*Nigerians hail court order, say it saves Nigeria from lawless politicians
Trial Justice John Tsoho of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has okayed hearing on the suit seeking an order to compel the Federal Government to prosecute some persons accused of assisting the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IBOB, Nnamdi Kanu, to escape from Nigeria.
The suit, is praying the court to issue an order of mandamus to force relevant security agencies, including the Police and the Department of State Service to promptly initiate criminal action against those accused of complicity in Kanu’s escape.
Those the suit is seeking their arrest and prosecution include Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, a former Minister of Aviation, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, and two other persons that stood surety for the IPOB leader, Tochukwu Uchendu, and Emmanuel Shallom Ben.
Justice Tsoho ordered that the suit should be served on the Respondents- the DSS, its Director-General, the police and the Inspector-General of Police.
Specifically, the Plaintiff, Mr. Isiah Ayugu, who secured leave to commence the action on Friday, in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1254/18, insisted that the Respondents have a case to answer. Ayugu, through his lawyer, Mr. Oghenovo Otemu, prayed the court for an order mandating all the Respondents in the case to investigate and prosecute Abaribe and the others, including Kanu’s lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, for “working together to propagate and spread lies and falsehood that Kanu was abducted, kidnapped, arrested and detained by the Nigerian Military, when indeed they were well aware of Kanu’s whereabout because they played roles in helping him to disappear from Nigeria”.
The plaintiff said during the period when the blackmail was against the military and the Nigerian government, he suffered emotional and psychological trauma as his freedom of movement and rights were hindered both at home and abroad.
He said so much pressure was asserted on the federal government and it’s agencies by Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, Femi Fani-Kayode and the others. Meanwhile, the court has fixed November 22 to hear the suit.
In the meantime, some Nigerians, who reacted to the court order have described it as one that saves Nigeria from lawlessness of some politicians, who see law as good only when it favours them but as persecution when it does otherwise.
“Don’t forget these politicians, Femi Fani-Kayode and Onyinnaya Abaribe have been on the frontline of opposition accusing President Muhammadu Buhari and his party APC as people who do not respect the law. All they want to do is make noise while they are, in actual sense, the ones without respect for rule of law thinking that the noise will shake anything in people who know who they are away from who the man in power, Buhari, they are accusing really is,” one of them said under condition of anonymity.
