The National President, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Igho Akeregha, has called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to stop a three-man panel constituted by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa in a murder trial in Rivers State.
Akeregha, who made the call in a press conference in Lagos, said the three-man panel of the appellate court was constituted on the heels of a murder case involving Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, an APC chieftain and former Council Chairman of Asari-Toru local council in Rivers State.
Flag-Amachree, who is currently remanded in prison custody and awaiting trial on a three count charge of conspiracy and murder has challenged the ruling of Justice Margaret Opara of the Rivers State High Court who denied him bail on the murder trial.
In the charge, he was accused of shooting one Smart Soberekon to death in Buguma, headquarters of Asari-Toru local council of Rivers State during the April 11, 2015 general elections.
But Amachree’s lawyers filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt challenging the decision of the Rivers State High Court for refusing him bail on health grounds.
Consequent upon this, Akeregha alleged that the President of the Court of Appeal hurriedly constituted the said three-man Appeal Court panel to preferentially entertain an appeal by the accused person, which, he said has been described as an open display of personal interest.
The three-man panel of the Appellate Court is headed by Justice Sidi Bage (Lagos State Division), Justice A.O. Lojulo Sodipe (Ekiti Division) and Justice Adamu Jauro (Jos Division).
Consequently, CLO wondered whether it was right in law for the President of the Court of Appeal to exercise discretionary powers by disregarding substantive justices of the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt Division in appointing her choice judges over a serious matter as capital offence.
The group wondered if the defendant/applicant deserves such preferential treatment as to warrant a special set of judges to hear his appeal on bail application and if he is unequal before the law and better than many Nigerians who have been languishing in prison custody awaiting trial even for minor offences.
The organization is demanding for immediate dissolution of the Appeal Court panel.
