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Judiciary is under siege, says Adegboruwa

By Godwin Dunia
13 September 2016   |   1:37 am
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has said the judiciary is under some form of siege under the present administration.
 Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has said the judiciary is under some form of siege under the present administration.

According to him, some judges have been sacked in very controversial circumstances.

He stated this at the 7th Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Lecture series, held in Akure,  Ondo State recently.

Speaking on the theme: ‘Nigeria State of Impunity, Human rights abuse and Anti-Corruption war- Where would Gani have Stood?, he said if Fawehinmi were to be alive, the courts would have been filled with myriad of cases on the countless acts of impunity that we have been forced to put up with in the country.

He said judges are being intimidated directly, through the agencies of government, such as the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

“It is worse for lawyers and activists alike, all of whose life are now in great danger,” he declared.

He cited the example of a human rights lawyer, Ken Atsuwete, who was murdered in cold blood in River state as the evidence of the siege on lawyers and judges.

His words: “Telephone lines of most defence lawyers have been hacked into and bugged by the agencies of government, denying them of any privacy, as guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Adegboruwa also warned Nigerians of an imminent increase on the price of petroleum products going by the current sliding exchange rate.

“Without any doubt, Gani would have called for a broad based government of national unity, wherein all talented and experienced Nigerians, would be encouraged to contribute to our national development, given that the APC led government has more or less loss its sense of direction, thereby running the economy aground.

“Gani would have mobilized the human rights community and civil society and labour to embark on peaceful protests, to reject the poverty and suffering that this government has imposed upon the people of Nigeria.

“We can no longer leave our national destinies in the hands of politicians alone, we must all come together and rescue our land from predators, promise breakers and clueless leaders,” Adegboruwa said.

He also pointed out that the palpable hunger, suffering, poverty, inflation and hopelessness across Nigeria and the level of nepotism in appointments against section 14 of the 1999 Constitution on federal character are some of the things the late Fawehinmi would have stood against.

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