ADVERTISEMENT
The Sun Nigeria
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun
No Result
View All Result
The Sun Nigeria
No Result
View All Result
ADVERTISEMENT
Ley Your Dreams Come Alive – With FCMB Loans
Home National

Odinkalu: CSOs accuse Odili of using judiciary to thwart justice

12th December 2018
in National
0
ODILI
93
SHARES
937
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

Representatives of civil society in the country have described as ‘abuse of judiciary, and the desecration of the nation’s institutions, the non-prosecution of a former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, alleging that the judiciary was being used to thwart the course of justice in the land.

The CSOs were reacting to Odilli’s suit against Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer over a book he co-authored with Ayisha Osori.

Odili said the authors ridiculed him and soiled his reputation in the book titled “Too Good To Die: Third Term and the Myth of the Indispensable Man in Africa”.

The former governor is demanding an apology and N1 billion from the writers of the book, and also requested that further publication of copies of the book must cease immediately.

The group demanded that, “All Nigerians of conscience, all anti-corruption activists, all jurists, all lawyers and judges disgusted with how our judiciary – the last bastion for justice for the people  – has been abused to thwart accountability, to call for the injunctions in favour of Dr. Odili to be reversed.

READ ALSO: Time’s now for Atiku to be president, says Ortom

“We call on our partners and anti-corruption crusaders across the continent and the globe to speak against this injustice and demand that the Judiciary wake up to its responsibility and provide the platform legally available to EFCC to appeal the order which restricts it from prosecuting Dr. Odili on the basis of its report from 2007.”

The group also said, “We are Nigerian citizens, tax payers and representatives of civil society who wish to see a better country for ourselves, our children and our communities.

“Today, we seek to address the historical and continued abuse of our judiciary and the desecration of our institutions as typified by the libel suit filed by Dr. Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers State, against the authors of ‘Too Good to Die – The Myth of the Indispensible Man in Africa’, Chidi Odinkalu and Ayisha Osori.

“The case, recently instituted in a court in Rivers State, is only the latest attempt by Dr. Odili to add to his growing number of trophy cases where the courts had been successfully used to thwart and subvert any chance that Nigerians can hold people like him accountable for their tenure in office.

“In the case against Odinkalu & Osori, Dr. Odili claims that he has been libeled because the book states, amongst other things that his tenure of Governor was “marred by widespread evidence of corruption, mismanagement, organised political violence and electoral fraud.

“This is an understated description of the Rivers State that Dr. Odili ruled. Should we be unable to say so because someone like Dr. Odili has found a way to purchase our judiciary to do his bidding?

“We are outraged that through these manufactured judicial proceedings, Dr. Odili wants to force-feed to our posterity his own self-serving version of our recent history.

“It is a notorious fact that the Rivers State that Dr. Odili ruled was dominated by criminal gangs and militias, many of them with support from the Governor’s office.

“Often, competition between these gangs made life in Port Harcourt and many other parts of the state impossible.

“In a responsible clime, these facts will be the subject of judicial notice An attempt to controvert them will be laughed out of court with deserved ignominy.

“The vision for Nigeria in the National Anti Corruption Strategy 2017-2021 is “[A] Nigeria free of corruption through preventive measures, law enforcement and the rule of law for human development.” Nothing could be further from the truth in practice.

“On paper and at first glance, Nigeria is serious about tackling the corrosive culture of impunity for corruption in every facet of our society.

“In addition to our executive, legislative and judicial institutions naturally responsible for protecting and safeguarding the commonwealth, Nigeria has various agencies specifically tasked with checking corruption yet the will to meaningfully reduce the entitled looting of public wealth is completely lacking.

“Such a will would have made it impossible or at least a thing of shame that any court in Nigeria would consider granting to a former public officer a perpetual injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating, prosecuting or arresting him for anything done by him during his tenure as governor.

“This is what Dr. Odili got in 2007 and despite EFCC’s appeal against this order in EFCC V. AG RIVERS STATE & ORS, CA/PH/622/2008, filed in May 2008, as we speak, 10 years later, EFCC’s appeal has not been assigned despite the best efforts of anti-corruption advocates who have petitioned, without success, the President of the Court Appeal and the Chief Justice at the Supreme Court where his wife, Justice Mary Odili sits.

