LEADERSHIP of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has expressed disappointment with the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, for not being decisive over the
release of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
The organisation, which had hoped that the ECOWAS Court would be dispassionate in making their ruling, is now distraught that the ECOWAS Court seemed to be in league with Nigerian courts to frustrate their aspiration. A statement credited to IPOB spokesman, Emma Powerful,
expressed disappointment that if Nigerian courts could not give a decisive ruling because of their
pay masters, they wondered why ECOWAS Court should drag itsfeet.
“Does it mean that Africanjudges are not capable ofstanding up to defend the rights of the individual against a brutal and dictatorial state, simply because the state pays the salaries of those judges? Can’t ECOWAS Court learn something from the European Court to see where judgements are delivered against sovereigngovernments on a daily basis? Does it mean ECOWAS Courtand Federal High Court Abujaboth funded by the APC government of Nigeria must do the bidding of their paymaster President Muhammadu Buhari by denying Nnamdi Kanu and others justice in this clear-cut case of persecution against those agitating for their God-given right to self determination?” the statement queried. “The Indigenous people of Biafra IPOB and its leadership worldwide wish to express our disappointment with the collaboration between the Community Court of Justice, ECOWAS, COURT, and the
Nigeria Federal High Court Abuja presided over by Justice Binta Nyako. We view this as an unhealthy and dangerous judicial partnership of travesty of justice against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and other Biafrans detained alongside him. “The ECOWAS Court and Nigerian domestic courts
have been noticeable recently on the way both courtshave resorted to making a complete mockery of justice by systematically extending the dates of their respective rulings on the cases before them involving our supreme leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu versus Federal Government of Nigeria. From a viewpoint of fairness and justice, these undue delays are appalling.
“It is not healthy for society or the interest of democracy for judges to base their handling of court cases on protecting the interest of who pays their salary. If this ugly, unjudicial and illegal trend in not checked in black Africa, there is no hope for democratic development and defence of the rule of law. We can understand, if not condone,Buhari’s crude interference in the judicial process because he is by nature a dictator, what isbaffling is that justices of the law both in ECOWAS Court and Federal High Court Abuja should aid and abate him in the abuse of human rights andperversion of the course of
justice. “The determination of the case of gross abuse ofhuman rights instituted by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu againstthe regime of MuhammaduBuhari has been pendingbefore ECOWAS Court sinceMarch 2016. Any reasonableperson is bound to ask why ithas taken such a long time to deliver judgement on a clear
cut case of disobedience to court order which everybodyis already aware of,” the organisation lamented.
