Featured
S’Court Gaff: Rights Lawyer Sues Igbokwe …Seeks AGF’s Prosecution
The case of the Facebook post of the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Joe Igbokwe, accusing the Supreme Court of selling justice to the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, has taken a new dimension, as a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has filed an action before the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking to sanction Igbokwe for what he described as his reckless utterance against the judiciary.
Named as defendants in the suit are the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami and Igbokwe.
In the suit, Adegboruwa is asking the court to direct the AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), to invite the APC chieftain for interview in order to give him the opportunity to substantiate his allegation against the judiciary, failing which he should be prosecuted and sanctioned.
He is also asking Igbokwe to step down and vacate his office as general manager of Lagos State Wharf Land Fee Collecting Authority and publicity secretary of the APC in the state.
Adegboruwa said Igbokwe was not a fit to be elected or appointed into any public office in any part of Nigeria.
It would be recalled that on July 16, 2018, at about 15:20p.m, Igbokwe published the following statement on his Facebook page: “Wike will not have the audacity and the temerity to kill again in Rivers State and run to the Supreme Court to buy justice. It will never happen again in Nigeria where Buhari is the president.”
Adegboruwa stated that upon reading it, he immediately took up Igbokwe, to substantiate the allegation.
Similarly, the Rivers State Government also demanded explanations from Igbokwe and threatened court action.
Subsequently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, invited security agencies to probe Igbokwe’s allegations and deal with the judges found culpable, and if the allegations are false, to take appropriate steps to prosecute him.
He said rather than withdraw the offending post; Igbokwe proceeded to issue a more comprehensive post, wherein he specifically stated that the Chief Justice of Nigeria was under the influence and payroll of Wike.
In a 32-paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of the new suit, Adegboruwa is claiming that Igbokwe’s post was capable of generating loss of confidence in the judicial system, which would discourage people from seeking redress from the law courts and would in turn lead to lawlessness and resort to self-help and rule of the might.
He also said it would lead to loss of patronage for lawyers, who would no longer be able to handle cases in court, given that it was now possible to buy justice with money.
The activist is contending that as a public officer, Igbokwe should not be involved in disparaging other public institutions and that his offending post was a clear case of abuse of public trust for which he should be sanctioned appropriately.
He contended further that the AGF, being the leader of the official Bar in Nigeria and chief law officer of the federation, was the one best placed to take up the case against Igbokwe, on behalf of the judiciary, lawyers, and indeed, the general public.
Among other reliefs sought in the case are: “a declaration that the 2nd defendant is not entitled to make any statement to the effect that a judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for; a declaration that the statement of the 2nd defendant, to the effect that the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for is reckless, unjustifiable and amounts to an unwarranted denigration of the integrity and authority of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in particular and the judiciary in general.”
He asked the court for “an order directing the 1st defendant to forthwith interview, engage and demand proof from the 2nd defendant, of the latter’s statement that the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was bought and paid for, failing which, the said 1st defendant should forthwith prosecute the said 2nd defendant.”
The case is yet to be assigned to any court for hearing.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won 20 out of the 23 local government areas in the just concluded local government election in the State, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clinched three local governments.
According to the results released by the Rivers State independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), yesterday, the APC won the chairmanship seats in Abua/Odual, Andoni, Opobo Nkoro, Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Okrika, Ogu/Bolo and Khana local government areas.
APC also won in Gokana, Tai, Oyigbo, Bonny, Eleme, Etche, Omuna, Akuku Toru, Asari Toru, Degema, Ikwerre and Emohua local government areas.
The Commission, however, said the PDP won in Port Harcourt City, Obio/Akpor, and Ogba Egbema Ndoni local government areas.
Chairman of the Commission, Dr Michael Odey, who announced the results at the Commission headquarters in Port Harcourt, said Ofori Owolabi of the APC scored 28,755 votes to emerge winner of the election for Abua Odual while Solomon Ochomma, also of the APC, emerged chairman elect for Ahoada East after scoring 54,509 votes.
Odey said Eugene Epelle also of the APC scored 84,125 votes to emerge winner in Ahoada West, while Bob Fubara was elected the chairman-elect for Akuku Toru after scoring 63,593 votes.
Similarly APC chairmanship candidate Lucky Otuo Promise emerged chairman-elect for Andoni after scoring a total of 126,181 votes, APC’s George Onengiyeofori emerged winner in Asari Toru after scoring 56,383 votes, while Pepple Blessing Abinye garnered 13,543 votes to emerge winner in Bonny Local Government Area.
