Charles Okah embarked on a hunger strike to protest against harassment by officials of the Kuje prison
– The suspect threatened to file a suit demanding N5 billion damages from the federal government – Okah’s counsel wrote a letter to Abdulraman Dambazau, the minister of interior
Charles Okah has embarked on a hunger strike to protest against harassment by officials of the Kuje prison.
The alleged mastermind of the 2010 Independence Day bombing in Abuja,
Charles Okah, has embarked on a hunger strike to protest against
harassment by officials of the Kuje prison.
The suspect has also threatened to file a suit demanding N5 billion damages from the federal government.
Premium Times reports that the threat was contained in a letter
written by Okah’s counsel, Timi Okponipere, and addressed to Abdulraman
Dambazau, the minister of interior.
“At the time of writing this letter, our client is as emaciated
as a bean pole on account of the hunger strike he has embarked upon, to
draw global attention to his plight.”
“Literarily and figuratively speaking, our client is virtually a
dead man. If our client dies in prison custody, the entire world,
particularly the Ijaw nation and the Niger Delta where our client hails
from, shall rise in unison against President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government, even as we concede the fact that, our client’s ordeal began
during the tenure of former president Goodluck Jonathan, a fellow Ijaw,” the letter read in part.
The lawyer said that on January 6 some prison officials entered his client’s cell and carted away his books, journals and manuscripts, one of which contained Okah’s prison memoirs.
According to Okponipere, the invasion of his client’s cell was based on the orders of the head of the Kuje prison, Musa Tanko.
The lawyer revealed that another manuscript titled “Research Study:
Security Lapses and Vice in Kuje Prison,” contained a detailed report
exposing security lapses, illicit sex, indiscipline, corruption and
other vices of prison warders.
“Our client was to submit the report to the honourable minister
of interior, the national security adviser, as well as the director
general of the State Security Service, before the unfortunate incident
occurred.”
“Specifically, on January 10, when the honourable minister of
interior visited the prison, in company of the director general of the
State Security Service, our client approached the minister and conveyed
his intention to forward a draft copy of the research study to his
(minister) office for necessary action. “Secondly Sir, following our client’s bold initiative to approach
the minister of interior during his visit to the prison, our client has
been kept in solitary confinement within the prison service since
January 10, 2016 by Mr. Tanko and his officers, ostensibly as a
punitive, vindictive and malicious measure, to force our client to back
down from his avowed determination to expose the ongoing rot in the
prison,” the lawyer further wrote.
Okponipere stressed that Tanko lacks the power to subject an inmate
to another form of imprisonment without a court order. According to the
lawyer, keeping his client in solitary confinement is arbitrary, illegal
and an arrogant usurpation of the judicial function.
He also accused the prison authority of refusing to convey his client
to the National Hospital in Abuja to keep a surgery appointment with
doctors.
Okponipere called for an immediate return of all materials seized
from his client and insisted on an immediate conveyance of Okah to the
hospital.
In October 2015, the alleged mastermind of the Independance Day
bombing caused a stare at the Federal High Court as he attempted to take
his life.
Nigeria Would’ve Collapsed Had Officials Of My Govt Stole That Much As Alarmed – Jonathan
“Jonathan said the allegation was the same way somebody
stated that $49.8 billion was missing, which he later said was $12
billion and later $20 billion, saying when the issue was raised by the German chancellor with him in
a meeting, he told the foreign leader that if such amount of money was
missing in Nigeria, the country would collapse”.
That was a quote from the Daily Sun Newspaper where it was said that
the former President Goodluck Jonathan opined that Nigeria would have
collapsed had officials of his government had stole that much as being
peddled by some quarters.
Speaking in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday at a media interaction
organised by the Geneva Press Club, Jonathan said as a former president,
who laboured to build institutions, it will be out of place for him to
do anything that would undermine government and processes.
