over an unedifying past, laced with alleged crimes, including N1.3 billion poultry project fraud and the murder of Dr. Ayo Daramola. Kehinde Fasuba, Tunde Omojola, Ikere College of Education students, include Gbenga Jayeola and several others who lost their lives to the bullets of state-sponsored attackers.

    But, few days to June 21, 2014, signs that book-makers might be wrong in their assertions began to emerge. Precisely on June 19, 2014, around 10am, there was a red alert call from Akure Airport by a certain Fayemi’s sympathiser in PDP hinting of a comprehensive scheme to rig the election in Fayose’s favour.

    On phone, he told Fayemi’s media campaign team consisting of Dimeji Daniel, Wole Olujobi, Hakeem Jamiu, Wale Adeoye, Mojeed Jamiu, Segun Dipe, Ifedayo Sayo and Tunde Adeleke that two cargo planes, loaded with Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) materials in crates were in Akure Airport. Inside the plane also were the then Minister of State for Defence Musiliu Obanikoro; Police Affairs Minister Jelili Adesiyan; Senator Iyiola Omisore and Chris Ubah.

    The caller also confirmed the presence of a bullion van belonging to Zenith Bank and another truck packed close to the planes. The contents in the crates marked “INEC”, according to him, were being off-loaded into the truck and the bullion van. The media team ceaselessly took to the social media calling Nigerians’ attention to this suspicion of the evil plot.

    Late in the afternoon of same day, the same truck, sighted at the Akure Airport, was arrested along Efon-Alaye road by a team of soldiers on routine patrol. The military patrol team was led by Brig.-Gen. Aliyu Momoh, the officer now at the centre of the election fraud facing dismissal from the military over his roles in the poll that returned Fayose as Ekiti State governor.

    While Gen. Momoh told reporters about the arrest of a lorry loaded with 2014 election materials, another set of people were arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) agents thumb-printing ballot papers at a hotel owned by Fayose’s ally, Dipo Anisulowo, at Are-Ekiti. Anisulowo, who, became Fayose’s Chief of Staff, admitted that he was surprised by the margin of difference between the APC and PDP tallies in the overall results.

    Both Momoh and the DSS promised to hand over the lorry and the men to the police. But, that was the end of the matter as INEC kept sealed lips, even as a more daring plot to rig the polls was in the offing by PDP and security agencies without Ekiti people knowing it.

    On the eve of the election, thousands of soldiers and DSS operatives were unleashed on APC leaders and supporters. Fayemi’s Campaign Manager, Bimbo Daramola, was harassed and forced to flee his Ire-Ekiti country home. But, this was not before his father was arrested in lieu of the son with the policemen pointing gun to his head asking him to disclose the whereabouts of his son.

    Hundreds of APC leaders and supporters arrested were not released until after the end of the election. Several others fled their homes for fear of arrest by soldiers while APC campaign officials were also arrested and party agents’ money on them confiscated by soldiers.

    Also on the eve of the election, armed soldiers were moving from polling unit to polling unit tampering with voting materials, scaring party agents that kept vigil at the centres where voting materials were kept.

    On election day, people went to vote without any incident, but the results that shocked not only APC members, but also PDP members alike, who marvelled at how a candidate that had been deserted by his own party leaders and members, and who scarcely campaigned in one quarter of the state could win election in all the 16 local government areas in the state against a performing governor, supported by his party leaders and supporters.

    Anger was boiling in the perplexed and evidently disoriented APC members. Sensing danger, Fayemi, who was already in possession of intelligence that Ekiti State was meant for forceful take-over by PDP with consequent flow of blood by the Federal Government deployment of the military, quickly made a conditional concession of defeat to avert bloodbath. He had said: “If indeed this is the will of the Ekiti people, I stand in deference to your will”.

    Soon, it emerged that it was not through Ekiti people’s wish that Fayose became the governor, as Capt. Sagir Koli released a secretly recorded audio tape of how President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration used the military to criminally remove a sitting governor from office through a means other than those prescribed by the constitution.

    In the tape were voices of Fayose, Obanikoro, Omisore, Gen. Momoh, Jelili and one Abulrahman, a member of the House of Representatives from Oyo State.

