(Intersociety Nigeria, 3rd January 2016)-The leadership
of International Society for Civil
Liberties & the Rule of Law is deeply dismayed concerning brazen
falsehood being spread by the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari and its procured
agents, saying that Citizen Nnamdi Kanu was recently released and rearrested for charges of
treasonable felony and four other lesser charges. We are not surprised
at such falsehood and its originators; the Buhari’s administration,
particularly owing to the fact that the foundation of the administration is
laid on incurable falsehood and propaganda.
The truth is that Citizen Nnamdi
Kanu had never been released on bail or unconditionally from the DSS custody
since his arrest on 14th October 2015 till date. He had also never
been rearrested since then. While Citizen Sambo Dasuki; recklessly accused of
committing multiple offenses, was released on bail twice and rearrested twice
including being placed under house arrest; Citizen Nnamdi Kanu was treated in
harsher manner, by being detained for eighty (80) days without a single day of
breath of freedom till date. This clarification is extremely important so as to
disabuse the minds of all Nigerians and members of the international community
targeted for contamination by the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari and its hired
agents who are desperately looking for escape routes, excuses or justifications
over their abominable policy of judicial mockery, subjugation and suppression;
which President Buhari recently and openly lent credence to.
For the avoidance of doubt and
purpose of putting the records straight, Citizen Nnamdi Kanu has been
unconstitutionally held without constitutional trial by DSS for eighty (80)
days having been arrested and detained since 14th October 2015. By
convention and common sense, when a suspect is arrested and detained for five
days (i.e. Citizen Nnamdi Kanu) and charged to court by his or her detaining
authority while still in its captivity; only for charges against him or her to
be withdrawn with him or her remained in captivity and refused conditional or
unconditional release; such suspect has not been charged and tried by any court.
In other words, there is no difference between the suspect and another citizen
arrested and detained by the State for eighty (80) days without trial.
Also upon pronouncement by the
Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on 17th December 2015, for
unconditional release of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu and striking out/vacation of the
DSS’s spurious detention order, the DSS never obeyed the order by releasing
him, not even for an hour, till date. Citizen Kanu’s lawyers and relatives were
kept stranded for two days by the DSS, which claimed that “its DG who will sign
his final release documents was not around”. It is from the same captivity of the DSS that intention
to slam fresh charges including phantom treasonable felony against him
was made public by the DSS. The last court appearance of Citizen Nnamdi Kanu
was on 23rd December 2015; and he appeared under the shackles of the
DSS. Our questions are: when was Citizen Nnamdi Kanu was released
and where and to who was he released to? When and where was he rearrested?
As we speak, Citizen Nnamdi Kanu,
till date, has no criminal charges pending against him in any court of superior
or lesser records in Nigeria. In law, an indication to prefer criminal charges
against any citizen does not in any way mean that he or she has been judicially
charged and tried. Also judicial charges are not charges until the
accused or suspect enters plea; either by admitting guilty as charged or not admitting
guilty as charged. This is more so when the accused or suspect is
physically present when such criminal charges are being read. In all these, Citizen
Nnamdi Kanu is still a victim of unconstitutional, unlawful and illegal
detention of DSS till date.
In the summation of Section 35 (4) (a)
of the 1999 Constitution, Citizen Nnamdi Kanu ought to have been judicially
freed and cleared of all permutated and “panel-beated” charges; considering
the fact that the said Constitutional provision forbids detention of a citizen
suspected to have committed a capital offense above two months without being
released on bail. Sections 293, 294 and 296 of the Administration of Criminal
Justice Act of 2015 also forbid more than 28 days detention without trial of
any citizen accused of committing any criminal offense in Nigeria.
Our sharp attention is also drawn
to recent false comments by agents of the Buhari’s lawless government within
the legal and other social bodies in Nigeria, to the effect that the
Federal Government of Buhari can re-arrest any accused citizen as many times as
it wishes provided it has “facts” linking the accused to commission of crimes
other than those he or she is already being tried. This is not only
fallacious, reckless and anarchic, but also a clear case of stampeding and
stressing the judiciary and overheating the polity. It is extremely important
again to state that the engine house of diligent
prosecution, fair trial, conviction and sentencing or acquittal; is effective
criminal investigation; which in turn, is transformed into convictable
prosecutorial information. Prosecutorial information is purified facts
generated from investigative facts; which in turn, are generated from raw data.
Planting a gun in an enemy’s house, for instance, is a “fact” and it is only
through effective or competent criminal investigation that its planter and
owner as well as his intents can be revealed; warranting its judicial use as prosecutorial
information or otherwise.
