"Nigeria's nearly two decades of democratisation may be demolished if operatives and officers of the Department of State Services (DSS) are not compelled to comply with the due process of the law, respect the Constitutional principle of separation of powers and operate within the bounds of law in line with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended. The National Assembly and all pro-democratic forces must rally round to protest these series of undemocratic tendencies of the DSS in collusion with the ruling party at the center. This is a challenge against the survival of our hard fought democracy and respect for fundamental freedoms and the smooth operation of all institutions without molestation including the judiciary which must be allowed to independently determine cases filed before their lordships. )".
With the
aforementioned the Pro-democracy Non-governmental organisation - HUMAN RIGHTS
WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA ) has condemned without
reservations the nocturnal gestapo style invasions of homes of Justices of the
Supreme Court of Nigeria and judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja and Port
Harcourt Rivers State to abduct the judicial officers including the
justice of the Supreme Court recently recommended for appointment as the
next Chief Justice of Nigeria.
HURIWA condemned
the threats by those DSS operatives to shoot the Governor of Rivers State
from the opposition political party or Peoples Democratic Party -Barrister
Nyesom Wike who had intervened in the wee hours of Saturday night to stop the
abduction of the Federal High Court's judge in the Port Harcourt
division.
HURIWA has also
accused the security operatives of possibly executing the plots of
hardliners and political hawks in the Hausa/Fulani axis of Northern
Nigeria who are not comfortable that the Hausa/Fulani are at the verge of not
producing the next Chief Justice of Nigeria in over three decades. The next
Chief Justice of Nigeria by merit is Justice Walter Onnoghen.
The Rights group
expressed alarm that the skewed policy of President Muhammadu
Buhari in
appointing mostly Hausa/Fulani top security chiefs may be what is being plotted
for the judiciary with the inordinate ambition to set up an Islamic State with
the flurry of visits to President Muhammadu Buhari by Islamic leaers from Saudi
Arabia or the government may be plottibg to set up an authoritarianism in the
near -future to scuttle a free and fair 2019 general election.
In a statement on
Saturday by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National
Media Affairs Director Miss Zainab Yusuf, HURIWA said the international
community and all lovers of democracy and the Rule of law must rise up and
defend Nigeria's endangered democracy from the present threats of
destabilisation by reactionary forces embedded within the various security
forces who are taking direct orders from President Muhammadu Buhari who has
clearly demonstrated absolute intolerance to the smooth running of all
democratic institutions and has over time disrespected the binding orders of
competent courts of law even as most of his top level appointments are in clear
breach of the constitutional provisions of Federal Character principles.
"We condemn in
the strongest possible terms this naked show of brute force by operatives of
the Department of State Services and we demand that the relevant institutional
mechanisms for checks and balances be activated to get to the roots of all
these recent affronts and confrontations to democracy. This is so
primitive and illegal. This is not how to enforce the law when there are clear
provisions of the statutes on how to go about inviting persons required to
provide statements to law enforcement authorities"
HURIWA further
averred that : "if there are petitions against judges the only institution
authorised to sanction them after thorough investigation is the National
Judicial Council after which further steps could be adopted if further criminal
investigation and prosecutions are to take place, it is only then that the
police could be invited decently. We are not at war and Mr President who is the
Commander-in-Chiefof the Armed forces is a democratically elected President and
not an emperor".
"Why on Earth
will the DSS employ self help by attempting to kidnap the Abuja Federal
High Court judge just because he issued a lawful warning to the DSS concerning
a pending matter before his court? This is absolutely unlawful and absolutely
despicable and reprehensible. We call on the United Nations and World
Leaders to intervene to save Nigeria from returning to militaey or quasi
military- dictatorship".
HURIWA recalled
that news reports have it that Operatives of the Department of State Service
between late Friday night and the early hours of Saturday simultaneously
invaded the houses of two Justices of the Supreme Court – Justices Walter
Onnoghen and Sylvester Ngwuta – as well as two judges of the Federal High
Court, Justices Adenike Ademola and Nnamdi Dimgba.
Justices Onnoghen,
who is the second in rank and the most likely successor to the outgoing Chief
Justice of Nigeria, and Justice Ngwuta are neighbours at the Judicial Officers’
Quarters in Abuja, while Justices Ademola and Dimgba live next to each
other at the Apo Legislative Quarters, Abuja.
It was learnt that
the DSS operatives surrounded the judicial officers’ houses for hours before
they eventually broke in at about 1am on Saturday.
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