Account for N3 trillion, Rivers government tells Amaechi
– Rivers state government wants former governor, Amaechi to account for N3trillion
– Amaechi accused of leaving behind a backlog of unpaid salaries
– Tam-George asked Rivers people to be vigilant
The Rivers state government has asked the former governor of the state and current minister for transport, Rotimi Amaechi to
account for what he did with over N3trillion he received throughout his
eight years tenure.
Speaking on Thursday, January 28, during a press conference in Port
Harcourt, Dr. Austin Tam-George, the state commissioner for information
and communication said Amaechi left “a catastrophic legacy” as a
governor, Daily Independent reports.
According to the government, the former governor Amaechi left behind a
backlog of unpaid salaries of four months, eight months pension
allowances and twelve months of teachers’ salaries unpaid.
Tam-George said: “Rivers state is still reeling from the
catastrophic legacy of the Rotimi Amaechi years. Despite receiving over
three trillion naira in revenue in 8 years, Amaechi left the most
abandoned projects in the history of Rivers state since 1967.”
He therefore, called on the people of Rivers state to be vigilant
against those who are determined to destroy the gains made so far by the
Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration.
This comes on the heels of Wike’s victory at the Supreme Court. The
apex court had on Wednesday upheld the election of Wike as the governor
of the state. His victory was greeted with wild jubilation.
According to Wike his victory at the Supreme Court is a victory for the rule of law and the people of Rivers state.
The state chairman of the PDP, Felix Obuah told members of the
opposition All Progressives Congress that the door is opened for any of
them to come into the state’s ruling party.
FG should release Dasuki, Kanu without delay —Falana
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN)
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), in this interview with BAYO AKINLOYE, calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to
release the embattled ex-National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and
the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, as ordered
by the courts.
Has the President Muhammadu Buhari administration shown
respect for the rule of law — considering the continued incarceration of
Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu?
You cannot judge the human rights record of the Buhari administration
on the basis of the detention of a couple of criminal suspects. To the
best of my knowledge, President Buhari has never ordered the military
invasion of any community or illegal demolition of the homes of the
poor. But having promised to end impunity, he has a duty to call every
security agency to order whenever the rights of Nigerians are violated.
Citizens can be rearrested as many times as possible if there is a
reasonable suspicion that they have committed criminal offences. But
once such suspects are charged and granted bail by a court of competent
jurisdiction, the order should be obeyed. If the government is aggrieved
or dissatisfied with the order releasing any criminal suspect on bail,
it can challenge the order at the Court of Appeal. Honestly, I
sympathise with the government.
What do you mean by saying that you sympathise with the government?
This is because a few members of the legal profession have
consistently pampered the ruling class to manipulate the criminal
justice system. It is so bad now that only the poor are railroaded to
jail. It can be very frustrating that bail is generously granted by
judges to those who commit the worst cases of armed robbery. Removing
billions of dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria with the aid of
riot police and military personnel in the dead of night is the worst
case of armed robbery ever witnessed in our country. In one of the
robbery incidents, the sum of $322m was carted away from the vaults of
the CBN, changed to N68bn and distributed to all manners of loafers.
Even marabouts got as much as N4.7bn. One of them who admitted that he
collected over N2bn was being hailed in the court premises by a rented
crowd of jobless youths. In granting him bail, the judge ordered the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission not to arrest him in respect of
another fraud of N8bn fraud. There is no serious government that will
not be embarrassed by what has emerged as judicial cover for big-time
crooks. Our judges are yet to appreciate that we are dealing with the
worst form of corruption, which is ‘family corruption’. By which I mean
the act of charging parents and children with stealing. It is the first
time that a father and his children are sharing the same dock for
allegedly looting the public treasury.
Are you suggesting that people standing trial for corruption should not be granted bail?
