Kanu's judicial saga : lPOB demands state of emergency in judicial sector
By Phil Okose, Onitsha
Dissatisfied with the Nigerian judicial system, lndigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Monday, demanded from the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, .a state of emergency in the judicial sector.
Making the demand in an open letter made available to newsmen, through her image maker, Emma Powerful, IPOB said it felt compelled to bring to the attention of the Chief Judge, the ongoing choreographed perversion of the course justice taking place in an Abuja court in the case of FGN versus Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
"We equally urge your immediate intervention to arrest this ongoing desecration of the rule of law being conducted in full view of the public and civilised world.
"It is shocking and beyond belief that a high court judge sitting in Abuja will state boldly in an open court of law and on record, that she would not obey or have regard for any determination made by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in its (SC) judgement in respect of the matter remitted back to her court. Surely Chief Justice, this is an invitation to judicial anarchy and procedural lawlessness.
"For the purposes of clarity, we state that the issues determined by the Supreme Court are the premeditated murderous military invasion of the Isiama Afaraukwu Ibeku country home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu; his subsequent flight to safety following the above invasion and bail restoration.
"On these three issues, the Supreme Court held in their judgement, which was read by Emmanuel Agim JSC in open court on 15 December 2023 in what was at the time billed as the lead judgement- that the invasion of the home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by armed agents of the Federal Government of Nigeria comprising of the DSS, military and police is unlawful, illegal and contempt of court.
"These are the exact words used by the apex court in Nigeria to describe the conduct of the Nigerian Government in the above regard. To make matters worse, according to their lordships in the same judgement, the then Attorney General of the Federation Malami and the trial judge knew about the illegal and unlawful invasion of the home of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, yet proceeded to deceive themselves and connive to revoke the bail earlier granted and issue, in the words of the justices, an unlawful bench warrant.
"All these words were used in the findings of the apex court, which is not only before the trial court but a matter of public record. Before your retirement, there is an urgent need for you to declare a state of emergency in the judicial sector. This should include but not restricted to the retraining of some high court judges on the manner of proper interpretation of judgements, decisions and opinions of superior courts of record.
"There is also need to school them on how to properly interpret the provisions of the constitution to checkmate the bastardisation of the rule of law and ridiculing of the judicial process.
"It is very obvious, from the happenings in this case, that there exists a disconnect between what the law says should be done and what the trial judge, the AGF and others are doing. With the greatest respect Chief Justice, what obtains in the ongoing persecution of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is neither law nor justice, but a travesty.
"Because it defies logic that a clear provision of the constitution of Nigeria written in simple English and under which the trial of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is being conducted, cannot be read, understood and interpreted accordingly.
"The question then is, how possible is it that a trial judge in a lower high court can brazenly fail to avert her mind to and properly interpret Section 287 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which simply states that; "The decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by vourt with subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court..
" Surely the trial judge Binta Nyako's Court 3 Federal High Court Abuja, is captured as a court that is subordinate to the Supreme Court. She is under obligation of law to respect Supreme Court decisions and determinations with respect to the restoration of the bail of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and the fact that he did not jump bail as determined by the Supreme Court. Why does the trial judge insists on saying that Kanu jumped bail when Supreme Court said he did not?
"How is it possible that some segments of the Judiciary will be prepared to destroy the basic foundations of criminal law procedure in Nigeria because of just one man Mazi Nnamdi Kanu? These core values have underpinned common law criminal jurisprudence since the reign of King Edward 1 of England around 1425, when its codifications began," IPOB stated.
It lamented that just only three years, every fundamental and immutable right guaranteed an accussed person undergoing trial in a common law jurisdiction, has been trampled upon, discarded and jettisoned just because Kanu is on trial in a Nigerian court.