I once had a taste of political violence during the 2015 Presidential campaigns. In Bauchi, our convoy was stoned. In Katsina, restless youths wielding stones and long sticks threatened to attack us.  It didn’t matter that it was a Presidential convoy. But nothing in those two places is comparable to what I experienced in Sagamu, Ogun State on Sunday, January 13.

The PDP Gubernatorial candidate in Ogun State, Senator Buruji Kashamu and I accompanied by our spouses, had gone to attend the 2019 edition of the Annual Thanksgiving church service organized by former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.  We arrived at the church – Abraham’s Tabernacle – when the service was well under way. For a while, the service was disrupted as the people kept shouting: Buru-ji Kash-amu! Kashamu! Kashamu! The Senator acknowledged the cheers, greeted the dignitaries in attendance and took his seat.

The event was more of a political get-together, and that is understandable. Otunba Gbenga Daniel, our host is a leader of the PDP in the South West and a Director of the Atiku-Obi Presidential campaign. Outside the church, from the entrance to the main street, even beyond the church: there were posters on display promoting Atiku, Buruji Kashamu, Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, and Hon. Ladi Adebutu (the House of Representatives member contesting Senator Kashamu’s candidacy along with the candidacy of all persons whose names the Adebayo Dayo-led executive committee submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Every elective office-seeker at the event obviously tried to outshine the other with billboards, campaign vehicles, posters and the number of supporters in attendance. Others displayed theirs, we too displayed our own.

I had no reason to suspect that the day would further expose me to yet another dirty underbelly of Nigerian politics: in this instance, violence and the attendant threat to lives and property. I had hardly taken a seat, close to the entrance in the North Eastern part of the church, when I suddenly noticed some commotion. The whole incident didn’t take up to two minutes.

“What happened?”, I asked the guy standing close to me.

“Lado has left the church in annoyance.” Lado is the nickname of Hon. Ladi Adebutu.

“How? Why?”

The gentleman who was giving me the information, started pointing over my head and said:

“It is that man”

“Which man?”

“He is sitting somewhere behind you”

“What happened?”

The man didn’t finish his story properly, when he bent down a little and told me to leave where I was seated, and go and find somewhere else within the church.

“Why?”, I asked. I really didn’t see why I should start going up and down inside the House of God, when I am not a church worker.

“Egbon, you don’t know me? . I lived in your father’s house in Abeokuta. Trust me. Leave this place where you are sitting. Lado’s boys have entered the church premises. They are threatening to come inside to attack Kashamu’s people.”

You needed to see the speed with which I jumped up and went far inside the church.  Meanwhile, there were sounds of heavy gunshots outside, and commotion. I wanted to go outside the church to see what was going on. Another man pulled me back and told me not to step outside because Lado’s people were looking for Kashamu and his people. He said he was going to inform Otunba Gbenga Daniel to quickly intervene and see what could be done to take control of the situation.  I felt as if I had become a trapped rabbit. I called my Personal Assistant who was waiting outside the church with the drivers who brought my campaign vehicles and some of our supporters from Abeokuta. I could hear sounds of the mayhem in the background.

“Ki lo nse le, nita. What is going on outside? What is all that commotion all about?”

“Sir, awon boys Lado ni o. They are looking for Kashamu. They are threatening to kill him and D.G.”

“Hello. Hello”

“Sir, they are vandalizing all our campaign vehicles”

“Tell the drivers to go and quickly move the vehicles to somewhere safe,” I instructed.

I could hear the P.A. telling the drivers: “Oga says you people should go and move the vehicles quickly away from here.”  One of them shouted back at him: “Oga says we should go and move vehicles. I can’t move any vehicle. Do you want those boys to kill me? Can’t you see the kind of guns they are carrying?”

I could hear the gunshots. I couldn’t blame the rebellious driver.  A few minutes later, the PA called back frantically.

“Sir, sir, sir”

“Yes?,”  I responded

“They have vandalized our own vehicles. They have smashed the windscreens of our campaign vehicles.”

“How many vehicles did you bring?”

“Three sir.”

“Did I not tell you to bring only two? See what you have caused?”

“One of the drivers managed to escape with his own vehicle sir. They beat him up but he managed to jump into the car and ran away with it.”

