Posted by By Samuel Oyadongha & Paul Odili on
IJAW leaders led by the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, have pleaded with President Olusegun Obasanjo to temper justice with mercy on Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha travails in London.
YENAGOA - IJAW leaders led by the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, have pleaded with President Olusegun Obasanjo to temper justice with mercy on Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha travails in London.
The high powered delegation comprising prominent Ijaw leaders drawn from Port Harcourt, Lagos and Yenagoa visited the president weekend in Abuja to plead with him to wade into the matter with a view to ensuring a safe passage for the embattled governor back home. But the president was said to have told the delegation that the law would take its course on the matter.
The deputy governor returned to Yenagoa Sunday
night to continue to run the affairs of the state pending the return of his boss whose fate is to be decided on the eve of his 53rd birthday, November 15, 2005, by a London court. Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr. Steve Azaiki, and Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Prince Boyelayefa Debekeme, are in London to visit the governor.
Other members of the state House of Assembly in the United Kingdom are the majority leader of the House, Mr. Stephen Erebo and Mr. Alalibo.
Sources told Vanguard that the Accountant-General of the state, Elder Stephen Enamamu, had been asked by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to furnish it with the total amount that has accrued to the state from the federation account and what had gone to the local government areas since 1999.
However, President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), Prof Kimse Okoko, at a press conference in Yenagoa defended the governor on allegations of money laundering, saying Gov. Alamieyeseigha personally told him that no money was found in his residence as claimed in the media, adding that claims by one Ogbomoö that the said one million pound sterling belonged to him were the imagination of the reporter.
Prof. Okoko said he had it on good authority that some persons including Bayelsans whose names he refused to mention were given N100 million to foment trouble in the state so that Alamieyeseigha could be removed as governor after Federal Government may have declared state of emergency.
It was also gathered that some powerful forces were on the trail of the Speaker of the House and other members with a view to getting the House to commence impeachment process against the governor. Observers said such a process stood a little chance of succeeding.
The state House of Assembly yesterday hurriedly went on an emergency recess to enable members consult with their constituencies on the 2006 Appropriation proposal, christened "Community budget." The motion was moved on the floor of the House by Mr. Waripamo Dudafa representing Kolokuma/Opokuma Constituency II and was unanimously supported by members.
Informed sources, however, told Vanguard that the House was compelled to go on recess following moves to use the lawmakers to impeach the governor while he is away.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up around oil installations in the creeks of the state with heavily armed soldiers and naval personnel patrolling the waterways while armed soldiers were seen accompanying expatriate workers on special duties outside their locations. This measure might not be unconnected with threats by militant Ijaw youths to attack British nationals and investments in the Niger Delta.
Bayelsa is a region of coastal swamps in the Niger Delta largely inhabited by the Ijaw with the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, SPDC, operating a large network of wells and pipelines.
Security sources told Vanguard that more troops were being expected from other military formations to join the Joint Military Task Force code named Operation Restore Hope.
An SPDC staff who spoke to Vanguard on condition of anonymity said the company was still watching the situation and might be forced to evacuate the expatriates when the need arose.
Also, some Ijaw youths yesterday took to the streets of Yenagoa to protest the governor's arrest in London, alleging that the Presidency and the British government were behind his ordeal.
Bayelsa dep gov reacts
On his return from Abuja, the deputy governor's office issued a statement affirming his loyalty to the governor. Entitled: "I am one with Governor Alamieyeseigha," the statement read: "The attention of His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, has been drawn to reports by a section of the mass media, suggesting that he is under pressure from vested interests to distance himself from the travails of our esteemed Governor, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, JP, Ph.D, and that this informed his recent trip to Abuja.
"Dr. Jonathan wishes to state in unambiguous terms that he is one with the governor in these difficult times, and that there is no iota of truth in suggestions that there is any division between him and his boss. He wishes to use this opportunity to declare his unflinching solidarity with, and loyalty to, Chief Alamieyeseigha.
"He wishes to point out that the Bayelsa State Executive Council remains one indivisible family committed to the lofty ideals of democratic governance put in place by the governor. Dr. Jonathan wishes to assure Bayelsans, the Ijaw nation and the country at large that the present travails of the governor are normal challenges that leaders face and that this will soon be over.
"The deputy governor thanks all well-meaning Nigerians and men of goodwill world wide who by phone calls, e-mails and personal visits have demonstrated their commitment to the ideals of freedom, justice and good conscience, ideals which Chief Alamieyeseigha represents. He assures them of his highest personal regards always."
Sagay faults arrest
Meanwhile, international law expert, Prof. Itse Sagay, has condemned the arrest of Governor Alamieyeseigha, saying it violates international law. Prof. Sagay chided the Federal Government for saying that governors do not enjoy immunity abroad, arguing that under international law, governors are heads of state, and have similar immunity and protection as the President. He urged the Bayelsa State government to sue British government for wrongful detention and to claim hefty damages.
Arguing further, Sagay said: "The issue of diplomacy is important, and the governor of a state under the international law enjoys immunity. So presidential spokesperson, Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, is wrong to say that governors do not enjoy immunity under the international law, because the governor of a state is a mini head of state.
"So, the Federal Government has no right to waive immunity of a state governor. This is so because the governor of a state was elected just the same way the President of the country was elected, and therefore under international law they are co-equal. I would expect the Bayelsa State government to by now have engaged the services of international lawyers to not only get the whole thing struck out, but also ask for a hefty fine for the damage and humiliation of the governor of the state.
"The fact that money was found in his house is irrelevant and should not have led to his arrest. In fact, they cannot even freeze his money until after his tenure. The most they can do is to deny him visa. I am sure the British government knows this fact. But I believe they are conspiring with some officers of the Federal Government to violate international law."
Prof. Sagay faulted the argument that under international law only heads of state enjoy immunity and not governors. He explained that traditionally, international law interpreted relationship based on the existence of unitary states. But with the coming of federations and co-federations, the interpretation of international relations had changed to recognise a governor as head of a state.
"Most of international law was weaved around unitary states, but with the coming of federation and co-federation, international law has had to deal with more complex states, and this has given recognition to other officers of the state like governors. Federations are relatively new. The first major federation was the United States of America, which is just 200 years old and international law was slow to catch up with it.
"So, under this international law, heads of state are accorded immunity and so a governor is the head of state under a federation who enjoys similar immunity. The point that I am making is that President Obasanjo is head of the Federal Government and enjoys immunity. Governor Alamieyeseigha is also head of state of Bayelsa. In fact, section 5 of the Constitution provides for the authority and it is clear that each is supreme in his own area."