From GEORGE ONYEJIUWA, OWERRI
Last week Tuesday, the Bilie Human Rights Initiatives (BHRI) recorded a first victory in the quest to obtain restoration of the sovereignty of Biafra through a judicial process, when the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital and presided by Justice Louis Alagoa, gave a ruling in its favour.
The court cast aside the preliminary objections by the Federal Government of Nigeria challenging the lawsuit instituted in 2013 by the BHRI, on behalf of the Supreme Council of Elders of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.
To signify the central importance of the case to the Biafra cause, as early as 8am, members of the IPOB had already filled the court room to the brim anxiously waiting for the hearing to commence. Even when the court session, originally scheduled to start at 10 am did not commence, they sat patiently waiting until the presiding Justice Louis Alagoa finally made his entrance to the court and took his seat about 11 am.
Delving straight into the matter before him, Justice Alagoa reviewed the issues and the grounds for the preliminary objection of the Federal Government, finding that it government’s objection lacked merit, he proceeded to giving his ruling in these words: “The motion challenging the plaintiff’s locus standi to institute the suit against the Nigeria Federation is hereby struck out because the defendants since filing their motion have not deemed it fit to appear in the court and they have also not given any reason for their non-appearance. So, even if the defendants comes back that issue will no longer be entertained and so the hearing on the substantive suit will continue.”
Expectedly, the favourable ruling caused an eruption of jubilation as the decision of the court had effectively cleared the first hurdle, making the way open for hearing of the substantive suit.
Before the ruling, the lead counsel of Bilie, Prof. Francis Dike (SAN) in his submission had urged the court to strike out the preliminary objection of the defendants challenging the locus standi of the plaintiffs to institute the case in the first instance, saying that the defendants had deliberately remained incommunicado and had also not shown enough cause why their motion should not be struck out.
Bilie Human Rights Initiative had in 2013 sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria in suit No. FHC/OW/CS/192/2013 over the sovereignty of Biafra.
Reacting to the ruling of the court, Chief Joe Achuzie, member of the Supreme Council of Elders of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra said that it was what the IPOB had been saying that the remnant of Biafra people had the right to ask for the restoration of her sovereignty.
His words: “We are happy with the ruling and the case has only just began because we have always argued that the remnant people of Biafra who had survived the 30 months civil war have the right to demand that the sovereignty of the people of Biafra should be restored. We are not asking for secession but the sovereignty of the people within the Nigeria Federation and we are also not going to fight another war and have decided to use a legal means to achieve our goal. We therefore decided to toe this line of action, which is absolutely violence-free.
“What all the other groups that are agitating for Biafra want freedom and that is what we are here to do in this court through a legal means because we are not going to fight another war, but it is not that we are afraid to fight.”
Similarly, Prof Osuagwu said: “If the Judge felt that there was no merit in the
