IPOB PRESS RELEASE
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE MOST BIZARRE JUDGMENT DELIVERED BY THE ECOWAS COURT YESTERDAY ON NNAMDI KANU VS FRN.
It didn’t come to IPOB as a surprise that a Kogi born Judge delivered an ECOWAS Court judgment after nearly 4 years of prevarication. Our leader went to ECOWAS Court in the hope of avoiding the judicial complicity of the bench in Nigeria in the reign of lawlessness of this APC regime but to our horror, we ended up with a timid frightened judge from Kogi delivering a truly timid judgment that carefully circumvented all our prayers before the court.
1. 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 beggars’ belief.
2. 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 judgments and general disregard for the rule of law by this APC regime of Major-General Muhammadu Buhari has received 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.
3. 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.
4. Overwhelming evidence were presented before them but due to the 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 have 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.
5. In view 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 has it that the rubber-stamped judgment 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 judgment.
6. 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 coercive 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.
COMRADE EMMA POWERFUL MEDIA AND PUBLICITY SECRETARY FOR IPOB
Published by:
Chibuike John Nebeokike
For: IPOB
