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| Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad |
• As CJN defines legal technicality, says Nigeria inherited same from the British
July 20, 2019
By Chikwas Onu Ikpe | For Biafra Writers
Leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu has reacted to Wednesday's endorsement of the head of the National Judicial Council, otherwise the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, on the floor of the National Assembly; describing it as “a judicial maze”.
Kanu who spoke on Radio Biafra (yesterday) Friday evening stated that the passage of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad to administering the judicial arm of government, notwithstanding the mal-representation of the legal principles, justifies Nigeria as a “shithole”.
Bring to mind that Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia South in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, during cross-examination extended microphone to the Chief justice, Tanko Muhammad, to spell out the philosophy of the supreme court (under him); whether or not its discretion should rest on legal technicalities.
In defence of the probe, the presiding judge of the supreme court defined technicality as “something which is technical”. He went further to say that if something is technical, “it is in a way given leeway (sic) for double interpretation; such that it may be interpreted this way by Mr. A or that way by Mr. B.
“We have technicality in our rules; and this is because these rules we have inherited, we inherited them from the British. The British people have quite (some centuries ago) introduced what is known as technicality in their rules.
"If something technical comes before the court, what we normally do at the trial court is, we ask people who are expert in that field to come and testify. We rely on their testimony because they are expert in that field. Ask me anything on aeroplane, I don't know. Ask me to ‘drive’ an aeroplane; I'm sure if you were a passenger, and they told you ‘that flight is going to be driven by Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko,’ you would get out of there.”
Consequently, the IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu berated Justice Tanko for his ineptitude in legal philosophy; saying he [Tanko] lacks what jurisprudence is all about.
According to Nnamdi Kanu: “A very simple question unraveled the hopelessness and grand stupidity of the entire judicial structure of Nigeria.
“No other episode properly encapsulates the dire state of Nigeria than the so-called, shambolic Senate confirmation of Tanko Muhammad, the new Chief Justice of Nigeria. Anybody who endured watching that programme (as it was streamed live) should feel ashamed of themselves; to have watched a wretched and pathetic display from somebody they claim should be at the helm of the judicial system of Nigeria.
"Anybody that complained, or had any word to say against President Donald Trump because he referred to some States in Africa, especially Nigeria as a shithole, after watching that very programme (of confirming the CJN) should go and apologise to Donald Trump. He was being too kind.
“The incapability of Tanko Muhammad to have understood what legal technicality implies shows that he is poorly educated and unfit to be judge. Somebody who is not qualified to be a palm-wine tapper, but today he is the Chief justice.
“It dawned on Tanko to have absorbed that there is something called precedent in law. There is something also called rules of engagement and/or code of conduct; something that the administration of justice and law is predicated upon. You find precedent always playing a key part or role in common law (which Nigeria practice); not civil law. Alas! The supreme court of Nigeria does not obey their own precedent; but the legislature that should be cleaning up all these mess (when there are conflict interpretation of the law by the apex court) are impotent, weak, and useless.“
"When the law says that if you arrest a suspect, you must arraign them before a magistrate within 48 hours. On the contrary (if you do not), regardless of the gravity of that very offense or crime, the suspect should be set free because you have broken the law as recognised in the constitution; that casts as technicality. The latter is because, the substance of the matter, or its criminality is no longer under consideration but the circumstances surrounding that very case.
“But, Tanko Muhammad, the Fulani Sharia judge now confirmed Chief justice (he was a Fulani magistrate) went ahead to comparing legal technicality with the inability of a judge such as himself to effectively 'drive' an aeroplane. Unbelievable!”
Reacting to the ethnic nepotism of the powers that be in the government, he said: "Onnoghen was alleged, and suspended because of the same ethnic bigotry that bounds within the Islamic government of Nigeria. There are learned judges that could have occupied the position of the CJN; but due to the despotic nature of the zoo called Nigeria, it must be Fulani man (why) because Buhari - before he died - came with this very agenda of Fulanization. It doesn't matter what you say, every arm of government must be occupied by a Fulani.”
THE BIAFRA TIMES
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