The leaderships of Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs) has stated that the proposed five masked witnesses or masqueraded witnesses recruited by the DSS and the Directorate of Federal Public Prosecution to testify against Citizen Kanu may have been recruited from tens of thousands of “awaiting trial persons” presently languishing in the Nigerian Prisons without trial.
The unfolding drama in the ongoing trial of
Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC) and ors over phantom accusation of being
“treasonable felons” as well as the macabre dance of Hon Justice John
Tsehemba Tsoho in his trial proceedings and the Federal Government of
Nigeria per DSS and Federal Directorate of Public Prosecution are a
clear attestation of the fact under reference.
By nature, something can never be produced from
nothing. In law, he who alleges must proof and he who alleges falsely
can only falsely proof as well. These explain the reasons behind the
macabre dance of Hon Justice John Tsoho and other unfolding dramas under
reference.
We are also not surprised over “the Auta style”
disposition of Hon Justice John Tsoho. We will not dissipate more energy
repeating ourselves per Intersociety; having long and correctly
disclosed and unmasked the unholy wedlock between the Judge and the
embattled Federal Government of Nigeria with a compensatory reward of
next CJship of the Federal High Court. Till date, that insightful
position of ours has remained publicly undisputed.
We wish to remind Nigerians and members of the
international community that few weeks after the swearing in of Gen
Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s sixth electoral president, a close ally of
his and chieftain of APC, Dr. Yakubu Lame (former police affairs
minister) openly condemned the 1999 Constitution and the principles of
the Rule of Law and called for “creation of emergency powers to enable
Gen Buhari to perform”. Till date, the Government of Gen Muhammadu
Buhari has kept sealed lips over such abominable and treasonable
comments.
Since then the 1999 Constitution and the
hallowed principles of rule of law including respect for citizens’
constitutional and fundamental rights have suffered a series of
bastardization and gross disrespect. President Muhammadu Buhari and his
administration hardly mention the 1999 Constitution in most of their
public utterances and international public functions.
It is also worthy to recall that all the
criminal cases brought against Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC) grossly lack
indictable and prosecutorial elements till date. In the first phantom
charges hurriedly cooked up after what looked like a failed abduction
and assassination mission; the Federal Government shamelessly backed out
and discontinued same.
Then came another phantom criminal allegation of
“terrorism and terrorism financing”, intended to keep him long in
pretrial incarceration; the Federal High Court washed its hands off the
phantom pretrial proceedings. The Buhari administration further gambled
and came up with its latest “treasonable felony”; yet it still cannot
sustain the charge, leading to resort to recruitment, indoctrination,
brainwashing and proposed masking of false witnesses for the purpose of
convicting Citizen Nnamdi Kanu (POC) alongside others at all costs.
The same persecution being visited on Citizen
Nnamdi Kanu (POC) is also meted out to Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. Here is
a man being persecuted and treated violently for belonging to a
non-armed and nonviolent religious movement in Nigeria. Apart from
violently murdering members of his nuclear family and 300-700 unarmed
members of his sect, the Buhari administration has taken him into
solitary and incommunicado confinement without fair and credible trial
till date. Over 190 of his members are presently undergoing questionable
criminal prosecution.
Sheik El-Zaky Zaky was also battered and
lacerated by Buhari administration’s killer soldiers in December 2015.
Apart from legion of rights abuses committed against the battered and
detained Muslim leader, there is no section in the 1999 Constitution
that allows Gen Buhari and his diarchic administration to detain a
citizen in perpetual confinement without credible trial or release.
These explain why we hold strongly that “the
present administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari is utterly diarchic and
operates with a set of rules unknown to the 1999 Constitution and
harmful to the same Constitution, Nigerians and the rule of law. The
Buhari administration has further gone ahead to recruit morally
diminished and shameless characters in the country’s judiciary for the
purpose of doing its coercive biddings.
It is on account of this that Gen Buhari is
emboldened to inform international press of “those “who will end up in
jail” by fire by force and outside recourse to constitutionalism and
rule of law. To him, the likes of Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Sambo Dasuki and
Ibrahim El-Zaky “are already executively convicted” waiting for mere
judicial legitimization.
The macabre dance of Hon Justice John Tsoho in
the phantom trial of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu is a clear case in point. Apart
from being inescapably caught up between his parochial interest of
becoming the next pro establishment Chief Judge of the Federal High
Court after the exit of the “Ogoni Nine” hanger and the interest of
justice (justice to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu, rule of law and Nigerians); the
two cardinal principles of nemo judex in causa sua (no one should be a
judge in his or her own cause/case or judicial biasness) and audi
altarem partem (listen to the other side or let the other side be heard
as well) have not only been ridiculed but also grossly bastardized under
his procedural watch. The absence of these two cardinal principles has
reduced the trial proceedings of Hon Justice John Tsoho to “a kangaroo
military tribunal”.
