By Ishaya Ibrahim
Former vice president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Monday Onyeakachi Ubani, has lampooned the federal government for clamping down on critics, saying the same strategy was used in a bid to cow him into silence. He said the experience only ended up reenergizing his resolve to speak against bad governance.
Ubani was speaking against the background of the many political detainees in the country, including the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and recently, publisher of Cross River Watch, Agba Jalingo. Jalingo was arrested allegedly at the behest of the Cross River State government.
Ubani said because he spoke against the government in certain of its actions, they found it very offensive and sent operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after him.
“They didn’t know that nobody can cow me. They have only reenergized me the more. They investigated me and went through my account, went through my phone records. They investigated everything, looking for incrimination evidence against me.
“I was put into detention and detained for 23 days. There was a court order. That court order was charge this man within this period or release him on bail. That court order was not obeyed until we commenced contempt proceedings,” he said.
The former Ikeja branch chairman of the NBA said the government has perfected the art of not obeying court orders, a trend that has also emboldened some state governors to behave in similar manner.
“When there is absolute disregard for the rule of law at the centre, the people also at the periphery would want to emulate. We are now at a state of anarchy,” he said.
The governor of Cross River State is accused of plotting the arrest of Jalingo over a report he did on the state-owned micro-finance bank. The police alleged that the report could lead to the breach of the peace in the state.
But Ubani said the government, both at the national and states are clamping down on free speech because they fear that their lack of performance would be exposed.
“It is lack of performance. These guys are not performing and they don’t like criticism. They are highly intolerant of any opposition or criticism because their deeds would be made open. So, they don’t like it at all. That’s actually what is going on.
“They look at anybody criticizing them as an enemy. The reason is that they believe the critics want to pull them down. And they are afraid of being pulled down,” he said.
Ubani said what is even worse is that the clampdown is being given legitimacy by the courts.
“The NBA must close rank and come together and speak with one voice against the violation of the people’s right and not see these issues from the prism of politics. We must look at it as lawyers that we are, and not being political,” he said.