The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has asked the Department of State Services, DSS, to be law-abiding and honour its obligations to the constitution by allowing Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, unfettered access to his lawyers.
HURIWA, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and Miss. Zainab Yusuf, the National Media Director, said the continuous disrespect to the judicial powers of the Federation domiciled in the court of law by the constitution being flouted serially by the DSS is a signal that Nigeria has become lawless.
It added that anarchy has increasingly set in thereby undermining the essence of constitutional democracy.
The statement read, “We urge the hierarchy of the Department of State Services, DSS, to stop operating like a lawless contraption and thereby painting Nigeria like a banana Republic before rational members of the international community by denying accused persons such as the detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the legally permitted access to his lawyers and doctors.
“We urge the international community, especially the Great Britain to put pressure on President Buhari to be a respecter of the Nigerian legal systems and stop desecrating the supreme law of the Country by allowing security agencies who take direct instruction from him from violating binding orders made by the Courts of law which violates section 6 of the Grund Norm.
“It’s hypocritical for President Muhammadu Buhari to mouth his respect for the due process of the law as he mounted the global rostrum of a summit in London few hours back only for the Department of State Services, which he teleguides to continuously rubbish the PRINCIPLE OF RULE OF LAW.”
“The leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be accorded all his rights as specified by the Constitution and by all the international Human Rights and humanitarian laws including allowing him to enjoy unfettered access to his lawyers and to his medical Professionals to his choice. It’s beyond imagination that Prime minister of Great Britain Mr. Boris Johnson keeps hosting President Muhammadu Buhari in Britain when it is notorious that the Nigerian President has long abandoned the respect for the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians as specified in international legal documents under the auspices of the United Nations with Great Britain as one of the five Permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations. What exactly is Great Britain telling the World? Is it that the British People backs dictatorial regimes in Africa’s largest nation? This is reprehensible and odious.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government had earlier this week failed to produce Kanu in court contrary to an order of the Federal High Court.
Beyond Kanu’s absence in court, Justice Nyako drew the attention of the Federal Government lawyer and that of Kanu to the fact that the yearly vacation of the court had commenced.
Although the judge expressed reservation on the failure to bring Kanu to court, the matter was eventually fixed for October 21.
