A lot of people have said a thing or two about the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPoB) as a terrorist group. Ditto for Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād popularly known as Boko Haram. I wish to point out a very salient observation which may have been overlooked by these pundits. But before I do so, I must state upfront that I do not support any of these groups. I have consistently argued that the modus operandi of IPoB is uncivilized and unintelligent. And I have described the Boko Haram sect as a barbaric, devilish and bloodthirsty band of fanatics. Generally, I detest persons and groups who believe that the only way they can achieve their ends is by the visitation of unnecessary violence. The above notwithstanding, I hold the strong view that the right to self determination of persons and groups is sacrosanct. It is the hallmark of the human specie. To that extent, it must be afforded the highest levels of protection and given free expression at all times.

Having made the above clarification, I will now turn to the issue at hand. The law under which any organization can be proscribed by the Federal Government as a terrorist group is the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 as amended in 2013 (the Act). Basically, s.2 of the Act provides that a judge of the Federal High Court may declare any entity to be a proscribed organization on the application of the Attorney General, National Security Adviser or Inspector General of Police on the approval of the President. And when such a declaration is made, it should be published in the official gazette and two national newspapers. The manner in which this application is to be brought before the court is by motion exparte. To the legally uninitiated, this means that the group to be proscribed is not put on notice. In other words, the group is, legally speaking, unaware of the application in court and the case against it. As such, it cannot put up a defence to the case against it - even if a member were in court. And then the sad part, the decision of the court under the Act is not an interim or interlocutory one; it is final in the sense of a final judgment.

However, is this entire procedure not in conflict with the constitution of Nigeria? Well, let us see: s.36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) (the constitution) provides that "In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing...by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality". It is worth noting at this juncture that 'a person' in this section refers to both natural and artificial persons.

The courts of Nigeria, especially the Supreme Court, have variously described fair hearing in the following terms: audi alteram partem and nemo judex in causa sua. These Latin maxims respectively mean: hear the other party and a person must not be a judge in his own case. This is what is often referred to as the twin-pillars of justice. It has been said that God Himself even heard from Adam before the latter was punished i.e. sent out of the Garden of Eden. In fact, this principle is so fundamental in any proceedings that a violation of one of the strands renders the entire proceedings null and void. See the Supreme Court's cases of: Danladi vs Dangiri (2015) 2 NWLR (Pt 1441) 124; and Omoniyi vs Alabi (2015) 6 NWLR (Pt 1456) 572. Interestingly, the Supreme Court in the case of Pam vs Mohammed (2008) 16 NWLR (Pt 1112) 1 at 49-50, Paras F-D, had this to say on the import of fair hearing under the constitution: "The very essence of fair hearing...is a hearing which is fair to both parties to the suit....A party who will be affected by the result of a judicial enquiry must be given an opportunity of being heard. Otherwise, the action taken following the enquiry will be unconstitutional and illegal".

But what do we have under the Act? In one short phrase, the stark opposite! Under the Act, the court is to hear from only one party, the government - the superior party! Is this not open to all manner of abuses by the government? Does this not give the government the leeway to give any group a bad name in order to hang it? All of these legitimate concerns point to one incontrovertible fact: that provision cannot stand an intense scrutiny by the constitution. This is especially so when we realise that what the Act and the entire process seeks to achieve is the deprivation of the fundamental right of citizens to assemble and associate freely as guaranteed by s.40 of the same constitution. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has in a plethora of cases declared such anomalous legal provisions as unconstitutional, null and void in line with s.1(3) of the constitution. See the cases of Ugba vs Suswam (2014) 14 NWLR (Pt 1427) 264; and Kayili vs Yilbuk (2015) 7 NWLR (Pt 1457) 26.

Nonetheless, the courts are not given to academic, hypothetical or moot issues. To activate the adjudicatory jurisdiction of the courts, live cases must be brought before them. And so, I implore affected persons and groups, especially the IPoB, to approach the courts to judicially interpret the provisions in question. While doing so, they must bear the wise words of Bada, JCA in Igbinedion vs E.S.B.I.R. (2017) 13 NWLR (Pt 1583) 503 at 515, Para B, in mind: "The right to fair hearing is a fundamental and constitutional right of a party to a dispute to be afforded an opportunity to present his case to the adjudicating authority. The right lies in the procedure followed in the determination of a case and not in the correctness of the decision arrived at in the case".

