By John Owen Nwachukwu Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed disappointment and utter dissatisfaction w...
By John Owen Nwachukwu
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has
expressed disappointment and utter dissatisfaction with the refusal of the
presiding judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja division, Justice Binta Murtallah-Nyako
to grant bail to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB),
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
Of more concern for HURIWA is that President Muhammadu
Buhari had, a few days ago, said Kanu would not be granted bail and HURIWA said
it is now looking like the Executive versus Judicial gang-up against the
defendant.
HURIWA said as a civil rights body, it is dismayed that the
Honourable Judge of the Federal High Court did not even make reference to that
extrajudicial comment by Buhari that the first defendant in a suit between the
Federal Government and a citizen would not be granted bail.
The group said the court has proceeded to do exactly as
stated by President Buhari as if to say that the judiciary is subservient to
the executive arm of government.
HURIWA is appealing to the judiciary to safeguard her
independence to avoid encouraging Nigerians to resort to self help measure if
they perceive that the judiciary does the bidding and execute the scripts
authored by politicians in the office of President Muhammadu Buhari.
HURIWA, in a media statement signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko,
its National Coordinator, said it was disturbing that President Buhari, who
instituted the matter against Kanu and his organisation, seems to be adopting
underhand tactics to cajole the judiciary to do her bidding as against the
clear provisions of the Constitution on separation of powers as provided for in
Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of
1999 as amended.
Besides, HURIWA said it is unclear why a citizen would spend
a year in prison whilst undergoing trial for charges that the Federal
Government has not adduced irrefutable proofs but there are top government
officials who looted public treasury to the tune of nearly N200 billion and are
on bail.
HURIWA recalled that the detained Nnamdi Kanu, currently
facing a seven-count charge, had in the application he filed through his team
of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, equally challenged the revocation
of the bail the court earlier granted to him.
HURIWA said although it is not in her place to determine for
the presiding judge how to discharge her constitutional obligations but the
rights group said the unfair treatment of Nnamdi Kanu because of where he comes
from is against Section 42(1) of the Constitution which absolutely makes
discrimination unacceptable and unlawful.
The rights group bemoaned the fact that four days ago in far
away Rwanda, President Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as ruling out the bail
option for Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People
of Biafra (IPOB).
The President said Kanu’s continued detention is an
opportunity for him “to justify all the uncomplimentary things said against
Nigeria while he was in Britain.”
Buhari said this at a bilateral meeting with the British
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on the margins of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
The president said, the Federal Government may not grant the
IPOB leader such a privilege anymore considering the fact that he had jumped
bail earlier.
HURIWA said the extra legal attempts by Buhari to coerce the
judiciary to do the bidding of his whims and caprices shows that indeed Nigeria
is not just a Banana Republic but a full dictatorship.
HURIWA said the Judiciary under Section 6 enjoins the
judicial powers of the state just as the Rights group said under Section 36(5)
that every accused person is deemed to be innocent in the eyes of the law.
HURIWA urged Justice Binta Nyako to issue a gag order
banning Buhari and his aides from interfering in a matter pending before her
Court unless what we are being told is that President Muhammadu Buhari is now
the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
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