That assault on Rivers judiciary
The House of Representatives is currently investigating a reported assault of the Rivers State High Court precincts a fortnight ago by assailants who operated with a detachment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police. Valuable court property including office equipment, furniture and records were either vandalized or looted during the raid. According […]
The House of Representatives is currently investigating a reported assault of the Rivers State High Court precincts a fortnight ago by assailants who operated with a detachment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police. Valuable court property including office equipment, furniture and records were either vandalized or looted during the raid.
According to media reports, the incident occurred when as early as 6 am that morning a group of sympathisers of a political party locked up the gate of the court premises thereby stopping entry by staffers, lawyers, litigants, visitors and even judges. Meanwhile intense rounds of gunfire allegedly from a detachment of SARS was ongoing and spread fear all around the premises and the city. The seige lasted for many hours until some youths in their hundreds, believed to be loyal to a rival political party, forced open the court gates.
In the wake of that ugly episode fingers have been pointed at the in-house crisis which has bedeviled the Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC. According to reports, the assault on the Rivers State judiciary was at the instance of an APC faction loyal to Minister of Transportation Chibuike Amaechi and that it was timed to disrupt the hearing of a suit filed by a rival party faction loyal to Senator Magnus Abe. The suit aimed at securing an injunction to stop APC’s local government congresses billed for the next day, Saturday.
We join all people of goodwill to strongly condemn this brazen assault of the revered institution of the judiciary, and in particular the intolerable damage done to the premises of the Rivers State High Court. It is an assault without precedent in recent Nigerian history. Even though the political stakes were high for the actors, they must always act within the law and the same judiciary could remedy whatever damage is done to them, provided they are on the right.
There were two very disturbing factors in it all. First is the resort of any aggrieved party to assault any court of the land for whatever reason especially for the purpose of stopping a suit out of fear of losing out in the court ruling. After all, anyone who is dissatisfied with a court ruling can appeal to a higher court. The second very disturbing factor was the role played by SARS in the siege. Rather than help to redeem the situation, its men engaged in a shooting spree. Their action was most deplorable especially for men of the Nigeria Police, at a time when they need to win back the confidence of Nigerians. The SARS commander at the scene should be immediately investigated for possible gross misconduct unbecoming of a Nigerian police officer.
We recall that Inspector General of Police IGP Ibrahim Kpotun Idris recently promised to reform the SARS, starting from Rivers State. The state had in recent times been awash with reports of excesses by SARS resulting in unjustified extra-judicial killings. The situation has also created a no love lost relationship between the Rivers State government and the Nigeria Police, both of them given to excess and overzealousness. RVSG has even reclaimed some of the offices the force uses in Port Harcourt. The recent assault on the Rivers State High Court has further deepened the frosty relation between the state government and the Police, thereby creating a dangerous security situation in the country’s oil and gas business hub.
It is also noticeable that little or nothing has been heard from Force Headquarters since the siege. This is wrong as IGP needs to use this instance to execute his promised reform of SARS especially in Rivers State, including bringing all who were involved in that assault to book. At a time like this, silence is not golden because the lives of citizens and the future of our democracy depends on a prompt and stern response to an ugly anti-democratic deed.