The Indigenous People of Biafra IPOB has revealed plans to seek for review before the Appellate Division of ECOWAS Court of Justice regarding what it called “BIZARRE JUDGMENT DELIVERED BY THE ECOWAS COURT YESTERDAY ON NNAMDI KANU VS FRN”.
Comrade Emma Powerful, the Media and Publicity Secretary For IPOB stated in a press release made available to newsmen on Friday, that the group will do everything possible to ensure justice.
The ECOWAS Court of Justice sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, had dismissed a suit filed against the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, proving that he was tortured, assaulted and subjected to inhuman treatment by security operatives when he was arrested in 2015, demanded monetary compensation of $800 million US dollars.
The regional court, in its judgement that was read by Justice Dupe Atoki, held that the IPOB leader failed to prove its allegations against FG, saying it had no reason to conclude that his arrest and detention were unlawful and arbitrary as claimed. The three-member panel of the Court also dismissed Kanu’s request for monetary compensation.
Kanu had the suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/06/16, which he filed before the Court on March 3, 2016, through his lawyer, Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor, claimed that his rights to life, personal integrity, privacy, fair trial, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, personal liberty, freedom of association, private property, right to existence and right to self-determination were violated following his arrest and detention by Nigerian security agents.
The plaintiff also alleged that he was a victim of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture inhuman and degrading treatment while in detention, insisting that FG confiscated his personal belongings through its agent.
Powerful, addressing the rulings by ECOWAS expressed that “It never came surprisingly to IPOB, adding that it was a Kogi born Judge who delivered an ECOWAS Court judgement after nearly 4 years of prevarication. He further explained that Kanu went to ECOWAS Court in the hope of avoiding the judicial complicity of the bench in Nigeria in the reign of the lawlessness of APC regime but to their horror, ended up with a timid frightened judge from Kogi delivering a truly timid judgement that carefully circumvented all prayers before the court.
He assured that “necessary steps will be taken to apply for a review before the Appellate division of the ECOWAS Court. If this judge thinks they can get with this travesty of justice then they don’t know IPOB very well. Nigeria is a finished state, it is a place where the rule of law has been relegated to the background. The establishment now applies to conceive powers to ensure that they get it all in the manner they wish”.
“The ECOWAS court found, after purportedly scrutinising avalanche of evidence presented during the hearing, that our leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was unable to prove infractions on his fundamental rights. Bizarrely the judge wanted video evidence of where the DSS were torturing our leader. The question therefore is, how can any reasonable human being let alone a judge think that the victim of state-sponsored torture can film the event in real-time? The beggar’s belief”.
“Regrettably, it is the same manner the likes of Dasuki and Sowore were granted bail by several courts of competent jurisdiction and Nigeria Government continuously disobey the court orders, was the same manner NNAMDI KANU was severally admitted to unconditional bail by both the Federal High Court Orders and Magistrate Court, still the Nigeria Government failed to obey the court orders to the effect of these bails.
This very prayer that formed the fulcrum of this case were completely ignored by the Kogi judge. In essence, the reign of constitutional impunity, disobedience of court judgements and general disregard for the rule of law by this APC regime of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari has received a legal endorsement from the ECOWAS Court. It means that across West Africa governments can lock up and torture at will in the full knowledge that ECOWAS Court will back them up”.
“It is very pertinent to note that the infractions mustn’t be physical assault alone but the moment there was no existing court order legitimizing the continued detention of NNAMDI KANU, his further detention in the absence of any valid orders of court amount to gross violation of his fundamental human rights to freedom of movement, dignity of human person and liberty. Even this basic legal right was lost on ECOWAS Court”.
“Overwhelming evidence was presented before them but due to Federal Government of Nigeria pressure, they nominated a Kogi State-born Judge to be the lead judge while forcing the only Igbo judge on the panel to recuse himself. With this ruling, ECOWAS Court has decided to turn justice on its head.
Various court orders flagrantly disobeyed by the Nigeria Governments and specifics pronouncement of Major-General Muhammed Buhari, where he expressly stated that NNAMDI KANU cannot be released, were rather not considered by the court. The highly compromised Panel turned a blind eye to these compelling infractions”.
“Because of the chequered history of the case, it is unconventional and legally not permissible under the extant rule of ECOWAS Court to assign a case such as this to a Nigeria born Judge from Kogi State to be presided over, talkless of writing and reading the lead Judgement. Feelers have it that the rubber-stamped judgement was a product of compromise. Governor of Kogi State single-handedly undertook to see to it and consequently bribed the vulnerable Judge to arrive at that bizarre judgement”.
“Necessary steps will be taken to apply for a review before the Appellate division of the ECOWAS Court. If this judge thinks they can get with this travesty of justice then they don’t know IPOB very well. Nigeria is a finished state, it is a place where the rule of law has been relegated to the background. The establishment now applies to conceive powers to ensure that they get it all in the manner they wish”.
“Henceforth ECOWAS Court will also be on trial because we know the bulk of their funding comes from Nigeria so the proverbial he who pays the piper dictates the tune is visibly at play here. We shall appeal this verdict manufactured in Aso Rock”. Powerful added.
Written By Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere Obinwannem News
