By Cajetan Mmuta
The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL), the umbrella body of all youth wings in the southeast geopolitical zone on Thursday expressed anger at operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) for barring top Igbo leaders from entering the courtroom of the Federal High Court Abuja where Nnamdi Kanu was arraigned for trial.
President General of the group, Hon. Goodluck Ibem said they were enraged over the unprofessional conduct of the Department of State Security Services, (DSS) barred highly respected Igbo elder statesmen like Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife who is the representative of the apex socio-cultural Igbo organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah who is a serving Senator of the Federal Republic and other highly respected Igbo leaders from gaining access to the courtroom.
Ibem noted that the DSS has desecrated the country’s temple of justice and also I suites Igbo leaders and therefore must apologize for their action.
Members of the coalition accused the DSS operatives of allegedly threatening to shoot lawyers and Igbo leaders who dared to enforce their rights by approaching the entrance to the courtroom.
The DSS had stated that “they were acting on orders from above.
COSEYL wondered if the “order from above also means that assassination threat is meted out to lawyers and great Igbo leaders in broad daylight at the court premises?. Wonders shall never end!”
The leadership of the body asked “Is the Nigerian Court now the court of the North where no Igbo man is allowed access?. It is so pathetic. This present administration has destroyed all our democratic ethos.”
Ibem said that “What played out at the court today is the height of insult against Ndigbo and we condemn it in its entirety. It is very clear that the present regime enjoys insulting the sensibility of the Igbo race. Can the DSS stop a representative of the Arewa Elders Forum from entering the courts? The answer is no.”
“But because Dr. Ezeife, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, and other great Igbo leaders were representatives of the Igbo Nation, they were denied access to the court in a matter involving their own son and brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in a supposed democratic administration”.
They frowned that “journalists were denied access to the courtroom. In fact, what happened today (Thursday) at the Federal High Court, Abuja can best be described as a show of shame.”
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The court sitting was just to fulfill all righteousness. Nothing tangible was heard or addressed in court. Only a society that has no respect for elders and fundamental human rights will stop highly respected statesmen in the society who are great and respected personalities from gaining access to the courtroom.”
“Dr. Ezeife is a former Governor and Senator Ubah is a serving Senator but they were denied access because they are of the Igbo tribe,” Ibem said.
“The DSS is part of the executive arm of government that executes its orders. They have no powers under a democratic government to dictate who enters the courtroom that is totally under the Judiciary arm of government. It is an aberration and a travesty of the law for the DSS operatives to stand at the entrance of the courtroom to dictate who enters and who does not enter the courtroom.”
He stated that “What happened today in court at the hearing of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s case clearly shows that we are not in a democratic administration but a military regime that has no respect for fundamental human rights and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which the President swore to protect. The executive arm led by President Muhammad Buhari is now the president who is the head of the executive and also the Chief Judge of Nigeria, CJN, that is in-charge of the Judiciary arm of government.”
“He now dictates who will enter and who will not enter the courtroom using the DSS operatives and other security agents. Too sad!.”
“There is nowhere in the world where the President in a democratic administration detects what happens in the court. The Judiciary is an independent arm of government separated from the executive arm.”
“The Judiciary is the last hope of the common man and everyone is entitled to approach the court. If the executive now has powers to detect who enters and who does not enter the temple of Justice, it means we no longer have democracy in Nigeria but a military junta where anything goes.”
“This Injustice must stop forthwith DSS and other security agencies should respect the rights of Nigerian citizens,” they added.
