‘Ekiti court attack a national embarrassment’

Chino Obiagwu, chairman of HRAN, said over the weekend that the group was alarmed that no arrest was made despite the number of witnesses present during the attacks.Trouble started Tuesday September 22, 2014, when hoodlums attacked a court presided over by Justice Isaac Ogunyemi after he delivered a ruling assuming jurisdiction to try a case […]

Chino Obiagwu, chairman of HRAN, said over the weekend that the group was alarmed that no arrest was made despite the number of witnesses present during the attacks.
Trouble started Tuesday September 22, 2014, when hoodlums attacked a court presided over by Justice Isaac Ogunyemi after he delivered a ruling assuming jurisdiction to try a case involving Mr. Ayo Fayose, the Ekiti State governor-elect, which angered his supporters.   
Three days later, another judge of the Ekiti High Court, Justice John Adeyeye, was reportedly beaten up by alleged political associates of the same governor-elect. The attackers of Justice Adeyeye reportedly physically assaulted him and tore his clothes, and he was thereafter hospitalised. The attacks have led to the closure of courts in the state indefinitely as a result of the inability of the security agencies to assure the safety of lives and property.
In a swift reaction, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said it would ensure prosecution of those behind the criminal acts of violence no matter how highly placed.
“We condemn in very strong terms these detestable acts of brigandage intended to intimidate and infuse fear into the minds of judicial officers. Those behind these criminal acts of violence have desecrated the courts which are our temples of justice.
“The administration of justice can never thrive in an atmosphere where judicial officers are brazenly attacked and or intimidated in the course of carrying out their lawful duties. The administration of justice can never bow to the whims and caprices of persons who believe that judges must yield to their wishes,” Austin Alegeh SAN, NBA president, said. The NBA, according to him, is sending a high powered fact finding team to Ekiti to investigate the facts surrounding this matter.
He stressed that the association will not allow persons who do not mean well for our society take steps capable of plunging our country into anarchy.
This unfortunate development, Alegeh said, portends grave danger to the lives of our judges in Ekiti State.
“There is therefore, an urgent need to protect our judges and judiciary staff from hoodlums whom we believe must be acting on instructions from some highly placed persons in Ekiti State to unleash mayhem on judicial officers and infrastructure,” he maintained.
Access to Justice (A2J) equally described the attacks as shameful, vile, barbaric and grossly contemptuous of the person of Justice Adeyeye and the authority he exercises as a judge.
The attacks, according to Joseph Otteh, were a brutal assault on the administration of justice and the integrity of the justice system in the country. “It undermines the independence of the Judiciary and the duty of judges to decide disputes without fear of molestation.
 “This attack on judges and the administration of justice must be repressed and repelled with all the power and authority of the state. Those responsible must be brought to book so that this impunity is not allowed to flourish.”
 A2J also called on the Nigeria Police to secure the lives and integrity of judicial officers, especially when political cases are being adjudicated upon as well as the immediate prosecution of all those who were involved.