'Reflections on Women's Rights'

REFLECTIONS ON WOMEN RIGHTS
CSW 52nd SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN VIEW.


“The world has never yet seen a truly great and virtuous nation, because in the degradation of women, the very fountains of life are poisoned at their source”
Lucretia Mott. At the first Women’s Rights Convention, 1848

Commencing from the 25th February through 7th March, 2008 the Fifty-Second annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will hold at the United Nations Headquarters, New York. Priority theme for this session is; FINANCING FOR GENDER EQUALITY AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN. Here stakeholders: women from all walks of life, from every status and nation of the world, Civil Rights organizations, Non governmental Organizations, Women Rights Advocates, Experts on gender issues, Representatives of governments, international organizations, Financers and various facet of gender sensitive establishments would once again have the opportunity to interact, articulate and deliberate on issues bordering on women and ruminate on the way forward to the attainment of women empowerment in a highly marginalized global society. What emerges thereat is more gender-conscious approach to the formulation of policies and national programs which the various state parties have committed themselves to integrate, actualize, and reflect constructively and statutorily. This forum also provides direction and sample framework of other communities which successes on gender issues can be imbibed by other communities to enhance the status of women in other places.

Women have come a long way since the first organized Feminist movement of the 19th century in New York in 1848. The Seneca Fall Convention gave birth to the Seneca Fall declaration where women resolutely resolved, demanding suffrage and equal participation in all facets of governance, economy and society. In 1991, the United Nations Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) came into force. The 1995 World Conference of Women in Beijing propelled the movement forward with the Platform for Action which has remained relevant in the quest for women empowerment. The societal misplacement of women, who constitute more than half of the human population of the world, has closed against her the opportunity to attain higher social and political functions due to the fatality of birth, which instance made her permanently disabled. At this period in history, no amount of education could make a woman the equal of any man! Jean Jacque Rousseau summed this up when he wrote in19th century that “The whole education of a woman ought to be relative to men.”

It is unfortunate that this was the heritage bequeathed Africans by the colonial masters who enforced draconian laws on our forebears. Soon the truncheon whip of oppression lethally but legally exerted on American and English women bolted down on African colonies and the once revered African women who had once actively participated in governance were rendered redundant and obsolete, stripped of their growing influences. Hitherto, African women had strong presence and imputes in commerce. They made huge contributions to governance and formulation of public policies. They also contributed immensely to maintaining peace and order in time of conflict. But the advent of a new era brought about barrage of total disempowerment and disregard for women’s contributions and participation in politics. As a result African women were suppressed, made docile, and legally became non-entities; nothing more than sex tools and chattel, an anathema which furthered the interest of the slave trade movement.

However, it seems the moral worth of all human laws is tied to historically specific social realities. This century arouses humanistic consciousness which made all agreed that it is barbaric to ignore the fundamental human rights, the inalienable gift given to mankind by God! The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Chapter IV of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, ensures this and does not discriminate on the basis of gender. Rather it purposefully eradicates any form of discrimination, marginalization and segregation that is gender related. It guarantees liberty and ensures equality of all citizens before the law; equality because all mankind share in the dignity of the person and are equally the subject foundation and end of society. To secure and promote these rights therefore is the primary duty of government. Liberty to self realization and opportunity through which women could pursue their own choice and attain equality with their counterpart, provisions to be supplied in multitudes are the primary responsibility of government the custodian of these rights! In effect, it is the responsibility of the Nigerian government to protect the dignity of the Nigerian women.

This dignity comes in the form of respect to her person, protection from violence, oppression and barbaric cultural practices, ensuring her economic empowerment, rights to equal academic opportunity, literacy and equal participation in governance amongst others.. Today the democratic government of erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo and the present regime of President Yar’Adua have given women more participation in governance than any other regime in Nigeria. But the 30% representation recommended by the Beijing declaration of 1995 of which Nigeria has made total commitment is still 28% short in articulating women participation in national governance.