    In the tape, Fayose was heard speaking of how he collected INEC soft copies that he printed to win the election. He also spoke about the seized lorry loaded with INEC materials two days to the election. In the tape, he accused Gen. Momoh of arresting the lorry loaded with INEC material on its way to the collation centre at Efon-Alaye, meaning that the results of an election that had not been conducted were being collated two clear days to the day of election.

    In the tape, Obanikoro threatened Gen. Momoh, saying that he sat on the Army Council responsible for his promotion and so, the Army General must cooperate to enable him get promotion. Obanikoro had said: “General, you know that I sit on the Army Council that approves your promotion. If you make me happy tomorrow night, the sky is your limit….”

    Upon the exit of the man allegedly behind the electoral heist, President Jonathan, the Chief of Army Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Buratai, opened the books to probe the military complicity in the treasonable act of illegal toppling of a sitting governor in Ekiti. Findings at the probe panel confirmed Capt Koli’s allegations contained in his secretly recorded tape. The Army Panel raised to investigate the matter found several officers and soldiers guilty. According to the panel’s recommendations, some are to lose their commands; some will lose their jobs; some will face the EFCC and several others were recommended for further investigations.

    More shocking now are the revelations by the State Secretary of the PDP, Dr Tope Aluko, detailing with documents, how the election was rigged in Fayose’s favour.

    He provided documentary evidence, detailing the names and staff numbers of the officers and soldiers involved in the operation, including the army’s operational details that were clearly in Fayose’s support. He also revealed that state INEC was paid N1 billion to post FUTA lecturers, sympathetic to the PDP to work as, returning officers during the election.

    Though, Lere Olayinka (Fayose’s aide), who also appeared on the same Channels Television programme, sought to reduce the matter to personal issues, he cleverly dodged the questions on evidence of Army’s culpability in the entire election fraud saga.

    Now that some military officers will face sack and imprisonment, the question is: will a ‘small thief’ suffer for the crime committed jointly with a ‘bigger thief’ in the Ekiti epic election fraud that has set tongues wagging since last year? Will the course of justice be served if the prime suspect in a treasonable offence is allowed to enjoy the benefit of his crime while those who only assisted through official complicity of the Federal Government are to bear the consequences of this crime against the Nigerian Constitution?

    It is on this note that necessary actions must be taken by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to ensure that no man, or a set of men, constitute themselves as a threat to the integrity of the constitution and democracy.

     

    Validity of US endorsement of Ekiti poll

    It is also a signal to the international community, notably the American State Department, to withdraw their approval of the election that was tainted with fraud and criminality as revealed in Ekitigate tape and PDP scribe’s testimony, as they will never accept such election under any circumstances in their countries.

    The urgent international community repudiation of their earlier vote praising the conduct of the election has become imperative in the face of Fayose flaunting international reports in the media houses and on the streets justifying his electoral fraud just because the international community approved the election in error.

    Failure to address the Ekiti election fraud squarely to ensure justice is a declaration that the constitution is open to abuses by desperate politicians, who consider themselves bigger than the law of the nation.

  • Police: we’ll ensure justice in man’s murder

    The police in Oyo State have said they will ensure that justice is served in the death of a man, Lowo Oyediran, who was allegedly stabbed to death by his wife, a lawyer at the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP), Ministry of Justice.

    The deceased’s family, at the weekend, raised doubts over the ability of law enforcement agents to ensure fairness and justice in the case.

    The suspect, Yewande, was on Friday remanded in Agodi Prisons after she was arraigned before the Iyaganku Magistrate’s Court on a two-count charge of murder.

    A relative, who pleaded for anonymity, expressed fears that the victim may not get justice because of the suspect’s status in the ministry.

    He called on Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Commissioner of Police Leye Oyebade to ensure that the family gets justice.

    Police spokesperson Adekunle Ajisebutu said no one is above the law.

    Ajisebutu said: “How can someone say that? The police are on top of the case and let me tell you that nobody, no matter how highly placed, is above the law.

