By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye<\/p>\n
The best value sincere friends and associates of the Attorney General of
\nthe Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami, can inject in his career now
\nwould be to ensure that he schools himself to always speak sparingly and
\nrecognise the need to regularly deploy more time and effort to benefit
\nfrom informed legal inputs before responding to very serious issues. The
\noffice he occupies is such an important and strategic one whose
\nsubmissions on legal controversies Nigerians can confidently rely upon.
\nIt is always very disheartening whenever his interventions on very
\nweighty national affairs are easily faulted by Nigerians, including even
\nstreet traders and roadside mechanics.<\/p>\n
When the 17 Southern governors met in Asaba on May 11, 2021, and
\nannounced a ban on open grazing behind which gun-wielding Fulani
\nherdsmen had for several years now hidden to commit various atrocities
\nlike brutal rapes of women and daughters, wanton destructions of crops,
\nmaiming or killing of farmers and the invasion and razing of
\ncommunities, AGF Malami had rushed out to describe the governors\u2019
\nresolution as \u201cunconstitutional\u201d and \u201cdangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
On _Channels TV_, Malami pronounced: \u201cIt is about constitutionality
\nwithin the context of the freedoms expressed in our constitution\u2026For
\nexample, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors
\ncoming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the
\nnorth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The magisterial carriage with which this obviously very pedestrian and
\npreposterous intervention was delivered must have deepened the
\nastonishment of many Nigerians. How can a \u201clearned gentleman\u201d (least
\nof all the AGF) compare violent herdsmen who appear to derive hideous
\nanimation from wantonly destroying farmlands and visiting their owners
\nwith diverse destructions and violations to motor spare parts traders
\nwho peacefully hire shops from their owners, pay taxes to government and
\nundertake their business in ways that do not inflict any harm on anyone?<\/p>\n
It was such a horrendous faux pas from which Nigerians of diverse social
\nand educational rankings quickly formulated a cocktail of jokes and
\nhashtags to entertain and relieve themselves of the tension and stress
\nlavishly donated to them by the severe hardship and crippling insecurity
\nchoking the country.<\/p>\n
Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, himself a Senior Advocate of
\nNigeria (SAN), could not hide his embarrassment:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is most unfortunate that the AGF is unable to distill issues as
\nexpected of a Senior Advocate. Nothing can be more disconcerting. This
\noutburst should, ordinarily, not elicit response from reasonable people
\nwho know the distinction between a legitimate business that is not in
\nany way injurious and a certain predilection for anarchy,\u201d Akeredolu
\nlamented in a statement he personally signed.<\/p>\n
If Malami had reaped any useful lessons from Akeredolu\u2019s rebuke, he
\nhas proved quite incapable of ensuring their proper utilisation.\u00a0 His
\nshoddy handling of the \u201cinterception\u201d and \u201cre-arrest\u201d of Mr.
\nNnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) has
\nfurther compounded the country\u2019s image crisis and diminishment. At the
\npress conference he addressed about forty-eight hours after Kanu was
\nbundled back to the country,\u00a0 the AGF was unable to see the need to
\nexplain to Nigerians the legal and diplomatic processes followed by the
\ngovernment to bring back the IPOB leader. Nigerians were then left to
\nfeast on the speculations and rumours the pathetic absence of proper
\nexplanation had engendered.<\/p>\n
Matters were made worse with the swift denial of the Kenyan Government
\nof any form of involvement in Kanu\u2019s \u201cre-arrest.\u201d<\/p>\n
At a press conference in Abuja, the Kenya High Commissioner to Nigeria,
\nDr. Wilfred Machage, fumed:\u00a0 \u201cI want to address this allegation by
\ndenying that Kenya was involved in the alleged arrest in Kenya and
\nextradition to Nigeria of Mr. Kanu. To us therefore, these allegations
\nare fictional, imaginary and deliberately concocted to fuel antagonistic
\nfeelings among certain section of the Nigerian people. We are also
\ndisturbed, dismayed and astonished by the unfortunate statement on the
\nalleged arrest in Kenya which was carried in the dailies. The government
\nof Kenya is particularly appalled by the spurious, derogatory and
\nlibelous mention of the name of our dear President on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadly, AGF Malami did not appear to have appreciated the damage
\nKenya\u2019s rebuttal had wreaked on the image of his office and that of
\nNigeria. Following this was the revelation by Kanu\u2019s lawyer, Ifeanyi
\nEjiofor, that Kanu had confirmed to his legal team that he \u201cwas
\ntortured, maltreated and mercilessly beaten\u201d in Kenya.<\/p>\n
Ejiofor said on _Arise TV: \u201c_After spending eight days in their
\nillegal custody,\u201d the Kenyans \u201cnow beckoned to the Nigerian
\ngovernment. Kanu was lifeless and unconscious by the time they were
\nbringing him to Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now despite this astounding claim by the Kanu camp and denial of any
\ninvolvement by the Kenyan Government, it is demoralising that till now,
\nonly Malami and, perhaps, the few people that collaborated in this
\nodious and internationally embarrassing enterprise can give a coherent
\nnarration of the exact legal and diplomatic process (if any) followed by
\nNigeria to bring Kanu back, since, the AGF has not told us that the IPOB
\nleader was arrested in Nigeria.<\/p>\n
If indeed Kanu was arrested in Kenya and the Kenyan Government is
\nfuriously denying any form of collaboration with Nigeria in the so
\ncalled \u201cextradition,\u201d does it mean then that Nigerian security
\nofficials had sneaked into Kenya and collaborated with some criminal
\nelements in the country to kidnap Kanu and bundle him back to Nigeria?
