From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), under the auspices of Advocacy for Justice and Good Governance (AJGG) has demanded the prosecution of Kano state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Haruna Isa Dederi, for labeling justices of Appeal Court corrupt.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja over the weekend, AJGG’s coordinator, Mr. Francis Nzeoke, declared that the commissioner should be specifics on the actual corrupt judges he was referring to.
Dederi on Wednesday while appearing on a television programme made spurious allegations on the justices of the Appeal Court.
Reactuhg to the comments, the coordinator claimed that recent development in Kano over election litigations has made officials of the state government to threaten, harass judges and malign the judiciary.
Nzeoke emphasised that AJGG along with other NGOs would continue to speak out against any attempt by politicians to ridicule men of unblemish legal record or in any way bully judges and justices.
He however tasked Nigerian Bar Association to ensure that appropriate disciplinary measures are taken against its erring members.
“We are calling on the authorities to question Dederi so that he provides evidence of all the allegations he made on the television programme. And if he cannot, he should be arrested and prosecuted.
“We are worried about the turn of events in recent times where politicians lose cases in the court and resort to dishing out threats to justices. It is a bad omen for our democracy and the rule of law,” the NGO noted in the statement.