A democracy inclined non-governmental body-HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS
ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) and its parent body-ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN
WRITERS ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES’ RIGHTS (AFRIRIGHTS) have jointly thrown their
weight behind the decision of Nigeria’s Attorney General and minister of
Justice Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) not to bring charges against Nigeria’s
frontline telecommunication services company MTN over alleged perversion of
course of Justice as demanded by the erstwhile Osun State governor Brigadier
General Olagunsoye Oyinlola (rtd).
Besides, the groups passed a vote of confidence on the
professional competence, patriotic commitment and zeal of the federal
Attorney General and minister of Justice Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) and
urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to accede to the campaign of calumny
being waged by a group to discredit the nation’s chief law officer for standing
by the constitutional provision and principle of rule of law and refusing to
pander to the whims and caprices of political forces loyal to the deposed Osun
state governor.
The groups also challenged those claiming conflict of interest
against the federal Attorney General in consistently maintaining his
principled stand against the huge mountain of political pressure not to
prosecute MTN Ltd over alleged forgery and perversion of the course of justice
to display to discerning Nigerians any valid, credible, verifiable and
irrefutable claims to show that Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke is a shareholder in
MTN Ltd.
In a statement endorsed jointly by the national Coordinator
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and national media Affairs Director, Zainab Yusuf,
and made available to journalists in reaction to a publication accusing the
Federal Attorney General of alleged conflict of interests and refusal to act on
police investigation report concerning a case of conspiracy, forgery and
perversion of the course of Justice involving MTN Nigeria Communications
limited, the groups said the Nigerian Constitution empowers the nation’s law
officer to exercise discretional powers in deciding the merit or otherwise of
instituting any legal proceedings against any person or companies.
Citing section 174(1) of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as
amended) which provides thus; “The Attorney General of the federation shall
have power to (a) institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any
person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in
respect of any office created by or under any act of the National Assembly”,
the groups backed the Justice minister for not filing any legal proceedings
against MTN because according to them, the nation’s Chief law officer was not
in breach of the constitution.
HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA and ASSOCIATION OF
AFRICAN WRITERS ON HUMAN AND PEOPLES RIGHTS also stated that from
investigation they jointly carried out and information sourced from
competent and independent sources both within government and private quarters,
the call for the sack of the Justice Minister was politically motivated and a
methodically choreographed witch hunt against the person and office of the
current holder of the federal Attorney General for failing to abuse his power
to prosecute the telecommunications firm just so as to satisfy the yearning of
a political god father who lost out in the Osun State political scheme. The
groups also stated that the decision reached by the Federal Attorney General on
the MTN matter must have been reached altruistically and in compliance with
extant legal provisions on administration of call logs by telecom companies in
Nigeria even as it challenged the justice minister's accuser to show cause why
their allegation is not to be dismissed as mere political tissues of concocted
fabrications just so as to undermine the authority and person of the Nigerian
minister of justice. The group also urged the Federal Attorney General to
consider heading to court to preserve his good name should his accuser
continues to 'pollute' public space with half-truths and innuendoes targeted
against his integrity and professional competence.
According to the Rights groups, “We as pro-transparency groups are
aware that the current holder of the office of federal Attorney General Mr.
Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN) has done nothing wrong in his legal decision not to
unduly persecute one of Nigeria’s most prosperous private telecom companies
(MTN) in the political litigation which saw the exit through the court of
Appeal's verdict of the then Osun State governor-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
The claim that Adoke (SAN) is in breach of the law and guilty of conflict of
interest is a redherring since there are no documentary evidence to show that
he (Adoke) holds MTN shares”.
“We hold the office of the Federal Attorney General in high esteem
and as pro-transparency crusaders we will not hesitate to campaign for removal
of any holder of this sacred office who compromises the sanctity of this office
but we will only engage in this sort of advocacy only if there are convincing
body of evidence to validate our resolve. But in this instance of the decision
not to prosecute MTN Nigeria communications limited for alleged failing to
furnish the National Judicial Council (NJC) complete call log of the retired
president of the court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Isa Salami, we hold the fact to
be self evident that the federal Attorney General did what is in the best
public interest in exercising the powers to prosecute or not conferred on him
by the highest laws of the land. In his determination to so do we are aware
that the federal attorney general satisfy his good conscience that MTN Nigerian
Communications Limited is not in breach of any administrative statute guarding
disclosure of call logs of her customers. We hereby challenge those
accusing him of being in conflict of interest to go beyond mere conjectures and
hearsays which are at best illogical and fallacious but to publicly tender
documentary evidence to validate their allegations”.
“We have forensically searched for evidence to show that Mr. Bello
Mohammed Adoke (SAN) is in conflict of interest by not filing criminal
proceeding against MTN Nigeria Communications limited in the said allegations
of forgery and perversion of Justice and at best what we could see so far in
the public domain by his accusers are only wild, unsubstantiated, politically
-coated and collapsible bundle of allegations against a professional Nigerian
who in his capacity as Nigeria’s Attorney General has offered the best legal
advice to Mr. President in these circumstances to preserve public good
and avoid wrong use of his power to witch hunt a foreign investor who has
immensely contributed to the economic well being of Nigerians.”
HURIWA and AfriRights have also canvassed support for any genuine
national effort to rid Nigeria of all traces of corruption but warned against
false alarm and blackmail meant to score cheap political goals.
Specifically, a Lagos-based civil society group had on Wednesday
November 20th 2013 alleged that: “The Attorney-General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice is an interested party in this matter, owing to his
shareholding in the telecoms outfit, and is, therefore, doing all in his power
to ensure that MTN and its officials do not face justice for manipulating the
call data records of chieftains of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, the
party’s legal representatives and Justice Ayo Salami which were forwarded to
the National Security Adviser and the State Security Services, at the instance
of the National Judicial Council.”
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