READ ALSO: The big question: Can humans have babies on planet Mars?

“The corruption and violence that characterises Nigerian politics and governance is well documented.

“In its 2008 report Politics as War: The Human Rights Impact and Causes of Post-Election Violence in Rivers State, Nigeria Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported (p. 2).

“Rivers’ wealth has not just been squandered; it has also been put to work sponsoring violence and insecurity on behalf of ruling party politicians.

“Prior to the 2003 elections, then-Governor Peter Odili and his political associates lavishly funded criminal gangs that helped rig the election into a landslide victory for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

“Those gangs used the money at their disposal to procure sophisticated weapons; some of them are now better armed than the police.”

Two years before the HRW Report, Nuhu Ribadu, then Chair of EFCC used the EFCC’s “Interim Report on the Investigation of a Case of Alleged Conspiracy, Abuse of Office, Fraudulent Conversion of Public Funds, Foreign Exchange Malpractice, Stealing and Money Laundering” to persuade President Obasanjo on the eve of the PDP convention in October 2006 to change the vice presidential nominee  – this change and the reasons why are captured in several books including Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s ‘The Accidental Public Servant,’ Olusegun Adeniyi’s book, ‘Against the Run of Play’ and Prof. Wale Adebanwi’s book, ‘A Paradise of Maggots’, among others.

“What Odili is doing with this latest libel suit is to deny our country a memory in order to avoid political accountability.

“As citizens, we have a duty to stop him and his agents in the judicial system. This is what he has done consistently for over one decade with the court orders he has been granted and the refusal of the court administration to allow EFCC to appeal the order of 2008.

“This amounts to flogging a child and demanding that the child must not even whimper. This political muzzling of the right of Nigerians to hold public officers accountable for abuse of power and public trust is injustice of the highest order and frankly, it makes a complete mockery of any and all discussions about anti-corruption deterrence mechanisms.”

The statement was signed by Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC), Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Partners for West Africa, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) and Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP).

Others CSOs who signed are  Zero-Corruption Coalition (ZCC), Accountability Maternal New-born and Child Health in Nigeria (AMHiN), Partners on Electoral Reform, State of the Union (SOTU), African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, National Procurement Watch Platform, Say NO Campaign—Nigeria, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education (CHRICED), Social Action, International Press Centre, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), WANGONET and Community Action For Popular Participation.

 

Tags: Accountability Maternal New-bornChief JusticeChild Health in Nigeriapeter odilirivers stateSupreme Court
Segun Adio

Segun Adio

Related Posts

Again, suspected herders storm  Community, kill 11
National

Breaking: Gunmen Invade Mining Site In Niger, kill Three Soldiers, Seven Mobile Policemen, Six Civilians

30th June 2022
Families of Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapped victims beg House of Reps for intervention
National

Families of Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapped victims beg House of Reps for intervention

30th June 2022
jjc-skillz-announces-end-of-his-marriage-to-funke-akindele
Cover

JJC Skillz announces end of his marriage to Funke Akindele

30th June 2022
Next Post
SDP

We’re not backing Atiku - SDP

fashola

FG increases Works Ministry’s budget from N18bn to N394 bn, says Fashola

CULT

Four reportedly killed in Makurdi cult clash

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Highlights

Marcos Jr takes helm in Philippines, silent on father’s abuses

Breaking: Gunmen Invade Mining Site In Niger, kill Three Soldiers, Seven Mobile Policemen, Six Civilians

Ikoyi Lions’ Club gets new leadership

Families of Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapped victims beg House of Reps for intervention

CIG Motors enters new partnership with Delta Area Chevron Cooperative Society

JJC Skillz announces end of his marriage to Funke Akindele

Trending

Poland completes Belarus border wall to keep migrants out
World News

Poland completes Belarus border wall to keep migrants out

30th June 2022
0

(AP) A year after migrants started crossing into the European Union from Belarus to Poland, Polish Prime...

