Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja division and the
Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC), led by Prof.
Itse Sagay, have been identified as threats to democracy and justice by a
pro-democracy coalition.
Coalition in Defence of Nigerian Democracy and Constitution (CDNDC), in a
statement by its Co-Convener, Mr Ariyo-Dare Atoye, described the
activities of Abang and PACAC as capable of “derailing our hard-earned
democracy if nothing urgent is done to call them to order.”
The coalition urged Nigerians to pay close attention to how both of them
are “working together, though separately, but united by a common purpose
to destroy the opposition in order to create a fascist state that will
serve only the interest of President Mummadu Buhari.”
According to the Coalition, “If we must stand for justice and be ready to
work for the redemption of our dear nation-Nigeria, we must be bold to
speak the truth at all times, while exposing hidden threats to our
democracy and the rule of law as constituted by Justice Abang and PACAC.
“The cup of this judge is full. We urgently appeal to the National
Judicial Council (NJC) to act speedily and save our democracy from the
sting of Abang. His rulings are seen as a judicial aberration, designed to
unsettle and destroy the opposition, and by extension undermine democracy.
“We make bold to say that his rulings are now pre-empted by the ordinary
man on the street and they have become a national concern to all
Nigerians. The NJC is free to sample the general opinions of Nigerians
about Justice Abang’s rulings which unarguably are received with disgust
across all divides.
“Unfortunately, the people now easily joke with his rulings as a black
market purchases: ‘I can always get my ruling from Justice Abang even if
it is 3am,’ is now the normal joke in public political talks, which has
now brought the judiciary to ridicule.”
On PACAC, the coalition said: “We have closely monitored the activities of
Prof. Sagay and his anti-democratic PACAC, and we can confidently say that
the committee is a legal wing of a fascist state, constituted to
manipulate our legal jurisprudence to advance dictatorship.
“Sagay and his PACAC’s defence of the wicked, mindless and demonic
invasion of the residences of some judges and their barbaric abduction,
which is nothing but a coup against the independence of the judiciary,
have now confirmed our suspicion that the group is out to subvert
democracy.
“We must never allow PACAC and some celebrated 1990s human rights
community who have now been bought over by this government to do hatchet
jobs; to derail our democracy earned with blood, tears, pains and the
sheer-will of Nigerians.”
While admitting that there is corruption in the judiciary which must be
tackled within the ambience of our laws and a possible amendment of the
laws if there is any lacuna, the Coalition, observed that “if the
executive had embarked on internal cleansing and conducted ten per cent of
self-review in the judiciary in the last 16 months, over 60 per cent of
our corruption concerns would have been solved.”