As far as I am concerned, it is illogical for a judge to grant bail
to a man or woman who stole billions of naira meant for job creation
only to turn round and refuse bail to a young man forced to engage in
armed robbery due to unemployment. We are compelled to remind our judges
that between 2003 and 2007, no politically-exposed person charged to
court by the EFCC was granted bail in Nigeria. Go and check the record. A
former governor, who was put on trial, was not granted bail. Even a
former Inspector-General of Police was refused bail. But when the EFCC
was taken over by powerful criminal elements in 2008 under President
Umaru Yar’Adua, the law on bail was changed by our judges. Not only was a
former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, admitted to bail by the Court
of Appeal, their lordships ordered that his passport be released to him
so that he could gallivant around the world. The court of appeal
declared that his trial in Kaduna was illegal. As the judge in Benin was
not going to play ball, a new court was established in Asaba. Before
our very eyes, Justice Marcel Awokulehin, now retired, freed the accused
and dismissed the 170-count filed against Ibori. But nemesis caught up
with him in Dubai —from where he was deported to London — to the eternal
shame of our country. I want to believe the government is worried that
the law is being twisted, once again, to accommodate the criminality of
the ruling class.
But you said the security agents were being overzealous.
Exercising his powers, the President set up the Arms Procurement
Panel to probe the allegations of the criminal diversion of huge funds
set aside for the purchase of arms and ammunition for the armed forces.
Upon the receipt of the report of the panel, he directed that the
suspects be arrested, confronted with the allegations of their
involvement in the gargantuan criminality and charged to court. The EFCC
has so far handled the investigation professionally. Remand orders were
obtained from the courts to detain the suspects. In line with the
section 293 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the fat bank
accounts of the criminal suspects were frozen on the orders of the
court. These measures were in strict compliance with the tenets of the
rule of law. I am only asking the government not to be distracted by
some overzealous security officials by refusing to comply with a couple
of court orders. Personally, I do not like some of the orders. But once
they are made, the government is duty bound to obey them.
Some people accused you of having kept quiet for too long.
The fellows who say that are not serious. I am not a spokesperson for
the rich. The rich have the resources to hire top lawyers to defend
them. Since they can take care of themselves, it is not my business to
make a case for them except when it has implications for the society.
For close to two years, I have defended ‘pro bono publico’ an array of
army officers and soldiers who were convicted, jailed or sentenced to
death for asking for weapons to fight terrorists. More so, that is a
case of monumental injustice. I advised the government to obey the order
of Justice Adeniyi Ademola which had admitted Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.)
to bail. Mind you, when the residence of Dasuki in Abuja was searched
by some officials of the Department of State Services sometime last July
and President Buhari was accused of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies
by the Peoples Democratic Party, I defended the action of the
government. I said there was nothing dictatorial in the circumstance
since a magistrate had issued and signed the warrant for the search.
Do you think the government will listen to your views on this matter of disobedience of court orders?
I
remember an incident in which the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and I
had to advise our clients to obey a court order. The Nigeria Labour
Congress, under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had issued a strike notice
over the removal of fuel subsidy. The government played a fast one by
obtaining an ex parte order which Oshiomhole tagged a ‘black market
injunction’. It took us several hours to persuade the labour leaders to
suspend the strike. They took our advice reluctantly as they had
mobilised the whole country for the action. We then proceeded to the
court and vacated the order to pave the way for the strike. It is not a
sign of weakness to comply with a court order. I have no cause to doubt
the commitment of the government to consider my position on the matter.
It is on record that government has taken some of my criticisms in good
faith.
If your call on the government is ignored, what do you intend to do?
First, I had made a public statement on the matter. Apart from the
statement, I had also met with relevant public officers over the matter.
I was not in the country last December when the President had his
maiden media chat. But I was informed that he defended the detention of
Dasuki and Kanu. With respect, I disagree with that position. Hence, I
advise the government to comply with the court orders or charge them to
court.
Some have accused Buhari of being responsible for human rights abuse in the country. Do you agree?