Russian forces leave Snake Island, keep up eastern assault

Russian forces leave Snake Island, keep up eastern assault

30th June 2022
‘We cannot pause our lives’: Ukrainians begin rebuilding

‘We cannot pause our lives’: Ukrainians begin rebuilding

30th June 2022
Marcos Jr takes helm in Philippines, silent on father’s abuses

Marcos Jr takes helm in Philippines, silent on father’s abuses

30th June 2022
Again, suspected herders storm  Community, kill 11

Breaking: Gunmen Invade Mining Site In Niger, kill Three Soldiers, Seven Mobile Policemen, Six Civilians

30th June 2022
ADVERTISEMENT

Follow us on social media:

Latest News

  • Poland completes Belarus border wall to keep migrants out
  • Russian forces leave Snake Island, keep up eastern assault
  • ‘We cannot pause our lives’: Ukrainians begin rebuilding
  • Marcos Jr takes helm in Philippines, silent on father’s abuses
  • Breaking: Gunmen Invade Mining Site In Niger, kill Three Soldiers, Seven Mobile Policemen, Six Civilians
  • Ikoyi Lions’ Club gets new leadership
  • Families of Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapped victims beg House of Reps for intervention
  • CIG Motors enters new partnership with Delta Area Chevron Cooperative Society
  • JJC Skillz announces end of his marriage to Funke Akindele
  • Kaduna Govt validates M&E Framework for social protection policy
  • Community leaders seek rehabilitation of dilapidated schools in Katsina
  • Police arrest 2 men over alleged robbery in Lagos
  • COVID-19 on the rise in 110 countries, says WHO
  • Human rights under threat in DR Congo, UN envoy tells Security Council
  • Group urges youth to shun electoral violence
  • Super League: South West Queens pip Benue Amazons for their first win
  • Bayelsa tackle FCT, Benue opponents in Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Finals
  • Kaduna State Govt distributes uniforms, learning materials to 4,260 primary schools, others
  • 2023: Cracks in PDP widen as party leaders blast Atiku
  • Lawyers sue INEC, AGF, others, seek Atiku, Tinubu, Obi’s disqualification

Categories

  • Abuja Metro
  • Anambra Watch
  • Arts
  • Broken Tongues
  • Business
  • Business Week
  • Cartoons
  • Citizen Joe
  • Columns
  • Cover
  • Culture
  • Duro Onabule
  • Editorial
  • Education Review
  • Effect
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Events
  • Features
  • Femi Adesina
  • Food & Drinks
  • Frank Talk
  • Funke Egbemode
  • Gallery
  • Global Square by Kenneth Okonkwo
  • Health
  • Insights
  • Kalu Leadership Series
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Kunle Solaja
  • Letters
  • Lifeline
  • Lifestyle
  • Literary Review
  • Marketing Matters
  • Muiz Banire
  • National
  • News
  • Offside Musings
  • Opinion
  • oriental news
  • Politics
  • Press Release
  • PressClips
  • Public Sphere
  • Ralph Egbu
  • Shola Oshunkeye
  • Sideview
  • South-west Magazine
  • Sponsored Post
  • Sporting Sun
  • Sports
  • Sun Girl
  • Tea Time
  • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
  • The Sun Awards Live
  • The Sun TV
  • Thoughts & Talks
  • Time Out
  • Today's cover
  • Tola Adeniyi
  • Travel
  • Travel & Tourism
  • Trending
  • TSWeekend
  • Turf Game
  • Uncategorized
  • Updates
  • Views from Abroad
  • Voices
  • World
  • World News
  • About Us
  • Paper Ad Rate
  • Online Ad Rate
  • The Team
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • Columns
    • Broken Tongues
    • Capital Matters
    • Diabetes Corner
    • Duro Onabule
    • Femi Adesina
    • Frank Talk
    • Funke Egbemode
    • Insights
    • Kalu Leadership Series
    • Kunle Solaja
    • Offside Musings
    • PressClips
    • Public Sphere
    • Ralph Egbu
    • Shola Oshunkeye
    • Sideview
    • The Flipside – Eric Osagie
    • Tola Adeniyi
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • The Sun TV
  • Sporting Sun

© 2019 The Sun Nigeria - Managed by Netsera.

Posting....