    “The law is no respecter of person. I can assure you that in this case the law will run its course unhindered. “

    At the couple’s Akobo, Ibadan home yesterday, neighbours evaded questions; some ran away on sighting visitors.

    The gate was locked as the house was deserted.

    The late Oyediran, a native of Gbongan in Ayedaade Local Government Area of Osun State, was allegedly stabbed twice on Tuesday morning at their home.

    He was said to have been stabbed in the arm and back and was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

    The victim, after the initial treatment, was brought back home by some neighbours, including his landlord, who waded into the disagreement between him and his wife.

    After everyone had gone to bed, his wife allegedly stabbed him again in the neck while he was asleep.

  • I will ensure justice in Cross River, says Attorney-General

    The Cross River State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Joe Ushie, has promised to ensure that justice is served to all.

    In an interaction in his office in Calabar, Abang said he was in the state to render service.

    He said: “I have great plans for the ministry and for the growth of the profession in general. There is a lot to be done. The governor trusted me to give justice, andjustice I would give.

    “I want to provide an enabling legal environment for the legislature and executive and judiciary to work and the beneficiaries of this would be of course the common man. That is my vision. There a lot of innovations I am brining to the table. I have sent a team to understudy the judiciary in Lagos. I want to set up the office of a public defender and a citizen’s mediation centre, which would be removed from the Ministry of Justice.

    “Domestic issues, landlord issues, truancy and so on would be dealt with here. All these issues that should not take people to court, they can go there and ensure that we have lawyers there who would render these services to the public free of charge because we realize that it is not everybody that has money to hire lawyers. So as part of the governor’s contribution to the people of Cross River State, they give you the go ahead to establish that office, so the public can go there and ventilate their rights and wrongs, especially for those who cannot hire lawyers.”

    He said he met a ministry with a lot of potentials which with proper motivation would ensure over the best that it can.

     

  • Going abroad to obtain justice

    Going abroad to obtain justice

    The people of Gbaramatu are in high spirits. On January 18, an English court upheld the N99.9billion judgment they obtained against the government at a Federal High Court in Asaba, Delta State. They took their case abroad following their inability to enforce justice at home. Is the government lawless? Whose duty is it to ensure that the government obeys court orders? To lawyers, Attorney-General of the Federation and his counterparts in the states must ensure that all judgments are obeyed. Eric Ikhilae writes.

    Last January 18, an English court upheld a N99.9 billion  judgment obtained against the Presidency, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Commander of the Delta Joint Task Force, Maj-Gen Sarkin Yarkin Bello (rtd) by the people of Gbaramatu communities of Delta State.

    The Queen’s Bench Division of the Royal High Court of Justice England and Wales ordered that the judgment delivered in December 2013 by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Asaba, the Delta State capital, be registered in England solely against Maj.-Gen. Bello.

    The court refused to register the judgment against the Federal Government, citing the principle of state’s sovereignty. With  the verdict, the judgment-creditors – the people of Gbaramatu communities of Delta State – can apply for an order freezing Maj. Gen. Bello’s accounts wherever they could be traced globally.

    In a suit filed on June 22, 2009, the communities alleged that the task force led by Bello descended on them on May 5, 2009 killing and maiming and also destroyed properties worth billions of naira.

    Justice Buba (who now sits in the Lagos division of the Federal High Court) upheld the plaintiffs’ claims.

    He held: “The bombardment of the plaintiffs’ communities in the Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta by the defendants resulting in the demolition/destruction of houses, household furniture/wares, boats, canoes, domestic animals and displacement of members of the communities is in violation of Section 217 (2)(c) of the 1999 constitution and is therefore unconstitutional.

    “That the sum of N49 billion is awarded in favour of the plaintiffs as special damages against the defendants jointly severally.

    “That the sum of N50 billion is also awarded as aggravated and punitive damages against the defendants jointly and severally for the unlawful bombardment and sacking of the plaintiffs’ communities which resulted in wanton destruction of their houses, household furniture and other wares, their domestic animals, canoes, boats, sacred places, artefacts, etc and which resulted in total displacement of members of the communities for minimum of three months from 15th May 2009, the effect of which was that members of the communities were living in the swampy mangrove forests in subhuman conditions while others were in a concentration camp and suffered loss of income, disease, and mental torture and the education of their children of school age was disrupted.”