It, therefore, saddens our heart
that those who ought to know the law have chosen to further lead President
Muhammadu Buhari and his lawless government to astray. For the avoidance of
doubt, criminal prosecution processes and procedures in Nigeria do not
encourage abusive and reckless “citizen re-arrest” culture; rather, they
encourage the practice of amendment of charges; either for
purpose of addition or expansion, or for purpose of subtraction or withdrawal
or discontinuation; which explains why the DSS was judicially allowed by the
Wuse Zone 2 Magistrate Court to withdraw and discontinue its charges against
Citizen Nnamdi Kanu. The main idea
behind these is for purpose of ensuring effective criminal investigation and
diligent prosecution. Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution also empowers the
Attorney General of the Federation to institute, undertake, take over, continue or
discontinue criminal proceedings against any citizen in any court in Nigeria.
Running riot on citizens with
handcuffs in the guise of re-arrest on suspicion of commission of
other offenses is the greatest failure of criminal justice
investigators and prosecutors in Nigeria; which is why out of every five
criminal cases rarely filed in court in Nigeria, four are struck out for lack
of diligent prosecution and poor criminal investigation.
This is also worsened by trial
by media or on the pages of newspaper. There must be a limit to number
of crimes or offenses leveled by the State against a citizen, particularly
citizens already in custody facing trial for certain alleged offenses. The
present ordeals of the duo of Citizens Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu are a clear
case in point. Besides, the concept of “arrest and detain before investigation”
is archaic and out-fashioned. What is in vogue is “in-investigation arrest or
investigation before arrest” concept; particularly in offenses
involving fraud related cases. Investigations and prosecutions
under the Nuhu Ribadu’s EFCC era are a clear case in point.
It is riotous and an act of
brigandage on the part of the DSS and the Buhari administration to empty its
criminal code and other criminal offenses’ enactments and level all felonious
offenses against some citizens using their abusive power of arrest
and investigation; for the purpose of keeping them perpetually in
custody. We shall not be surprised if Citizens Nnamdi Kanu, Sambo Dasuki and
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky are accused in coming months of “committing offenses of treason,
treachery, sedition (repealed by case-law), murder, manslaughter, attempted
murder, arson, burglary, housebreaking, armed robbery, abduction, rape,
attempted rape, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, vandalism, etc”.
On a similar note, we totally
align ourselves with a firm stance of the Human Rights Writers Association of
Nigeria (HURIWA) concerning the morally abominable stance of Revered Father
Ejike Mbaka on sad and sore socio-political events in the country; particularly
his latest phantom revelation of attempt to assassinate President Muhaamadu
Buhari. We are deeply worried and concerned over the political implications of such
un-heavenly message; considering the newest tricks by the loyalists of
President Buhari, who go about massacring innocent citizens under the pretext
of “attempted assassination”. Reverend Father Mbaka, may most likely have
emboldened and licensed the butchers to further massacre hundreds, if not
thousands of innocent citizens in coming months, if not weeks; hiding under the
foul or phantom excuses of “assassination attempts”.
Apart from Father Mbaka’s naivety
and social primitivism with Nigeria’s socio-political realities; there is also
a strong link between his questionable spiritual revelations and huge reliance
on rumour mongering or unverifiable and unscientific third party falsehoods;
upon which most of his questionable spiritual revelations emanate. One of the
cases in point was the rumor of “Ohakim’s beating of a Reverend Father in Imo
State”, which Father Mbaka adopted holistically in one of his public messages
without any verifiable investigation. Other than theology and philosophy, which
mandatorily qualified Father Mbaka as a reverend father, it is factually
correct to observe that Father Mbaka is not socially exposed and versatile; yet
he disappointedly delves into political matters with little or no knowledge of
common political, economic, social, cultural and geopolitical statistics of Nigeria.
In other words, he is socially and politically naive.
Storming the Aso Rock Villa without
consultation and approval of his bishops and the CBCN is the height of
disloyalty and disobedience in the highly dogmatized and hierarchical Catholic
Church; for no matter how influential and powerful a reverend father is, he
must not rise above his monsignor, not to talk of his bishop. It is our added
voice that it is about time Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka was called to order and
made to retrace his drowning steps.
Signed:
Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chairman
International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law
Mobile Phone: +2348174090052
Website: www.intersociety-ng.org
Barr Obianuju Joy Igboeli
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
Mobile Phone: +2348034186332
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