Ordinarily women on their own can effectively change the face of the Nigerian politics and economy as they made up half of the population and not less than 50% of the electorates. However, 80% are chained in poverty and many other factors like domestic violence, trafficking in women, illiteracy and the highly patriarchal society impedes this trend. Even if reason fails in its function to the extent that a patriarchal society refuses to make gender sensitive rules after having committed to do so in international treaties and instruments, women should supply the lack by their dogged insistence on the actualization of these commitments, relentlessly agitating for the practice of the Rule of Law and consistently, importunately advocate for gender equality. Women must also resolve to actualize self realization on their part by determinedly embarking on their ambitions no matter how outrageously ridiculous it might seem to the male dominated society, pursuing excellence in their careers, lives and in every sphere of activity in society. They should dare to break new grounds, attain higher honours, excel every time opportunity presents itself for them to serve in governance, and in spite of the squirming squalor and rage of corruption make a difference.

Every woman must come to the consciousness that the individual can make a difference. It is historical fact that it takes individual to build institutions. Perhaps not far fetched is the person of Professor Dora Akunyili of NAFDAC under the Ministry of Health. Likewise Dr. Obiagele Ezekwesili presently, Vice President World Bank “Madam due process” as she has come to be known! Also Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, MD. World Bank formerly Finance Minister of Nigeria. They are living stories to attest to the changing faces of the Nigerian women! Indeed a single grain of rice can tip the scale! These women amongst others have made the African women very proud!

A woman that would excel in these desperate times must not follow the norm of ‘business as usual.’ There are risk of being persecuted even risk of being eliminated while the pressure to succumb to the prevailing ills might be truly suffocating. But the stakes are much higher for we owe humanity the debt to be equal to men and be treated likewise. It is the only way we could make a difference and cause humanity to achieve the prosperity it seeks in globalization.
Helen Lawrenson said it more succinctly,

“If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted there is nothing she can’t do.”

And to Katherine Mansfield a woman of dogged belief in woman participation in representative governance if risky it is, so be it,

“Risk! Risk anything! Care no more for the opinion of others, for those voices.
Do the hardest thing on earth for you. Act for yourself. Face the truth.”

Our humanity and democratic principles requires us to work together cohesively with men un-perturbly flowing in confluence, ambitiously exerting effort towards the same goal. Women do not seek to usurp men’s positions and powers. No, never! They merely seek the realization and actualization of the inalienable rights that has been given by God and deprived of them for so long. Our society tends to trivalise and underscores this agitation, ignoring the clamour of the largest tribe of human ever marginalized! In so doing Nations repress a huge percentage of their human resources and gross domestic product (GDP) potentials! Our society ought to have realized by now that it need not rely on coercion, oppression or repression of women nor any of its component unit for survival as this impedes national progress and are demeaning to the Nigerian nation in the committee of civilized nations.

As it has been through human history, liberty never comes easy. It is usually fraught with blood, persistence and passion. It is always the duty of the captive to break free from captivity! Emancipation comes to those who willing to fight for their beliefs, do so by not mere words but by actions to acquire their civil, political and natural rights. Liberty only comes to those who are sufficiently informed about their privileges and rights. It is therefore mandatory for women rights organizations to keep mobilizing, sensitizing and educating other women and keep on lobbying in and out of the corridors of power for more gender participation in government and civil society so as to prosecute gender sensitive projects through which we could edge towards achieving women empowerments and eradication of poverty amongst the vast majority of Nigerian women and the women of the world.

In pursuit of these goals and furtherance to ensuring governmental performance of gender sensitive recommendations it has voluntarily made commitments to implement, Nigerian women will make quality representation to the forth coming CSW in New York come February 25th. Civil Society Organizations, Organizations working on gender and women empowerment issues, Human Rights Organizations, International Communities, Women representations from all and sundry will be at hand to exchange knowledge and commit to advancing the struggle to bring effective actualization of progressive gender resolutions into practical realities in various countries of the world. It is needless to say that this meeting would be of immense value to the Nigerian women and nation as a whole.

Tejumade Oke
Director, Center for the Rule of Law
(CENTROLAW)

'Sounds of Enya and Kenya' By Mike Awoyinfa

I want to wish you a happy new year, but deep down I am not happy. Events around the world have conspired to make me unhappy.

Look at how that pretty, brainy, charismatic, courageous and charming ‘Woman of Pakistan’ was cruelly and sadly dispatched to the great beyond by diabolic sharp shooters and suicide bombers who have been brainwashed to believe they are bound for paradise after senselessly shedding the blood of a woman.