Other APC candidates elected include Michael John Williams who scored 16,536 votes to emerge chairman-elect for Degema Local Government; Obarlllormate Ollor (77,452) for Eleme; Dr Chidi Julius Lloyd (114,380) for Emohua; Njoku Boniface (100,649) for Etche; Confidence Deekor (96,478) for Gokana, while Wobodo Charles got 62,746 votes to emerge winner in Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Other APC winners from the APC include Akuro Tobins (32,285 votes) for Okrika; Hon Obasi Uchechukwu (38,530) for Omuma; James A James (38,822) for Opobo Nkoro; Vincent Nemieboka (36,374) for Ogu/Bolo; Hon Mbakpone Okpe (70,080) for Tai LGA, while in Oyigbo, Okechukwu Akara scored 101,495 votes to emerge winner.
Meanwhile, the RSIEC chairman announced Dr Gift Worlu of the PDP with 328,823 votes to emerge winner in Obio Akpor; Shedrack Ogbogu, also of the PDP, scored 51,051 votes for Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area, while in Port Harcourt City, Sir Alwell Ihunda garnered 235,054 votes for PDP to emerge winner.
The APC also cleared the councillorship seats in Abua/Odual, Andoni, Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Okrika, Ogu/Bolo and Khana, Oyigbo, Bonny, Eleme, Etche,Tai, Khana Opobo/Nkoro and Degema local government areas.
Similarly APC councillorship candidates also emerged winners in Asari Toru, Degema, Akuku Toru, Gokana and Khana while PDP cleared the councillorship seats in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt city, and Ogba Egbema/ Ndoni Local Government Areas
Meanwhile, the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions has passed a vote of confidence on the just concluded local government election in the State.
National Chairman of the forum, Hon. Mamman Nda Eri, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt.
Eri said all the chairmen across the country were in Port Harcourt to monitor the election as well as gain experience in an election under emergency rule.
John Bibor & King Onunwor
The National Center for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) says that Nigeria is accountable for 70 per cent of 11 million illegal arms and light weapons in West Africa,
Mr Alex Ebimiebo, the South South Zonal Director of the NCCSALW, made the remark at the Naval Warfare Course 9 Inter-Agency seminar, organised by the Naval War College in Calabar on Thursday.
Ebimiebo presented a paper themed, “Strengthening Security Agencies Collaboration to Counter Illicit Arms Proliferation for Enhanced National Security in Nigeria.”
He said that the illegal arms dealings were largely responsible for Nigeria’s 2.2 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and 26,000 refugees in neighboring countries.
Ebimiebo further said that arms proliferation had led to economic distortions, an increase in violence, crime, and impediment to peace building.
He, however, called for concerted effort from all Nigerians to tackle the menace, saying that NCCSALW would take the fight to the society since security is the responsibility of everyone.
“So, as a result, everybody is a stakeholder, so as such, we need to involve the whole society in this fight and the center has a lot of programmes for collaboration with our sister agencies.
”We also have advocacy and sensitisation programmes that we take to members of the general public from time to time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rear Adm. Akinola Oludude, Commandant, Naval War College, expressed concern on the influx of illicit arms into Nigeria since 2020.
He attributed this to the extensive borderline of about 4,470 kilometers between Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.
He also noted that the nation’s maritime domain that extended over 853 kilometers of coastline and of the Gulf of Guinea had also not helped.
The commandant said that the 2021 survey by the NCCSALW revealed that over six million illegal weapons were in circulation in the country.
Oludude said that out of the figure, about 70 per cent were in the hands of non-states actors.
”The impact of this illicit arms proliferation is profound and multifaceted.
”These weapons bred various forms of insecurity, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, and armed robbery.
“Inter-agency collaboration is needed to tackle the proliferation of illicit arms and weapons,” he said.
Oludude said that no single agency, no matter how well-resourced, no matter how well-dedicated, could effectively tackle the complex challenge alone.
He stated that the nature of the recent arms proliferation demanded a joint and multi-agency approach.
“Therefore, this seminar provides a vital platform for us to collectively examine the complexities of this complex challenge,” he said.
Also speaking, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm. Kennedy Ezete, urged the participants to translate the discussions and recommendations of the seminar into concrete actions.
He advised the participants to take the knowledge and insights gained to their respective agencies and organisations and implement them
According to him, “we must ensure that the suggestions and way forward developed here are implemented effectively and that the partnerships forged are sustained.
”This requires a commitment from all stakeholders, including the leadership of our security agencies and the wider community.
”Share your experiences, implement the strategies that have been suggested, and continue to work collaboratively to counter illicit arms proliferation.
“We must also continue to invest in training, technology, and intelligence gathering to enhance our capabilities.”