It is a repression of human rights, violation of rule of law; absence of due process that this present administration is further extending the detention of former Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ishaya Bamayi and former Chief Security Officer, Al-Mustapha both of who served in the administration of Gen. Sani Abacha. This is nothing but a negation of the fruits of democracy. If however, there have been any gains made in the areas of human rights in Nigeria since 1999; the continued detention of these two men will attribute very serious jolts to these achievements.
While one is not making a case for these two men considering their history, and actions which amounted to gross human rights violations in the dark and regrettable years of Gen. Sani Abacha, as many believe the trials of these two men will go down in history as two of the longest trials in a democratic Nigeria.
It could be recalled that no sooner the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the president of the country in May, 1999 than he swiftly arrested the two men and placed them in detention. Ever since the duo have remained in cell undergoing the trial that has continued to subsist for the past nine years, and the present administration of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has inherited this endless trial.
Both men are charged for alleged complicities committed by them during the years of Gen Sani Abacha in office as the Head of state of the country. Ishaya Bamiyi is particularly charged for the attempted murder of Chief Ibru, but he has continuously maintained that he is being punished for standing against the imposition of Olusegun Obasanjo on the country as the president.
Whatever is responsible for this is best left for posterity to determine but what this work is seeking to achieve is that while it is not abnormal for them to face trial considering the alleged roles they were said to have played in the years of Gen. Abacha as the head of Head, a critical overview of the situation shows that cases inherited emotion and special interests given that their matters have are undergoing endless and tiresome processes of the law which is not the aim of any long arm of the law.
We note that even in this present administration quite a number of cases have been concluded within the shortest period hitherto believed impossible in this country. So are the cases of these two men impossible to determine by the Nation's judiciary? A situation like this is never typical of a civilized society much less a democratic society such as ours. This process is an indication that the judiciary has suffered some notable setbacks.
It is these strides and setbacks in the human rights sector under the new democratic dispensation that this work seeks to address for the betterment of all and for the dividends of democracy to be maximally reaped.
While one is not making a case for these two men considering their history, and actions which amounted to gross human rights violations in the dark and regrettable years of Gen. Sani Abacha, as many believe the trials of these two men will go down in history as two of the longest trials in a democratic Nigeria.
It could be recalled that no sooner the then President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as the president of the country in May, 1999 than he swiftly arrested the two men and placed them in detention. Ever since the duo have remained in cell undergoing the trial that has continued to subsist for the past nine years, and the present administration of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has inherited this endless trial.
Both men are charged for alleged complicities committed by them during the years of Gen Sani Abacha in office as the Head of state of the country. Ishaya Bamiyi is particularly charged for the attempted murder of Chief Ibru, but he has continuously maintained that he is being punished for standing against the imposition of Olusegun Obasanjo on the country as the president.
Whatever is responsible for this is best left for posterity to determine but what this work is seeking to achieve is that while it is not abnormal for them to face trial considering the alleged roles they were said to have played in the years of Gen. Abacha as the head of Head, a critical overview of the situation shows that cases inherited emotion and special interests given that their matters have are undergoing endless and tiresome processes of the law which is not the aim of any long arm of the law.
We note that even in this present administration quite a number of cases have been concluded within the shortest period hitherto believed impossible in this country. So are the cases of these two men impossible to determine by the Nation's judiciary? A situation like this is never typical of a civilized society much less a democratic society such as ours. This process is an indication that the judiciary has suffered some notable setbacks.
It is these strides and setbacks in the human rights sector under the new democratic dispensation that this work seeks to address for the betterment of all and for the dividends of democracy to be maximally reaped.
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