Listic1.

Mynd44; Lalasticlala: Can we give this a wider read? Thanks.

Op i dont get this ur ridiculous write up. Are u saying boko haram should have been served with notice before being proscribed First of all who will serve the notice?? And who will the notice be served to?? Because when u argue the unconstitutionality of proscribing ipob, that section of the law also applies to boko haram, isis and al queda.

I think people should stop reasoning like robots and face reality. That application is exparte for a reason. And your right to enjoy freedom is not without limits. The constitution also guarantees life yet the courts sentence people to death everyday. Pls apply common sense

those kanu slaves that carried sticks, cutlass dangerous weapons looking for hausa/yoruba up/down are what?Asking for donation to buy guns is for what? KANU isn't fighting for any Biafra,his main occupation is to amass wealth like that Niger delta Hippopotamus Asari.KANU IS TERRORIST

blackpanda:
Op i dont get this ur ridiculous write up. Are u saying boko haram should have been served with notice before being proscribed First of all who will serve the notice?? And who will the notice be served to?? Because when u argue the unconstitutionality of proscribing ipob, that section of the law also applies to boko haram, isis and al queda.

I think people should stop reasoning like robots and face reality. That application is exparte for a reason. And your right to enjoy freedom is not without limits. The constitution also guarantees life yet the courts sentence people to death everyday. Pls apply common sense

I dont know if ISIS or Al Qaeda are operating in Nigeria but based on Boko Haram that we know is in Nigeria, they should have been noticed.

Law is all about fair hearing and fair hearing is non existent when only one side is heard.

The Government proscribed IPOB without hearing IPOB side of the story, this I think is unconstitutional. What this means is that the Government can proscribe anyone they like.

The good thing about it all is that IPOB has a right to challenge that decision which they have already done.

blackpanda:
Op i dont get this ur ridiculous write up. Are u saying boko haram should have been served with notice before being proscribed First of all who will serve the notice?? And who will the notice be served to?? Because when u argue the unconstitutionality of proscribing ipob, that section of the law also applies to boko haram, isis and al queda.

I think people should stop reasoning like robots and face reality. That application is exparte for a reason. And your right to enjoy freedom is not without limits. The constitution also guarantees life yet the courts sentence people to death everyday. Pls apply common sense

Are you a lawyer? I don't mean to be disrespectful. But I'm talking law here and unless you have a superior legal view then your opinion is at best unpersuasive.

Well, even if you are not a lawyer, you can still read up the sections and cases I referred to in the post and then engage me from that prism. We all must not think in the same way, you know.

And just to let you know, there are ways to serve legal notices/processes validly without even going to meet the persons physically. But that is a matter for another day.

ipobarecriminals:
those kanu slaves that carried sticks, cutlass dangerous weapons looking for hausa/yoruba up/down are what?Asking for donation to buy guns is for what? KANU isn't fighting for any Biafra,his main occupation is to amass wealth like that Niger delta Hippopotamus Asari.KANU IS TERRORIST

Please, calm down and read the post again, if at all you did before you commented. The last paragraph of the post addressed your concerns.
We are not talking politics or Nnamdi Kanu here. We are talking law and the constitution for that matter.

gidgiddy:


I dont know if ISIS or Al Qaeda are operating in Nigeria but based on Boko Haram that we know is in Nigeria, they should have been noticed.

Law is all about fair hearing and fair hearing is non existent when only one side is heard.

The Government proscribed IPOB without hearing IPOB side of the story, this I think is unconstitutional. What this means is that the Government can proscribe anyone they like.

The good thing about it all is that IPOB has a right to challenge that decision which they have already done.

Great post.

Unconstitutionality my foot...it seems you understand the zoo constitution better than the nigerians themselves...

ipobians are fools...

ngozi...how does it feel to be on the loosing side.??...

i warned you 2years ago...

well,whatever...

now for some python dance....

kiiiiikikikikikikikiki....

Listic1:


Please, calm down and read the post again, if at all you did before you commented. The last paragraph of the post addressed your concerns.
We are not talking politics or Nnamdi Kanu here. We are talking law and the constitution for that matter.

i dnt have time to waste.Why the hunchback terrorist nor follow the law/constitution of the land?

ipobarecriminals:
i dnt have time to waste.Why the hunchback terrorist nor follow the law/constitution of the land?

strange people...suddenly they remember the zoo constitution....

