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| The Corrupt John Tsoho Of The Federal High Court Abuja |
The trial of the Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB), Mazi. Nnamdi Kanu(Prisoner Of Conscience), in Nigerian courts has polarized the Nigerian judiciary against the common man. It has exposed the supposed independent judiciary as being firmly under the whims and caprices of the Nigerian executive whose persistent meddling in judicial affairs has left much to be desired.
To begin with, Nnamdi Kanu was slammed with three count charges bordering on offences of Treasonable Felony, managing an unlawful society, concealing goods in a container and holding goods of different descriptions while the other two co-accused was charged with assisting in the management of unlawful society and unlawful possession of firearms respectively.
As spurious and ridiculous as these charges may be, it left one to wonder how and when ‘IPOB’ became an unlawful society, and if indeed one individual could actually commit treason or be charged with treason.
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It is worthy of note that since the Nigerian government, represented by the Department of State Security Service(DSS), lodged these charges against the defendants, notable judges had hitherto granted Nnamdi Kanu bail.
First the Magistrate judge granted him bail on grounds that he fulfils all the conditions for his release. This order was adhered to by Kanu’s legal team, but the Federal government defied the bail order even after the defendants fulfilled the bail condition.
The case was then transferred to the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja where His Lordship, Hon. Justice A.F Adeniyi Ademola visibly angry of finding the charges lacking in merit and unprovable, dismissed the case and granted Nnamdi Kanu an immediate and unconditional release on the 17th of December, 2015.
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It is pertinent to note that these orders by the Honorable Judge was not an order to release Nnamdi Kanu pending the lodging of any formal charges against him by the Federal government, but an order to release him after being illegally detained since his arrest on 14th October, 2015, unconditionally.
The Federal government again, flouted that order with utter disregard to the independence of the judiciary.
However, impunity in the court trial of Nnamdi Kanu rose to such an unbearable and overwhelming height after the Federal government went into contract with Justice John Terhemba Tsoho of the Court 3 Division of the Federal High Court still sitting in Abuja, using him as a willing tool to further subvert and obstruct the flow of good and dependable justice in Nigeria.
Justice John Tsoho being famous and remarkable in dishing out inconsistent and unmerited judgements against the common man and on the favour of government agencies such as The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), the DSS and others, thought that he could use this case to further enrich himself.
Read also:EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BARRISTER IFEANYI EJIOFOR ON JOHN TSOHO'S RULING OF 26TH-04-2016 BY BIAFRA WRITERS
Some Nigerian judges like Justice John Tsoho, are the type who has so much rubbished and murdered justice emanating from the third estate of the realm that it has lost its desired respect in Nigeria, due to judicial corruption and recklessness exhibited by these members of the silk.
To substantiate this, let’s first analyze the role Justice Tsoho played in a certain case. It is easily verifiable that due to his unjust and inconsistent rulings against the supreme dictates of the law he swore to uphold, Justice Tsoho was shamefully evicted or withdrawn from presiding over the Fundamental Rights suit by the Chairman of Bi-Courtney Limited, Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, against the Attorney General of Nigeria, AGF, and the EFCC.
Babalakin who sent a petition to the Chief Judge of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Auta, stated that there was no guarantee he would get “justice” from Justice Tsoho since he reversed his earlier rulings by vacating an injunction he made on 29 April, 2015, barring the parties involved from arresting and detaining the petitioner.
Read also:NIGERIAN JUDICIARY IN A DILEMMA AS WE RECOUNT THE LITANY OF NNAMDI KANU'S CASE
Babalakin noted that Tsoho, discharged the order “without a formal application from the respondents,” and therefore prayed that the case be reassigned to another competent judge, and this saw his shameful and unceremonious eviction from presiding over the case.
Now, there is no much difference in the discharge of judgments in Nnamdi Kanu’s trial after the case was transferred to Justice Tsoho. Justice Tsoho’s unabated and unbridled perversion of justice has become an eyesore and a case of deep worry to the appeal of good conscience and well-meaning citizens of Nigeria whom had since lend out their voices to condemn his insincere rulings.
Justice Tsoho has been found culpable of judicial misconduct, inconsistent and unmerited judgements and had severally erred on points of law ever since he took up Kanu’s trial.
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For Instance, on the 29th of January, 2016, Justice Tsoho, denied Nnamdi Kanu and co-defendants bail, even in the absence of no establishment of tangible proof or substantial evidence as to why they should be remanded in prison custody. He only based his premise of denying them bail on mere and malicious presumptions and imaginations that the defendants could jump bail if granted the relief they sought.
