The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice

  • NBA, others seek quick justice delivery

    NBA, others seek quick justice delivery

    THE Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and stakeholders have urged Nigerians to fight for the independence of the judiciary to ensure good governance and sustainable development.

    They made the call at the three-day Seventh Annual Conference of the NBA Section on Legal practice (SLP), at Royal Choice Hotel, Old GRA Lobi Quarters, Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

    It was declared open by Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam. Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Dahiru Musdapher, chaired the event; Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President, Okey Wali, SAN; Chairman, Section on Legal Practice, Mr. Donald Denwigwe (SAN) gave opening remarks.

    The Inspector-General-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Abubakar, who was the keynote speaker, was represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG), Mike Zokulo.

    Wali said infrastructural development and delivery were vital to nation building, noting that the efficient and effective delivery of services by the government, is dependent on the delivery of infrastructure.

    He said: “The critical importance of well- performing public institutions, especially the Judiciary has attracted the attention of many. In the past, the focus was only on independence of the Judiciary from the other arms of government and how to secure the tenure of judicial officers. But now, infrastructural development and information technology in the administration of justice have assumed do much prominence that it is seen as a mechanism for efficient and effective justice service delivery.

    “It goes without saying that some aspects of Justice Sector are bedevilled by decay, inefficiency and corruption. It is disturbing to note that in spite of all the reform measures that have been formulated over the years, the challenges impeding efficient and effective delivery of justice have continued unabated.”

    ‘’The provision of infrastructure such as power supply, court rooms, information technology, court procedures, and court processes, enforcement of judgement, appellate jurisdiction, and access to court,’’ he said, “are areas where challenges are being faced. Some are public utilities which are provided at the state and local government levels. In this regard, power supply and road stand out. Even information technology is dependent on regular supply of electricity.

    Justice Mudapher said: “The theme of the conference Justice delivery-The challenges and opportunity for stakeholders, is a clarion call to stakeholders to reassess our present strategies, adjust where necessary, in order to effectively and efficiently reposition our administration of justice for the good of our society.

    “The theme suggests that all is not well with the administration of justice in Nigeria. The quality of personalities here today, is an attestation to the fact that some positive actions would be taken to confront whatever challenges that our justice sector is at present facing. This is a duty we must perform. Providence has thrust this duty on our broad shoulders. We cannot shirk from our societal responsibility, considering the fact that the relevance of our justice administration is solely predicted upon public trust and confidence. When public confidence is lacking in justice delivery system, it is a recipe for chaos and anarchy. We do not wish that for our society, hence this gathering to proffer solution to the challenges confronting us in criminal matters, for example: Section 36(4) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) states: “Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence, he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be entitled to a fair hearing in public within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal.”

    Musdapher added: “The ‘conveyor’ belt syndrome where cases lasts for years from the court of first instance to the apex court, create the impression to the ordinary citizen that the quest for justice in our society is almost unrealisable. But we do know that the justice administration exists for the members of the society. If this is so, why then would the beneficiaries of our justice administration fall victims to same system that was established for their benefit? What are those challenges that have been facing justice delivery in our society? In what ways can these challenges be confronted in order to meet the yearnings and aspirations of an ever changing dynamic society? The above questions among others are the issues that this conference should diligently deal with.”

    Also, Abubakar said: “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended envisaged quick dispensation of justice. Section 35(4) and 36(4) provide: ‘Any person arrested or detained for a criminal offence shall be brought before a court of law within a reasonable time and anybody who is charged with a criminal offence shall unless the charge is withdrawn be entitled to a fair hearing in the public within a reasonable time by the court or tribunal’.

    “Section 294 (1) of the 1999 Constitution as amended also provides that ‘every court established under this Constitution shall deliver its decision in writing not later than ninety days after the conclusion of evidence and final addresses and furnish all parties to the cause of matter determined with duly authenticated copies of the decision within seven days of the delivery thereof.”

    The IGP said the constitutional goals could only be realised where there are a robust infrastructural support system and well-trained and well-motivated personnel who are the key operators of the criminal justice system.There is, therefore, a high degree of correlation between speedy justice delivery and the level of available infrastructure and skilled as well as motivated workforce in the criminal justice system.

