For Family Writers
As January 10, 2017 approaches when the laughable secret trial of the four Biafran agitators led by the ebullient leader of IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu will commence, judicial analysts around the world have been describing the previous rulings of Justice Binta Nyako as tantamount to committing intentional career suicide and a serious damage to the image of judiciary all over the world by trial judge.
According to the law of Nigeria, it is only when convincing evidence is tendered before the court that a person committed and sponsored terrorism or belong to any terrorist organization that the section 36 of 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended under which a reference was made to approve that witnesses be produced before the court to testify in private.
The prosecutor of these accused persons has not provided tangible number of exhibits such as recovered firearms in their possession, undetonated or detonated explosives, records of foiled and un-foiled attacks on soft targets, charms, etc as evidence to warrant secret trial or shielding of witnesses that will testify against them. There is nowhere in the law of Nigeria which said that when a suspect is arrested, then the consent of the attorney-general of Nigeria or attorney-general of a state be sought to approve a secret trial or witnesses to be shielded without having the prosecutor first tender tangible numbers of exhibits recovered from the suspects which will provide a convincing evidence that the suspect could be indeed a terrorist after the trial under reference. It is highly unfortunate that some of us who did not spend even a year in any discipline in school relating to law interpret the law of the land more than most legal practitioners in Nigeria.
I hereby call on the local and international human right organizations, local and international observers and entire international judicial arena to make Justice Binta Nyako to understand that occasions according stipulated laws of Nigeria warranting a witness to be shielded or testify in private has not arise in the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafran agitators standing trial with him, unless if Nigeria judiciary has become an enclave of injustice under Justice Binta Nyako.
My careful study of Justice Binta Nyako judicial procedure has made me to conclude that it is either
(1) The trial judge, Binta Nyako is not intellectually and academically competent to preside over a case of such magnitude.
(2) The trial judge is under any form of blackmail to commit travesty of justice as ransom for the said blackmail.
(3) The trial judge is under pressure from Nigeria seat of power to do anything even outside the stipulated laws of the land to satisfy the ungodly yearning of Nigeria tyrant Muhammadu Buhari who vowed on December 30, 2015 that he will never obey any court verdict which ruled that Nnamdi Kanu will be released.
I want categorically say that for a trial judge to make such a nasty and reckless statement in an open court, she has lost relevance in presiding over the case under reference and thereby should hands-off the trial. There is no how the first defendant whom the outburst of the trial judge was directed to will still have confidence on the judge as an unbiased umpire in the case.
I am calling on the both local and international human right organizations to as a matter of urgency compel the trial judge to
(1) Withdraw her terrifying and nasty statement of cluelessness that the court belong to her and can do anything whether anybody like it or not.
(2) Immediately hands-off the case on the ground that she has reckless made ruling without consulting her other 3-man bench, because no court has power to overturn or withdraw its ruling. The reckless ruling under reference which she made is approving a mask witness to testify in an open court when tangible exhibits has not been tendered before the court as recovered from the terror suspects as to warrant enough evidence to allow the witness to testify in private. So, as the ruling cannot be withdrawn by the same court according to law, let her just hands-off the case to avoid more damage on the judicial image.
Justice Binta Nyako has proven all rounds that she is incompetent to rightly interpret the laws contained in judicial processes. We are ready crossing our fingers as we watch.
