Prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human
Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), yesterday, asked President
Muhammadu Buhari to keep to his word at the 77th session of the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week and respect the rule of law.
HURIWA's National Coordinator, Comrade
Emmanuel Onwubiko, in a statement, said the President should effect the release
of leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, on bail based on his
deteriorating health.
The group also warned that it will be very
calamitous for the country should any unsavoury incident happen to Kanu who has
been illegally detained in the custody of the Department of State Services in
Abuja without bail for over 14 months since he was allegedly kidnapped from
Kenya.
HURIWA’s demand for Kanu’s bail on health
grounds followed an alarm raised on Thursday by the IPOB leader’s lead counsel,
Ifeanyi Ejiofor, that the DSS was patronising a substandard local chemist shop
to buy drugs for Kanu who is said to be suffering from excruciating pains
occasioned by gastro-intestine disorder
Ejiofor also reportedly said the discovery was
made during the court-ordered routine visit to Kanu in the custody of the
secret police in Abuja, noting that the DSS aside that it failed to provide the
requisite medical treatment that would address Kanu’s deteriorating health
condition, also denied the IPOB leader access to his personal physician and
wouldn’t allow Kanu’s team to purchase his drugs from standard pharmacists.
Commenting, HURIWA’s Onwubiko said, “The
odious report coming from Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s lead counsel about his client’s
condition in the custody of the Department of State Services is disturbing and
alarming altogether.
“There is the need for rule of law, an end to
the crude and primitive treatment of detainees and the release of Kanu on
health grounds to stave off the unprecedented consequences of anything
happening to him in detention such as death given his near-messianic support
base globally.
“President Muhammadu Buhari promised world
leaders at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly this week in
New York that he would leave a legacy that respects and upholds constitutional
democracy and the principle of rule of law. However, it is irreconcilable that
the President has watched on, for years, how the rule of law is flagrantly so
violated with impunity on the case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“The President claimed that he has “worked to
strengthen our democracy” in Nigeria when he appeared before world leaders on
Wednesday in New York but he won’t respect free speech is a core tenet of
constitutional democracy and which is the major offence the current government
accuse Kanu of violating on social media.
“Of note, even the court in Benin Republic granted
Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho bail on health grounds
a few months ago. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja cannot
continue footdragging needlessly on the bail application of Kanu, going by
presumption of innocence and his deteriorating health conditions which can get
worse in the coming days if he is disallowed access to quality health
facilities.
“Under Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), bail is a conditional right
guaranteed and the judge should uphold this. It is under the jurisdiction of
the court to grant Kanu bail and this is long overdue according to various
Administration of Criminal Justice Laws applicable in the South and the
Nigerian Criminal Procedure Code applicable in the North.
“In fact, section 35(6) of the 1999
constitution requires that a person who is arrested or detained be brought
before a court of law within a reasonable time, and be tried within a period of
two months from the date of his arrest or detention or be released
unconditionally or upon certain conditions to ensure that he appears for trial
at a later date.
“The court should not be contravening the law
because of ethnic biases and dictates of some ‘Ogas at the top’ who apparently
have selfish and inhumane interest in seeing Kanu’s health deteriorate in DSS
custody for the past 14 months. The rule of law must be adhered to if indeed
Nigeria operates under democratic tenets as the President made the world to
believe at UNGA 77th session in New York on Wednesday. For a country that
grants amnesty to hardened Boko Haram and ISWAP members who have killed
hundreds of Nigerians, Kanu’s bail on health grounds is long overdue. Who wants
Nnamdi Kanu dead and who wants to destroy the South East of Nigeria?"
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