    “The truth, however, is that criminal cases, more often than not, hardly get decided within a year or more in spite of these elegant and profound constitutional provisions. This is largely so because, there is no adequate capacity in terms of infrastructure and skilled human resources to ensure the realisation of speedy dispensation of justice. It is therefore, imperative that in addition to legislative enactments, adequate support system must be put in place to ensure an efficient criminal justice administration system,” he added.

    The conference was attended by prominent lawyers from all parts of the country.

     

     

     

  • ‘He stood for truth, justice’

    ‘He stood for truth, justice’

    A group, Afenmai Youth Congress (AYC), and the 1992 set of Anglican Grammar School, Igarra, Edo State, the secondary school the late Chief of General Staff (CGF), Vice Admiral Okhai Mike Akhigbe attended, have described his death as a big loss to the country.

    A statement by the president of the 1992 Old Boys’ Association (ANGSOBA ‘92), Philip Mayaki, described Akhigbe’s death as a loss to the school.

    “We first heard about this great alumnus in 1986, when the school was celebrating its 50th years of existence. He was then the military governor of Lagos State, and we were fascinated by his achievements as a military officer. He crowned this by becoming the No. 2 citizen of Nigeria. He was a great ambassador. We pray God to take his soul and comfort the family he left behind,” Mayaki said.

    Also, a statement by the President and Secretary of AYC, Dr Philip Ugbodaga and Ronke Ojeikere, described the late Akhigbe as a “very disciplined Naval officer who rose through the ranks to become a Vice Admiral in the Nigerian Navy and Nigeria’s No. Two citizen during a trying period in the history of our nation”.

    They recalled that the late CGS “held the highest political office in Afenmai land”.

    “He (Akhigbe) stood for truth, justice and equity. We recall with nostalgia his contributions to the development and articulation of the Southsouth position during the 2005 national political conference, convened by former President Olusegun Obasanjo. His unwavering stance on the Niger Delta agitation for resource control culminated in the historic walkout by the Southsouth delegation, following the refusal of the other zones to grant our prayers with Chief Edwin K. Clark and others.”

  • Family of Nigerian student killed in Cyprus cries for justice

    Family members of a Nigerian student killed in Nicosia, Cyprus by a woman driver have pleaded with the Federal Government and the security agencies for intervention.

    The family said the victim, 20-year-old Gabriel Soriwei, a first year student of Electrical/Electronic Engineering at the International University, Nicosia, was knocked down on July 13.

    Thereafter, he went into a coma for close to two months before he eventually died on September 7. On September 12, the authorities of the university flew his remains via Turkish Airlines as “cargo” to his family in Nigeria.

    The deceased’s father, Mr. Patrick Soriwei was forced to travel to Cyprus for enquiries on the death of his son where the Cyprus police told him that the woman driver lost control of the car, knocking Gabriel down in the process.

    The Soriwei family is miffed by the fact that neither the authorities at the Cyprus International University nor the family of the woman driver deemed it necessary to send a condolence message.

    The family said it’s more painful because the authorities of the university and the country’s police were hiding the identity of the woman from them.

    The Cyprus police were said to have insisted that the practice in their country does not allow them to reveal the identity of such killer drivers to families and relations of their victims.

    A statement by the family, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent on Monday said:

    “While the family has accepted the reality of the painful loss of our child, his death has raised some issues about the value placed on the life of the Nigerian outside the shores of this country.

    “It was reliably gathered that the woman was drunk even though we have no proof of it. The police said that the woman was detained for three days and released.

    “Painfully, our investigations revealed that the university, which was said to be pursuing the case and which is host to about 700 Nigerian students, has shown lack of interest in the case.

    “Also, several entreaties made by the family to the school authorities to send the belongings of the late Gabriel to Nigeria have been ignored.

    “We have informed the Nigerian Embassy in Cyprus and the mission there does not seem to see this demand to defend the rights of Nigerians in a foreign country as a priority.

    “The best the Nigerian Mission in Ankara has done was to send one Uche to the university to find out the cause of the death. The Mission has not rendered the necessary assistance in getting the police to write a report on his death. This delay in writing this report, we believe, is inspired by a plot to subvert the process of justice in this matter.

