- Lawyers protest against Nigeria’s secret police, pass vote of confidence on NJC
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN),
Justice Mahmud Mohammed, stopped including the two arrested justices of
the Supreme Court – Justice John Inyang Okoro and Sylvester Nwali Ngwuta
– on panels to adjudicate on cases before the court because they are
often not available, as they are still required to report to the
Department of State Services (DSS) everyday, THISDAY has learnt.
A source at the CJN’s office told
THISDAY that as part of the bail conditions of the justices, they are
meant to keep reporting to the DSS office on a daily basis.
“The court cannot be waiting for them
since no one knows when they will return. When they return, the justices
too are not keen on sitting,” the source said.
The source explained that this was why the CJN had not included them on new panels.
He said it is the responsibility of the
CJN to empanel justices to adjudicate on cases, but the affected judges
had not been sitting because of the daily visits to the DSS.
Justices Ngwuta and Okoro were among the eight judges whose houses were raided and arrested last month for alleged corruption.
But in separate letters to the CJN, the
two justices denied any wrongdoing, blaming their woes on attempts by
chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), especially the
Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, to influence the appeals
challenging the outcomes of the Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and Ekiti
State governorship elections.
Since their arrest by the DSS, there
have been repeated calls by a section of the public for the justices to
step aside while investigations against them continue.
The President of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN), who initially
condemned the action of the DSS, was later to ask all the affected
judges to recuse themselves from further judicial functions or proceed
on compulsory leave, until their innocence was fully and completely
established.
But the National Judicial Council (NJC),
which the CJN also chairs, rejected the call, saying that the DSS was
yet to inform the council of its findings against the justices.
Lawyers Protest
However, with the uncertainty over the
fate of the judges yet to be resolved, a group of lawyers under the
aegis of Lawyers in Defence of Democracy and Citizen for Good Governance
yesterday took to the streets of Abuja protesting against the calls for
their suspension.
The legal practitioners, who claimed
that the unconstitutional way and manner the judges were arrested was a
threat to democracy, also appealed to the United Nations, United
Kingdom, United States of America and Amnesty International to call the
federal government to order and stop disobedience to the rule of law.
They also called on the NJC and the CJN
to direct courts in the country not to hear any applications from the
DSS and other agencies of government until they obey all pending court
orders against them.
During rallies staged at the Federal
High Court headquarters, Federal Ministry of Justice, and the National
Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the lawyers noted with regret that
Nigeria was drifting to a dictatorship that might derail democracy and
the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerian citizens.
The spokesperson for the aggrieved
lawyers, Mr. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, said that the executive arm, under
the guise of fighting corruption, had debased the 1999 Constitution and
violated the provisions of the supreme law with impunity.
He appealed to the international community to take interest in the ugly trend and call those in authority to order.
The lawyers, who carried placards with
various inscriptions, condemned the method adopted in arresting the
judges, insisting that the ploy was aimed at intimidating and harassing
judicial officers to do the bidding of the executive arm of government.
They claimed that the government that
had become notorious for disregarding court orders and judgments, could
not be taken seriously, and could not be believed to be acting in good
faith with its claim of invading the judges’ houses to fight corruption.
Specifically, the lawyers noted with
concern that several Nigerians accused of corruption, charged to court
and granted bail by courts because they are entitled to bail, are still
languishing in the custody of the DSS in utter disregard to lawful court
orders.
Among Nigerians said to have been
granted bail, but are still being held by the DSS, are the former
National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu and
Air Marshall Umar Mohammed, adding that with the antecedents of the
government and the DSS, the future of Nigeria’s democracy could be
jeopardised.
“The invasion of the judiciary is a
threat to justice and democracy and anything that violates Section 158
of the 1999 Constitution must be resisted and defeated.
“We urge Nigerians not to allow any
warped sting operation against marked judges who are not doing the
bidding of the executive arm of government and the DSS to sail through.
“How come nobody has called for the DSS
to step aside from judicial prosecution until they have obeyed all court
judgments against the agency?
“We unanimously pass a vote of
confidence on the National Judicial Council and the decision taken not
to suspend the judges until due process of the law is followed and a
prima facie case of corruption established against the affected judges,”
the group declared.
It added: “While we commend the NJC for
defending the independence of the judiciary, the sanctity of democracy
and the rule of law, and sanctioning judges who abused their offices, we
urge the NJC to compile the list of government and security agencies
that are disobeying court orders and direct the courts not to hear cases
from such bodies until all outstanding court orders are obeyed.
“Deciding to ignore judgments that are
not in your favour and implementing ones that protects your interests
are clear signs of an emerging dictatorship.”
Addressing the protesters, Executive
Secretary of NHCR, Prof. Ben Angwe, assured them that the commission
would not take sides or take orders in handling the arrests and alleged
clampdown on some judges on allegations of corruption.
0 comments:
Post a Comment