Written by Yesterday in the Federal High Court, Ikeja Judicial Division, Lagos, Judge Stephen J. Adah dismissed a Fundamental Rights Originating Application upon the ground that the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Foreign Affairs and Interior Affairs are not carrying on business in Lagos but in Abuja, “where they live”.
Judge Stephen Adah is said to be a pastor, and he would appear to have been introduced into the business of the Court by a former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court – Daniel Abutu.
Judge Stephen Adah appears to be one of those individuals who worked in the Ministry, who were lucky and fortunate to be appointed as judges even though many such individuals never saw the inside of a law school, let alone understand the word “jurisprudence”.
1999 Constitution related issues
On 8 July, 2011 I issued proceedings in Ikeja Lagos Judicial Division of the Federal High Court.
The whole purpose of the action is to determine issues referable to Chapter III – Citizenship provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, alongside the British imposed Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria 1960.
There is a need for the National Assembly to amend Chapter III because millions of Black people who were born in country outside Nigeria, who grew up outside, who could not speak a word of Yoruba, Ibo or Hausa, who have never been to Nigeria, or who have never held a Nigerian passport or citizenship, are still regarded as “Nigerians” and so therefore, such persons could be removed by any Immigration Authority of any country outside Nigeria, and dumped on the Nigerian soil, without any deportation or court order.
Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009
To determine the aforementioned issue, I issued proceedings pursuant to the “Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution.
The Originating Application was duly served on the Committees on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs. The 3 Committees did not refuse service.
On 20 July, 2011 Judge Stephen Adah caused Notice of Hearing to be served on the Defendants. The date set for the Hearing was yesterday (27 September, 2011). None of the Committees put in any appearance.
Importance of Fundamental Rights In the Preamble to the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, a former Chief Justice of the Federation, Idris Legbo Kutigi set out the following principles –
Paragraph 3 (e) The Court shall encourage and welcome public interest litigations in the human rights field and no human rights case may be dismissed or struck out for want of locus standi. In particular, human rights activists, advocates or groups as well as any non-governmental organizations, may institute human rights litigation, the applicant may include any of the following:
(i) Anyone acting in his own interest;
(ii) Anyone acting on behalf of another person;
(iii) Anyone acting as a member of, or in the interest of a group or class of persons;
(iv) Anyone acting in the public interest, and
(v) Association acting in the interest of its members or other individuals or groups
Judge does not know Duty of Court
A Judge shall hear every application submitted and pronounce judgment on every application. Judge Adah has a habit of running away from this important statutory duty. Yesterday in open court, he tried to fob me off with some silly comments about his Registry, not doing their job. But judge Adah who does not know his job.
I reminded him of his duty to make an Order. To my surprise, he asked me: “WHAT ORDER DO YOU WANT ME TO MAKE?”
In reply, I began to dictate the Order that he had a duty to make. Towards the end of my dictation, he stopped writing – Then he said, “THERE IS A PROBLEM. THIS IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS CASE. I HAVE TO STRIKE IT OUT, DISMISS IT”.
I have today given Notice of Appeal