I do not agree. We are dealing with institutionalised violations of
human rights. It is part of the legacy of colonialism. Members of the
neo-colonial ruling class have contempt for our people. Hence, in our
police and military schools, human rights courses are not taught. From
1999-2015, our country witnessed horrendous violations of human rights
and total disregard for court orders. Laws were also violated with
impunity. There was a governor who once led armed thugs to demolish the
houses of suspected kidnappers. I directed the attention of the governor
to the bill signed by him which provides for death penalty. Instead of
resorting to jungle justice, I advised him to allow the trial of such
dangerous criminal suspects. When General Muhammadu Buhari, as a
candidate of the All Progressives Congress, promised that he would fight
corruption and end impunity, the majority of poor people decided to
vote for him. The Federal Government has begun the fight against
corruption but it has to be done within the ambit of the law. Otherwise,
the government will play into the hands of criminal suspects. As
corruption is already fighting back, the government has to ensure that
those who looted the public treasury are tried in accordance with the
law.
What do you advise the FG to do on Dasuki and Kanu?
Both Dasuki and Kanu were granted bail. (The Federal Government
should) release them on bail or charge them to court without any further
delay as one bail does not cover all criminal offences. In fact, Nnamdi
Kanu was charged with treason. He said he did not want a particular
judge to try him. Take him before another judge. I defended Henry Okah
who was charged with treason under the Yar’Adua administration. He was
tried in camera in Jos. He was refused bail. If the government has fears
that Dasuki will run away, there are ways of dealing with the situation
under the law. From the information at my disposal, the EFCC has other
charges pending against him. Since this is not a security matter
‘stricto sensu’, let the Department of State Services stay away and stop
embarrassing the government. The EFCC is competent to handle a clear
case of unprecedented looting of the treasury. The rule of law requires
that the infraction of the law by any criminal suspect be dealt with
under the rule of law and not under the rule of man.
Aren’t you bothered that this government is authoritarian as alleged by some people?
No, I don’t agree with you. An authoritarian regime would not have
taken Dasuki to court. He would have been held incommunicado until he
has refunded all the funds allegedly stolen by him and his accomplices.
During the military era, all the suspects would have been detained
indefinitely under the State Security Detention of Persons Decree. Let
us use words like Gestapo or dictatorship as loosely as it is being done
by Governor Ayo Fayose (of Ekiti State). This is not an authoritarian
rule but a democratic dispensation. Hence, we should rise up against the
contraventions of human rights law by fighting impunity whenever it
rears its ugly head.
Biafrans Storm Abuja High Court as Kanu Arrives (Happening now) PHOTOS
Information from Abuja is that a great number of Biafrans have successfully reached Abuja.
We can reliably report that there is an uneasy calm in Abuja,
Biafrans have all reached Abuja from all corners of the world with high
hopes that the director of radio Biafra and leader of IPOB will be
granted bail today.
Speaking to some Biafrans in Abuja,some of them expressed optimism that Nnamdi Kanu will be granted bail today despite the expected executive interference.
speaking to our correspondent, a Biafran who spoke on condition of
anonymity said “whether bail or no bail, the struggle must continue
until Biafra is restored, we are hopeful and waiting for our leader to
be granted bail, the council to our leader argued well that to a lay
man, Kanu has no reason not to be granted bail”
– Kabiru Sokoto wants N300 million for damages – Justice asked the respondents to be served before appearing in court on the next adjourned date
Convicted Boko Haram kingpin, Kabiru Umar, wants his conviction upturned.
Kabiru Umar, a convicted kingpin of dreaded Islamist sect, Boko Haram, has filed a suit against the federal government.
According to Vanguard, the suit against the federal government by the convict popularly referred to as Kabiru Sokoto will be presented
before the Abuja division of the Federal High Court on February 4, 2016
for hearing.
Sokoto had been convicted and sent to life imprisonment on December
20, 2013, after he was found guilty of masterminding the Christmas day
bomb blast that killed about 44 persons and wounded 75 others at St.
Theresa’s Catholic Church at Madalla, Niger state, in 2011.