Beatific Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim nation, assassinated just like that by lunatic self-annihilators. This one tragic event ruined my Christmas and my New Year. It was the ultimate bizarre twist to an anticlimactic year, resurrecting memories of the atavistic and iconic list of the famous who were assassinated but live forever: John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., John Lennon, Indira Gandhi, Anwar Sadat and Benazir Bhutto.

As I sit down to write this piece, I am listening to the music of Enya, a Celtic pop group whose sad, hauntingly beautiful melodies help me to cope with grief and tragedy.

As I listen to Enya’s sad music, my mind is on the sad East African country of Kenya. I love the sound of Enya and Kenya.Today, from Kenya comes the music of sadness and pictures of shock. From Kenya, comes a political scenario that is a typically African déjà vu. You will think that at least one African country has come of age and has crossed the threshold of civility, but it hasn’t. We are still where we are: locked in the Stone Age, lost in the barbaric Hobbesian jungle of African politics where the loser unashamedly turns himself into a winner and dares everybody to go to hell, if you don’t accept the result.

It was the English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes who wrote about us many centuries ago about living in the state of nature where there is “continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”Before now, Kenya used to be an African pastime paradise, a country famous for its tourism, a country living in a state of nature surrounded by parks where wild animals live in harmony with human beings, bringing in a flock of tourists from all over the world. But today, the Kenyan paradise is being threatened by the greed of one man who lost an election and is unwilling to concede defeat—as they all do in Africa.

Kenya used to be counted among the civilized nations of the world where law and order exist, where elections are comparatively free and fair.

Twice, I have visited Nairobi and each time Kenyans used to ask me questions about Nigeria. How come we have rulers who don’t respect democracy, who have demonized and given democracy a bad name? How come we can’t organize a simple election in Nigeria, such that we must rig elections and kill ourselves in an unending struggle for power?

The story of Kenya and its embattled President Kibaki is the story of a leader who failed many times to unseat the then Arap Moi, until Arap Moi’s constitutional tenure came to an end. It was then that Kibaki was able to come to power in 2002—thanks to a coalition of opposition parties called National Rainbow Coalition who gave him the support that brought him to power. Prior to the election, he had a car accident which forced him to campaign on a wheelchair and that did not stop him from winning. He defeated Uhuru Kenyatta, Arap Moi’s chosen successor.

But today, the story is different. Kibaki has tasted power and as they say power corrupts absolutely. Such was the extent of power drunkenness in Kenya that Kibaki’s wife went about media houses wreaking havoc there and slapping journalists for publishing unfavourable stories about her.

Today, old man Kibaki has lost an election but instead of quitting the stage, he wants to sit tight and watch the whole of Kenya go up in flames. Look at the scenes everywhere in Kenya: soldiers shooting at will, killing at will, houses destroyed, churches burnt with the congregation of children immolated in a fashion reminiscent of the biblical Nebuchadnezzar. And I am asking: When will a Daniel come to judgement in Kenya? This is the kind of stuff that makes people hail the military when they come in.

But I don’t pray for a coup, even for my worst enemy.As a Nigerian, I cannot in all honesty criticize Kenya much as I want to. How can a thief call another thief a thief? How can an election rigger call another election rigger an election rigger? What have former President Obasanjo and his protégé President Yar’Adua to say about events in Kenya other than keeping quiet? A kettle cannot call another kettle black, because our hands are all stained with the charcoal of electoral fraud.

I pity the people of Kenya. We, the wounded electorates of Nigeria, have passed through this ‘jagajaga’ and ‘wuruwuru’ path, when before our very eyes, election results were either magnified, falsified or even nullified outrightly, as in the case of June 12 when the people’s choice Chief MKO Abiola won an election but was stopped from becoming President of our beloved country, resulting in the rampage, the anarchy and the mass killings that is now unfolding in the forsaken paradise of Kenya.

CULLED FROM SATURDAY SUN, JANUARY 5, 2008

'Lawyers to Judges: Restore Judiciary's Glory in 2008' By John Austin Unachukwu

LAWYERS TO JUDGES: RESTORE JUDICIARY’S GLORY IN 2008


STILL savouring some landmark judgments by the courts in the outgoing year, lawyers, including three members of the inner Bar, believe that most members of the Bench possess the strength of character to restore the glory of the judicial arm of government.