    “Consequently, we have written to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the leadership of the National Assembly, with copies of the letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish Embassy in Nigeria, and others.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ministry holds conference on restorative justice

    Prison Fellowship Nigeria, Chartered with Prison Fellowship International holds the National Prison Ministry Conference, from September 12-13 at Merit House, Central District, Abuja, under the chairmanship of the former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

    The theme of the conference is “restorative justice, anchor of the social contract and democracy” .

    In a statement by the Executive Director, Mr. Benson Ngozi Iwuagwu states that the objectives of the conference include: “ to promote discourse on a criminal justice system that in addition to punishing the offender, promotes victim/ offender mediation, reparation and community participation in the judicial process, “to examine alternative correctional models for effective reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of prison inmates

    “to promote Prison Ministry as an effective social platform for reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners, ex-prisoners, victims of crime, human capital development, crime curtailment and control“ to train those involved in and or interested in the reformation , rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners, ex-prisoners and victims of crime in the use of effective outcome based intervention tools-Sycamore Tree Project, Onesimus Project, Angle Tree, etc”.

    Giving insight into the background and conception of the conference, Mr. Iwuagwu said: “ It is obvious that over crowding in prisons and difficulties of prolonged judicial process cannot go away by adhoc inventions, but by pro-active action based on a re engineering of our criminal justice jurisprudence and practice.

    He said: “the conference workshop will dwell on restorative justice to look at its models and policy framework that can be adopted into the criminalization process, the Criminal Procedure Act , Rules of Practice (for Judges, lawyers and Judicial officers) as to de emphasise imprisonment as a major form of punishment.”

    Iwuagwu noted that the focus would be on non-custodial sentences considered more effective, less damaging and dehumanising to accused persons and convicts, to satisfy the victims and give them an environment conducive for their communal harmony and safety.

     

     

  • For justice’s sake

    For justice’s sake

    Lagos State government’s decision to challenge the Appeal Court’s verdict on Al-Mustapha is commendable

    The decision of the Lagos State government to approach the nation’s apex court, the Supreme Court, for a review of the Court of Appeal’s decision that discharged and acquitted Major Hamza Al-Mustapha and Mr. Lateef Sofolahan, over the alleged murder of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola is a welcome development. We identify with the sound reasons for this action as offered by the state attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, that the ‘step will ensure that all issues are fully articulated and the victim’s family, the defendants and the society are not deprived of the last opportunity provided by the constitution for the resolution of the case’.

    We urge the attorney-general and his legal team to ensure that they put their best foot forward in this final appeal, so that all parties will feel enamoured to accept the decision of the apex court. The prosecution must also appreciate that, as things are, Nigerians feel scandalised that despite a public confession that Mrs. Abiola was murdered in cold blood by agents of the state, the persons charged with the murder have been discharged and acquitted. That decision, for an ordinary man, no doubt gives a further impression that the state is determined to cover up and protect the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

    To soothe the sociological scare on the society arising from the murder, it is very important that all the gaping holes are covered so that the decision of the final court in the land would be acceptable. As the matter proceeds to the final court, it is also hoped that the defence team is not allowed to resort to the kind of shenanigans that saw a straightforward matter of murder trial turned into a circus show. We recall that the defence team of the acquitted twosome tried all tricks in the world to ensure that the matter was delayed for years, and had no qualms to tar the integrity of any judge they figured was willing to put the accused through an expeditious trial.

    While we await the judicial process to take its final course, it is important to condemn the show of shame that was led by Mr. Frederick Fasheun of the Oodu’a Peoples Congress, and his completely misguided likes. We recall that even before the acquittal, Fasehun and other hawks like him led the unfounded claim that Al-Mustapha was being victimised through his self-inflicted prolonged trial for the murder of Mrs. Abiola, without offering any scintilla of evidence. That reprehensible conduct had been furthered since the release of Al-Mustapha, with some state governors according the tainted fellow what is akin to a state visit. To show how far the moral value of our country has sunk, Al-Mustapha has been received in palaces and celebrated as if he is a new folk hero.

    Yet there is no doubt that Al-Mustapha served one of the most repressive regimes that this country has been unfortunate to experience. Even those campaigning in favour of, and now celebrating his innocence, will be dishonest if they pretend that they were not aware that Al-Mustapha as a major, ran rough shod over generals and his other superiors in the military, and supervised the most dehumanising regime of terror under the late General Sani Abacha. We are therefore surprised that after such a dishonourable tour of duty, Major Al-Mustapha would, in the eyes of some people, appear to be worthy of any decent company, not to talk of celebration. We urge the Supreme Court to rein in for contempt, any such meddlesomeness while the matter is before them.

