BigB1 you are such a fool.

ogrebuga:

@ folahann, i think the success rae of the thread is about 5%, don't blame you for being so skeptic,

Believe me its way less than that, say 0.5% would be more accurate

Well lets assume she made all this statements, it would have been nice if the poster provided the source.

What did we expect from someone like that, when other countries are busy ensuring their best brains are in politics and law makers we come up with arguementations oh sorry was that supposed to be argumentative, lol, that it doesnt matter your education.

I dey look the other day the third party in UK, the 2 guys seeking to be Oga (chairman), one had a degree from Cambridge, the other from OXford, then when u look at the composition of the house, the caliber of the education of the folks, u go just dey wonder, Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, LSE, 1st class this, degree with dat, how d country no go beta,

Abeg 4get tory, if hairdresser fit be speaker, trouble dey oh.

So how many Nigerians would have the opportunity to ask the AGF the reason for the letter. The AGF would have to offer over 120 million explanations. Such reasoning, when prima facie evidence shows clearly personal interest.

Mr. Babasin you have showed clearly you don't understand the role of a public servant

This is an opinion of Bola Ajibola on the letter that it was personal and against national interest. The rule of law arguement is clearly flawed.

Ibori: Ajibola faults AGF
By Niyi Odebode
Published: Monday, 22 Oct 2007

A former judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Prince Bola Ajibola, has said that the letter wriiten to the counsel for a former Delta State Governor, Chief James Ibori, by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, is not in the interest of the country.
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Segun Bakare.

Former Judge, International Court of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN)

Ajibola, in an exclusive interview with THE PUNCH in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Saturday, reminded Aondoakaa that Nigeria stood to benefit more if those found to have looted public treasury were prosecuted.

He said, “My feeling is that the letter was not written in the best interest of this nation. This is personal. That letter should be withdrawn, if it obstructs the direct prosecution of a suspect, a former governor.

“The AGF must allow, unfetteredly, the due process to be carried out. I am not sure about what prompted the AGF to take the step of writing that letter.

“I have not been chanced to meet the AGF and to hear his own explanation on why the letter was written. Prima facie, based on the letter, I frown at that type of letter, until a contrary view is given.

“The AGF should know that it is in the interest of the entire federation to prosecute those who have been suspected of siphoning our money out of the country. It cannot be otherwise.”

The controversial letter was said to have contributed to the acquittal of Ibori for false assets declaration by the Southwark Crown Court, London, on October 1.

The court’s verdict was on October 9 upturned by the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, London.

Ajibola also spoke on the face-off between the AGF and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and canvassed a split of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Minister of Justice.

Ajibola, a former occupant of the office, advised that the post of the AGF be exclusively reserved for ‘independent persons.’

He said former Chief Justices of Nigeria ought to be in the class of such independent persons.

He predicated his suggestion on the fact that the position of the AGF was ‘a powerful but dangerous’ one which could only be effectively managed by someone with a sound knowledge of the law and age on his side.

He said, “We need an independent person. Perhaps, we could look for a retired Chief Justice of Nigeria to act as the AGF.

“Age, maturity, good understanding, independence and probity could play a very large role. We should have at the back of our minds people like Justices Kayode Eso, Muhammadu Uwais, Alfa Belgore and Akintola Ejiwunmi.

“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation is more embracing. It requires maturity, good understanding of the law, high integrity. Anyone that occupies that position must be capable and competent.

“He must be that man who ensures that justice is given to all people of our country. It is a dangerous position to hold when you have it tied to the apron strings of the government of the day. This is because he is looked upon as a minister.”

The legal luminary said that the minister of justice should be a legal adviser to the government, while the AGF should play the roles spelt out in Section 174 of the constitution.

The section empowers the the AGF to institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person.

The section, Ajibola added, emphasised the need for the AGF “to have regard for public interest, interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process, ” when performing his functions.

He argued that events in the country since May 29 had further vindicated people calling for the separation of the office of the AGF from that of the minister of justice.

