The Anambra State Lawyers in
Defence of Democracy, ASLADD, have come hard on the leader of the Indigenous
People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his followers for attempting to
blame it for the crises that occurred at Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government
Area of the state.
The Nigerian Police reportedly
clashed with the IPOB members who were said to be awaiting the arrival of Mazi
Nnamdi Kanu for a rally scheduled to hold in the town last week.
In a statement in Awka, the
Anambra state capital, entitled, “Ekwulobia Crises: IPOB is confusing apples
with oranges,” saying that as a professional body, it has all it takes to end
Kanu’s agitation.
The lawyers said, “The attention
of the Anambra State Lawyers in Defence of Democracy [ASLADD] has been drawn to
a statement released by Emma Powerful for the IPOB on the clash that was
reported to have occurred between the Nigerian Police and some IPOB members at
Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.
“In the said press release, the
author labored strenuously to share the culpability of the crises between the
DPO of Ekwulobia Police Station and “individuals hiding under non-existent
Anambra Lawyers.
“We start by saying that the
Anambra State Lawyers in Defence of Democracy [ASLADD] is composed of eminent
Legal Practitioners from Anambra State who practice both within and outside the
shores of the state. Without mincing words, the foremost consideration that
propelled the coming together of these fine minds is to robustly protect
democracy in Anambra State which has come under a massive threat by the
extra-legal and anarchist method introduced by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in his push to
carve out an imaginary fiefdom for himself where delusively he would be
presiding over his serfs like a feudal emperor who must not be opposed by his
subjects without fatal consequences.
“It is rather ridiculous that the
author of the IPOB statement claimed that our group is both “faceless” and
‘non-existent’ and yet he labored profusely to apportion blame and culpability
to a “non-existent” group. This is purely an inverted logic. It is a matter of
ordinary knowledge that lawyers in every society [by virtue of their
professional calling and standing] are public figures.
“True indeed, the Convener of
this august assembly is Mr. Johnmary Chukwukasi Jideobi. This is a gentleman
committed to the defence of human rights, rule of law and constitutionalism. It
is on record that our Convener stood tall and firm in robust defence of Mazi
Nnamdi Kanu since he was arrested in 2015. As a matter of fact, it was our
Convener who put up a pro-bono appearance with Mr. Vincent Obetta on the 17th
day of December, 2015 before the Honourable Justice A.F.A. Ademola where the
Mr. Nnamdi Kanu was granted bail for the 2nd time.
“The records of proceedings in
charge no: FHC/ABJ/383/2015 would reveal that our Convener has put up many
pro-bono appearances in defence of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu before the Honourable
Justices; A.F.A. Ademola, A.R. Mohammed and James Tsoho.
“Our Convener has equally on
different occasions backed up his courtroom support with strongly-worded
letters to President Muhammed Buhari, Chief John Oyegun, National President of
the Nigerian Bar Association and the Honourable Attorney-General of the
Federation urging them to see good reasons why the order of court granting Mazi
Nnamdi Kanu, Rtd. Colonel Dasuki and El-Zakzaki bail ought to be respected in
total obeisance to the dictates of rule of law and for the preservation of our
constitutional democracy.
“These tons of letters are
readily accessible as they were well published and documented at the offices of
their recipients. This is quite apart from the numerous legal articles
contributed by our Convener aimed at rallying the support of human rights
activists to have Mazi Nnamdi Kanu freed from Kuje. While still in prison, our
Convener has had to visit and meet with Mazi Nnamdi Kanu on more than five
different occasions all in a bid to strategize on how to use the
instrumentality of the law to set him free from the gulag.
“What has our convener not done
to have Mazi Nnamdi Kanu breathe the air of freedom he is enjoying today even
at a great personal risk [even at a time when even the highest political office
holders in the South-East region were shy of identifying with Nnamdi Kanu’s
ordeals].
“We challenge the IPOB to
controvert these hardcore and overwhelming facts. It was William George who
once rightly posited that “ingratitude is a crime more despicable than revenge,
which is only returning evil for evil, while ingratitude returns evil for good.”
“While Immanuel Kant [German
Philosopher] appreciates that ‘Ingratitude is the essence of vileness’, James
Thomas [Scottish Musician] rightly concludes that “Ingratitude is treason to
mankind. It is not surprising to us that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu does not brook the
word “gratitude” in his vocabulary of living just as he has sufficiently
demonstrated that those core values handed down to us by our forebears that
characterize Igbo civilization have evaporated from his menu of manners.
“It is therefore rather
unfortunate that Mazi Nnamdi Kanu [a huge beneficiary of our legal prowess and
professional benevolence] could turn around and accuse our noble body of being
responsible for Ekwulobia crises. Yes we dared to challenge him on the futility
of his attempt at truncating Anambra election where he has no legitimate
interest in whatever becomes the outcome of that democratic exercise.
