Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed total disappointment and utter dissatisfaction with the ruling of the presiding judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja division in the ongoing case against Kanu.
Emmanuel Onwubiko, the HURIWA National Coordinator made this call on Tuesday, June 28, in Abuja.
This came in the wake of refusal of Justice Binta Murtallah-Nyako to grant bail to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
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HURIWA noted that the case seems like a gang-up between the Executive and the Judiciary against the defendant.
The organisation expressed its dismay that the Honourable Judge of the Federal High Court did not even make reference to that extrajudicial comment by Buhari that the first defendant in a suit between the Federal Government and a citizen would not be granted bail.
The group said the court has proceeded to do exactly as stated by President Buhari as if to say that the judiciary is subservient to the executive arm of government.
HURIWA is appealing to the judiciary to safeguard her independence to avoid encouraging Nigerians to resort to self help measure, if they perceive that the judiciary does the bidding and execute the scripts authored by politicians in the office of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Onwubiko further noted that it was disturbing that President Buhari, who instituted the matter against Kanu and his organisation, seems to be adopting underhand tactics to cajole the judiciary to do its bidding.
This is against the clear provisions of the Constitution on separation of powers as provided for in Sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria of 1999 as amended.
Besides, HURIWA said it is unclear why a citizen would spend a year in prison whilst undergoing trial for charges that the Federal Government has not adduced irrefutable proof; meanwhile, there are top government officials who looted public treasury to the tune of nearly N200 billion and are on bail.
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HURIWA said although it is not in her place to determine for the presiding judge how to discharge her constitutional obligations but the rights group said the unfair treatment of Nnamdi Kanu because of where he comes from is against Section 42(1) of the Constitution which absolutely makes discrimination unacceptable and unlawful.
The group urged Justice Binta Nyako to issue a gag order banning Buhari and his aides from interfering in a matter pending before her Court unless what we are being told is that President Muhammadu Buhari is now the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.