The former ICJ judge, however, advised Aondoakaa, the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies in the country not to do anything that could negate President Umaru Yar’Adua’s position on the rule of law.

Ajibola said since Yar’Adua had repeatedly reiterated his commitment to the rule of law, such promises must be matched with actions.

He said, “What he (Yar’Adua) is saying must be implemented. It is not what he is saying that is enough. It is what is done that is more important. The AGF must do what the President keeps saying.”

The former minister said that the President needed to meet with Aondoakaa, the EFCC Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the ICPC Chairman, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola (rtd), on the need to respect the constitution.

Ajibola said, “If I were the President what I would do is to bring the ICPC chap, the EFCC chap and call in Aondoakaa and have a word with them.

“First, they must work together and two, see that proper things are done while respecting the constitutional powers of the AGF.”

Ajibola’s comments coincided with the disclosure by Aondoakaa in Singapore that the government was planning another anti-corruption agency to complement the activities of the EFCC.

He spoke at the presentation of Transparency International’s latest publication on Global Corruption Report.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200710223293665

Okay now, u havnt seen better girl that will touch you.

That state is clearly for loosers, in this world of beautiful hornies, oh no

It seems i have missed much here.

Babasin's agruements are upside down and doesnt hold water, he chooses what is defined as the rule of law. Seeing that it is now politically correct to be against corruption, the next line is to abuse the judicial process using the rule of law. The whole world can see it, even the blind and deaf can see it and hear it, the AG has abused his office, whether playing to his masters tone or not he interferred where he shld have been an observer.

If it was the rule of law and the way it should go, why did the president have to go public and say he was not protecting anyone, he shld have just said rule of law. The intent is clear, the age of deception is over. We are in support of rule of law and not fools. The British Police has shown the AG that justice delayed is not Justice denied.

Where does the rule of law state the AG should unduly influence a judicial process. Where does the rule of law work outside the political process, where there is no political will form the government, how can the rule of law be obtained.

Such a joke. The AG and his likes (Like our friend Babasin) think people do not understand what the law is, and they think the world is foolish only them smart. As i said the age of deception is over. The drama has just started.

The issues are clear leave the courts to do their jobs, see the evidence and circumstances, the interference by the AG in a judicial process is not rule of law.

almondjoy:

Well, it is going to be alright. We wish him a speedy recovery. The result of disgruntled masses in a society that only glorifies illegal wealth.

No we wish him "soonest recover", e be like say this nothing dey happen is annoyin plenty people, abeg tuface sing somethind dey happen make dem leave u,

On a serious note, this is sad, the guy has done well for himself they dont want him to enjoy the fruit of his labour, wicked peple

@ Babasin, i asked you to present judicial facts from the Nigerian constitution or ratified convention please can you do that and not this lame response.

babasin:

Please read between the line.

It if was abuse of procedure; why did British Judge acceptted the letter from AGF?, why did British Jugde acted based on this letter?

He should have simply thrown it as invalid for this case.

Truth remains; AGF can respond to questions by any one in the world if they need to know the true legal situation of an individual etc in Nigeria.
EFCC screwed-up. They should accept responsiblity and ensure this does not happen again. simple

The British judge is not the standard in Nigeria, he respected the opinions of the office of the AG and took it into consideration in giving a judgement, it was part of the circumstances he considered.

The office has been abused, because the holder is influencing a process, the question we should be asking is in the absence of that letter will the outcome have been the same, why couldnt Ibori's lawyer have asked the police or the Director of Public Prosecution who it that would have the facts on if anyone in Nigeria has been prosecuted in a Nigerian court, but no he chose the AG, because he realised that the process could be unduly influenced.

The AG has no business obstructing justice, because that is what he has done, since your knowledge is more that other learned individuals and the democratic western societies we are emulating. Your so called rule of law in line with that of the current government clearly tells us that its all about abusing proviledges.  This is how we loose respect in the international world, where in the world do public office holders meddle in such, is this AG the first AG to be asked for such a letter, why drag the name of the office in the mud, the little respect we were starting to gain is already being eroded.

