Odili abusing judiciary with suit against Odinkalu, say CSOs

A group of civil societies have accused Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers, of desecrating the judiciary with the suit against Chidi Odinkalu.

Citing the libel suit instituted by Odili against Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer, over a book he co-authored with Ayisha Osori, the group alleged that the former governor is using the judiciary to subvert justice.

In a statement co-signed by the groups, they condemned the non-prosecution of the former governor by the judiciary.

They alleged that even though Nigeria has various agencies tasked with checking corruption, the agencies lack the will to “meaningfully reduce the looting of public wealth”.

“Today, we seek to address the historical and continued abuse of our judiciary and the desecration of our institutions as typified by the libel suit filed by Dr. Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers State, against the authors of Too Good to Die -The Myth of the Indispensible Man in Africa, Chidi Odinkalu and Ayisha Osori,” the statement read.

“The case, recently instituted in a court in Rivers State, is only the latest attempt by Dr. Odili to add to his growing number of trophy cases where the courts have been successfully used to thwart and subvert any chance that Nigerians can hold people like him accountable for their tenure in office.

“It is a notorious fact that the Rivers State that Dr. Odili ruled was dominated by criminal gangs and militias, many of them with support from the Governor’s office.

“In addition to our executive, legislative and judicial institutions naturally responsible for protecting and safeguarding the commonwealth, Nigeria has various agencies specifically tasked with checking corruption yet the will to meaningfully reduce the entitled looting of public wealth is completely lacking.

“Such a will would have made it impossible or at least a thing of shame that any court in Nigeria would consider granting to a former public officer a perpetual injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from investigating, prosecuting or arresting him for anything done by him during his tenure as governor.”

Quoting a 2008 report, the groups said despite the fact that it was reported that the former governor squandered the state’s wealth on sponsoring violence and rigging elections during the administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the court has refused to allow the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) appeal its case against Odili.

“The corruption and violence that characterises Nigerian politics and governance is well documented. In its 2008 report Politics as War: The Human Rights Impact and Causes of Post-Election Violence in Rivers State, Nigeria Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported (p. 2) ‘Rivers’ wealth has not just been squandered; it has also been put to work sponsoring violence and insecurity on behalf of ruling party politicians,” the statement read.

“Prior to the 2003 elections, then-Governor Peter Odili and his political associates lavishly funded criminal gangs that helped rig the election into a landslide victory for the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Those gangs used the money at their disposal to procure sophisticated weapons; some of them are now better armed than the police.

“What Odili is doing with this latest libel suit is to deny our country a memory in order to avoid political accountability. As citizens, we have a duty to stop him and his agents in the judicial system. This is what he has done consistently for over one decade with the court orders he has been granted and the refusal of the court administration to allow EFCC to appeal the order of 2008.

“This political muzzling of the right of Nigerians to hold public officers accountable for abuse of power and public trust is injustice of the highest order and frankly, it makes a complete mockery of any and all discussions about anti-corruption deterrence mechanisms.”

The groups, therefore, called for injunctions in favour of the ex-governor to be reversed.

They also called on anti-corruption crusaders across the globe to speak against injustice and demand that the judiciary wake up to its responsibility.