    The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Selekeowei Larry (SAN), told The Nation that his clients resorted to a foreign court because the government, during the Goodluck Jonathan era, was unwilling to obey the judgment.

    “We waited for about three months for them to decide on what to do before we took this step. They neither appealed nor did they respond to our demand letters.  Before applying to the Queen Bench Division  High Court of Justice in London to register the judgment, we wrote twice to the then Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), asking the Federal Government to comply with the judgment.

    “Two years after the judgment was delivered, the government neither complied with it nor challenged it on appeal. We know what to do next after we have successfully got the judgment registered in London.

    “We have only decided to allow this government to settle down. You know the new AGF is just settling down. And we believe this government will not be willing to ignore court’s decisions, as we witnessed before now. So, we will wait for this government, and if it fails to act, we know what to do next,” Larry said.

     

    Tales of disregard for court orders

    This is not the first time a community would secure monetary judgment against the Federal Government but got nothing until a foreign court intervened.

    There were the cases of the Odi (Bayelsa) and Zaki-Biam (Benue) who got judgment against the government for the destruction of lives and property in their communities, following troops’ invasion.

    By seeking the intervention of a foreign court, the Gbaramatu communities are toeing the path trodden by their counterparts. It took foreign intervention for the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to negotiate with both communities.

    According to the Chairman,  Odi Destruction Case Prosecution Committee (ODCPC), Prof. Kobina Imananagha, the Federal Government used delay tactics, including litigations, to avoid payment of the N37.6billion compensation which the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, ordered it to pay the community on February 19, 2014.

    Imananagha said rather than obey the court judgment, the Federal Government went to the Court of Appeal six times to overturn the initial verdict, only to fail on each occasion.

    He said the saving grace was a London court, which the community approached and which issued an October 21, 2014 deadline to government to negotiate settlement and pay the agreed compensation to Odi people.

    “The London court issued threats that it was going to enforce the full judgment of the court (payment of N37.6billion) if by October 21, 2014, the government fails to negotiate settlement and pay agreed compensation to Odi.

    “It was this seeming threat that compelled the Federal Ministry of Justice and the leadership of the legal team, ODCPC and the king of Odi to the negotiation table on May 26, 2014 where N15billion (as the only and final payment) offer as compensation to Odi was made by the Federal Government”.

    The Nigerian government has gradually assumed the image of a government that hardly respects court’s decisions. Cases abound in this regard. In October last year, some pensioners of the New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) appealed to the Federal Government to obey a judgment given in their favour in 2013. The pensioners served the company between 1975 and 2006 when the company was still a parastatal.

    About 10 years after the government’s continuous default in the payment of their pensions and gratuity, the pensioners instituted a civil action against the Federal Government and the NNN to recover the arrears of pension and gratuity.

    “Judgment was given in the suit on October 28, 2013 compelling the Federal Government and the New Nigerian Newspapers to pay all the accrued and outstanding arrears of pension and gratuity. The computed judgment debt from January, 2000 to March, 2015 amount to about N8billion.

    “But up till the expiration of the Jonathan administration, the defendants failed to comply with the court judgment. They also did not appeal the judgment,” Chairman and Secretary, Nigerian Union of Pensioners, NNN Branch, Kaduna, Malam Idi Sule, and Albert B. Iweka, a lawyer, said in a recent letter.

    Also on January 13, 2014 Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a judgment on the suit by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), upheld the financial autonomy of the Judiciary.

    Justice Ademola held, among others, that it was unconstitutional for the executive to withhold or release in piece-meal, funds standing to the credit of the judiciary in the Federation Account and Consolidated Revenue Fund.

    He directed that such funds be paid directly to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for onward disbursement to heads of courts in the case of federal judiciary and heads of courts in the case of states’ judiciary as required under sections 81(3), 121(3) and 162(9) of the constitution.

    The judgment has not been effectively complied with by both the Federal and state governments. JUSUN is still in court, trying to prosecute garnishee proceedings against erring governments in a bid to compel them to obey the judgment.

