PDP Halts Investigation As It Hides Something - Group

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is currently under the fire over the plot to frustrate probe of killings, destruction during polls in Rivers state.

Human rights and civil society activists have criticised the steps by the party to stop the proceedings.

The activists defined the PDP action as “disappointing” and a sign that it has something to cover.

Premium Times reports that Emmanuel Aguma, a counsel to the PDP, said that the party was boycotting the commission. Presenting an interim order from a Federal High Court warning the commission from sitting, he declared that taking part in the investigation would amount to breaking the order of the court.

He said: “I wouldn’t want to be a part of a process that does not obey the rule of law, so I’m bringing your attention to this. It is the duty of the panel to obey the court.”

Chidi Odinkalu, the head of the commission, meanwhile, attacked the move to stop the sitting. He maintained that the panel was not served the order and fixed Wednesday for the commission to hear counsel’s arguments and believe legal authorities on the case.

But Debo Adeniran, the head of the civil society group, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, questioned why the PDP would want to stop a committee looking for to address something as important as the abuse of the major human right to life if it is not complicit in the crimes the commission is probing.

Adeniran: “Those who obtained the injunction and the judiciary that gave the injunction are making a statement that they are guilty as suspected because if they are clean, they would be happy to appear before the commission of enquiry to defend themselves by presenting evidences and witnesses that will exonerate them from the suspicion or allegation.”

Likewise, Convener of Say No Campaign Nigeria, Ezenwa Nwagu, defined the ban by the PDP as disappointing.

Nwagu said while bans are part of our legal system, they should not be oppressed to come in the way of processes set up to bring people that committed terrible crimes like murder to justice.

He said he considered the order would only shift but not halt the investigation from holding. Meahwhile, he recommended taking the matter to the International Criminal Court if it turns out to be impossible to hold the inquiry in Nigeria.

“It is an indication that somebody is afraid. But that can only delay the day of their judgement,” the activist said. “Bear in mind that the issue of murder points clearly to the fact that even if our own internal legal system is unable to bring to book those who have committed these heinous crimes, we have now the ICC that have shown very clear interest in the election and its outcome and has vowed to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book.”

Lanre Suraju, the Chairman, Civil Society Network Against Corruption, CSNAC, said it would be good to know why the party got the injunction to halt the hearing.

Meanwhile, Suraju said the party would be doing even its own member a great deal of unfairness if it merely seeks to stop the investigation due to its rivalry with the current government.

He recalled the PDP that some of its own members may also have been affected by the violence that happened before and after the elections in the state and stand to benefit from the panel’s proceeding.

However, omgdailyupdate.blogspot.com reader Yorks Ban from the University of Port Harcourt accused the incumbent governor:

“The truth is that Gov. Amaechi is not qualified to set up panel of inquiry because he (APC leader) and APC members were grossly involved in electoral violence. On the election days the Gov. himself was seen moving round different LGAs and from one polling booth to the other causing more violence. Will the commission be able to probe him? The role he played and all that? Of course the answer is no. So I think that it is only INEC that is constitutionally authorize to set up inquiry, because it has to do with election conducted by them.”

The Commission of Inquiry, instituted by Rotimi Amaechi, the governor Rivers state, is inspecting damage to properties and grievous bodily harms to people ahead and during the presidential and gubernatorial polls in the state.