Posted by Festus Owete, Olusola Fabiyi (Abuja), Soni Daniel, Bisi Olaniyi (Yenagoa) and John Alechenu (Kano) on
Embattled Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, on Friday lost his bid to avoid trial in the United Kingdom as a London high court ruled that he does not have 'sovereign immunity" in Britain.
Embattled Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, on Friday lost his bid to avoid trial in the United Kingdom as a London high court ruled that he does not have 'sovereign immunity" in Britain.
The Royal Court of Justice at the Strand, Central London in a 66-page ruling rejected the governor's application seeking immunity from prosecution on charges of laundering about $3 million.
British Broadcasting Corporation report stated that the court threw out the argument that Alamieyeseigha's status as a governor guarantees him immunity from trial in the UK.
The report quoted the judges as saying that the governor could appeal to the House of Lords.
With this development, the stage is set for his trial in the UK whenever he is extradited by the Federal Government. He jumped bail last Monday and returned to Nigeria.
The governor, who was arrested at the Heathrow Airport on September 15, was directed to remain in the UK by the Bow Magistrates' Court, which assumed jurisdiction in the matter and fixed stringent bail conditions.
Last Friday, the judges were unable to decide whether the governor could be shielded from criminal proceedings.
After over four hours of legal arguments, Justices Collins and Silber retired without granting the governor's plea that the magistrates' court erred.
Alamieyeseigha's British lawyers, Prof. Malcolm Shaw QC and Edward Fitzgerald QC, had argued that as a 'a head of state of a federation," he had sovereign immunity. They also stated that as the 'head of a federal unit in the Federal Republic of Nigeria," he was entitled to sovereign immunity.
One of his lawyers reportedly said, 'The criminal acts - for which the governor is being held in London were said to have been committed in Nigeria and witnesses are in Nigeria." He added that 'the trial would naturally not have come to the United Kingdom had the governor not been arrested at Heathrow Airport in September."
Furthermore, the lawyer pointedly told one of the judges, 'Your Lordship knows that if he, Alamieyeseigha, returns to Nigeria, he has immunity by the Nigeria constitution. The important thing is that he has the same immunity as is conferred on the head of the federal state."
The Bow Street Magistrate Court on November 3 adjourned the trial of the governor till December 8 and according to BBC, the bail worth £1.25m ($2.15m), which he lodged, would be forfeited if the court rules that Alamieyeseigha has broken his bail conditions.
Reacting to the development, Senior Advocate, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, said it had confirmed his position that the governor does not have 'immunity in the United Kingdom and under international law."
In a six-page statement he personally signed, Fawehinmi also said that the argument by another Senior Advocate, Prof. Itse Sagay, that Alamieyeseigha had immunity under international law had 'been proved wrong. Absolutely wrong. His argument has been rejected. His thesis has been debunked by the London court after hearing arguments last week from two Queens Counsels (Prof. Shaw and Fitzgerald) who put forward before the court Professor Sagay's argument and thesis."
Meanwhile, a senior Federal Government official said on Friday that 'extra-judicial" measures might be taken to ensure that the governor is extradited as soon as possible.
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told our correspondents that government might adopt the measure if Alamieyeseigha fails to resign and return to the UK because his escape had embarrassed the Federal Government.
The source said, 'Government is totally committed to the idea of sending him back. Government is not just keeping quiet and you know what that means. It is watching with keen interest and I can assure you that he will not go scot-free. You can see that government is not saying much because it has its plans and part of that plan is to use extra-judicial means to get him back to London. You should rest assured that Alamiyeseigha will not finish his term."
Asked what extra judicial measures government would take, the source said, 'Even if it requires bundling him into the aircraft to go and conclude the trial, it will be done. What I am assuring you is that the governor will return (to the UK). We are merely waiting for the British authorities for appropriate briefing. You know what his action could cause. Our image is at stake and something must be done about it."
Attempts to obtain official comments from the Minister of Information, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr. and three presidential aides: Mrs Oluremi Oyo, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode and Mr. Onyema Ugochukwu, were unsuccessful as their phones rang endlessly.
Meanwhile, there were indications on Friday that the Federal Government had concluded plans to overhaul the entire security apparatus in Bayelsa State, following the governor's dramatic return to the state on Monday, as the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Oliver Osuchukwu, was replaced on Friday with Mr. Hafiz Ringim, for allegedly compromising on his duty.
A security source told our correspondent in Abuja that the decision to overhaul the security apparatus was aimed at ridding it of pro-Alamieyeseigha elements.
It was gathered that the measure might involve the removal of the governor's security detail for allegedly providing cover for the embattled governor since his return from London where he was facing money laundering charges.
A competent source at the Force Headquarters told our correspondents on Friday that Osuchukwu was redeployed to Abuja. His replacement until now was the Osun State Commissioner of Police.
Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Haz Iwendi (DCP), confirmed the redeployment when contacted by our correspondent but stated that it had nothing to do with the political situation in Bayelsa State.
Iwendi said that the former Bayelsa Police Commissioner had been directed to hand over to Ringim by Monday, November 28.
Since Alamieyeseigha's return, there had been calls for Osuchukwu's removal for allowing his officers to mount a guard of honour for the governor at the Creek Haven Government House.
There were, however, indications that the redeployment of Osuchukwu may not receive the blessing of the Police Service Commission.
The Chairman of PSC, Chief Simon Okeke, told our correspondent on Friday that since the governor was still in office, it would be difficult to reprimand the police officers 'because they have not done anything bad. Alamieyeseigha is still the de facto governor until he is removed either by impeachment or other means."
In another development, moves by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to remove the governor suffered a setback on Friday when seven out of the 24-member legislature backed out of the plan.
Also on Friday, the Kano State Governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, lambasted Alamieyeseigha, saying the Bayelsa State chief executive must face trial if he is found culpable.
Shekarau, who spoke in an interview with BBC Hausa service monitored in Kano, said that the governor's conduct was 'despicable and unpleasant. It is the type of thing the Hausaman would say, ‘Allah ya wadaran naka ya lalache,' meaning 'God forbid that yours be spoilt."
The governor described Alamieyeseiya's action as disgraceful and condemnable but noted that the case against him was still based on allegations. He noted that he would support legal action against the Bayelsa governor if he was found guilty, noting, 'I have said it before, people should stop saying governors and chairmen are thieves. Let people say this or that person or the governor of so and so state, so or so local government has stolen (money). If they have evidence against such people, let them take legal action."
As far as he was concerned, Shekarau said, Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants immunity to the President, vice president, governors and deputy governors, was unjust and should be expunged.
Shekarau also took exceptions to insinuations that governors could no longer travel abroad for fear of being arrested.
SATURDAY PUNCH, November 26, 2005