  • Wars without end… Victims without end…

    Nothing succeeds like good governance, fairness and justice. A good mixture of those elements can give us a world without wars

    What is with men and wars, I’ll never know, but records show that over ninety per cent of wars in this world have been initiated and executed by men. No, no, I am not starting an argument, just stating a fact. Just think, in the lifetime of any given male, the chances that he would initiate or help to execute a war is close to fifty per cent. Imagine that! I know that when they were little, my children initiated many wars against each other, mostly over nothing, but that doesn’t even count. The fighting gene nevertheless appears to run true and deep in all men.

    Most worrisome, however, is the fact that somehow, the fighting genes running loose in men are now being transfused into women and other things. Women, knowing no better and no different, proudly don the togas of war, supposedly for love and country and head out, leaving behind tearful babies, crying children and baffled husbands. Tch, tch. If those women only knew the truth – that they have been infected by the blood running in men’s veins – they would know better where to direct their heaving chests of indignation. All together, mankind has become like a couple of pigeons which seems to do nothing but flap their wings in real antagonism towards each other three mornings a week behind my fence. What the bone of contention is exactly, no one can tell, but all we seem to get from them are their emotions all flapped up.

    Actually, nothing excuses mankind’s behaviour which seems to stem from the belief that only the fisticuffs can settle any and all matters. This is why we now have community, civil, international, cyber, psychological and, most worrisome of all, domestic wars. And with the match of science, those simple fisticuffs have been translated into the rat-ta-tat-at-tat of machine guns or the booms of cannons aimed at other human beings just like them. I don’t know about you but anytime I have stumbled across TV programmes depicting war scenes, I have been struck by one question: to what purpose?

    Just recently, I read the story of a soldier who was shot at the war front but instead of falling and dying quickly, he got caught on the barbed wire that separated the two sides in the war. The war continued around him however with shots from the guns but now punctuated by his own groans of pain as he slowly bled. His own friends could not come to his rescue for fear of being hit. Finally, a soldier from the side which had hit him in the first place could stand the groans no longer so he put down his gun and ran towards the dying man. Both sides, seeming to realise what he was going to do, ceased firing at each other and watched him in disbelief as he gently disentangled the wounded man and carried him across to the enemy line and gave him to his friends. As he turned to go back to his side of the war, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the commanding officer of the enemy troop who removed a bravery medal from his own uniform and pinned it on the rescuer and saluted. Both sides then waited for him to run back to his side before they resumed their insane game.

    Today, the world remembers the millions and millions of victims of the World War 2 Holocaust but we are expanding it here to include all victims of the insane thing called war all over the world. Sources say that presently, there are one hundred and forty-six wars being fought and from these, over one thousand people are dying yearly. This gives us a very frightening picture indeed considering that it shows a considerable build-up of victims of war who are mostly women, children and the aged. The worst part is that these victims, and the wounded and dead soldiers, have no clear understanding of what caused the war in the first place.

    So, who declares a war and why? As a member of the human race, and a national of a country located somewhere on this planet, I think I have the right to know. Who the deuce feels he is obliged to declare a war where he does not often go to fight but only the young and able-bodied men (and now women) are obliged to go and be killed? I ask this because our lives, planet, children, and whether or not we wake up tomorrow depend on the answer. I believe that, and you can check this out, whoever declares a war must have a very little brain indeed, even tinier than mine, and he would be the kind of person that cannot even get along with his neighbour. Just watch out, next time someone declares a war around you, first interview his neighbour.

    There is a line that says that ‘Love has no religion, only God’. I don’t know exactly what that means but I can extrapolate that humans can choose the Christian, Muslim, Animist, Atheist, or the Love religion. Clearly, most people have not been choosing the Love religion because all wars in history have been started by someone from the other religions. This is quite different from the poster that reads ‘Make Love, not War.’ Again, I don’t know what that means either but I would guess that it still borders on what choices we make.