What has the EFCC got to do with this, you are now the one being clearly emotional and exhibiting personal bias.

Please see another article from the BBC, the international world can see the hypocricy, why didnt they call it "rule of law", because it clearly isnt, when is it the rule of law for the AG to write a letter, no one is saying he is guilty until  that is done by a competent court (rule of law) but obstructing justice is not rule of law it is abuse of office.

The personal intervention of the AG constitutes abuse of office, and he should be sacked. Assuming the non existance of the conspiracy theorist that is.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7027350.stm

I just can correlate how rule of law and obstructing justice are ideals of a democratic society, please Nigerians wake  up.

@ Babasin, you keep claiming that the action of the AG answering a personal letter from a counsel is right. Please read this.

The law is not black and white, the AGF's office has no business getting meddled into such a case except buying into the conspiracy arguement that he is playing out the govts script, which is a whole different arguement. The arguemet is given there is no influence from his boss, is it the duty of the AG to be writing such clean bill of health letters on suspects still been investigated.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art2007100513392178

The decision of the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, Chief Michael Aondoakaa SAN to frustrate the prosecution of the former state governors at home and abroad has continued to confirm that the Yar’Adua regime has maximum tolerance for corruption. Andookaa SAN gave a clean bill of health to ex governor,James Ibori which led to the vacation of the freezing order on his £ 35 million assets suspected to have been looted from the treasury of Delta state government,

The unwarranted intervention of Aondoakaa in the London case is a violation of the provision of Article 43 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption which requires all countries that have ratified the Convention to cooperate with each other in the recovery of ill gotten assets of their public officers. It is worthy to note that Nigeria is one of the 38 countries in the 191 member states of the United Nations that have ratified the Convention.

Having grossly betrayed his OATH of office in order to shield some sacred cows from investigation and prosecution and thereby exposed Nigeria to odium and ridicule before the international community Yaradua ought to remove Chief Aondoakaa SAN as the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice without any further delay.


Please in your response don't come and talk it is right procedure when clearly it is not, provide juduicial facts either from the Nigerian constitution of any ratified Convention, which this article relies on.

The summary is that his action contravenes Article 43 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

@ Mcren, thank you it is such warp thinking of Babasin that makes the govt think everyone is a fool. In a bid to sound differennt for the sake of it, some people throw away principles guiding and surrounding issues.

Please can you show us in the nigerian constitution where it is the AG that has the responsibility of answering such a question, being the head of a legal matter or chief law officer of a country does not give anyone the right to unduly influence a judicial process, that is abuse of office. If a request was made to him, so he cannot delegate the necessary department to answer it. It has to be him. A foreign lawyer is making a rubbish out os such an office, where in the world du u see the Number 1 law officer writing such letters.

babasin:

I know now, Nigerians need to adjust to living under 'rule of law'

Mr. Babasin you are definately the first Nigerian that needs to adjust to living "under the rule of law". Since thats the new "government magic".

Ibori is still been investigated, the case is not closed.

So it is the office of the AG, that provides the legal situation of an individual in a country, i wonder the role of the Director of Public Prosecution and the role of the police and the EFCC who is supposed to be in charge of the case.

Sir, it is wrong procedure to ask the AG for the legal situation, the police and the EFCC can provide that, they are arms of government.

The issue again is that he is abusing the office, getting involved in such issues, his personal interest is conflicting with the office, this is law and theres no room for naivety. He was been economical with the truth, Ibori is still been investigated by the EFCC, which was erroneously absent in the letter he ought not to write in the first place and as someone has clearly pointed out to you, he erred in the letter by window dressing the truth.

Perhaps you don't know, whether he has been convicted tried or not is not the issue the court was considering, the court was trying to ascertain circumstances, if he has been a subject of investigations and cases are pending against him due to lack of evidence in his home country, that would have helped the learned judge to consider extending the freeze of the assets, until further evidence was obtained. The AG knew the implication of the letter and the wordings, you think the forign lawyer is a fool.