The trial Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in his judgment, expressed his
satisfaction with the federal government for successfully establishing
the culpability of the convict beyond every reasonable doubt, adding
that the criminal had in two separate confessional statements, admitted
that he had prior knowledge of the attack.
Sokoto did not show any remorse throughout the case lasted and was also described by the court as “a pathological liar with no regards for the truth.”
The court also stated that it observed that Sokoto, in a statement
which he made in January, 2012, shortly after being caught, that was a
key member of the Boko Haram sect.
“Here in Abaji, nobody knows that I am a Boko Haram member, much so, I have about 500 children that I teach Quran,” Sokoto was reported to have written in a confessional statement.
And in the page four of his statement, Sokoto confessed that under his supervision, “the
Madalla church bombing was carried out by one Bashir Mohammed, Muhktar
Kafanchan and others who I cannot remember their names now.”
After his initial N300 million suit against the government over
alleged torture, yesterday, re-approached the high court and accused her
of frustrating his efforts to get his conviction upturned at the court
of appeal.
Filing the motion through his lawyer, Sheriff Okoh, the Boko Haram
member further alleged that the Comptroller of Prisons and his men have
made it impossible for him to have access to his lawyer, to enable him
perfect his appeal process.
The motion has the Comptroller General of Prisons (CGP) and Attorney
General of the Federation (AGF) as respondents, and is seeking an order
from the court to compel the respondents to allow Sokoto, who is
presently detained at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, Lagos, have
access to his legal team.
He is equally seeking a declaration that the federal government have
violated his right to fair hearing, right to counsel and access to
justice by denying him access to his lawyers.
The lawyer said: “We have made several personal contacts with the
1st defendant (CGP), his men: S. N. Nwanchukwu (PSO), E. O. Ogundele
(DCG) among others, at the Nigeria Prisons headquarters, Abuja in a bid
to persuade them to permit us to see the applicant, but they kept making
us indulge in fruitless returns for approvals from the 2nd respondent
(AGF) that has not come for over two years. “Wherefore, we verily believe that their actions are aimed at
ensuring that the applicant’s appeal of his conviction and sentence
continues to be frustrated in perpetuity.
“The applicant’s appeal before the Court of Appeal is being
delayed as a result of the conduct of the 1st respondent and men under
his command and supervision.”
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, who was assigned the case-file, observed that
there was no evidence before the court to show that the respondents were
duly served with the process and as such, directed Sokoto’s lawyer to
serve the respondents and return to court on the next adjourned date.
Ex-presidnet Goodluck Jonathan has also revealed how he fought hardly
against the insurgents, noting also that the weapons he bought for the
Nigerian military are now being used by the present administration to
wage war against them.
BREAKING! Supreme Court sacks all PDP legislators in Anambra
PDP legislators in Anambra
Supreme Court of Nigeria has sacked all PDP legislators including
Stella Oduah, Andy Ubah from Anambra State from the Senate & HOR
New Senators for Anambra at the Senate now Chris Ubah (Anambra South), John Emeka (Anambra North) and Annie Okonkwo (Anambra Central)
Recall Before the National Assembly election of March 28, 2015, the
party presented some names to the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) without going through the primaries.
But Ejike Oguebego’s group insisted they conducted their primaries.
Some party members expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would give a fair judgment.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has
tentatively picked March 5 for the Anambra Central senatorial rerun.
An INEC source said they were buying time to see the outcome of the Supreme Court’s judgment before any pronouncement.
INEC distanced itself from the February 16 date being bandied around
by some persons, warning that people should not take such serious.
“We are not in haste to pick a date for the election. Everybody is
being careful nowadays and besides, our office will have to wait to hear
the outcome of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
“The state does not have a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC)
since Edwin Nwatarali left; we are expecting a new person but if that is
not possible before the rerun, the Administrative Secretary, Oscar
Lee-Amechi, will conduct the election.”
