Court faults Ebonyi lawyer’s suit against Buhari, others over judges’ arrests

By

 Ebere Chukwu

 -

March 22, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, clinched victory at the Federal High Court, sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, capital following the striking out of the suit brought before it by an Abakaliki-based legal practitioner, Chief Onu John Onwe.

Onwe had, in February 2017, filed the suit against the president and others following the arrest and detention of some judges of High and Supreme Courts in the country by the officials of the Department State Services.

Also joined in the suit were the Attorney-General of the Federation, Director of State Security Services (DSS), Inspector-General of Police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and National Judicial Council (NJC) over arrest and detention of some judges in the country.

The Daily Sun gathered that the defendants all responded by filling their affidavits and counter affidavits.

Onwe, in the suit, said the invasion of the judges’ homes, arrest and detention was violation of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

Onwe said the action of the Federal Government and its agencies against the judges had made his job insecure as a lawyer and has also dwindled legal services in the country.

But delivering judgment on the suit, the Presiding Judge, Justice Akintola Aluko, said Onwe has no locus standi to institute the suit against the defendants as according to him, he was not a victim of the said arrest.

He also ruled that the lawyer has not shown sufficient interest in the matter by convincing the court how the arrest and detention of the judges has put his job in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, the court, however, commended Onwe for his interest in the arrest of the judges by instituting the suit to challenge the action but cautioned that there must be adherence to the rule of law in such matters.

But reacting on the judgement Onwe said: “We will be obtaining the court proceedings and after studying it, we will take further action. Not that we derive anything tangentially from it but the record must be put straight. This will actually be determined by the appellate court whether we have the locus standi or not.

“This is not the first place where the matter has been ventilated and public interest actions should not be dismissed or struck out merely on the ground that the person did not disclosed sufficiently personal interest”, he added.