    The practice of government’s disobedience of court decisions was rampant under the Olusegun Obasnajo-government  (1999-12007), where court’s judgment were, in most instances, subjected to political interpretations.

    In April, 2004, the Lagos State government, being led by the opposition Alliance for Democracy (AD), increased the number of local government councils from 20 to 57. The then Lagos government, headed by Bola Tinubu, had argued that Lagos’ population size justified the increase.

    But, in retaliation, the Obasanjo-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Federal Government, on April 8, 2004 directed the Minister of Finance to stop further release of council funds from the federation account to all states, which created new local governments. While the other states, which were mainly PDP-controlled states, reversed their actions and got their allocations paid, the Lagos government insisted on its position.

    Lagos challenged the Federal Government’s decision at the Supreme Court. The apex court, in its judgment on December 10, 2004 faulted the Federal Government’s decision to withhold allocation to Lagos State’s existing 20 Local Government Councils.

    The Supreme Court, per Niki Tobi (JSC, retired) held: “Has the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria the legal right to stop the release of the statutory allocation to the local government councils…? I think not. If the Federal Government felt aggrieved by Lagos State creating more local governments, the best solution is to seek redress in a court of law without resorting to self-help.

    “In a society where the rule of law prevails, self-help is not available to the executive or any arm of government. In view of the fact that such a conduct could breed anarchy and totalitarianism and since anarchy and totalitarianism are anti-thesis to democracy, courts operating the rule of law, the life-blood of democracy, are under a constitutional duty to stand against such action.”

    The judgment was only complied with by the succeeding government of Umaru Yar’Adua, after the expiration of the Obasanjo era.

    Also, it took the pressure of all – opposition parties, civil society organisations, right advocates and international communities – for the Obasanjo government to obey the Supreme Court judgment reversing the impeachment of Rashidi Ladoja as the governor of Oyo State.

    Some 18 members of the Oyo State House of Assembly on January 12, 2006 sat in a hotel in Ibadan and claimed to have impeached Ladoja. The Obasanjo-led Federal Government was not concerned about the legitimacy of the action, it promptly ensured that Ladoja’s deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala took over.  But about 10 months after, the Suprme Court, in a judgment on December 7, 2006, voided the impeachment and ordered Ladoja’s reinstatement. The same Obasanjo-led Federal Government became lethargic in implementing the apex court’s decision.

    Although the then  Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Sunday Ehindero, restored the security details of Ladoja in compliance with the appellate  court’s verdict, he,  however, advised Ladoja  not to resume office until the legal opinion of the then Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Bayo Ojo (SAN)  was sought.

    Apparently speaking the mind of the Federal Government, Ojo said the judgment could not be executed because it was declaratory, meaning that Alao-Akala remained the governor. He said the government would deal with anybody or group of people that might want to take laws into its own hands.

     

    Lawyers’ views

    Although some lawyers said though it was too early to assess the government, they stated that it has started exhibiting some traits of disrespect to the court. They cited the cases of former National Security Adviser, Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and Pro-Biafran agitator, Nnamdi Kanu, who were reportedly granted bail, but were not allowed to enjoy the bail.

    Femi Falana (SAN), Dr. Paul Adesina, Ahmed Mustafa (of the Centre for Accountability in Governance) and Jude Nwankwo said it takes a strong-willed attorney-general, who believes in the supremacy of the rule of law in a democracy, to ensure that the state and its agencies comply with court’s decisions.

    Falana, while commenting on the cases of Dasuki and Kanu, noted that “for 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party was in power, the federal government exhibited contempt for the Rule of Law. The Constitution and other laws were breached with impunity while court orders were disobeyed regularly.

    “In the famous case of Attorney-General of Lagos State v Attorney-General of the Federation (2005) 2 WRN 1 at 150, the Supreme Court held that ‘in our democracy all the governments of this country as well as organisations and individuals must kowtow to the due process and this they can vindicate by resorting to the courts for redress in the event of any grievance.’

    “One of the reasons Nigerians voted for the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) during the last general election was his promise to fight corruption and end impunity in the country. Upon winning the election, President Buhari further pledged to abide by the Rule of Law.