“In our considered view, his home
state [Abia], with deep humility and respect, needs more help to rescue her
from dilapidated infrastructures than our dear Anambra State that currently
shines the light in most indices of governance. All this madness being
orchestrated by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is ultimately aimed at possibly setting the
polity ablaze [using the fuel of hate and intimidating speeches] in the phantom
hope that the weighty criminal charges hanging on his neck would drown in the
ensuing melee. In achieving this devious intention [which is a mere fishing
expedition in the desert], Mazi Nnamdi Kanu would not mind using as many uniformed
and less-privileged compatriots as are available as his canon-fodders.
“We are compelled to state for
the umpteenth time that we shall never fold our alms and watch Mazi Nnamdi Kanu
pull our sacred constitution apart, pollute the system with rotten speeches of
putrid hatred, acrimonious vituperations and denigrating venoms while pouring
acerbic expletives on the foundations of our democracy in a manner that is
capable of bringing an organised society to a perilous end.
“Mazi Nnamdi Kanu should be rest
assured that if we could use our legal arsenal to rescue him from the Kuje
gulag after waging a very deadly and fierce legal battle on his behalf against
the Federal Government of Nigeria [amidst all odds], we equally have more than
what it takes [in our legal armoury] to decisively end his impunity and defend
democracy [from his tyranny, imposition and buffoonery] in Anambra State which
is our primary constituency.
“Participating in an election is
purely discretionary on the part of the citizens. But we can never accept a
situation where Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB is deploying violent means to scare
law-abiding Anambrarians away from the polls even to the point of the Kanus
repeatedly issuing assassination threat to our Convener for which human rights
communities around the globe have adequately been put on notice.
“We hereby re-iterate our call on
the relevant authorities to urgently commence a high-powered clinical
investigation into the activities of the IPOB. Biafra is a sacred ideology
which is not commodious enough to admit acts of outlawry, criminal
intimidations and charlatanism under its canopied ambience.
“In signing off this statement,
we find it so unfortunate and discomforting that the conducts of Mazi Nnamdi
Kanu has forced us to address him in the very words we addressed President
Muhammed Buhari when we wrote him on the 6th of January, 2016 condemning his
refusal to free Mazi Nnamdi Kanu despite an existing Court Order. Mazi Nnamdi
Kanu should listen to this:
“Sir, all the existing Supreme
Court authorities and our penal books lean heavily in support of the
long-established postulation that disobedience of Court Orders (otherwise
called contempt of Court) is an abomination of the rankest specie just as it is
an anathema in every democracy worth the name as it holds the key to the
floodgates of anarchy and societal destruction. Condemning this cancerous vice,
our own Supreme Court, in the case of Hart v. Hart (1991) 21 N.S.C.C. (Pt. 1)
184 at 199, had these unkind words for those who disobey Court orders
(contemnors);
“I would like to state that
obedience to Orders of Courts is fundamental to the good order, peace and
stability of the Nigerian nation. The ugly alternative is a painful
recrudescence of triumph of brute force or anarchy, a resort to our old system
of settlement by means of bow and arrows, machetes and guns or, now, even more
sophisticated weapons of war.
“Disobedience to an order of
Court should, therefore, be seen as an offence directed not against the
personality of the Judge who made the Order, but as a calculated act of
subversion of peace, law, and order in Nigeria society. Obedience to every
Order of Court is therefore a duty which every citizen who believes in peace
and stability of the Nigerian State owes to the nation.
“To allow Court orders to be
disobeyed would be to tread the road toward anarchy. If orders of the Court can
be treated with disrespect, the whole administration of justice is brought into
scorn…If the remedies that the Court grants to correct wrongs can be ignored,
then, there will be nothing left for each person but to take the law into his
own hands. Loss of respect for the Court will quickly result in the destruction
of our society.
How time flies! The same impunity
and disobedience of Court Order levied against our president last year is what
Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is gleefully practicing today. If Mazi Nnamdi Kanu had obeyed
the Ruling of the Court anchoring his bail to many conditions [most of which he
has violated even though he earlier agreed to them], the Ekwulobia tragedy
would not have occurred.
It was in the process of disobeying the Court Order
[banning him from organizing and/or attending rallies] that Ekwulobia tragedy
eventuated. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, his IPOB and the whole world can now see where
the culpability of Ekwulobia tragedy lies. Unlike Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB
that offered no word(s) of sympathy, encouragement and condolence to the
deceased and victims of the 6th August gruesome, mind-boggling and ghoulish
butchery at Ozubulu, we [on our part] humbly pray the Good Lord to show mercy
to the victim(s) of Ekwulobia tragedy, graciously lift the light of His
countenance upon the departed and grant the dead a kind admittance into his
kingdom.”
You are suffering from an unidentified illness. Believe me.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute power corrupt, Mazi should take things easy ooo I just want to make common sense
ReplyDeleteWho are these Anambra hungry, coward and Hausa-Fulani slaves? Tufiakwa! Which Anambra did these efulefus come from? They are threatening Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and IPOB - an organization that span over 100 countries on the planet. Let them bring it on. Fools and slaves.
ReplyDelete