No need to hear ipoB's side of the story. We've been hearing that long enough that even a blind man can recount that offhand. Kanu is a devil and he is befitting of any word more than terrorism. This man needs to be dealt with before he starts some fire that nobody would be able to quench. Here are some of his sides of the story:
.
"Nigeria should prepare for war, we are coming to annihilate you, my secret service are already studying the zoo and strategising."
.
"If you find anybody in your village asking after Radio Biafra, kill the baboon Awusa Fulani or Yoruba bastard. Let them keep searching as we keep tweeting for #Biafra."
.
"Buhari is a Terrorist he should be killed."
.
"By the time we finish dealing with the animals in the zoo, there'll be none left to tell the story.
.
"We are assembling weapons and we need some more money to thoroughly equip our military to enable us unleash mayhem on Nigeria."
.
"Nigeria is a zoo and everybody living in that Godforsaken zoo deserves to die."
.
"Kumuyi should be stoned and dealt with thoroughly if he comes to Aba for his planned crusade."
.
"The imbecilic Goodluck Jonathan is a disgrace to humanity and deserves to be skinned alive for handing over to an [n]Hausa goat."[/b]
.
"Niger Deltans are cowards; we know what to do to them. Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Cross Rivers State are our territory and anybody who tries to oppose us will be crushed."
.
"No Ibo man should attend any Church where the pastor is a Yoruba man, they are criminals and fools."
.
"Its either Biafra or death..."

ipobarecriminals:
i dnt have time to waste.Why the hunchback terrorist nor follow the law/constitution of the land?

I am sorry but this post is not about IPOB or Nnamdi Kanu. I really don't see why you keep bringing up those names here.

MalcoImX:
No need to hear ipoB's side of the story. We've been hearing that long enough that even a blind man can recount that offhand. Kanu is a devil and he is befitting of any word more than terrorism. This man needs to be dealt with before he starts some fire that nobody would be able to quench. Here are some of his sides of the story:
.
"Nigeria should prepare for war, we are coming to annihilate you, my secret service are already studying the zoo and strategising."
.
"If you find anybody in your village asking after Radio Biafra, kill the baboon Awusa Fulani or Yoruba bastard. Let them keep searching as we keep tweeting for #Biafra."
.
"Buhari is a Terrorist he should be killed."
.
"By the time we finish dealing with the animals in the zoo, there'll be none left to tell the story.
.
"We are assembling weapons and we need some more money to thoroughly equip our military to enable us unleash mayhem on Nigeria."
.
"Nigeria is a zoo and everybody living in that Godforsaken zoo deserves to die."
.
"Kumuyi should be stoned and dealt with thoroughly if he comes to Aba for his planned crusade."
.
"The imbecilic Goodluck Jonathan is a disgrace to humanity and deserves to be skinned alive for handing over to an [n]Hausa goat."[/b]
.
"Niger Deltans are cowards; we know what to do to them. Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers, Edo and Cross Rivers State are our territory and anybody who tries to oppose us will be crushed."
.
"No Ibo man should attend any Church where the pastor is a Yoruba man, they are criminals and fools."
.
"Its either Biafra or death..."

Whatever rocks your boat. But bear in mind that this post is not about IPOB's or Nnamdi Kanu's activities or utterances - which you have brilliantly set out above. The post's focus is on the procedure under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended).

A very long well written piece of rubbish...

Learn to write on current issues.

ipobarecriminals:
those kanu slaves that carried sticks, cutlass dangerous weapons looking for hausa/yoruba up/down are what?Asking for donation to buy guns is for what? KANU isn't fighting for any Biafra,his main occupation is to amass wealth like that Niger delta Hippopotamus Asari.KANU IS TERRORIST

The people that murdered 15 youth corpers after Buhari lost election 2011 is what?

Bla, bla, bla....

Listic1:


Whatever rocks your boat. But bear in mind that this post is not about IPOB's or Nnamdi Kanu's activities or utterances - which you have brilliantly set out above. The post's focus is on the procedure under the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2011 (as amended).

You want Shekau and Kanu to be served letter of notice against the stated law. Go and do that yourself, and let's see if you'll come back alive.

MalcoImX:
You want Shekau and Kanu to be served letter of notice against the stated law. Go and do that yourself, and let's see if you'll come back alive.

Well, there are a number of ways of doing so validly without even seeing the person to be served physically. The law cleverly makes provision for that.