    “To that extent, he has a duty to ensure that all organs and officials of the Government operate within the ambit of the law. In particular, he should not allow overzealous security personnel to engage in any form of impunity and thereby expose the Government to unwarranted embarrassment,” Falana said.

    To Adesina, “What happened under former President Obasanjo, where court’s decisions were treated with levity, could not have happened where you have AGF, who believe in the law they professed. How can you sit in office and call yourself the Minister of Justice and AGF, when the government you represent, does not believe in the rule of law.

    “How can you claim to be the chief law officer when your government does not respect the laws of the land? I just hope the AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN), a fine gentleman, will understand this and tell the government the hard truth before it becomes too late,” Adesina said.

    Mustafa argued that it is wrong for any government to ignore court’s decisions. “I think very democratic government, who believe in accountability, should learn to always obey court’s decisions, no matter how unfavourable it is to those in authority,” he said.

    Nwankwo said: “It is so shameful that democratic government in our country find it difficult to obey court’s decisions, when it goes against their interests. They should learn that the rule of law, the foundation of every democracy, does not exist to protect, solely the interest of those in government. Court orders/judgments must always be obeyed.

    “To me, the task is with the Justice Minister, to always advise the government on the best option, which is, to always obey the court. The most you can do is to appeal a court’s decision, if you are not comfortable, but not to ignore it,” Nwankwo said.

     

     

  • Family of slain okada rider seeks justice

    Family of slain okada rider seeks justice

    Members of the family of a 24-year-old man, Benjamin Okoli, allegedly shot dead by a Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) officer in Ondo State five months ago, have petitioned the Commissioner of Police through their lawyer, Mr. Orlu Mills. They are seeking justice on their son’s death.

    Okoli, who was a commercial motorcyclist (okada rider) and his family’s bread winner, was allegedly killed at the premises of Olukayode Magistrates’ Court in Akure, the state capital, by a prison officer whose identity is yet to be known. He was said to have been shot while attempting to escape from the court.

    It was learnt that the deceased was arrested by men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) along Arakale where he had gone to buy fuel. It was also learnt that he was on his way home when he was arrested and handed over to men of the Ondo State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

    He was said to have contravened an order by the government temporarily banning okada riders from operating at that time.

    According to Emmanuel, the deceased’s elder brother, Okoli was detained for 10 days before he was arraigned last August 5.

    Emmanuel said: “We engaged a lawyer and he was able to secure his bail. But when the lawyer was working on his bail, Benjamin tried to escape as a result of the inhuman treatment he had experienced during his illegal detention at Olokuta Prison before he was arraigned before the court.

    “He was, however, caught immediately and returned to the Black Maria that brought him to the prison that day. He was badly beaten and mercilessly tortured in the presence of everybody.

    “Some minutes later, we heard some gun shots right there and that was the last we saw or heard about our brother.

    “We want the warders to tell the world why they killed our brother in cold blood.”

    Emmanuel further said the health of their parents has deteriorated since the incident while their other siblings have not been finding it easy to pay their school fees.

    He said Benjamin’s fellow suspects rushed him to the state specialist hospital where he was confirmed dead by doctors and his corpse was dumped in the hospital’s mortuary.

    “We were forced to pay the sum of N42, 000 for the autopsy ýafter which we had to raise money for his burial in Kogi State.

    “He was a very hard working young man. He was into tiles fixing and had used the okada business to augment the family’s finances,” Emmanuel said.

    However, Mr. Mills has vowed to pursue the case to a logical conclusion.

    Mills said: “Information at our disposal showed that the Warder who shot Benjamin was just overzealous as he was not among those who pursued him in the initial place.

    “We are aware the police have commenced investigation into the matter and we have requested the prison authorities to hand over the alleged warder for proper investigation.

    “But we foresee a conspiracy by the authority of Olokuta Prison and, by extension, the Nigerian Prisons Service to sweep the matter under the carpet.

    There must be an end to impunity and extrajudicial killings if this country must progress. Nobody is above the law of the land.

