BY NKEM EKEOPARA
It’s no longer news that the quasi-militaristic government of former military dictator and current president of Nigeria, Mohammadu
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Nnamdi Kanu |
As already
mentioned, Kanu was granted bail on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, by Justice Binta
Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja. His bail conditions were so stringent
and unprecedented that many thought it would be practically impossible to meet.
He was required to provide three sureties in the sum of N100 million each. Of
the sureties, one must be a senior highly placed person of Igbo extraction such
as a senator. The second must be a highly respected Jewish leader since Kanu’s
religion is Judaism, and the third must be a highly respected person who owns
landed property and is resident in Abuja. Also, he was required to deposit his
Nigerian and British passports with the court, and provide the court with
reports on the progress of his health and treatment on a monthly basis. The
IPOB’s leader bail conditions included that he must not hold rallies, must not
be in a crowd of more than 10 people and must not grant press interviews.
From the
onset, Kanu had maintained that parts of his bail conditions violated his
constitutional rights. These are the aspects dealing with holding or attending
rallies, being in a crowd of more than 10 people, and granting press interviews.
Constitutionally, these bother on freedom of association and peaceful assembly,
and freedom of expression and press guaranteed under sections 40 and 39 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, (as amended),
respectively. Already, the IPOB leader has challenged these prohibitive and
discriminatory conditions in court through an application dated July 1, 2017,
and filed at Federal High Court in Abuja by his counsel, Attorney Ifeanyi
Ejiofor. So, one wonders why AGF, Malami should be in court, asking for the
revocation of Kanu’s bail.
To be
sure, this is not about the rule of law. It’s about fighting for the soul of
Nigeria. It’s not about the rule of law, because the current regime
in Abuja
does not bother about the rule of law. If it operates by the tenets of the rule
of law, then, it ought to have released Nnamdi Kalu when Justice Adeniyi
Ademola of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court ordered that he be
released unconditionally from illegal detention on December 17, 2015. If the
Buhari regime had respect for the rule of law and even-handed justice, then, it
would have by now rounded up the authors of Kaduna Declaration for their
genocidal call against the Igbo living in the North, and commenced their
prosecution in earnest instead of Malami saying that they couldn't arrest them,
because of the security implications. Malami’s statement makes one wonder if
there are no security implications in re-arresting Kanu. Further, if this
government had respect for the rule of law, it would have also by now sought
out the composers of anti-Igbo songs for genocide and those circulating them
and prosecuted them. This government has not attended to any of those serious
and credible security threats to a huge section of its population, the Igbo.
Rather, it wants to re-arrest a man, who is leading a non-violent organization
that is seeking for self-determination for his people in a struggle against
manifest injustices and genocides perpetrated against them since 1945.
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Arewa Quit Notice Announcers |
Since the
Federal Government initiated the move to re-arrest Kanu, voices of reason rang
out in condemnation of it. Mr. Nnia Nwodo, the President-General of Ohanaeze
Ndigbo, in a courageous statement on Saturday, August 26, 2017, said he was
amazed that the distinguished attorney (Malami) is prepared to contest the
superiority of the provisions of the Constitution on fundamental human rights
of freedom of movement and freedom of association over an erroneous judicial
proclamation violating those rights. Further, Mr. Nwodo described Malami’s
action as biased, insensitive and misdirected, citing his inability to bring to
book Arewa “Youths” who issued quit notice to the Igbo in the North.
In their
own reaction on Sunday, August 27, 2017, the Afenifere, the Yoruba
socio-cultural group speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka
Odumakin, said the idea of re-arresting Kanu will overheat the polity, more so
when youths in the north that issued a notice to quit were not arrested, even
after the Kaduna State Governor and the Vice President ordered their arrest, he
said the police did nothing. He posited that the government was engaging in
double standard, by giving the impression that what is red line for someone
from a particular region is green line for someone in another part of the
country. The group advised the government to engage to bring down the tension
rather than strong-arm tactics that would overheat the polity.
Expectedly,
the Arewa Consultative Forum through its Chairman, Chief Paul Unongo is in full
support of the move by the Federal
Government to re-arrest Kanu. Unongo has
countered Nwodo’s position, accusing him of condoning criminality. Others who
have expressed support for the move are Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, Senator Joseph
Waku and Alhaji Abubakar Tsav. They expressed their support through separate
interviews granted to the Vanguard and published on Tuesday, August 29, 2017.
Instructively, these people have never risen in strong condemnation of the
Arewa “Youths” since Tuesday, June 6, 2017, when they issued a quit notice with
its attendant genocidal intent to the Igbo resident in the North. They’ve not strongly
risen in condemnation of the anti-Igbo songs for genocide against the Igbo in
Hausa that is being widely circulated in the North. Yet, they are quick to back
the re-arrest of someone leading an organisation a Nigerian court has
pronounced as lawful, and an organisation seeking for self-determination
through a referendum, an internationally recognised instrument for such quest.
It’ll not be wrong to assume that these people are some of the forces behind
the Arewa “Youths”.
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Paul Unongo |
It’s not
as if the Federal Government and those backing it to re-arrest Kanu are unaware
of the possible consequences of their action. It’s just that they believe they
can contain it with the help of the lopsided security forces. Throwing all
caution to the wind in this matter is dangerous. And it has to be clearly
stated that re-arresting Kanu while leaving the "Arewa Youths” to roam free is
a declaration of war. The UN must now do the needful by urgently supporting the
call for a referendum in Nigeria to avoid a looming catastrophe.