Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and Culture of Systematic Imposition and Bullying of the Judiciary Anytime
Gov. Ikpeazu and his cliques felt that they are having a bad case in the court, they will exploit public sympathy; tribal sentiment, systematic imposition and bullying to foist their desired will on the Judge handling the case. Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu and his allies know how to cry more than the bereaved; they are professionals in shading crocodile tears just to pity them and rule in their favour.
They know how to turn the judiciary to their will . If public sympathy doesn’t work, they will apply technicalities using tribal sentiment, systematic imposition to cow the judge handling the case. They adopted this method during the whole period of his election tribunal until the Supreme Court panel favour them in a widely criticized and heart breaking verdict. Their so called statesmen can go to the extent of dancing naked in the public to make sure that they’ll gain legal advantages.
They are also good at petitioning against the judge handling their case to be replaced whenever it seems difficult to bribe, who knows whether they are hypnotizing the judiciary to be able to influence them? No doubt, sometimes case can be won by technicalities not by bullying of the judge, what Dr. Ikpeazu and his allies are doing is nothing but toying with the judiciary. When has it become a culture that if one cannot bribe a judge handling his case, he will ask for the judge to be replaced? When has it become right for a defendant to determine the jurisdiction of the case even when the defendant has committed a Federal offence like tax evasion?
Should Judiciary continue to grant hoodwinking request that toy with the principle of a respectful judge who has not seen any reason to join the bandwagon of bribery? Where is the self-determination of the judiciary and how can the judiciary be the hope of a common man with this continues stage-management by businessmen in governance? Does it mean that our judiciary is like a newly bought fowl which was under rope, but refused to walk out when it was released, because it did not knowing that the rope has been loose out of it. It is obvious that the judiciary is 90% independent in Nigeria, but they lack courage to exercise the independent.
How else to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt, as in when an arm robber was caught in the scene robbing people openly with gun. Should the Police wait for the Supreme Court to rule that the person was really stealing before calling him a thief? Must such a robber be granted request to choose jurisdiction of hearing his case? It is only in Nigerian that Understanding these tactical displays will make the judge handling the present tax fraud case against Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu (or Chief Okezie the farmer and businessman) not to make mistake and rule against the reality.
