{"id":62174,"date":"2018-05-13T22:47:09","date_gmt":"2018-05-13T21:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=62174"},"modified":"2018-05-13T22:47:09","modified_gmt":"2018-05-13T21:47:09","slug":"serap-drags-fg-to-un-over-flagrant-disregard-of-court-orders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-drags-fg-to-un-over-flagrant-disregard-of-court-orders\/","title":{"rendered":"SERAP drags FG to UN over \u2018flagrant disregard of court orders\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned<\/div>\n
Mr. Diego Garc\u00eda-Say\u00e1n, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of<\/div>\n
judges and lawyers requesting him to use his good offices to \u201cprevail on<\/div>\n
the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to end persistent<\/div>\n
disobedience of court rulings and orders and uphold the Nigerian<\/div>\n
Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country\u2019s international obligations<\/div>\n
on protection of the independence and integrity of the judiciary.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The organization said, \u201cSelective enforcement of court orders if not<\/div>\n
urgently addressed would ultimately put the rule of law in Nigeria under<\/div>\n
siege.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In the petition dated 11 May 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director<\/div>\n
Timothy Adewale the organization said, \u201cPersistent and apparently<\/div>\n
deliberate disobedience of court rulings by the Nigerian authorities is an<\/div>\n
affront to the supremacy of the Constitution and the independence of the<\/div>\n
judiciary and if not urgently addressed may lead to self-help and<\/div>\n
undermine the authorities\u2019 oft-expressed commitment to fight corruption.<\/div>\n
Protecting judicial independence is an obligation to be guaranteed and not<\/div>\n
a privilege that States may grant.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The organization also said: \u201cDisobedience of court rulings also directly<\/div>\n
violates the fundamental principles of the rule of law and separation of<\/div>\n
powers. We urge you to publicly condemn disobedience of court orders by<\/div>\n
the Nigerian authorities and prevail on them to refrain from any threats<\/div>\n
or interference that may hamper court\u2019s independence as the supreme<\/div>\n
guardian of the country\u2019s constitution and laws.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The petition reads in part: \u201cDisobedience of court orders is a serious<\/div>\n
threat to the independence and integrity of the judiciary and would<\/div>\n
undermine the crucial role of the judiciary in combating corruption and<\/div>\n
obstruct access to justice, contrary to international standards, including<\/div>\n
Article 11 of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a<\/div>\n
state party.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cSERAP also notes Principles 2 and 4 of the UN Basic Principles on the<\/div>\n
Independence of the Judiciary mention the requirement of non-interference<\/div>\n
to guarantee the independence of the judiciary. Such lack of interference<\/div>\n
implies that no authority, private group or individual may interfere in<\/div>\n
judicial decisions; they must respect and abide by the decisions of the<\/div>\n
judiciary.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cNigerian authorities have disobeyed court orders in several cases<\/div>\n
including those involving the Islamic Movement of Nigeria Leader Sheikh<\/div>\n
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, the former National Security Adviser,<\/div>\n
Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and SERAP. Many state governments in Nigeria also<\/div>\n
continue to flagrantly disobey court orders with almost complete<\/div>\n
impunity.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOther court orders that the government continue to disobey include: the<\/div>\n
ECOWAS court judgment ordering the Nigerian authorities to provide free<\/div>\n
and quality education to all Nigerian children without discrimination; the<\/div>\n
rulings by Nigerian courts ordering the authorities to establish education<\/div>\n
banks to assist poor students to obtain loans to pursue tertiary education<\/div>\n
and the restoration of people\u2019s bank to give loans without collaterals to<\/div>\n
underprivileged citizens.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cAt least two of the court rulings SERAP recently obtained from the<\/div>\n
Federal High Court have been disobeyed by the Nigerian authorities. The<\/div>\n
first involves a case with suit number FHC\/IKJ\/CS\/248\/2011 delivered in<\/div>\n
March 2016 where Justice Mohammed Idris ordered the Federal Government of<\/div>\n
Nigeria to widely publish details on the spending of recovered stolen<\/div>\n
funds by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe details ordered to be published by the court include: (a) Detailed<\/div>\n
information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets that<\/div>\n
have so far been recovered by Nigeria (b) The amount that has been spent<\/div>\n
from the recovered stolen public assets and the objects of such spending<\/div>\n
(c) Details of projects on which recovered stolen public assets were<\/div>\n
spent.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cThe second court judgment involves a case with suit number<\/div>\n
FHC\/CS\/964\/2016 delivered in July 2017 where Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari<\/div>\n
ordered the government to tell Nigerians the circumstances under which<\/div>\n
allegedly recovered stolen assets were recovered, as well as the exact<\/div>\n
amount of funds recovered from each public official. However, the Nigerian<\/div>\n
authorities would seem to have only partially obeyed the court orders in<\/div>\n
this case. The authorities are not known to have appealed any of these<\/div>\n
court judgments and rulings.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cUnder both the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights<\/div>\n
treaties to which Nigeria is a state party including the International<\/div>\n
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights everyone is entitled to the right<\/div>\n
to an effective remedy, and to seek justice in courts in cases of<\/div>\n
violations of human rights.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Mr. Diego Garc\u00eda-Say\u00e1n, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers requesting him to use his good offices to \u201cprevail…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\nSERAP drags FG to UN over \u2018flagrant disregard of court orders\u2019 - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/serap-drags-fg-to-un-over-flagrant-disregard-of-court-orders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SERAP drags FG to UN over \u2018flagrant disregard of court orders\u2019 - 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