“What of the Touareg, Egunje brought from Lagos?”

“That one is not branded sir.”

“Tell Egunje to move that car away right now. He must not be sluggish. Where are the boys threatening to attack us now?’”

“The police have started confronting them sir. The police have arrived. They are driving them back now but they are threatening that they will regroup and come back.”

The only thing that was ringing in my head was the disclosure that they were looking for Kashamu and DG. I am oftentimes referred to by our party members as DG or Deputy. The only other person who goes by the name of DG is the Director-General of the Kashamu/Abati Campaign Organization, Chief Remi Bakare.  I have not had any confrontation with anybody since our campaign began. I saw no reason why anyone should threaten to harm me. I thought of going out of the church to go and sit in one of the vehicles parked inside the church premises. I couldn’t summon the courage to do so – my face is emblazoned on all our branded campaign vehicles, billboards and posters all over the state. What if the enemy outside recognized me? I started calling Hon. Segun Seriki, who is an experienced politician to advise me on what precaution could be taken under the circumstances. His phone kept ringing. He didn’t pick.

I could see that the women in our entourage were worried. I was more than worried, my heart was pumping heavily.  This was the state I was in when someone came to me and said, we would leave the church immediately after the service, but we should all go out together at the same time, and stay very close and be vigilant. The man added: “if those Lado boys are able to grab just one person, we can’t predict what will happen.” I told myself that it would indeed be a good idea for anyone in that situation to be vigilant. I was no longer listening to whatever anyone was saying, not even the church choir. The only thought in my head was how to get back home in one piece.

The service soon ended. We filed out of the church, bonding together. One of our men wrapped his body around me as as if he was a human towel. He told me not to allow anybody to bump into me. You never know who is holding a knife. I had actually seen one or two persons wielding knives inside the church and they were not wearing any identifiable uniform. We were practically smuggled out of the church by security agents, shooting persistently in the air and chasing the hoodlums. We were lucky we made it to Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s residence. As the bullets rushed out of guns, my wife’s friend who was sitting in the same vehicle with me, tried to duck under the dashboard. She said someone had once advised her that this is the best way to avoid stray bullets.  I couldn’t afford to laugh. I just grinned.

The moment I sighted Hon. Seriki, I turned on him.

“Egbon, I was calling your phone. You didn’t pick”.

“Sorry. My phones were in silent mode”

“But where did you go?”

“Ha, my brother, in this game, self-preservation is the first law of survival. Sagamu is the headquarters of cultists in this part of the state. Those boys are deadly. It is a volatile zone.”

“They vandalized two of my campaign vehicles. They assaulted one of my drivers who tried to run away with one of the vehicles.”

“Actually, they vandalized all our campaign vehicles. Look, my brother, in politics things like this happen. It takes only a small incident, and you will have people being killed. This is the reality of politics in the Third World. ”

I asked him further if the window screens of the vehicle in which we were both seated were tinted.

“My brother, I see you are new in politics. I have been in politics for years. In politics, you must always be prepared”

“This is not politics. This is madness. We are trying to mend fences and make peace. And now people are threatening to kill us. So what will now happen to all the efforts being made to ensure reconciliation with the Hon. Adebutu group?”

Two weeks earlier, the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State had initiated reconciliation talks between the supporters of both Senator Buruji Kashamu and Hon. Ladi Adebutu. Meetings had been held in Yewa North, in Ado Odo Ota, Abeokuta and across the wards in Ogun East. I attended one of the meetings. Senator Kashamu had also instructed his supporters and followers to reconcile with members of the Adebutu group to ensure the party’s victory in the coming elections in Ogun State, whatever may be the outcome of the cases in court over candidacy. In Ado Odo Ota, there was actually a unification rally by both groups. I was concerned that all of that effort had just been jeopardized.

What transpired at Abraham’s Tabernacle, Sagamu,, on that day as later reported in bits and pieces, was that when Senator Kashamu arrived, he made an effort to greet Hon. Ladi Adebutu but he was rebuffed. The Director General of our campaign then went to Hon. Adebutu, who is very well known to him, and advised him to go and greet Senator Kashamu and embrace him in the spirit of reconciliation. Only God knows how the Devil put a foot into that encounter. Hon. Adebutu left the church, we gathered in annoyance. Only God knows how this became a matter for thugs who decided this was enough reason to attack Senator Kashamu, his supporters and campaign vehicles.