    Spokesman of the State Prisons Service, Tunde Ogundare said investigation into the matter is ongoing, even as he refused to speak further on the matter.

    Also, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Femi Joseph asked for more time in order to get more facts and give better clarification on the matter.

  • ‘Plateau treasury looters ‘ll not escape justice’

    ‘Plateau treasury looters ‘ll not escape justice’

    Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has reiterated the determination of his administration to recover the resources looted by officials of the immediate past government.

    Lalong said he will use all legal means and due process in recovering the funds.

    The governor spoke in Jos at his investiture as the “Change Pathfinder Governor of the Year 2015” by the Plateau State Social Media community held at the Hill Station Hotel conference hall.

    Lalong, who was represented by the Commissioner of Special Duties , Hon Hitler Dadi, said: “The APC administration in the state is on rescue mission and we shall ensure we rescue state resources in the hands of individuals and return same to government for the benefit of all.”

    The governor promised to partner with the conventional media and social media in sensitizing citizens to the policy thrust of his administration.

    Lalong said: “On resumption of office, I en joined both the traditional and social mass media to join hands with us to expand the frontiers of development in our dear state and pledged that government would continue to cooperate with you at all times and this I would continue to do

    “Government is not unaware of the fact that the social media platform which, according to the Nigerian communications Commission, NCC today commands an impressive figure of one hundred and forty million users , is without doubt , a very veritable and viable platform for multi faceted forms of online media interaction among the citizenry, especially the youths, which cannot be taken for granted.

  • Rape victims deserve justice, says envoy

    Rape victims deserve justice, says envoy

    The Pakistani High Commissioner in Nigeria, Umar Farooq has urged appropriate authority to ensure rape victims get justice.

    Farooq spoke at a three-day workshop on importance of raising young female leaders.

    The programme was organised by Juliet Ume-Onyido, a Toronto-based poet and leadership coach in collaboration with Tara Uzra Dawood, President Dawood Global Foundation.

    The High Commissioner said instilling leadership qualities in young girls will aid societal development.

    “This will make a difference in the life of the people and a better living for the nation,” he said.

    The envoy decried violence on girls, saying “the girls deserve justice and freedom; that is their birthright. A well-nurtured girl child makes the society better.”

    Ume-Onyido urged rape victims to speak out, warning the society against stigmatisation.

    “Recently, we have heard no fewer than 500 cases of rape. We need people that are affected to open up and let their voices be heard. We want them to come together and share their stories.  I want a girl from Borno State to   share her story with a girl from Enugu State. In fact, they should be able to communicate across the world.  They should know that they are girls who will end up being mothers, create and nurtures the community that we want. That is the foundation we are laying here,” she said.

  • We demand justice for those killed during elections —Rivers APC guber candidate Peterside

    We demand justice for those killed during elections —Rivers APC guber candidate Peterside

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday held a procession along the streets of Port Harcourt, Rivers State which culminated in a special memorial service at the Port Harcourt, Polo Club for victims of politically motivated violence and murders in Rivers State before, during and after the last general elections in the state.

    The victims, APC claimed, are their members called the Black Day.

    The procession was led by the APC governorship candidate in the last Rivers State elections, Dr Dakuku Adol Peterside, who was accompanied by other APC leaders in the state, including Senator Magnus Abe, Chief Andrew Uchendu, the state party chairman, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, Asita H. Asita, among others.

    The procession was held to mourn and celebrate lives cut short by the violence that characterised this year’s elections in Rivers State. Speaker after speaker decried the violence, which they claimed had continued to this day. As a matter of fact, they claimed that APC members were violently attacked on their way to the procession.

    Peterside, who is contesting the results of the governorship elections which produced Nyesom Wike of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in court, spoke to select journalists on the significance of the event and the quest for justice for victims of the violence.

    How do you rate the turnout by Rivers people for the Black Day procession for persons killed during the last elections?

    I will say the turnout was excellent. You could see the number of people who came out on the streets and at the memorial service itself, and by their turn out, I believe Rivers people have made a statement. They are saying ‘no’ to political violence, kidnapping and politically motivated assassinations.