The issue is clear, Why a letter from the AG, you are analysing the contents letter. Is it the job of the AG to write a letter of clean bill on a suspect who is supposed to be under investigation by another arm of government and which the AG is supposed to be working with.

Mr. Babasin you are entiltled to your opinion but please don't abuse our intelligence again with such emotional talk nonsense. We are looking at the principles behind the action of the AG, who is a PUBLIC SERVANT, incase you forget that. 

Evn when Bill CLinton and Tony Blair were been investigated, their AG's would never think of doing such a thing as sending a document giving them a clean bill because it will clearly obstruct justice.

Yes criminals can get away when a case is not presented properly, but when those who are to prepare the case are the ones making sure that the case is not presented well? What next. The office of the AG is being abused and you say it is the EFCC that is not presenting a case, is it the EFCC that wrote a letter to the court??

@ Babasin who is being emotional here, please lets be clear in principles and throw away such nonsense talk.

Read Guardian

http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article05

Intrigues behind Ibori's reprieve from UK court
From Tunde Oyedoyin, London
FORMER Delta State governor, Chief James Onanefe Ibori and his well-wishers have rolled out the drums over his recent legal victory at the Southwark Crown Court in the United Kingdom (UK), but reverberations from the court may yet drown the melody from the band-stand.

The Guardian learnt that the court's vacation order which came after the prosecutors had informed the court that they had no evidence against the former governor, may have been influenced by political considerations.

It was learnt that the Nigerian government in an attempt to avoid the international odium that attended the trial of former Bayelsa State governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha in the UK during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, may have opted to tread slowly in the Ibori case.

Sources said that the Yar'Adua government even considered sending the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, to the UK on Monday, to tell the court that the former Delta State governor was not under investigation in Nigeria.

A member of the legal team in the matter, who pleaded anonymity, told The Guardian: "Remember what happened two years ago when the Attorney-General came to witness against the then Bayelsa State governor, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha? That was what was about to happen. But the government was advised that the matter had not got to that stage, and that Ibori had not yet been charged."

The source added: "It was made known to the Nigerian government that if the AGF had come, it would have been a waste of time since Ibori was not being tried yet but only being investigated.

"When it was made clear to the government that it wasn't necessary for the AGF to come, they were still willing for him to show up and write a statement of support which he would have presented in court."

According to the source, "sometimes, public interest plays a part in making a judgment, this was what happened in this case. A political resolution was used to remove the restraint orders and thus settle the case."

A source, who was present at the court during the proceedings, continued: "You know, this is supposed to be a criminal case. The prosecution was expected to prove that the former governor's assets were illegitimately acquired, but it was the Federal Government of Nigeria that back-pedalled.

"The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) even was no longer forthcoming with evidence. So when the people who instigated the action are not forthcoming, what can you do?" he queried.

The source spoke further: "The government of your country didn't want anything to escalate the crisis in the Niger Delta and other issues," hence, the EFCC, according to him, therefore for undisclosed reasons "was no longer keen on providing any more evidence to the investigators."

@ babasin, that is what the AG would want us to believe. But the law is not black and white, in taking a decision a learned person should consider the circumstances surrounding the request, allegations etc. Did the AG consider the circumstances surrounding the request from Ibori's lawyer before deciding to write such a letter, did he consider if writing the letter would be for the greater good of society, will it be Justice and more importantly will it "be seen" as justice. The question is not if Ibori has been convicted in the past (which is also another mystery) but should the office of the AG get involved in trying to prove his innocense.

It is difficult enough to prosecute the rich and powerful anywhere in the world, then for the chief law officer to be seen as the one ensuring that Justice is not carried out, my guy that one is a disaster.

The issues are clear, how many people has the AG written such letters in their defence in cases in Nigeria, how much more overseas, how many other Nigerias are held for offences they didnt commit, pre-trial detention is at an all time high, and the AG is busy proving the rule of law and stating the law as black and white.