We were able to catch our breaths after being smuggled to Otunba Gbenga Daniel’s residence under heavy police protection. The remaining challenge was then how to leave Sagamu without running into the thugs who had threatened to waylay us. Instead of going through the main streets, we had to take a winding, back route.  As we navigated through this route, some boys on motorcycles soon caught up with us and they moved close to the vehicle carrying Mrs Kashamu and my wife. One of the motorcycles targeted Senator Kashamu’s vehicle (by now, he had switched vehicles).  The boys on motorcycle tried to pull something out of the nylon bags they were carrying. Somehow, the drivers swerved and tried to run into them, forcing them to speed off.  Senator Kashamu asked the convoy to stop. Within minutes, we were joined by more gun-wielding policemen. The moment the policemen arrived, many members of our convoy rushed down and started peeing up and down.  I was pressed too, but I chose to sit inside the vehicle. What if the thugs suddenly came back?

When we finally managed to get onto the expressway, some people asked to be allowed to pee again. Eventually, Senator Kashamu re-arranged the convoy. He also took the steering wheel himself, and decided to drive in front of the convoy. I joined him. Sitting beside him in front was Senator Ben Murray Bruce who was part of our entourage. Every other vehicle was instructed to drive behind, with Senator Kashamu as the lead driver. He told everyone not to panic; he would lead us home safely.

Senator Bruce offered to drive, insisting that he is a better driver than his friend. Senator Kashamu refused and as we made our way out of danger zone, he kept receiving situation reports from members of our group who left Sagamu for other parts of the state, while keeping an eye on the convoy. When we finally reached his home three and a half hours later, some people rushed quickly to the toilet, others headed for the bathroom. I did too. When we reviewed the situation, we were relieved that no lives were lost. The policemen in the Sagamu Division, as well as members of the Civil Defence Corps, and the Vigilante Group in Sagamu proved to be our saving grace. I commend them for the courage that they displayed and for preventing the loss of lives.  This thing called politics should not be turned into warfare. There should be life after elections.

Perusing the plethora of reactions to the arraignment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on allegations of false declaration of assets by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), it is obvious the matter has spawned considerable emotion. Reports that filtered in as I was writing this piece indicated that the trial had been adjourned to Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

The Onnoghen matter is a prickly one. And, whereas, we should have witnessed dispassionate responses, the converse has been the case. For instance, a vast majority of members of the bar have been unanimous and vociferous in their argument that the CJN or any sitting judicial officer, for that matter, cannot be tried by the CCT or the courts without the National Judicial Commission (NJC) first investigating allegations leveled against such officer and recommending concomitant sanctions.

The judicial precedents cited in respect of the position supra are Nganjiwa vs. FRN (2017), a subsisting Court of Appeal decision and FGN vs. Justice Sylvester Ngwuta (2018), a High Court decision.  The positions of the courts in the two cases were grounded on Section 158 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which vests the NJC with powers to deal with matters pertaining to allegations of misconduct and discipline of judicial officers.

It is the outcome of the investigation that will activate the prosecution of the officer by the relevant agencies of government at the CCT, courts or otherwise, depending on what the findings of the investigation are. Therefore, NJC’s investigation is a precondition for the prosecution of judicial officers for offences committed in the course of their official duties.

Significantly, the provisions of the constitution do not in any way approximate to or confer immunity  on judicial officers. But there are exceptions. Judicial officers are not exempted from direct prosecution for such cases as murder, culpable homicide, et al, not being offences that are committed in the course of their official duties.

The clear breach of the legally-recognized procedure of exposing the CJN to sanctions for alleged offences committed by him without prior investigation by the NJC has precipitated a rash of criticisms against the CCB, an agent of the executive arm of the federal government.  The critical concern expressed by lawyers and many other Nigerians is not much of opposition to the prosecution of Onnoghen but more about the adoption of a wrong procedure to achieve that.