\nWhat exactly happened?\u00a0 Why is it taking the AGF\u2019s office too long to
\nrecognise the importance of being very transparent about this matter?<\/p>\n
This would readily remind Nigerians of the case of late Umar Dikko
\nduring the military dictatorship of this same General Muhammadu Buhari
\nin 1984 who was allegedly kidnapped in the United Kingdom and crated as
\na \u201cdiplomatic baggage.\u201d\u00a0 The attempt to bring Dikko to Nigeria in a
\ncrate was, however, foiled by the British security agencies. Although
\nNigeria and their alleged Israeli collaborators never admitted to any
\ninvolvement, the incident badly affected diplomatic relations between
\nNigeria and Britain at that time and the people who transported Dikko to
\nthe airport were jailed in the UK.<\/p>\n
No doubt, this matter is now beyond Nnamdi Kanu. No matter the nature
\nof the offense any Nigerian had committed and the need to bring him to
\njustice, should that justify the deployment of crude, illegal methods
\nand the breaching of international laws to do that? Such actions can
\nonly further diminish and de-market the country before the civilised
\nworld and attract unsavoury consequences.<\/p>\n
Now, is this the kind of accomplishment an attorney-general and Senior
\nAdvocate ought to be seen unabashedly celebrating? By the time Kanu\u2019s
\nlawyers fulfill their promise to drag Nigeria and Kenya to the
\nInternational Criminal Court (ICC) over the matter, what picture will
\nNigeria assume before the rest of the world? Already the British press
\nis feasting on the story and painting very ugly pictures about Nigeria
\ndue to this incident.<\/p>\n
So disgusted with the whole process, and in absence of any coherent
\nexplanation by the AGF, a Nigerian serving as the Minister of Justice
\nand Solicitor-General of Alberta, Canada, Mr. Kelechi Madu, had to
\ndeclare that if indeed it was true that Kanu was \u201cabducted in Kenya
\nwith the active collaboration of the Kenyan government led by President
\nUhuru Kenyatta,\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0then \u201cNigeria and Kenya violated international
\nlaw and the rule of law that is supreme in their respective
\ncountries.\u201d He went on to underline his doubts about the qualification
\nof Malami for the post of AGF.<\/p>\n
Responding to Mr. Madu\u2019s assertions, Malami pronounced: \u201cIt is
\nimportant to educate the likes of Kelechi Madu that both Nigeria (his
\ncountry of birth) and Canada (where he claims to be practising law) are
\nsignatories to the Multinational Treaty Agreement where, among others,
\nfugitive fleeing justice in nations with the similar agreement could be
\nbrought back to face justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, I do not wish to bother myself with the insults that crept into the
\nexchange, but the AGF must be willing to admit that he has not helped
\nNigeria\u2019s image by failing to explain a very significant point,
\nnamely, whether the \u201cMultinational Treaty Agreement\u201d he cited
\nauthorises a country to sneak into any other country and abduct an
\nalleged \u201cfugitive fleeing justice\u201d?
\nAre there no legal and diplomatic processes that are usually followed
\nfor the extradition of accused people and why should the Nigerian people
\nnot be fully briefed on that? Is Malami not embarrassed that Kenya has
\nquickly distanced herself from the obvious legal and diplomatic mess she
\nand Nigeria had, probably, created? Or was Kanu arrested in nameless
\ncountry?<\/p>\n
One would have expected that before raining abuses on Madu, Malami
\nshould have first clearly explained the processes Nigeria had deployed
\nto undertake the extradition so that Madu would see how wrong he was in
\nattacking Malami? How does telling us that Madu is only an
\nattorney-general of a province in Canada help our quest for correct and
\ndetailed information? And how exactly did the extract exuberantly quoted
\nby the AGF from the Canadian laws explain this \u201cinterception\u201d and
\n\u201cextradition\u201d mess his office appears to have plunged Nigeria into?<\/p>\n
Well, Malami should hasten to benefit himself with the information that
\nAlberta, a province of about 680,000 square kilometers of land has about
\n387 billion dollars GDP. Reports say that \u201cAlberta’s per capita of
\n$78,155 is the highest of any state or province in North America\u201d How
\ndoes this make Malami\u2019s debt-ridden country, with per capita of US$2,
\n083 (for 2020) and choking with excruciating hardship and boundless
\ninsecurity better than the Canadian province he is trying to despise?
\nShould any person who values his self-respect even be proud to introduce
\nhimself as part of the current regime in Nigeria under which life has
\nbeen unspeakably devalued?<\/p>\n
_*Ejinkeonye, a Nigerian journalist, is the author of \u201cNigeria: Why
\nLooting May Not Stop\u201d (__scruples2006@yahoo.com__)\u00a0 \u00a0_<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye The best value sincere friends and associates of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami, can inject in his career now would be to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n