    Unfortunately, we thought that at the end of the election in April, we would have come to the end of this matter but it has continued in different dimensions and has manifested itself in form of kidnappings, armed robberies and more assassinations because those persons who were armed by these self-centred, evil politicians have not been disarmed. And so, we have continued with the same experience as the present Rivers State government lacks the political will and the moral right to attack the issue and so we have been living with it.

    What kind of responses or solidarity have you had from people outside the state on this issue?

    From the responses we have got across the country so far, it confirms that Nigerians are in solidarity and in sympathy with the people of Rivers State on what we have gone through during the period of the elections and what we are still going through. The Nigerian people are concerned that Rivers State has remained a black spot in our democratic development and they have condemned in totality the level of violence visited on the people of Rivers State who were only trying to cast their votes in exercise of their democratic rights. And the prayer of every right-thinking Nigerian is that this should never happen again in our political development

    There were reports that several persons, especially from your party APC, were attacked on their way to the procession and the memoriam service. How true is this?

    Yes, our people were attacked. People were attacked in Abonema and I was reliably informed that a caretaker chairman in the state personally led the team that attacked several of our members in Abonema. We had the same experience in Omuma, Etche and Ikwerre Local Government Areas. In Ikwerre LGA, I was also reliably informed that  another caretaker chairman led boys who were using sticks, knives and other dangerous weapons on helpless women, women who were coming for the Black Day procession in solidarity with the souls and spirits of those who lost their lives during the elections.

    It’s unfortunate and I know that these attackers cannot escape the long arms of the law. They have refused to admit the fact that times have changed and the days of impunity and lawlessness are gone. We have drawn the attention of the security agencies at the highest echelon and I am convinced that they are doing something about it.

    The ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State has accused you and your party, APC, of playing politics with the lives of Rivers people who died during the elections. Also, some PDP leaders and Rivers State government officials claim that the deaths were mostly cult-related and cult clashes, and had nothing to do with the elections. What’s your response to that?

    It is most uncharitable for PDP to say that those that lost their lives during the elections died in cult-related activities. What kind of cult-related reason would lead to the killing of Chief Adube, a man who is above 65 years old? He was not only killed, but his three children, his driver, his friend and a relative who came visiting, were also murdered in cold blood. What sort of cult-related reasons would have warranted those kinds of killings?

    Now, the persons who were attacked coming for President Buhari’s rally before the elections, were they also members of a cult? What cult were they members of? Many persons were killed. Claver was killed, Nwokocha was killed, Chris Obera was killed on the day of election, and I ask, what cult do they belong to? What cult-related offence would they have committed on the day of election? The man who was killed in Tai,  what cult does he belong to? It is lack of respect for human life that would have led to the statement by any member of the PDP or official of the PDP government in Rivers State to say that they were killed for cult-related activities. It is clear that PDP has no respect for human life and it manifests everyday in their activities and the way they conduct government business.

    What hope is there for justice for the victims and families of the victims of these politically motivated violence and murders?

    The APC as a political party sympathises with all those who lost their loved ones during the carnage that took place during the elections and all those who are victims of political violence in Rivers State and we have said over and over again that we would continue to pursue justice for all those who lost their loved ones and other victims. As a corollary, we are planning to set up a political violence victims support fund and we would unveil it at the appropriate time. We are not going to rest on our oars until we see some form of justice meted out to all those who perpetrated the violence and we think that it would give some level of comfort to members of their families.

  • Falana, others form new group to fight for justice, accountability in Africa

    Falana, others form new group to fight for justice, accountability in Africa

    Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and eight other African personalities on criminal law have formed a new group, the Africa Group for Justice and Accountability, to fight for justice and accountability on the continent.

    The Africa Group for Justice and Accountability is an independent group of senior Africa experts on international criminal law and human rights.

    Its members include political figures, members of international and domestic tribunals and human rights advocates.

    The group will support the efforts to strengthen justice and accountability in Africa through domestic and regional capacity building, advice and outreach as well as enhance cooperation between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

    The formation of the new group, which was launched last week alongside other activities of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, in the Hague, was announced by the Berlin, Germany-based Wayamo Foundation in a statement yesterday.