The CCB was wrong to have sidestepped the procedure for dealing with the issue of alleged false declaration of assets by the CJN.  It is not in the place of the CCB to appropriate the powers to act on a petition by a civil society group, the Anti-Corruption and Research-Based Data Initiative (ARDI), and to proceed to file a six-count charge against the CJN at the CCT.

Indeed, what the CCB should have done was to have forwarded the petition to the NJC for investigation. If the outcome was damning, it could then be sent to the relevant agencies that would prosecute the matter at the CCT or to the Senate by the president in line with the provisions of Section 292 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to activate his removal.

The point must be clearly made that no one is above the law of the land.  If Onnoghen had breached the Code of Conduct for public officers on asset declaration, he should not be insulated from prosecution; and, if found guilty, he should be appropriately sanctioned.

There must be more to the issues of alleged non-declaration of some domiciliary bank accounts in foreign currencies, according to the petitioner, than meets the eye.  Could details of those deposits have been the reason for their alleged non-declaration? Can’t it therefore be argued that the non-declaration of those accounts was strategic?

Now, a line must be drawn between the failure of the CCB to follow laid-down procedure – a wrongful act in itself – and the offences allegedly committed by the CJN.  Sanctioning Onnoghen cannot be done by the wrong quarters and in a fashion that is against the law.

Essentially, the mischief of the alleged wrong committed by Onnoghen cannot be cured by the CCT or any court trial, until the NJC has carried out its investigation into the alleged offences and come out with its findings and recommendations. The second wrong was committed by the CCB, which charged the CJN before the CCT that has no jurisdictional powers to entertain the matter. The mischief of these two wrongs cannot be cured through the application of the wrong procedures.

Onnoghen did not appear before the CCT on Monday, but his lawyers were there to protest the manner of his arraignment. The team of lawyers knows its onion and how to get round the issue that is gradually unfolding and assuming its own life in the ramifications of law and politics. This brings me to the politics of his trial. Some persons have conjectured that Onnoghen’s debacle is politically-motivated.

They argue that since he has an important superintending role to play in the adjudication of presidential election petition(s) that may arise from the February 16 poll; it is politically strategic and wise for the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government to clear the path to a second term in office of possible obstacles.

Onnoghen, a forthright and disciplined judge who, for instance, was one of the three justices that ruled in favour of Buhari in his petition against the 2007 presidential victory of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in a verdict that ended 3-4, is one of the speculated obstacles. The imaginary fear is that he could not be trusted to compromise if he is needed to do so. Therefore, removing him would be in pari materia with the original plot.

Remember also that the Supreme Court is sui generis in the matter of hearing presidential election petition.  It is a court of first and final instance. To take chances with Onnoghen might not be a good idea to forces supposedly angling to indict him.  Could that be their reason to demonize, demoralize, discredit and force him to either resign or recuse self from adjudicating the presidential election petition?

This is a prognosis that is well understood.  It could as well be dismissed as a conspiracy theory. Whether it is a prognosis or a theory, I have refrained from climbing on the bandwagon of partisan bias and dialectic in the frenzy to condemn the CBB action in the manner many lawyers, except Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), have done.  I recognize that both sides – CCB and Onnoghen- have committed some mistakes, which must be corrected.

And, perhaps, it bears mentioning here that if the objective of the imaginary powers-that-be is to remove Onnoghen and replace him with another CJN that could be trusted to do their bidding, arraigning him before the CCT, which is bereft of jurisdictional power, is not going to promote the achievement of that goal.  It is wrong to subject the CJN to the ignominy of stepping into the dock at the CCT when the needful has not been done.

Section 292 (1)(a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, supplies the best cure for this egregious mischief. Aside from the NJC recommending sanctions against a judicial officer to the President or State Governor, the President can cause the CJN, as adumbrated supra, to be removed, acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.

But then in the present circumstance, that may be impossible to achieve. It is common knowledge that there is feud between the executive and legislature and that will problematize the process and the Senate cannot seamlessly be deployed in the removal of Onnoghen. Period!

Ojeifo, a journalist, contributed this piece via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com

Sufuyan Ojeifo is the Editor- in- Chief of The Congresswatch Magazine, +234 8034727013    +234 8023024800.