The
Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has advised the Chief of Army Staff,
Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai to disband what it termed “Kangaroo panel” because it
will never be a part of the panel.
IPOB made
the declaration in reaction to the panel of inquiry allegedly set up the Army
Chief to investigate the killings of unarmed members of the group.
The
pro-Biafra group, however, stressed that it has taken the firm position that
“we cannot be party to the festival of absurdities being organized by Buratai
and his paymasters in their kangaroo Panel.”
In a
statement sent to DAILY POST and signed by its spokesperson, Dr. Ikenna Chinaka
and Iyom Grace Ukpai, IPOB said, “It is no longer news that the Nigerian Army
led by General Tukur Buratai has set up a purported Panel of Inquiry to
investigate the multiple killings of unarmed civilians , the members of the
Indigenous People of Biafra ( IPOB ).
“The action
of the Nigerian Army in setting up the purported Panel of Inquiry was
apparently compelled by the widely published report of the Amnesty
International ( AI ) on the gruesome and odious massacre of over 1, 000 IPOB
members across different parts especially in the South – South / South – East
regions of Nigeria within the last one year.
“For the
purposes of straightening the records, it would be recalled that on the 26th
November, 2016, the Amnesty International released a well –detailed and damning
report (with an assemblage of hardcore inculpatory and over-powering evidence )
on the most callous and blood-chilling butchery of the IPOB members by Nigerian
state actors.
“The report
graphically painted a gory picture of the large –scale impunity and
unprecedented high-handedness of the security forces in repressing the unarmed
pro-Biafrian groups. Indeed, the report in its entirety is a classic study in
ethnic –cleansing, pervasive culture of impunity , genocide and state
–sponsored terrorism against a hapless and unarmed lot merely seeking to
exercise their globally –recognized imperishable human rights to
self-determination. This report has sparked global outrage against the
Government of Nigeria and its brutal Army.
“A prominent
part of the report reads as follows:
“Despite
overwhelming evidence that the Nigerian security forces have committed human
rights violations including extrajudicial executions, torture and other
ill-treatment, there has been no action by the authorities to hold them to
account. This report includes evidence of 87 videos of the events showing the
killings of pro Biafra activists and the immediate aftermath of these fatal
shootings. Yet the Nigerian government has not done anything to end the
unlawful and brutal crackdown. There has been no independent investigation nor
has the President instructed the armed forces to comply with international
human rights law in responding to IBOP protests.”
“It was in a
failed bid to exculpate the Government of Nigeria and put a hamper on the
widespread outrage against the pervasive atrocities of its Army that the
Nigerian Chief of Army Staff ( COA), Major-General Tukur Buratai, on the 9th of
February, 2017 set up a kangaroo Panel of Inquiry to investigate the report of
the Amnesty International.
“It is
instructive to note that “On 30 September 2016, Amnesty International wrote and
shared the key findings of this report with the Federal Minister of Justice and
Attorney General, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Minister of Interior, Inspector General of Police and the
Director-General of the State Security Service. Responses were received from
the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police but neither answered the
questions raised in the letter”
“If what the
Nigerian Army Chief has set out to achieve is to bury the truth as graphically
exposed by the AI, our position is that such a misconceived mission is dead on
arrival. Every norm of natural justice is glaringly against the method
infamously deployed by General Buratai and the Government he serves. No less an
instrument than the Nigerian constitution itself is eloquently against the Army
Chief and his employers.
“Now, hear
this:
“In the
determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or
determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be
entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other
tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its
independence and impartiality.” (Section 36 (1) of Nigeria’s amended 1999
Constitution).”
“The above
statutory provision is a crystal encapsulation of the twin pillars of natural
justice famously expressed in Latin as; nemo judex in causa sua and audi altere
partem which has its English translation to mean; no one should be a judge in
his own case and hear the both parties. These twin pillars of natural justice,
as they are fondly called, are unarguably of great appeal and universal
application. Any departure from the rigid dictates of these rules, no matter
how slight, attracts the only severe consequence of declaring the outcome of
such exercise a complete nullity.
“We are
therefore of the opinion that the principle which governs this matter is that a
man shall not be a judge in his own cause–nemo judex in sua causa: see Dimes v.
Grand Junction Canal (1852) 3 H.L.C. 759, 793, per Lord Campbell. As stated by
Lord Campbell in that case at p. 793, the principle is not confined to a cause
to which the judge is a party, but applies also to a cause in which he has an
interest. The situation here is even worse and extremely mind-boggling as the
very same Nigerian Army in the eye of the storm is now attempting to
purportedly probe itself. There cannot be a better example of working from the
answer to the question. It is indeed a misguided journey in self-deceit.
“We therefore
call on the Nigerian Government and its Army to stop playing possum and wake up
to the enduring admonition of its own Supreme Court in the case of
Akpamgbo-Okadigbo v. Chidi (No. 1) (2015) 10 NWLR (Pt. 1466) 124 where it is
stated thus ;
“This is a
constitutional provision which must not be toyed with. It is well settled that
the right to fair hearing entrenched in section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution
(supra) entails not only hearing a party on any issue which could be resolved
to his prejudice but also ensuring that the hearing is fair and in accordance
with the twin pillars of justice, namely, audi alteram partem and nemo judex in
causa sua. Thus, where a party is not heard at all in a matter which affects
his right or the trial is adjudged unfair, any judgment generated therefrom,
becomes a nullity and of no legal consequence. It is bound to be set aside.”
“It is for
the foregoing reasons that we IPOB have taken the firm position that we cannot
be a party to the festival of absurdities being organized by Buratai and his
paymasters in their kangaroo Panel. We have never been known for inanities and
shenanigans so we do not have time for such at this point in our history.”
(Daily Post)
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