Although silent on such judgments, including the sack of Dr Andy Uba as Anambra State Governor for Peter Obi to complete his four-year tenure and the voidance of Sir Celestine Omehia’s purported election in Rivers State in favour of Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, the lawyers asked the judiciary to sustain the good work it did this year, entrench the rule of law and punish corrupt members of the Bench.

For instance, Itse Sagay, a law professor, described the performance of the judiciary this year as impeccable and beyond expectations.
Sagay, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), however said the judiciary should sustain the tempo and do more to entrench democracy, good governance and the rule of law in 2008.

Said Sagay, a constitutional lawyer: "Well, the performance of the judiciary in 2007 was impeccable, to put it mildly.
"The performance was really beyond what one expected, given the experiences of the more recent past. They have established themselves as the real architects of democracy and the rule of law.

"Politicians failed us completely from the Obasanjo regime to the 2007 elections, both at the executive and legislative levels.
"Nobody expected the judiciary to come to the rescue of the country in such a dramatic way. By dong so, they have raised the hopes of the country. I am really grateful to your newspaper, The Nation, for making the Supreme Court of Nigeria the "Man of the Year 2007". I am very very grateful because, you see, people need encouragement.

"If nobody appreciates them, they may not be encouraged. But what your newspaper did was to make us understand that Nigerians are taking notice and that Nigerians appreciate what judges are doing.
"They will feel encouraged, that is the truth. They will even do better.
"I think that next year, we will see a continuation of the same trend because it is the same people who are there. They know this country and what is wrong with it.
"In fact, if you want me to encapsulate the whole thing in one sentence, I will tell you that this new Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal and, indeed, generally the judiciary are restoring the glorious age of the judiciary which we enjoyed under people like Hon Justice Kayode Eso (rtd); Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (rtd); Hon Justice Gaius Obaseki (rtd); Hon Karibi-Whyte (rtd), about seven of them who were the architects of the glory days.
"What ended around 1990 is returning and we expect to see more of it in 2008."

A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief O. C. J. Okocha (SAN) said: "Well, I expect the judiciary to keep dispensing justice without fear or favour, affection or ill wind to continue in its bid to enthrone the rule of law and plant in the mind of Nigerians the idea of the supremacy of law.

"They have done well in the last few years and I think they should continue in that way.
"Nigerians now appreciate that the judiciary is to uphold law and order and ensure that the rule of law is entrenched and enforced."
Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) said: "I expect the judiciary to be better galvanised and continue the good work in 2008.
"I would also want the judiciary to know and appreciate the fact that Nigerians are massively behind them.
"Nigerians have high expectations from the judiciary in the new year and beyond. In fact, the hope of the masses is the judiciary which they expect to stem corruption, entrench constitutionalism, democracy and the rule of law.
"In doing their work, they should exhibit a high level of probity and integrity, knowing that Nigerians are looking at them.
"We have great respect for the judiciary and expect them to double their performance in 2008."

The chairman of the Ikorodu branch of the NBA, Mr Nurudeen Ogbara said: "The judiciary should be more proactive, should be more activist and above all, our judiciary should be more people-oriented.
"It should promote constitutionalism in 2008 much more than before because it is on the basis of that, that governance should be established.
"It is only once you establish good governance that you entrench democracy and democratic tradition. By doing this, it will be difficult for wrong people to usurp our mandate or for wrong people to be in government. So, I charge the Supreme Court to be more realistic and much more involved in doing justice rather than technical justice by which it denies jurisdiction and say that this is the law and that is the law, there is nothing they can do.

"The era of ‘our hands are tied’ is gone forever. This is the era of justice Ubi Jus Ibi remedium, even where a particular relief is not sought, the Supreme Court should be able to grant it so that a lot of justice, a lot of goodwill be done not only to the parties before it, but to the Nigerian society and indeed humanity at large.

"The Court of Appeal has been very wonderful in the last two, three years. They need to consolidate on the achievements they have recorded in recent times in deepening constitutionalism, democracy and good governance.

"The High courts too have been trying. They should not rest on their oars. They should ensure that democracy is consolidated for the benefit of all because in all these things, the more proactive, the more people-oriented the judiciary is, the more relevant the judiciary becomes in our society. The more respected it becomes, the more sacrosanct and more popular it becomes. That will be good for us because the executive and the legislature will then think twice before they do anything. "The Nigerian society and indeed humanity will be the ultimate beneficiary. I look forward to proposing a toast to the judiciary come December, 2008."