    I honestly don’t know what war-mongers are really after: plunder, fame or power. Whatever it is, I think we should all accept right now that none of that stays if built on the sacrificed blood of innocent men and women. One can get better plunder by raiding a rat’s hide-out. They are the only creatures I know who gather what they don’t need. Fame can come from a variety of other activities. Try calling the press to witness as you jump down from a ten-story building unto a bed of hot coals and sharp nails. I tell you, you will be toasted at every gathering in the country for years without end. And power? Why, have you tried to imagine a king testing his power by standing without his aides in the path of a herd of rampaging elephants? Again, should that king survive, he will be toasted for ever as a very powerful man indeed. That takes me to a second line I found: ‘We should realise that we have not been put here to rule the world – God does’. Anyone who feels compelled to test that theory is free to because my third line has the answer for them: ‘Those who thought they did had to leave it’.

    Most people agree that wars have never solved any problem; they are only indulgences for old men looking for their manhood. They do not consider that wars without end only create victims without end. They also do not consider that the only things that wars leave behind are victims who do not even understand why they are being called on to be victims. They are helpless against the insatiate appetites of men to seek and create drama everywhere. This column commiserates with all victims of war today; they are the ones who have to deal with, and pick up pieces of lives shattered by, the insanity of war.

    The long and short of it is that wars are not good; let us stop them. Only God himself can put out the flame of domestic wars, but we can try our best with the rest. Those do nothing but point to the failure of human intelligence. Nothing succeeds as much as good governance, fairness and justice. A good mixture of those elements can give us a world without wars, Amen.

     

    – This piece was first published on 27 January, 2013

     

  • Why justice eludes rape victims -Fayemi’s wife

    Lack of strict forensic and physical evidence account for ninety-five percent of rape cases in the country, resulting in their shoddy prosecution by the police.

    Wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, said this at the weekend during a visit to the state Ministry of Health when she led members of the state’s Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law (GBVL) Management Committee on advocacy.

    Fayemi lamented a situation in which “the perpetrators of rape in most cases still enjoy their full freedom.”

    As part of a stop-gap measure, the governor’s wife advocated for the establishment of rape crisis centres across the sixteen local government areas of the state, while also promising to institute the move to ensure their establishment as soon possible.

    Erelu Fayemi said such centres would give opportunity to victims of sexual assault to receive succour in an atmosphere of confidentiality, adding that when established, the ministry should deploy requisite professionals to man the centres.

    According to her, the centres would equally ensure that information and data gathered from victims were meticulously preserved to assist the police and other law enforcement officers to bring offenders to justice.

    Fayemi, who is the chairperson of the management committee, said the members had paid similar advocacy visits to critical stakeholders to stem the tide of violence against women and girls in the state.

    According to her, the team had visited the Ekiti State University, the state judiciary, Ministry of Justice and state police command headquarters in an effort aimed at promoting the GBVL.

    She stressed the need to have forensic and physical evidence that would enable the police and the courts to diligently prosecute rape and other cases of assault against women.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Justice for disengaged workers

    In Nigeria, employers have a way of engaging workers without paying commensurate wages. The underpaid employees are called “casual workers”.

    It may be trite to say that most casual workers in Nigeria are shortchanged by their employers in terms of right to certain benefits and allowances. Even with the meagre pay package, the “casual work” they do is not guaranteed. Any attempt by these so-called casual workers to demand for certain rights to enhance his or her welfare become issues that may result in dismissal.

    This is the reality of employment in Nigeria and some parts of Africa. As Nigerians continue to suffer in the name of casual work, some analysts have blamed the government for its failure to effectively address unemployment rate, which is put at 71 per cent.

    Every year, thousands of graduates are churned out by higher institutions, but the youths are not productively engaged. Ones that eventually get employed are left with option to work as a “casual staff” or its modified form known as “contract staff”.

    I read in National Impact magazine last month, where the disengaged downstream employees of defunct Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc accused Chevron Corporation of duplicity and greed in computation of their severance payment arising from Chevron’s sale of its downstream operation in 2009, notwithstanding the recorded windfall profit it realised from its downstream asset sales in Nigeria.

    According to the report, Chevron did everything possible to avoid decent severance payments for the employees that spent years of their lives working for the firm. This drama resulted to weeks of strike by the employees during which they carried placards with inscriptions, such as “Chevron is fuelling death in Nigeria’.