Perhaps Mr.Babasin you dont know the role of the AG, he is not a private lawyer, he is employed by the state, paid by tax payers, he has no business meddling and "attempting" to help /influence cases such as this. He cannot choose who to assist and who not to? If hes assisting the rich, he must assist the poor, i dont know who esle apart of Kalu, Akume and now Ibori that this AG has helped. The manner and passion he has gone about it is too clear that he is protecting an interest, let him translate such passion to pre-trial detention situations around the country.

President Yar Adua if you can hear me, sack this man NOW. A lawyer known to defend thieves in the past (Akume & Co) has no business being AG, it is an insult to the people of Nigeria, you are still busy fighting legitimacy issues and your chief law officer is protecting thieves, was this an agreement or something.

Sack this man now. It was Soludo laudable initiative under interpretation of the act, then EFCC under obeying court rules (which did not exist anyway), now he is writing letter to solicitors of thieves, which was tendered in court, what next will he do to protect the interest of those it has shown he serves. SACK THIS MAN NOW.

I just imagine the judge in the Southwark Crown Court thinking what a people, if their AG the one sworn to hold the law and protect the weak with the law can write this, what misplaced prority.

Fresh facts emerged on Wednesday that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), personally wrote a letter which might have played an important role in the acquittal of ex-Governor James Ibori of Delta State by a London court.

The Southwark Crown Court in London had on Monday discharged a restraint order it granted on August 2 against Ibori, Erin Aviation and others.

The order had barred Ibori and the other suspects from having access to their property, pending their trial for money laundering.

The trial of Ibori had generated considerable interest in the country until his sudden discharge by the London court for want of evidence.

Barely 24 hours after Ibori‘s acquittal, THE PUNCH broke the news that the Federal Government might have contributed to the reprieve for the former governor.

A source had confided in THE PUNCH that the government allegedly wrote a letter on August 7 to the counsel for Ibori, claiming that he (Ibori) had no case to answer.

But the AGF on Tuesday denied knowledge of the controversial letter.

He had said, “I did not write any letter to the Crown Court. That was not the basis on which the case was dismissed. The evidence before him (the judge) was not sufficient. What has the AGF got to do with it?

“I have never done anything to frustrate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on any matter. Don‘t forget that the commission had told the Nigerian media that it was not involved in Ibori‘s case in London. Why are they now talking of frustration? Why are they dragging me into an issue that I did not know anything about?”

Contrary to the AGF‘s claim, findings by our correspondents revealed that he wrote a no-case submission letter to Ibori‘s counsel, Ian Timlin (Partner) and Julie Thrower (Solicitor).

The counsel are from a firm of City Dispute Resolution Solicitors, Speechly Bircham.

It was learnt that the ex-governor‘s counsel tendered the AGF‘s letter at the resumed trial of Ibori on October 1 in London.

It was gathered that Ibori’s counsel used the letter to extricate their client from the Southwark Court.

The letter showed that there had been correspondence between Ibori’s counsel and the AGF.

The content of the earlier letters and what motivated them was, however, not clear at press time.

There were, however, two curious twists.

The first was that whereas it took the AGF’s office one week to respond to the August 20 letter of the Metropolitan Police on the case against Ibori, it took him only three days to respond to the letter by Ibori’s counsel.

The second was the tone of the AGF’s August 7 reply to the letter from Ibori’s counsel.

The reply seemed to suggest that the AGF was completely unaware of any case against Ibori, even though the EFCC had told the Senate on September 28, 2006 that Ibori was one of the governors under investigation.

The AGF’s letter, which was obtained by our correspondents on Wednesday reads, “Further to your letter Ref. IFT/JAT/316533 dated 4th August, 2007 on the above subject matter, I hereby react as follows:

“That Chief James Onanefe Ibori was investigated in connection with his acts and activities whilst in office as Governor of Delta State between 29th May, 1999 and 29th May, 2007.