Steve Unachukwu Ohamadike, an Awka-based lawyer said: "I would expect to see a judiciary which remains committed as it is currently to the sustenance of democracy, the rule of law and justice to Nigerians, a judiciary with even-handedness to the rich and the poor and ensure that governance is carried out in accordance with universally-accepted principles and norms.

"I look forward to a judiciary that will treat corruption and corrupt public officers with the kind of disdain they deserved and stem the endemic corruption in the country, a judiciary that sustains the present war against corruption in public life."

Appraising the judiciary in the last one year, Unachukwu said: "The judiciary has done marvellously well. It is the only institution standing as at today in Nigeria. It is the only institution that is standing in the midst of the mess that Nigeria has become.
"So far, we are proud of the judiciary and would like it to maintain its pride of place in the country. Let them continue in the way they are going and shy away from temptations which could ridicule the judiciary, particularly, at the Supreme Court level."

Lagos lawyer and civil society activist, Mr Bamidele Aturu said: "I expect the judiciary to consolidate on previous records and ensure that when people bring cases before it, it would treat such cases expeditiously.
"I want the judiciary to be very fair and firm. In respect of some former governors who are alleged to have stolen huge sums of money from their states, the courts should deal with the cases sincerely so that people would know and believe that it does not pay to be corrupt.
"The judiciary has show that it does not tolerate or condone political anarchy by exposing and punishing some of the politicians brought before the courts.
"I expect that the judiciary will continue to uphold the rule of law by ensuring that judgments which they give are in line with the 1999 Constitution.
"For judges who have the inclination to take bribe, the National Judicial Council (NJC) should fish them out and ensure that they are also prosecuted. Those of them found guilty should be jailed because if some corrupt judges are jailed, the move will send very strong signals that the judiciary will not tolerate corruption, even in the larger society."