    The poser for the authority is: will this inhuman treatment of Nigerians stop? What is the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) doing? What has been the role of the Minister of Labour and Productivity to address the injustice? We may not be surprised to learn that nobody is doing anything because Nigerian laws are not being respected even by foreigners.

    The disengaged Chevron employees alleged that it was the firm’s duplicity that made it to lose reputable companies that indicated interest in the buying of its downstream interest and settled for a rather unknown company as its choice in a deal initially reported to be $1 billion but was later put at $800 million. The report also hinted that the company that bought Chevron downstream interest had been sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which barred it from getting loans from the country’s financial institutions due to its bad debt.

    Also, the disengaged downstream employees of defunct Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc alleged that Chevron’s action to short-change them was in line with the firm’s notorious attitude to suffer vulnerable and weak stakeholders, especially in Nigeria, where bribery and corruption is the order of the day.

    In the United States, reports had it that a community near San Francisco where 70 per cent of the population are either black or Latino, Chevron caused almost 1,000 people to be hospitalised as its refinery exploded, spewing poisonous hydrocarbons across the city and forced thousands to remain indoors.

    In a legal action brought against it in Ecuador, a community won $19.04 billion judgment against Chevron after a court found the oil company guilty of dumping toxic waste into Amazon waterways for a period of 26 years.

    From Ecuador to Nigeria, Chevron lacks respect for community development. The degradation being experienced in the Niger Delta is a case study. Chevron is one of the multinational oil companies listed among the 14 worst corporate evildoers in the United States.

    To the heart of the matter, I am of the opinion that the disengaged downstream employees of Chevron would have been employers of labour if they were properly paid before they were sacked; perhaps, some of the affected workers would have used their gratuities to open small and medium scale businesses that would boost the local economy.

    Since their case has been filed at the industrial court and waiting to be heard in October, let the workers keep on praying for justice to prevail.

    We must call on the NLC, Trade Union Congress (TUC), the Federal Government and well meaning Nigerians to rise in defence of these workers and to address inhumane treatment being meted out to Nigerians by foreign and indigenous firms in the name of labour. Nigerians can no longer be slaves in their country.

    Countrymen, let us all condemn this act and ensure the future of our youths, especially the graduates seeking employment in these companies is not jeopardised.

    Mark, 300-Level Business Education, School of Technical Education, YABATECH

  • Kudirat Abiola’s family will get justice, says Umar

    A former Military Governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd) has advised the family of the late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, not to be demoralised by the Appeal Court judgment on her murder.

    The Appellate Court in Lagos, on Friday, discharged and acquitted Major Hamza al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, and his co-accused, Alhaji Lateef Sofolahan, for the June 1996 murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

    Their discharge was predicated on what the Appeal Court called a lack of circumstantial evidence linking the duo with anyone in the conspiracy leading to the killing of the late Abiola’s wife.

    Reacting to the verdict, Umar told our correspondent that all those involved in the murder of Alhaja Kudirat would be brought to book.

    “Kudirat and her family will get justice. It is only a matter of time. All those involved in this dastardly act will have their just reward.”

    The former governor said the Judiciary failed to deliver justice for the heroine 17 years after her murder.

    He said: “As a believer in God and in His justice system, I know that He will deliver His judgment on this matter. God has promised victims, like Kudirat, a reward in heaven. By this, I believe she’s in heaven resting with God.

    “It is a fact that Kudirat was murdered by the agents of the Abacha regime while she was dutifully fighting to get justice for her husband, who was being wrongly, illegally and inhumanly detained, having won an election that was adjudged the freest and fairest ever conducted in the history of this country.”

    Umar urged the Federal Government to re-open investigation into the murder of Alhaja Kudirat.

    It is not too late to re-investigate this matter, he added.

    Also, Mrs Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, one of the wives of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Chief Moshood Abiola, has decried the acquittal of Major al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan by the Court of Appeal.

    The court, on Friday, upturned the death sentence passed on the duo by a Lagos High Court over their involvement in the murder of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola on June 4, 1996.

    al-Mustapha was the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, while Shofolahan was an aide to the late Alhaja Kudirat.

    Abiola won the election on the platform of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    The appellants were set free from the Kirikiri Prisons in Lagos at about 5.30pm. after spending over 14 years in detention for their alleged involvement in the murder of Kudirat.

