| Alamieyeseigha: Before
it’s too late
By Ebimowei writes from Port Harcourt.
Monday,
August 21, 2006
There on his hospital bed, he lies, though with stoic calm
and equanimity. But you need no clairvoyance or extra-sensory
tool of dissection of any kind, to discern that this ex-number
one citizen of Bayelsa State is sick. Gravely sick, indeed.
Alamieyeseigha cuts a sorry sight. A sight that evokes sympathy;
a compelling sympathy. No one who sees him in that pathetic
state will not be swayed by pity.
Fact is that this otherwise vibrant man-mountain, ex-military
officer is currently racked by diabetes and hypertension of
the most acute dimension. What is more, is that this man,
who tethers between life and death, also suffers from coronary
artery diseases and infections of the most malignant order.
Last year, he was arrested in London, on charges of money
laundering and other related offences. The journey from that
stage to date is already common knowledge. Today, he is in
custody, standing trial sequel to the earlier London arrest
which elicited fresh charges against him.
The ex-Bayelsa governor who was arraigned last December before
the court, on charges of money laundering, illegal acquisition
of property and false asset declaration, had applied to the
court to grant him bail to enable him grapple with his deteriorating
state of health. Unfortunately, all pleas made in this regard
only succeeded in falling on deaf ears.
Only recently (July 30), hearing resumed in the court in respect
of the same case, as the lead counsel to the accused –
Professor Alfred Kasumu (SAN), told the presiding judge, Justice
Mohammed Shuaibu, that the accused is facing an ailment of
such agonizing degree that unless he is flown abroad for medical
attention, he stands the risk of dropping dead at any time.
Tendered before the court were copies of medical reports which
corroborated the hypertensive and diabetic status of the ex-governor,
in addition to the chronic infection and coronary artery among
others that had kept the man’s health in debilitating
stupor.
It was, however, disconcerting to note that the presiding
judge still refused all entreaties made before him to grant
Alamieyeseigha bail.
While one is not contesting the credibility or otherwise of
the allegations leveled against the accused, nor questioning
the wisdom which had so far informed the judge’s ruling
in respect of the case, I wish to appeal with every due respect
to the relevant authorities to temper justice with mercy,
by graciously allowing the ex-governor to attend to his health
matters as quickly as possible.
Lest one is misunderstood, this is not calling for putting
off his trial. Far from it. Indeed, anyone accused of any
crime must necessarily be made to face the law and, if found
guilty, be convicted appropriately. But what we are saying
is that it will profit neither the state nor the man to allow
a situation where he drops dead in the course of being tried
when in truth such an ugly scenario can be averted.
In a country whose Constitution stipulates the right to life,
denial of bail to the accused will undoubtedly be tantamount
to a violation of this sacred tenet.
To prove that the fervent plea for bail is predicated on reasonable
ground, and not based on a phoney alarm, it is worthy to recall
that when the ex-Bayelsa State governor went for the first
operation in August, last year, he was asked to report again
for the necessary follow-up treatment.
It is therefore not surprising that his inability to report
back as at when due, in compliance with the hospital’s
directive has predictably resulted in the complication which
now places his life in terrible danger.
Even the German hospital which performed the first surgery
on the ex-governor had attested to the case of his worsening
health, as indicated in the letter which it wrote in October,
last year to the British Metropolitan Police.
It is instructive to note that the ex-governor underwent two
fresh surgeries at Kamoras Specialist Hospital, where medical
experts advised on the need for him to be attended to by cardiac
specialists due to the acute hypertension and diabetes and
the resulting host of debilitating complications that ravages
his health.
Even the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital, where the
EFCC took him, has confirmed that they have no facility that
can handle his grievous case.
Barnes Diagnostic Center which happens to be the best in the
country, has also declared that the accused’s health
case is beyond it. What further proof can therefore be more
formidable and unassailable than these?
It is against the background of these unassailable evidences,
that one is reiterating with all due respect, the earlier
plea to the Nigerian authorities and, in particular, the courts,
to grant DSP a temporary reprieve to attend to his health
problem.
Indeed, an appeal of this kind, is not without precedents.
Only recently, Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, the OPC leader was granted
bail by an Abuja court to urgently attend to his health issue.
That decision has not stalled the trial as the OPC leader
has since returned to the country and is now facing his trial
in fairly stable health condition .
Apart from Fasheun’s case, it is also worthy to note
that the trial judge presiding over the Apo murder case most
recently granted bail to a police officer, Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim
who is standing trial for alleged complicity in the June 8
killing of six traders in Abuja.
The bail was granted on health grounds which indicated that
the accused was suffering from diabetes, ulcer and heart condition.
The court also granted bail to police constable Emmanuel Acheneje,
who is standing trial on the same case, on the grounds that
he is infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Giving the ruling, Bello held that the only right that could
not be derogated is the right of an individual to life which
he noted that the accused was seeking to enjoy.
In further justification of his action, the presiding judge
could not have been more apt when he stated that “the
law is an agent of civilization. It is not primitive. It is
on account of its civilized posture that the Supreme Court
takes seriously the issue of ill health as constituting a
special and exceptional circumstance for the grant of bail
for a person being tried for a capital offence punishable
with death”.
If the authorities had been concerned enough to see in these
cases, the need for an urgent medical attention, which necessitated
the bail, why then should Alamieyeseigha’s case differ?
At this juncture, one cannot but emphasize the peculiar reality
of a society such as ours, with all the tribal sensitivities
and sundry primordial sentiments endemic in our behavioural
make-up.
It is against the background of the appreciation of these
sensitivities buttressed by the canon of fair play, that I
identify with my fellow kith and kin in the Niger-Delta area,
both in Nigeria and in diaspora and other fair-minded Nigerian
compatriots as well – to appeal to the appropriate judicial
authorities to temper justice with mercy, by granting the
accused bail, based on humanitarian considerations.
We wish to believe that it is not the accused’s life
that is in demand, because it will be impossible for a dead
man to rise from the grave to state his own side of the case
– as it would be tantamount to justice denied, if it
so happens. Alamieyeseigha must be granted bail today!
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