CULLED FROM 'THE NATION', DECEMBER 31 2007

'Landmark Verdicts of 2007' By Foluso Ogunmodede and Edo Ugbagwu

LANDMARK VERDICTS OF 2007


ALTHOUGH all hopes of a vibrant democracy seemed lost and the organs of the government partially collapsed, the outgoing year could not be wished away in the annals of Nigeria’s democratic system without a thought for the enduring roles played by the judiciary.
The judiciary, no doubt, gave hope when anarchy seemed imminent, especially when the rule of law was abused, when court orders were spurned and when other illegalities took place.
There was palpable confusion just as some forms of illegalities were the order of the day.
The executive arm of the government literally hijacked other arms in a bizarre manner as President Olusegun Obasanjo, as he then was, with support from other security outfits, brushed aside court orders and adopted illegalities as a measure of governance.
The rule of law almost collapsed. There were palpable fears that abnormalities had taken over, especially as the legislature became an appendage of the executive arm, dancing as it were to the tunes of the Presidency.
This apparently became intense when Obasanjo allegedly sought to elongate his tenure, a project funded by the Presidency.
The "Third-term" project enjoyed the tacit support of the National Assembly such that the constitutional provisions were thrown into the waste paper can. The legislature lost its voice until a group within the legislature came to its rescue.
The group, comprising some Senators and members of the House of Representatives, fought the "Third-term" to a standstill with civil society groups and others, the project was dismantled.
Undaunted, the Presidency declared the office of the Vice-President vacant without recourse to the rule of law as required by the 1999 Constitution.
President Obasanjo had accused his deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of abandoning his duties, switched camps to the Action Congress (AC), a political party and major opposition party.
He said Alhaji Atiku’s defection made his continued stay in the PDP and the government illegal and ultra vires.
This, however, threw the nation into another political turmoil as Nigerians – lawyers and the civil society groups – rose in defence of the rule of law.
While this was on-going, Vice-President Abubakar, as he then was, headed for the courts.
Although the judiciary seen as the hope of the nation at its trying moments did not shirk away from its responsibilities, there was nothing to suggest that it would embark on a judicial revolutionary.
The judiciary emasculated by successive military administrations since 1966 however, in a series of landmark judgments, opposed the Obasanjo administration.
This year alone, there were no fewer than 25 judgments against the Obasanjo-led administration.
In the judgments, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), headed by Professor Maurice Iwu, was not spared. The agency’s decisions to bar some aspirants from contesting political offices were upturned by the courts.
Prominent of such landmark judgments was the Supreme Court decision that INEC was not constitutionally empowered to disqualify any candidate from vying elective offices.
Vice-President Abubakar had initiated the suit at the High Court until the apex court’s decision.
Here are some of the landmark judgments in chronological order:
April 3:
The Court of Appeal in Abuja ruled that INEC could disqualify candidates from contesting elections.
Justice Umaru Abdullahi, who wrote the lead judgment, upturned the judgment of Justice Babs Kuewunmi of a Federal High Court in Abuja who declared that INEC is not constitutionally empowered to disqualify any candidate standing for election.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who brought the action, immediately rejected the verdict and headed for the Court of Appeal.
Justice Tijani Abubakar, ruling in a suit filed by the former Vice-President against INEC over the exclusion of his name from the list of Presidential candidates, ordered the electoral body to restore his name on the list of candidates for the April 21 election.
He (Justice Abubakar) dismissed the objection filed by INEC through its lawyer, Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), against the suit instituted by the former Vice-President.
April 4:
Lawyers said there was no contradiction whatsoever in the judgment of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal in the matter involving former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) said instead of contradicting each other, the verdicts are indeed complementary.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday ruled that INEC could disqualify candidates from contesting elections.
But a Federal High Court also in Abuja said INEC could not disqualify Alhaji Atiku Abubakar based on the report of an administrative panel of inquiry which indicted him.
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rose Ukeje threw out the suit filed by former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja against INEC over the completion of his tenure.
Justice Ukeje said the Constitution does not confer any right on Ladoja to come before the court to ask for tenure completion.
Ladoja, sought to complete his tenure in office which was interrupted by his impeachment that was later voided by the Supreme Court.
Justice Ukeje said Section 181 of the Constitution provided a four-year term for a governor in office but added that the period of interruption is not provided for in the 1999 Constitution.
April 5:
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar again secured another victory in his legal battle against the Federal Government, when the Court of Appeal in Abuja held that the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has no powers or jurisdiction to hear and determine allegations of contravention of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act against him while his tenure subsists.
The Supreme Court struck out the suit filed by Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State against the Federal Government challenging INEC’s powers to conduct election in the state.
Justice Niki Tobi dismissed the suit because there was no dispute between the Federal and the Anambra State governments on Obi’s tenure. Governor Obi sued the Federal Government at the apex court over his tenure.
