THE Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has vowed to expose corruption in the Nigerian judicial system. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, said the recommendation of the Nigerian Judicial Council, NJC, for retirement of Justice Walter Onnoghen, the suspended chief justice of Nigeria, is the height of corruption in the system.

Kanu in his broadcast on Saturday, April 6, said judges like Justice Binta Nyako and Justice John Tsoho are the ones fuelling injustice and lawlessness in the judiciary. “If the parent body can be so parochial, deviant and evil, how much less those they are meant to hold in check like Binta Nyako and other judges in Nigeria.

“In Binta Nyako’s court and many courts across Nigeria detention centres like DSS dungeons, cells in army barracks, police cells and SARS organ harvesting facilities across Nigeria, innocent people are held without charge or denied appearance before a court for years. I met many people in DSS dungeons in Lagos and Abuja who have been in the same spot for four years without seeing sunlight talk less of the inside of a court room. The number of Biafrans in detention including those arrested from so-called Niger Delta is in their thousands.

“They are all languishing in various detention facilities in the north whereas Boko Haram terrorists and Fulani herdsmen are being recruited into the Nigerian army. Let us look now look at how the likes of Binta Nyako and the Nigerian judiciary has been making a mess of their own constitution. It should be noted that the 1999 Constitution is the highest law of the land in Nigeria. Maybe we should all have a look to see what the constitution says about arrest, charge, detention and bail.

“Every constitution in the world is the same. It is written in as much plain English as possible and for the purposes of our in-depth research tonight, we must understand that present Nigerian Constitution is written in plain understandable English not Shakespearian, Dickensian or Chaucer English. It is written in such a way that any person with a fine grasp of English will be able to comprehend it. You don’t need any specialist training in law.

“This is Chapter IV: Fundamental Rights as written in the Nigerian Constitution: Any person who is arrested or detained shall have the right to remain silent or avoid answering any question until after consultation with a legal practitioner or any other person of his own choice. Any person who is arrested or detained shall be informed in writing within twenty-four hours (and in a language that he understands) of the facts and grounds for his arrest or detention.

“Somebody should please ask Binta Nyako why she insisted on going ahead with the case involving Bright Chimezie Ishinwa when a Federal High Court in Uyo with the same powers as her court had earlier ordered DSS to pay compensation to Bright Chimezie Ishinwa for unlawful detention. She allowed the sham charge of conspiracy to commit treasonable felony to be brought before her because she is doing her bit for Nigeria.

“Is it not clear from the express provisions of the constitution that nobody should be detained for more than two months without trial or at least the benefit of automatic bail? But Nigerian courts and their judges will tell you that certain offences are not ordinarily bailable. What an utter nonsense. We have IPOB family members in detention for over two years and I met people in detention who have spent nearly three years in solitary confinement contrary to the provisions of the law.

“The saddest part is that Nigerian judges are aware of these cases but have chosen to defy the constitution they swore to uphold in order to swelling the coffers of the various government agencies responsible for their detention. This is a racket. Nigerian judges are in illicit agreement with the ministry of interior to keep innocent people locked up because of the extortionate N20,000 they collect from the government to feed each detainee. There is no other plausible justification for the detention of hundreds of thousands of innocent souls the constitution says should be released.”

– Apr. 9, 2019 @ 12:59 GMT |