A call has gone to groups, individuals and organisations in the country to encourage persons accused of alleged crimes/offences by law enforcement agencies, to answer to charges before properly constituted courts, rather than resort to protests, propaganda and blackmail.
The charge was given by two civil society organisations – Citizens United Against Subversion (CUAS), and Coalition for Peace In Nigeria (COPIN) – in reaction to Monday’s protest by some persons in Abuja.
It will be recalled that the protesters had predicated their action on what they claimed was the discovery of a charge against the Central Bank Governor (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele pending before the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.
Besides, the protesters also called for the removal of the Director-General of the State Service (DG SS), Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi (fwc).
In separate statements signed by the National Coordinator and Secretary of CUAS, Dr Abu Mallam, and Mrs Chinonyelum Ogundele, National Coordinator and Secretary of COPIN, Pharmacist Emeka Akwuobi, as well as Hajiya Fatih Yakub, respectively, the CSOs wondered why a charge filed against a public office holder by an established agency of government, will attract protest.
“For the records, we at Citizens United Against Subversion (CUAS) know that the Nigerian jurisprudence is accusatorial in nature, and not inquisitorial.
“Simply put, an accused person is innocent until proven otherwise, upon the conclusion of a judicial process.
“Therefore, the irreducible minimum, having regard to the submission above, will be for the CBN boss to submit himself for trial, as he has a right to get the best lawyers to defend him”, CUAS said in the statement.
On its part, COPIN said the purported demand by the protesters for the sack of the DG SS, a man generally acclaimed as a core professional, reformist and patriot of no mean repute, leaves much to be desired.
The statement said: “It is difficult to reconcile the pendency of a suit, with the protest embarked upon by those captured to have participated in the march.
“We, like most Nigerians, are curious about the kind of interest that a mere suit generated, leading to the security-threatened protest that happened in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Monday.
“Consequently, we call on the CBN Governor to clear the air on why a charge against him, will trigger protest of the magnitude witnessed in Abuja on Monday.
‘Above all, we call on the CBN Governor to, as a matter of honour and urgent national importance, resign his appointment, as we feel strongly that that is the basic requirement, where there is (alleged) conflict of interest”.
