HENRY OKAH'S CONVICTION IN SOUTH AFRICA IS A HUGE INDICTMENT OF NIGERIA'S JUDICIARY-SAYS HURIWA

The reported conviction on 13-count charges of terrorism of the Nigerian-born Henry Okah by a South African Court on Monday January 21st 2013 in connection with the 2010 October 1st  Independence Day bomb attack in Nigeria's Federal Capital allegedly by the Niger Delta armed militants has been described as the greatest indictment for non-performance and corruption of the Nigeria's judicial system even as a call has been made to the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Maryam Alooma Mukhtar by the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] to extensively and comprehensively roll out pragmatic reform agenda for the near-moribund Nigeria's court system to save Nigeria's constitutional democracy from imminent collapse in the face of anarchy and impunity.

The Democracy inclined Non-Governmental Organization-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] also wants the National Assembly to dispassionately attend to the many pending bills before the two houses on far-reaching recommendations on how to speed up and better empower the Nigeria's judicial system. HURIWA said Nigeria's twin evil of high crime rate and corruption in public offices have become problematic because the institution of the judiciary has become increasingly weighed down by corruption; incompetence and compromise by officials paid with tax payers money to run the justice sector. HURIWA also tasked Government to reform the moribund prison sector so that convicted criminals are not allowed to engage in frequent jail breaks to escape justice.

Reacting to the report of the conviction of the Nigerian national Mr. Henry Okah of 13 charges related to terrorism, including spate of bomb explosions targeted at the high profile Eagle square complex in Abuja which reportedly led to the gruesome killing of 12 people in Abuja including the destruction of several vehicles, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] said Nigeria's court system has come under increasing exposure for incompetence, compromise and criminal collusion even as different high profile cases of terrorism, economic crimes involving the theft of several billions of public fund by serving and former public office holders in Nigeria have consistently being adjourned or dismissed for lack of diligent prosecution by officials of the Nigeria Police Force, the Office of the Attorney General and the extremely snail speed judicial procedural process that has constituted a cog in the delivery of justice in Nigeria over the years.

In a statement made available to the media by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of Media Affairs, Miss. Zainab Yusuf, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS' ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA [HURIWA] stated as follows; "The conviction for terrorism carried out in the Nigerian soil of the South African based court of the Nigerian national Henry Okah calls for deeper retrospection and introspection and definitely represents the clearest indictment so far of the corrupt and near-moribund Nigeria's judicial court system that has consistently failed to execute the constitutionally guaranteed role enshrined in section 6 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [ 1999 as amended]".

HURIWA further stated that; "The other day, the disgraced former Governor of Delta state Mr. James Ibori was convicted in the United Kingdom-based Magistrate Court for fraudulently amassing wealth from the public till whilst he presided over for eight years as the governor of Delta state even when a specially created Federal High Court, Asaba Delta State division found him not guilty of these huge and monumental crimes against the state and now the South African chief Magistrate court has returned a verdict against Henry Okah in record time even when several high profile terrorism related cases are still pending in different Federal High courts in parts of Nigeria and so many of these cases have suffered unmitigated delay due to lack of diligent prosecution while the rest of Nigerians are still being bombarded by the targeted bomb attacks of these murderous armed Islamic terrorists. This is a sad commentary that must be redressed immediately".  

21/1/2013