He said in the suit that he took the oath of office and that of allegiance on March 17, 2006.
The governor averred that by virtue of Section 180 of the 1999 Constitution, he is entitled to four uninterrupted years in office as governor.
He asked the court to declare that any governorship election conducted by INEC in the state should be declared illegal, null and void and unconstitutional.
April 11:
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Rose Ukeje ordered INEC to go ahead with the April 14 and 21 polls as scheduled.
The judgment was delivered in the case between the Federal Government and INEC over calls by some Nigerians for a shift in the date of the polls due to the death of Chief Adebayo Adefarati, Alliance for Democracy (AD) presidential candidate. The court said the death of one of the presidential candidates was not enough reason to shift the election.
April 17:
The hallowed temple of justice was desecrated by soldiers who stormed the Ekiti State Judiciary complex, apparently to prevent the hearing of a suit filed by the impeached Deputy Governor, Mrs Biodun Olujimi.
The serenity of the high court and the Fajuyi area was shattered at about 8.00 a.m. when soldiers, wielding AK-47 rifles, stormed the complex and chased away officials, litigants and lawyers. They thereafter put the complex under lock and keys.
April 18:
A High Court in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, ordered the reconstitution of the state Council of Obas and Chiefs.
Its order came some four years after Governor Ladoja dissolved, reconstituted and reclassified the Council headed by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.
April 19:
The Federal High Court, Akure ordered the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 19th Battalion, Nigerian Army in Okitipupa, Ondo State to produce a Labour Party (LP) chieftain, Mr Aderemi Olatunbora in court.
Olatunbora, Chairman of the Publicity Committee of LP, was arrested by soldiers in Irele Local Government during the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
April 23:
The Supreme Court declared that President Obasanjo had no power to declare the office of his deputy, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar vacant.
It was the second judgment in a week by the apex court on the number two citizen.
Justice Olufemi Akintan said: "It is only through the National Assembly that the Vice-President can be removed from office".
President Obasanjo had in December declared Atiku’s office vacant after the Vice-President dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Action Congress (AC).
An Ilorin Magistrate’s Court remanded the Kwara State chairman of the Action Congress (AC), Prince Sunday Fagbemi and the party’s secretary, Alhaji Bolaji Edun in prison.
The duo were alleged to have attempted to bomb the residence of the state’s Electoral Commissioner and a filling station owned by a government official prior to the election.
May 1:
Plateau State Acting Chief Judge (CJ), Mr Justice Lazarus Dakyen was fired. He was replaced by former CJ, Mr Justice Sambo Atsi, who was sacked in 2004.
Justice Atsi had sued the government over his unceremonious removal.
Following an out-of-court settlement, Mr Justice Atsi was reinstated.
May 4:
A desperate bid by Lagos State Deputy Governor Otunba Olufemi Pedro to halt impeachment proceedings initiated by the House of Assembly against him failed at an Ikeja High Court.
Instead, the court ordered an accelerated hearing into the suit which Pedro brought against the lawmakers in which he was challenging an alleged infraction of Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution.
He consequently lost his job as the impeachment process succeeded.
May 8:
The Supreme Court struck out a preliminary objection filed by the INEC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against an application by the then Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, Chief Rotimi Amaechi.
The application sought leave of the court for Amaechi to appeal the party’s substitution of his name as its governorship candidate in the April 14 election.
Amaechi was challenging the constitutionality of the substitution of his name by the PDP with that of Sir Celestine Omehia.
May 18:
Activities in the judiciary was paralysed as a result of a boycott of courts by lawyers. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called for the boycott to protest the April general elections.
May 22:
The Court of Appeal in Enugu disallowed the appeal filed by Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi against the dismissal by the Federal High Court of his plea, for the determination of his tenure.
The court said it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
July 13:
Three former governors – Alhaji Ibrahim Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, Chief Joshua Dariye of Plateau State and Dr Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State – were charged before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged laundering of more than N40 billion belonging to their states.
Another former governor Rev Jolly Nyame of Taraba State was also arraigned before Justice Abimbola Banjoko of the Abuja High Court on corruption charges.
July 20:
The Court of Appeal voided the pay of salaries of two former ministers in dollars under the administration of President Obasanjo.
It described such payment as illegal and ordered the ministers – Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Chief Olu Adeniji to refund N205,647,320. The court said the payment in foreign currency violated certain public and judicial office holders (Salaries and Allowances) Act No 6 of 2002.
July 26:
Former Bayelsa State Governor Diepreye Solomon Alamieyeseigha, was convicted and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for corruption. His conviction was handed down by Mr Justice Mohammed Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
October 25:
The Supreme Court ordered Rivers State Governor, Sir Celestine Omehia to "immediately" vacate the Government House, Port-Harcourt for Hon Rotimi Amaechi.
A panel comprising seven justices of the court ordered Amaechi, former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly to be immediately sworn-in as the governor.
It argued that since Amaechi won the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries, he must not be denied the right to occupy the Government House as governor.


