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| Progress Report: Nnamdi Kanu's lawyers expose the judicial rascality of Buhari's DSS. To drag Buhari's Govt to ECOWAS Court for flagrant disobedience to Court Orders |
The lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) have exposed the judicial rascality of Muhammadu Buhari-led government of Nigeria. The lawyers accused the Nigeria's State Security Service (DSS/SSS), which Buhari has turned into a GESTAPO-like outfit for flagrant disobedience to Court Orders and are making preparations to drag the Nigerian government to the ECOWAS Court of Human Rights.
Read the full details of the report:
IN
THE MATTER OF STATE SECURITY SERVICE (SSS) AND MAZI NNAMDI KANU: PROGRESS
REPORT
PREAMBLE
We are Solicitors to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,
the Leader/Director of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), and Radio Biafra,
respectively. He has retained our services and it is on this basis that we act.
He shall hereinafter be referred to as “our client”.
According
to our client, he was, on 14th October, 2015, arrested by the agents
of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the State Security Service (SSS) in his
hotel room i.e. Golden Tulip Essential Hotel Ikeja, Lagos State.
Between
14th and 17th October, 2015 his where about were unknown until
18th of October, 2015, when the Press Media broke the news of his
arrest and detention by the SSS in Abuja.
He
was subsequently arraigned on three count charges of Criminal Conspiracy,
Managing and Belonging to an Unlawful Society; Criminal Conspiracy and Intimidation
– these offences are in the category of simple offences (misdemeanor) hence
bailable.
The following are
highlights of our stewardship in the last two weeks:-
1.
Our client was
arrested by the agents of the State Security Services in his hotel room at
Ikeja, Lagos state on Wednesday the 14th day of October, 2015 on
suspicion of belonging to an unlawful society, criminal conspiracy and
intimidation which are all bail able misdemeanor offences. Please find attached
copy of the charge sheet, marked as exhibit.
2.
He has been held
incommunicado by the SSS ever since his arrest on the 14thday of October,
2015, and has been denied access to his physician and legal representatives
even though the SSS has been fully apprised of the fact that he suffers from
severe peptic ulcer and requires constant medication.
3.
Due to the public
outcry and the effort by our firm, the SSS on 19th of October, 2015
hurriedly arraigned our client on the aforementioned charges i.e. belonging to
an unlawful society, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation which are
bailable misdemeanor offences.
4.
The Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Wuse II,
Abuja, on 19th of October, 2015 granted our client bail in the most
stringent condition of N10, 000,000
(ten million naira only) with one surety of grade level 16 in like sum and must
be an owner of a landed property with an original, Certificate of Occupancy, within
the Federal Capital Territory and for such landed property to be verified by
the Prosecution from the State Security Service.
5.
On 20th
of October 2015 our Firm managed to meet with the bail conditions and duly
informed the Prosecutor from the State Security Service as was ordered by the
court.
6.
Since 20th
of October, 2015, the Prosecutor stoutly refused to conduct the said search and
verification in a grand ploy to indefinitely detain our client extra-judicially
and in flagrant violation of the Order of a Court of competent jurisdiction
despite the fact that the bail conditions set by the court have been met and
irrespective of the fact that the liberty of a citizen is in issue.
7.
Miffed by the
refusal by the Prosecutor to verify the property, our firm Egechukwu Obetta&Co.
brought an application to the trial Magistrate on the 23rd of
October, 2015, praying the court to make an order that our client should be
produced from prison.
8.
The Presiding
Magistrate in response to our prayers issued an unambiguous and compelling
Production Order for the SSS to produce MaziNnamdiKanu before the Magistrate
Court on the same date and explain why it failed to release him upon meeting
the imposed bail conditions. Find the attached copy of the Order.
9.
The Production
Order was communicated to the SSS by the court bailiff and the Police Orderly
attached to the court immediately on the same 23rd October 2015.
Regrettably the court bailiff together with the Police Orderly detailed by the
court was sent back by the SSS and the Order was fragrantly disobeyed with
impurity.
10. As
it stands, our client has fulfilled the bail condition set by the court whereat
he was charged with the aforementioned criminal offences.
11. The
continued and unlawful incarceration of our client by the SSS defies all known
democratic and constitutional provisions of the law, standards and rules set to
safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens.
12. The
SSS has no legal basis for the continued incarceration of our client whose
health is severely deteriorating under the harsh and inhumane conditions that
he is been held.
During
this period, we have had intervening meetings/interviews with foreign
government representatives such as representatives of the British Consulate,
the U.S. Foreign Office, Amnesty International as well as Inter-society. We
have also had series of press briefings/conferences with both the Nigeria Press
Media and foreign-based media outfit such as Sahara Reporters and the
Associated Press of South Africa. These were meant to add color of publicity in
our tireless pursuit of our client assertion of his right to bail.
OUR NEXT MOVES
In
view of the contemptuous attitude of the Federal Government’s (SSS) and their
flagrant disobedience to Court Orders in this case, and the concomitant
ridicule it has brought to the Judiciary, our firm intends to explore the
following avenues :-
1.
Host a meeting of
representatives of all the non-governmental organizations in Nigeria.
2.
Petition the Chief
Justice of Nigeria, National Human Rights Commission, the National Assembly and
the Nigeria Bar Association.
3.
We are also
preparing our brief to drag the Federal Government of Nigeria nay the SSS to
the ECOWAS COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS to ventilate our clients’ right to personal
liberty, freedom of expression, dignity of human person and equality before the
law.
FOR
EMPHASIS:
It should be noted that within the interval of
eight days we have applied and gotten three Orders of Court against the SSS
compelling them to release, produce or transfer our client to the prisons. It
is heartrending to say that despite all the Court Orders emanating from a court
of competent jurisdiction, the Department of State Security Service have
willfully refused to obey these order(s).
This is our stewardship in the last two
weeks in respect of this matter.
Many Thanks,
Vincent EgechukwuObetta,
EgechukwuObetta&
Co.
No. 44 Chime Avenue,
New Haven,
Enugu.
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