The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has asked the State Security Services (SSS) also known as the Department of State Services (DSS) to be law-abiding and honour its obligations to the constitution by allowing Mazi Nnamdi Kanu unfettered access to his lawyers.

“We urge the hierarchy of the Department of State Services (DSS) to stop operating like a lawless contraption and thereby painting Nigeria like a banana republic before rational members of the international community by denying accused persons such as the detained leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the legally permitted access to his lawyers and doctors ,” the group said.

According to a media statement by Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, the National Coordinator and Miss. Zainab Yusuf the National Media Director, the continuous disrespect for the judicial powers of the federation domiciled in the courts of law by the constitution being flouted serially by the SSS/ DSS is a signal that the nation has become lawless and that anarchy has increasingly set in thereby undermining the essence of constitutional democracy.

“We urge the international community especially Great Britain to put pressure on President Buhari to be a respecter of the Nigerian legal systems and stop desecrating the supreme law of the country by allowing security agencies who take direct instruction from him from violating binding orders made by the courts of law which violate section 6 of the Grund Norm. It’s hypocritical for President Muhammadu Buhari to mouth his respect for the due process of the law as he mounted the global rostrum of a summit in London few hours back only for the Department of State Services which he teleguides to continuously rubbish the principle of the rule of law “.

Specifically, the section 6 of the Nigerian Constitution which is enforceable and binding on all persons and authorities provides as follows: “6. (1) The judicial powers of the federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the federation.

(2) The judicial powers of a state shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subject as provided by this Constitution, for a state. (3) The courts to which this section relates, established by this Constitution for the federation and for the states, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (1) of this section, shall be the only superior courts of record in Nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the National Assembly or by the House of Assembly of a state, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record.

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(4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed as precluding:- (a) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly from establishing courts, other than those to which this section relates, with subordinate jurisdiction to that of a High Court; (b) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly, which does not require it, from abolishing any court which it has power to establish or which it has brought into being.

(5) This section relates to:- (a) the Supreme Court of Nigeria; (b) the Court of Appeal; (c) the Federal High Court; (d) the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (e) a High Court of a State (f) the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State; (h) the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; (i) a Customary Court of Appeal of a State; (j) such other courts as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and (k) such other court as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws.

(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section – (a) shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law (b) shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person; (c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution; (d) shall not, as from the date when this section comes into force, extend to any action or proceedings relating to any existing law made on or after 15th January, 1966 for determining any issue or question as to the competence of any authority or person to make any such law.”

HURIWA also averred thus: “The leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) Mazi Nnamdi Kanu must be accorded all his rights as specified by the Constitution and by all the international human rights and humanitarian laws including allowing him to enjoy unfettered access to his lawyers and to his medical professionals of his choice. It’s beyond imagination that Prime Minister of Great Britain Mr. Boris Johnson keeps hosting President Muhammadu Buhari in Britain when it is notorious that the Nigerian President has long abandoned the respect for the fundamental human rights of all Nigerians as specified in international legal documents under the auspices of the United Nations with Great Britain as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations.

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What exactly is Great Britain telling the world? Is it that the British people back dictatorial regimes in Africa’s largest nation? This is reprehensible and odious. ”

To back its position, HURIWA cited section 36 (5) of the Nigerian Constitution which states thus: “Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty; provided that nothing in this section shall invalidate any law by reason only that the law imposes upon any such person the burden of proving particular facts.”

HURIWA condemned the dead National Assembly for failing to activate mechanisms for providing oversight functions over DSS and other security forces which is the fundamention reason these agencies are now lawless.

“We are particularly worried that the president has successfully incapacitated the National Human Rights Commission and the Public Omplaints Commission to such a pitiable level that both organs have become toothless bulldogs just as the Tony Ojukwu- headed National Human Rights Commission has now become an agency for conducting beauty peageants and awarding frivolous awards to politicians.”

HURIWA recalled that IPOB on Wednesday, raised the alarm over the health of Kanu.

IPOB’s Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, alleged that the DSS has refused to allow Kanu’s physician access to him.
Kanu is currently remanded in custody of DSS, following an order by an Abuja Federal High Court.

The court order followed Kanu’s rearrest and repatriation to Nigeria.

Kanu, who is believed to have been captured in Kenya, had alleged that he was tortured and subjected to inhumane treatment for eight days before he was repatriated to Nigeria.

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But, the Nigerian government has remained silent over speculations surrounding the African country in which Kanu was rearrested.

However, Powerful in a statement, called on the Nigerian government to grant Kanu access to his physician.

Powerful claimed that the IPOB leader’s health was deteriorating due to the torture he suffered in Kenya.

The spokesman of the group warned that nothing must happen to Kanu while in DSS custody.

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