On Onnoghen’s arraignment

For the avoidance of any shadow of doubt for those who are conversant with effective global understanding of human affairs, sentiments and sentimentality played fundamental roles, if not the only critical role in what is HUMANITY in the world we know today. This is certainly, not the crass opportunism and absolute conservatism that continue to disdain the progress of the humankind.

Sentiments and sentimentalism made possible the development of the international movement of human rights by assuring protection, with moral, intellectual and practical support to what we refer today as the Law in the service of Man and Woman.

That’s why I still shudder when our luminaries never take the morality imbued with their profession seriously, in dealing with characters so highly placed in society, debase fundamental societal principles, and expect to benefit wholly from the old age principle of due process of law in default.

One of the oldest teachings of the Common Law is that Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Yet, when men like the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, allegedly rob the commonwealth, men and women of means gather to save him by all means possible. Nobody bothers about how many poor Nigerians could have been dead or ruined by reason of that singular action.

Nigerians, a majority of ordinary Nigerians, are fully aware of what is happening in the country, especially the heinousness of attempting to kill anti-corruption moves meant to save and enable socio-economic development by corrupt-minded elite and their collaborators. This is what all the noise about due process in this case of the CJN is all about.

We shout about the barbarism of the moment, but blind confrontation with anti-corruption moves and evil governance is Absolute Violence by definition. And genuine revolution is started by men and women who are so terribly oppressed, frustrated and are denied freedom of choice completely. History is replete with these. Arraign the CJN without fail. Let the axe hang.

Anyakwee Nsirimovu; Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

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