Apart from Hon Justice John Tsoho’s trial
proceedings lacking “fair hearing and fair trial” components, he also
probated and reprobated by ruling and countering and contradicting
himself and his earlier ruling. His clear conflict of interest (eyeing
of CJship) has robbed him and his trial proceedings of fairness,
independence, neutrality and impartiality. His brazen refusal to hands
off the matter as was earlier advised is shocking and alarming.
For instance, the same judge that had in his
earlier ruling, ruled against any form of secret trial and presentation
of masked witnesses or witnesses behind the screens; suddenly turned
around and granted same. He has also delayed deliberately the signing of
his questionable rulings to enable the defense counsel prepare and file
relevant appeals. The signing of his controversial ruling on Citizen
Nnamdi Kanu’s bail application was done few hours to the expiration of
14 mandatory days for appeal, after hot verbal exchanges with the
defense counsel.
We have long been informed by concerned reliable
sources and we did not believe it, until the unfolding events unveiled;
that the insistence of the Government of Muhammadu Buhari to prosecute
Citizen Nnamdi Kanu off camera or with masked witnesses is not only
because it has no credible witnesses to testify against him on phantom
allegation of “treasonable felony”.
It is also because it planned to recruit,
indoctrinate, brainwash and use some “awaiting trial persons” detained
over sundry street crimes allegations to falsely testify against him; in
return for withdrawal of such criminal allegations against them or
enlistment of their names in the list of those periodically granted
pardon or unconditional release by relevant Chief Judges of States and
FCT during their routine visits to prisons for the purpose of prison
decongestion.
Section 174 (1) (c) of the 1999 Constitution
empowers the Attorney General of the Federation to discontinue at any
stage before judgment is delivered any such criminal proceedings
instituted or undertaken by him or any other authority or person in any
court in Nigeria.
Under Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Justice
Release from Custody Special Provision Act CAP C40, 2007, Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria and relevant provisions of the Administration of
Criminal Justice Act (ACJ) of 2015, Chief Judges of the 36 States &
FCT are empowered to release unconditionally those in awaiting trial
detention. There are other provisions (prerogative of mercy) empowering
the president, governors, Chief Justice of Nigeria and States and FCT
Chief Judges to during special public events, release or pardon or
commute long jail sentences given to jailed serious criminal offenders.
It is on this note that we commend the dogged
and untiring efforts of the defense counsel led by the duo of Chief
Chuks Muoma, SAN and Ifeanyi Ejiofor, APTP (advocate of the persecuted
& threatened people). The clinical efforts of our (Intersociety)
amiable head of democracy & good governance advocacy program, Barr
Chinwe Umeche, who is a member of the defense legal team, are also
commended and appreciated. We have further taken public notice of open
threats directed at Barr Ifeanyi Ejiofor by some overzealous DSS
operatives during the court sitting of 7th of March 2016.
The position and insistence of the defense legal
team that Hon Justice John Tsoho is unfit and morally diminished to
continue to preside over the trial is totally correct and gratifying.
The democratic tenets, principles of the rule of law and provisions of
the 1999 Constitution forbid any form of secret or presentation of
masked witnesses or false evidence against a citizen accused in the open
and in a democratic society. As a matter of fact, Section 36 (3) of the
1999 Constitution (amended in 2011) commandingly directs that “the
proceedings of a court or proceedings of any tribunal relating to
matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section including the
announcement of the decisions of the court or tribunal shall be held in
public”.
We cannot accept or tolerate a situation where
citizens are accused and charged in the open courts of judiciary and the
masses only to be tried and evidenced in secret or behind the screens.
It is our sound advice to Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and his legal team to
stick to their insistence on exercising their rights to fair hearing and
fair trial as well as open court trial including open witnesses, open
testimonies, open examinations, open cross examinations and open
judgments. The trial proceedings under reference must also be removed
from the hands of Hon Justice John Tsehemba Tsoho and assigned to
another judge.
For: The Southeast Based Coalition of Human Rights Organizations (SBCHROs)
Emeka Umeagbalasi (+2348174090052)
For: International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety)
Comrade Aloysius Attah (+2348035090548)
For: Anambra State Branch of the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO)
Comrade Peter Onyegiri (+2347036892777)
For: Center for Human Rights & Peace Advocacy (CHRPA)
Comrade Samuel Njoku (+2348039444628)
For: Human Rights Club (a project of LRRDC) (HRC)
Comrade Justus Uche Ijeoma (+2348037114869)
For: Forum for Justice, Equity & Defense of Human Rights (FJEDHR)
Comrade Chike Umeh (+2348064869601)
For: Society Advocacy Watch Project (SPAW)
Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Esq. (+2348034186332)
For: Anambra Human Rights Forum AHRF)
Comrade Alex Olisa (+2348034090410)
For: Southeast Good Governance Forum (SGGF)
Jerry Chukwuokolo, PhD (+2348035372962)
For: International Solidarity for Peace & Human Rights Initiative (ITERSOLIDARITY)
Maazi Tochukwu Ezeoke (+447748612933)
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