CULLED FROM 'THE NATION', DECEMBER 31 2007

'Who Will Police the Police' By Gabriel Akinadewo

‘Who will Police the Police?’ By Gabriel Akinadewo

I can bet my salary that it was not his first time.
He must have perfected the act through previous successful operations.
Probably, one time or the other, he used his official cover as a shield to escape the long arm of the law.
People looked up to him for succour whenever there was a problem.
They didn’t know he was the Problem-in-Chief.
A policeman, he was central to a drama that happened penultimate Monday.
If you think our anonymous cop was a Nigerian policeman, you are off target.
The incident happened in far away Malaysia.
Interestingly, it was the day a live cobra was employed to protect a luxury shop in London.
The Malaysian drama happened in Ipoh, capital of the Northern State of Perak.
It was at a coffee shop.
A housewife was about to enter the shop when this man came from nowhere.
He went for the woman’s bag the way a cat goes for a rat.
He grabbed it and took off.
Expectedly, the woman screamed.
Bystanders gave a hot chase and pronto, he was arrested.
They must have said: “God don catch you today.” Petty thief, we’ll take you to the station.’
Of course, they headed for the local police station.
They were shocked when a check of his identification papers showed that he was a police man.
At that point, they became confused.
A police man behaving like a common criminal.
Incredible.
In fact, the confirmation came from Perak police chief Zulkifli Abdullah.
“He is a police man. We have confirmed that but we will investigate further” he said.
Investigate what? I asked myself when I read the story.
A friend who was with me said: “Well, all police men are the same.”
If a police man could behave that way, then who will protect the people?
As if reading my mind, the management of Harrods in London did the unthinkable.
It sought the help of a live Cobra to protect a luxury shoe collection.
The “slippery” security guard was on duty for the launch of exclusive footwear including a £62,000 (N15.5 million) pair of ruby-sapphire and diamond-encrusted Rene Caovilla sandals.
A spokesman for Harrods admitted that the Cobra was hired strictly for the launch.
“The snake has now been returned to its owner. So no need to fear snake bites at the shoe counter. Not unless you are a burglar,” she said.
Only God knows how many people entered the shop that day because is you are a genuine buyer, it will take a lot of guts for anybody to enter any place where a cobra is the Chief Security Officer.
But can you blame the management?
A N15.5 million sandal was at stake.
And that is just one of the collections.
Was the Cobra hired just for ‘effect’ or because the management lost faith in the police to protect the store?
In Nigeria, the question people ask everyday is: who will police the police?
This is because of the state of insecurity in the land.
And the lack of modern technological system to properly monitor the activities of those in charge of our security has deepened the fear.
Last Wednesday in Ibadan, a fake policewoman was paraded by the Commissioner of Police Prince Ekpoudom Udom.
Theresa Sunday didn’t just start her trick yesterday.
She started in 2004.
Three years of deception.
She was in the police force until 2004 when she was dismissed.
To survive, she continued to parade herself as a police woman.
Also paraded with her was a fake lawyer.
But no lawyer will accost you and shout: you are under arrest.
No lawyer will use his wig and gown to threaten that you will be locked up unless you part with some cash.
It is difficult for a lawyer to snatch a bag and make a dash for it.
The argument here is that security matter is too sensitive to be treated with kid gloves.
And unfortunately, that is the situation in the country.
Somebody who was dismissed must have done something against the ethics of the police.
It was gathered that after her dismissal, she refused to surrender her uniform to the command.
Obviously, somebody did not do his job very well.
And for 36 months, this administrative/security lapse led to that loose cannon on the streets of Ibadan.
It is an open secret that this scenario is all over the country.
The Theresa Sunday drama is just one of the known cases.
Many are unreported.
And innocent Nigerians are usually the victims.
Only God knows how many people she must have ‘fleeced.’
Our government treats security issues on the ‘face value.’
When I saw her photograph, she was downcast.
That was expected anyway.
She did not expect that the day of reckoning would come that fast.
Since she had perfected all the tricks in the book while in the force, she must have convincingly gotten away with a lot of illegalities.
At least what a man can do, a woman can do better.
When she was paraded, there was this board before her with her photograph
Written boldly on it was “The truth is always bitter.”
If we are to tell the police the truth, something must be done on how policemen are recruited.
Equally of importance is what should be done when a policeman or woman is fired.
It is a truism that most of the armed robberies on the expressway with police uniform are not just ordinary Nigerians.
Directly or indirectly, there is a connection with the force.
How can you just dismiss a man and ask him to go into the society, just like that?
The only thing he knows how to do is to carry a gun and now that he has been let loose, what do you expect?
A friend once told me of his experience in the hands of some fake policemen.
He was traveling with another friend when they were stopped by men in uniform.
They thought the guys were policemen.
After checking the vehicle papers, one of them told my friend’s friend who was driving to open the boot.
By then, a couple had parked behind them
He alighted to do just that.
And that was the beginning of another story.
They (including the couple) were led to a bush path and dispossessed of everything on them.
Their car was taken away.
And till today they have not seen it.
I am sure many Nigerians have fallen victim of fake policemen.
When a police team tells you to stop, the logical thing is to slam your brake.
But how do you know if the team is real or fake?
It is high time we started taking security matters seriously.
The real job lies with those at the helm of affairs.
The police must be policed.
And the time is now.


CULLED FROM ‘THE NATION’, SEPTEMBER 24 2007