At about 9:30am, on the 9th of February, 2016, the Prosecution team of the Federal government served Kanu’s defense team an order of the court filed that morning, seeking for a court order to allow the Prosecution witnesses testify during trial by the aid of facial masks and behind the screen.
This application truncated the trial already slated that morning which suppose to last for four consecutive days, and thereby, was adjourned to 19th of February, 2016.
In the ruling delivered on the 19th of February, 2016, Justice John Tsoho barred the Prosecution from presenting masquerades as witnesses or testifying behind screen, while giving evidence, among other reliefs.
Read also:JOHN TSOHO: THE UNREPENTANT JUDGE STILL SERVING HITLER BUHARI
However, on the 7th of March, 2016, the Prosecution team told the Court that its witnesses had insisted that they would appear in court, only if an order is issued that they be shielded from the public at the point of giving evidence. The Prosecution, on the strength of this, “orally,” without formal application, asked the court to reverse the order he made on the 19th of February, 2016, to now allow its witnesses testify and tender evidence behind the screen. Despite the strong opposition to this oral application made by the Prosecution, Justice Tsoho granted their application and consequently varied his previous order made on the 19th of February, 2015.
This strange procedure of the court varying its own order, which anyway, did not meet any standard or circumstance laid down in the law, has made it become visibly clear that there was a grand plot and negotiations between the Judge and the Federal government represented by the DSS.
Otherwise, how can one explain the fact that the trial of a man who was accused publicly, could be drifted towards conducting a secret trial simply because they want to protect the supposed false witnesses. What about the safety of the defendants and the legal defense team? Their protection should also not be overruled by the cabal who wanted them hanged.
It should be noteworthy that all these are happening after the Prosecution had failed severally and delayed in the presentation of its witnesses and other concrete evidence to prosecute the defendants.
Read also:JOHN TSOHO MUST SURELY REAP THE EVIL SEED HE HAS SOWN
This has further revealed the shoddy practice and judicial misconduct and corruption by Justice Tsoho who has been handsomely paid to nail and jail an innocent man whose only crime was to openly and lawfully canvas for the self-determination and freedom of his people by the oppressive Nigerian State. It has also proved that Justice Tsoho had apparently allowed the Nigerian government to hijack the proceedings of the court by the virtue of his dancing to their tune and dictates.
The Nigerian government is now fully running the proceedings of the court and not the Judge. The Nigerian judiciary has been overwhelmed by vicious Executive forces who now tramples on judicial affairs as he so pleases, just as he rudely commanded the ECOWAS Court in Abuja to hands-off Kanu’s case.
In the face of this anomaly, and lack of confidence in Justice Tsoho, it became apparent that Nnamdi Kanu and other defendants cannot get a fair and credible trial in this very court and this has necessitated that the Justice Tsoho disqualifies himself from further proceeding and presiding over the hearing of this case.
The dictatorial and hostile disposition in which the Nigerian government and Justice Tsoho has handled Kanu’s case has warranted its wide condemnation from noble men and people of good conscience as well. It is therefore unfortunate to state that since the undue and illegal meddling of judicial matters in Nigeria by the despotic President in power, Muhammadu Buhari, it would be right to conclude that it is bleak and gloomy for one to secure good and merited justice from Nigerian Courts of Law.
Read also:JOHN TSOHO THE CORRUPT JUDGE: BUHARI'S WILLING TOOL OR UNLEARNED?
To refer to his previous two rulings with the headlines: “Judge Rejects Secret Trial,” and the other; “Witnesses Now To Testify Behind Screen(Masked Witnesses),” without the Prosecution team doing the needful by formally filing an appeal against the order at the Appellate Court, speaks negative volume in the different rulings of the same issue, from the same judge, in the same court on two different occasions.
The judge who has constantly erred on points of law, had made his rulings too abysmal and lacking in merit, thereby making a mockery of the Nigerian judicial system. He should therefore be retrenched or withdrawn from the judiciary before he inflicts more damages to the already bastardized system.
There is also overtures on Foreign Commissions, Pro-democratic organizations and the International Community to wade into this huge judicial blunder and misconduct, and ensure that judges found wanting and culpable of judicial recklessness are expelled immediately, without which the fight against corruption in the judiciary cannot be said to be completed.
By Chukwuemeka Chimerue
Published By Nwosu C.S
For Biafra Writers
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