Season of extra-judicial protests

Call it an era of protests and you will certainly not be wrong. Organised extra-judicial protests within and outside of the court premises by groups and individuals believed to be sponsored are now becoming fashionable across the country.

Most times, some of the followers lack basic understanding of what the protest is all about. As far as they are concerned, it is another means of survival.

The Guardian learnt that most times, the protests are financed by aggrieved persons, whose interests are majorly aimed at influencing public opinion against their opponents.

But it was not certain however who was behind the latest protest in Abuja, which took place outside the Supreme Court complex last weekend.

The business-minded protesters had stormed the venue at about 10 am, demanding that alleged corrupt judges step aside, pending the outcome of investigations on the allegations against them.

As if verbal words were insufficient, the crowd, which danced freely to their own music, displayed placards bearing various inscriptions such as ‘No’ to corruption in the judiciary; When a judge stuffs illicit cash in his shoes, water don pass garri; Haba, NJC, 73 judges were indicted for breach of judicial oath and misconduct, not even one has been prosecuted or jailed’.

Others are, ‘Stop corruption before it stops you’; ‘Don’t get it twisted, judiciary is not on trial, only corrupt officials are’ and ‘Justices are to interpret the law they are not empowered to interpret hard currencies’. There was also another that says: “In the struggle to salvage the judiciary, every onlooker is either a coward or a traitor”.

Although the protesters under the aegis of The Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations in Nigeria, were prevented by security operatives from gaining enterance into the apex court’s premises, they nonetheless delivered on their mandate.

Led by its chairman, Mr. Wole Badmus, the group later made a detour and stopped over at the entrance of the National Assembly. At the gate of the National Assembly, Badmus said his group was prepared to mobilise 50 other groups to besiege the courts of the affected judicial officers, if they fail to step down.

Badmus believed that unless something urgent was done, the few bad eggs in the judiciary would spoil the good ones. “That is why we have decided to add our voices to the raging controversy over the arrest of some judges and justices over alleged corruption. And we are calling on them to step down now until they clear their names of the allegations levelled against them”, Badmus said.

The leadership of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) recently made a u-turn on its earlier position concerning judges accused of corruption and professional misconduct by the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS) by urging those who were accused of corruption to step aside from presiding over matters until they are proven innocent of the allegations.

The issue of whether they should step aside or not has remained contentious between the NBA and National Judicial Council, which has insisted that there was no basis for asking the judges to step aside.

Firm workers protest in Lagos court
Some members of staff of Global West Vessel Specialist Limited besieged the premises of the Federal High Court on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi on Thursday to protest the non-payment of their salaries for 15 months.

The company is linked with an ex-Niger Delta militant leader, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo. And all its bank accounts had since been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC charged Tompolo with an alleged fraud of N45.9bn and the company was also joined as a defendant in the case. The workers, who protested at the court premises on Thursday, lamented that due to the prosecution of the company and the freezing of its accounts, their salaries had not been paid for the past 15 months.

They stood in front of the court carrying placards with inscriptions such as, ‘Global West Vessel Specialist Limited workers need our 15 months salaries’; ‘We are suffering, some of our colleagues have died in the process’; ‘Mr. President save our soul’; ‘we are in support of your government, we are not militants’; ‘Global West is not owned by Tompolo’, among others.

The spokesman for the protesting workers, Roland Omobude, explained that Global West had an affiliation with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

He said, “We are the sea workers, working under Global West. They said the company has a case and we don’t even know what case. If the company has a case, are we, the workers, to suffer for this case? Can’t they identify the people that are involved in this case and pick them up? Let them pay us our own salary. Some of our colleagues have died. About four or five people have died in the process. We are about 350 workers; we are in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri and Bayelsa.

“They said the EFCC has frozen the accounts of Global West and since they’ve frozen the account last year, when this new PMB regime came, nothing has been done. And without them defreezing this account nothing can be done. We are begging the Federal Government, we are begging everybody in this country to come to our aid; we are suffering.”

The EFCC, which charged the company along with Tompolo before Justice Ibrahim Buba, had claimed that Tompolo connived with a former Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpolokemi, to use Global West to defraud NIMASA.

An investigator of the EFCC, Ahmed Ghali, had on May 23, 2016 testified in court that Tompolo used Global West to defraud NIMASA to the tune of N23.8billion between April 2012 and March 2015.

Ghali had claimed that the N23.8billion was an overpayment on the said contract awarded to Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, by NIMASA under Akpobolokemi’s watch.

Ghali also alleged that Akpobolokemi breached the private-partnership agreement in the award of the contract to Tompolo’s company in return for a bribe of N700m.

According to him, the contract was for the “improvement of security within the Nigeria maritime domain, improvement in data collection, improvement of cabotage and revenue generation enforcement, improvement of safety of life at sea and enhancement of search and rescue, improvement in pollution control and management leading to cleaner waters.”

The defendants in the case are Tompolo, Akpobolokemi, Kime Engozu, Rex Elem, Gregory Mbonu and Warredi Enisuoh.

Others are Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, Odimiri Electrical Limited, Boloboere Property and Estate Limited and Destre Consult Limited.

While Akpobolokemi and the others defendants were arraigned on March 22, 2016, Tompolo, who had shunned court’s summons served on him to appear in court, is yet to be arraigned.
Women join the fray in solidarity for Mrs Jonathan

Similarly, women numbering over 100 a day ealier had stormed the Federal High Court in Lagos, chanting songs of protest, over the freezing order on bank accounts of ex-first lady, Patience Jonathan.

EFCC had on September 22, ordered the freezing of some bank accounts belonging to the former First Lady. The Commission had asserted that this was due to the ongoing investigation of alleged money laundering against her.

Meanwhile, Jonathan in a fundamental rights suit instituted against the EFCC, is asking the court to issue an order, directing the unfreezing of her accounts forthwith.

She is also claiming the sum of 200 million dollars against the commission as damages for infringing on her fundamental rights.

But about 100 women, dressed in traditional attires of “buba and wrapper” with head gear, stormed the premises of the Federal High Court in Lagos in protest over the freezing order.

The women chanted songs in ijaw and English languages, and raised several placards with numerous inscriptions.

Some of the inscriptions reads: “Ijaw people are in solidarity with Jonathan” “Unfreeze ex-president Jonathan’s wife’s account” “We urge EFCC to abide by the rule of law” “Women must be heard”. Some of the women expressed loudly their concern for enforcement of women rights as well as those of the ex first lady.

Immediately after the court had risen, they trooped in their numbers towards the prosecution vehicle, chanting songs of solidarity and boldly displaying their placards.

However, Jonathan’s suit has been fixed on December 7 by the trial judge, Babs Kuewumi.