“That there is no record that your client, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has been charged to any court of law in Nigeria in respect of any offence relating to money laundering or any other offences in connection with his acts and activities whilst in office as Governor of Delta State between 29th May, 1999 and 29th May, 2007.

“That your client, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, has not been tried and/or convicted by any court of law in Nigeria for any offence relating to money laundering or any other offences in connection with his acts and activities whilst in office as Governor of Delta State between 29th May, 1999 and 29th May, 2007.

“That there was no request for a freezing order emanating from my office against your client pursuant to the exercise of my power under Article 3 of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.”

The letter by the AGF was as at Wednesday night on the website of Saharareporters, a news agency.

As at press time it was not clear who directed the AGF to write the letter to Ibori’s counsel.

A source who spoke in confidence with one of our correspondents said the letter had created disquiet in the Presidency.

He said, “It has been discovered that the AGF’s letter might have been used to mislead the Southwark Court.

“The government itself had discovered that the Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had on September 28, 2006 told the Senate that 23 governors were being investigated.

“Ribadu, who listed Ibori as one of the 23 governors, specifically told the Senate that the EFCC was liaising with the British authorities to extradite some of the governors to face criminal charges.

“In fact, the government is aware that Ibori had interacted with the EFCC before he left the country for the United States in August.

“The AGF’s letter has created a moral dilemma for the government.”

Yar’Adua had, during an interaction with newsmen in New York last Thursday, admitted that he met with Ibori and some ex-governors who had cases to answer.

He also said his interaction did not mean that these ex-governors would be shielded from trial.

When contacted on Wednesday night, the AGF admitted writing a letter to Ibori’s counsel.

He said he wrote the letter in response to an enquiry by the counsel.

Aondoakaa argued that he merely stated that even though Ibori was being investigated, he had not been charged to court for any offence.

The AGF also said that he wrote to the EFCC, asking the commission to cooperate with the Metropolitan Police.

“If you have the letter, you will see that I did not say that Ibori had no case to answer. I only said that even though he was investigated, he had not been charged to court for any offence,” he said.

Asked why he wrote such a letter, he answered, “Has Ibori been charged to court in Nigeria?

“You as a journalist, if you make enquiries, can’t I reply? Will it not be wrong if I fail to reply to an enquiry? As an Attorney-General, is it not enough for me to say he’s being investigated? What else could I have done?

“Did I sign a treaty of legal mutual assistance with the Met Police? Did I order the investigation?”

On why he denied knowledge of the letter in an interview with THE PUNCH on Tuesday, he said, “The question you put to me was whether I wrote to the Crown Court. And I said no. You did not ask me whether I wrote any letter to Ibori’s lawyer.”

Asked why he preferred to write to a lawyer when he failed to cooperate with Met Police, he said, “I cooperated with them and I replied their letter.

“The police in London have not blamed me over this matter. It is you that are trying to link me with the issue.

“Why are you not satisfied with the reason given by the judge that there was no sufficient evidence before him? Do you charge people to court before you start looking for evidence?

“In Fred Egbe vs. the State, the Supreme Court held that it was wrong to charge a person to court and then start to look for evidence.

“Why will the EFCC blame me for this matter? The Met Police said it was an investigation they did in London, that it had nothing to do with Nigeria. The EFCC also said it had no hand in the matter.

“So, where did I go wrong in all this? I have done my best and I won’t kill myself.”

Nigeria is a signatory to the 2003 International Convention against Corruption and is among the 38 countries that have so far ratified the treaty.

The treaty encourages signatories to share information and to take active steps to stem corruption.

Na wah oh, no be me talk am, its the punch newspaper that said so.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art200710043103785

This AG is someone of questionable characters, i wonder where the president got him from. How can he do this.

Mt first post on Nairaland, oya my people comment, if the AG answers letters to lawyers of rich ex-governors and suspected corrupt looters being investigated, what time to defend the interest of the people.

If the president knows what is good, he should sack this man, this man is not worthy of such an office.