Tsoho deserves mental rehabilitation

Tsoho

By Kelechi Okorie

For Biafra Choice

Another long awaited evil drama from Nigerian government was acted out at the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday on Monday, April 25, 2016. It was a drama different from what many people had anticipated. However, it was typically Nigerian, where anything goes; and anything can happen.

Nigerian government under Muhammadu Buhari, the African Hitler, has always plotted one devilish plan or the order to turn justice on its head, and have Nnamdi Kanu convicted. Kanu is the Leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and Director of Radio Biafra, who was abducted, last year by Buhari’s Gestapo men from Directorate of State Security (DSS), and has been arraigned under various trumped-up charges of treason at different times, since then.

His new wicked plan was unveiled last Monday in court when the case-file was not brought to court. It became known that the case-file was not brought to court because Judges were having a conference. The conference was an annual event that has gone on for years, and has a particular time of the year when it was held.

Biafrans expected to see Buhari’s next wicked plan, how he would either cajole or intimidate the Appeal Court into accepting his planned use of veiled witnesses (masquerades) to testify against Kanu at the lower court. Keeping the Judges away was his gambit.

The whole case started at the lower court, the Federal High Court, where the prosecution lawyers, representing the Nigerian Directorate of State Security Services (DSS) wanted the trial of Kanu to be done in secret. Kanu’s defence lawyers objected to the request insisting that one should not be accused in public and tried in secret. He proved his case without any shred of doubt. Impressed, the presiding Judge, John Tsoho, denied the request.

Buhari, the grandfather of Boko Haram

But few days later, during the next court session, and after Tsoho must have collected some bribe money from his paymaster – Nigeria’s terrorist in chief and Boko Haram (Janjaweed) leader, Muhammadu Buhari – he began to sing a new song. He therefore, indirectly over-ruled himself on March 7, when accepted that witnesses could wear mask.

He turned around to eat his vomit, when he ruled in favour of the use of masked prosecution witnesses. He even made a fool of himself while doing it by citing a case from Cote d’Ivoir where the former President Lauren Gbagbo wore a mask to testify in court. It was after the Defence Counsel thought him some good legal lessons on the difference between Cote d'Ivoir system of Jurisprudence (Civil Law) and that of Nigeria (Common Law) that he angrily adjourned the case.

Kanu’s lawyers had no option than to appeal the decision. However, it is instructive to know that other judges have done the right thing and given Tsoho a legal precedence he must follow if he is to bring a measure of integrity to himself personality profile. He can do like Justice Adeniyi Ademola, the presiding judge over the case of Sambo Dasuki. Ademola had ruled: "there was no point for the witnesses to be called to testify in the case against Dasuki to wear masks and bear pseudo names and addresses so as to facilitate their protection.”

He had held that  the Federal, government had in the charge against his client already listed the names and addresses of 11 witnesses to be called to testify against Dasuki, and also made same available to the general public and that as such there was no basis for any hanky-panky game with his client’s trial.

Biafrans already knew that Buhari’s plot was to use members of the DSS to replace those they claimed were to testify against the Biafran leader, since his government could not find someone willing to testify against the prisoner of conscience, Nnamdi Kanu. Spokesperson of Kanu’s defence team, Barrister Ifeanyi Ejiofor made it explicit to the world that Buhari’s government is seeking to prejudice the judgment because it has no witness.

“If you give them that (secret trial or hooded witnesses), they will bring anybody they want,” he said. He added: “You cannot accuse somebody in public and try him in secret…They (the witnesses) have to come to the public and testify in public. Let us see them in open court … The point is that they have nobody to come and testify against our client. That’s the simple truth.”

Tsoho's people protesting the murder of their people by Buhari's Boko Haram

Since the essence of this whole hanky-panky gambit of veiled witnesses has been revealed, if Tsoho goes on with this case, then he needs mental rehabilitation. This is a man whose village is being ravaged by Boko Haram in the guise of Fulani herdsmen, and he is here working for the chief sponsor of Boko Haram, Muhammadu Buhari. Yes, if he goes ahead with this fake trial, then he needs mental rehabilitation.