    Onitiri-Abiola told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday that the court’s decision was unfortunate.

    “I feel embarrassed for the justice system of Nigeria and feel so much pain for the children of late Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. How can the Court of Appeal discharge al-Mustapha and Sofolahan, saying there is no evidence against them.

    “I do know that all those who planned and carried out the assassination of Alhaja Kudirat and my husband, M. K. O. Abiola, will soon receive their judgment from God,” she said.

    The Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), yesterday said those who killed Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, wife of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, Bashorun Moshood Abiola, would not escape God’s ultimate judgment.

    In a statement, ARG put a question mark on the administration of justice in the country.

    The statement reads: “We of the ARG continue to wonder whether the justice administration system in Nigeria is fostering the cause of strong nationhood. Now that the Appeal Court has pronounced Hamza al-Mustapha guiltless as charged, we can as well say the late despotic ruler, Sanni Abacha, under whom al-Mustapha served as the Chief Security Officer (CSO), did no evil and, therefore, should never again be spoken ill of.

    “It is also instructive that no one has been pronounced guilty of any of the numerous high-profile murders in this country, which makes it difficult not to believe that Nigeria’s justice administration system is not skewed against the poor and ordinary citizens languishing in our prisons for frivolous charges. One is being forced to believe that justice in Nigeria is defined by influence and power instead of equality before the law.

    “Despite all the revelations that came to the fore during the Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Reconciliation Committee (Oputa Panel), no effort was made to heal the wounds of evil that have been perpetrated by those who wielded power unduly. The Oputa panel was only good for the media frenzy it created and did nothing to make us forget the evils of the past so that we could forge ahead as one true nation.

    “The ARG is under no illusion that having everything we call dividends of democracy means this country is progressing. Whatever seeming progress we may be making in terms of infrastructural and economic development will be like a man sitting on a three-legged chair, if justice and egalitarianism are not the foundation upon which we build.

    “We are of the opinion that building a just society, is even far more important than any form of development and it is the reason we have been sounding the gong for the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), without which true and lasting peace may remain elusive to us, cutting us short of attaining our full potential.

    “Kudirat Abiola walked a golden path and left an enviable legacy. Had her husband, late Bashorun M. K. O. Abiola, been allowed to rule according to the June 12 mandate, she would have dignified the First Lady’s office and would undoubtedly use it to defend human rights.”

     

  • Courts and budget: Implications for access to justice

    Judicial officers should be highly motivated in terms of remuneration and allowances as this will go a long way in getting rid of corruption. Although remuneration is not a panacea for corruption but we will all agree that it goes a long way to reduce corruption to its barest minimum. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar has cried out that allegation of judges collecting bribes before granting bail to accused persons had become rampant while vowing to administer appropriate sanctions on those found wanting. It is submitted that the welfare of judicial officers should be well-attended to in order to avoid corruption.

    The remuneration should be able to afford a very decent life expected of their status.

    xi.There is need for a steady improvement of court facilities accordingly to facilitate speedy dispensation of justice. The use of ICT should be embraced in order to guarantee this and automated systems should replace the existing manual technique. The court environment which houses the court rooms and judges’ chambers should be made conducive for judicial officers, court staff, legal practitioners and litigants.

    xii.There should be an increase in the number of Judges so that cases can be disposed of timeously, hence there should be appointment of more judges.

    xiii. There should be sensitisation of parliament and also a realisation by the parliament of the need for the necessary budget for court in order to function effectively. The budget for the NJC should not be seen to be on the decrease as it is at the moment. It should be on the increase year after year.

    xiv.Class action litigations should be promoted. This kind of action gives access to the courts to those people who have been or would have been denied justice because of the high cost of taking action. The idea of class action itself is to create power in numbers which would be non-existent if claims were pursued individually. This mechanism makes it possible to pursue claims arising from mass wrongs which would not be addressed if pursued individually. This also reduces burden on the courts as a large group of persons who have suffered common injuries will collectively institute an action instead of multiple of actions.

    xv. Representative action should also be encouraged as only one or a few members of a class sue on behalf of themselves and other members of the same class. The interests of people who would have otherwise been denied justice as a result of lack of economic power will be protected by this since the legal action will be instituted on their behalf by those having the economic capacity to do so.