Buhari and Mahama have no moral right to ask for Jammeh's resignation - Falana
- President Muhammadu Buhari and immediate past leader of Ghana, John Mahama are a delegate from ECOWAS mediating in the election crisis in Gambia
- But Femi Falana, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, says the two do not have the moral right to mediate because of their dictatorial tendencies
The stubbornness so far exhibited by President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia was learnt from some of his colleagues in Africa like Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and John Mahama, the immediate past leader of Ghana.
This is the position of human rights lawyer, Femi Falana who thinks Jammeh is only following the footsteps of the duo in his refusal to peacefully hand-over to the winner of the recently held presidential election in the country, Adama Barrow.
Heads of government in Africa have prevailed on Jammeh to step down but he has refused, an action many are scared could cause a civil war.
Premium Times reports that Falana, in a statement, said Buhari and Mahama do not have the moral rights to urge Jammeh to resign since they have also ignored the ruling of the ECOWAS court last year.
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Jammeh, who had earlier called to congratulate Barrow, suddenly changed her decision and called for re-election, but the ECOWAS held an emergency meeting delegating Buhari and Mahama to mediate.
Jammeh received them but insisted that he would not leave the position.
Falana said: “While urging President Jammeh to hand over power peacefully and allow the Supreme Court of The Gambia to determine his election petition in line with the rule of law we call on both Nigeria and Ghana to also respect the rule of law by complying with the judgments handed down last year by the Community Court of Justice which indicted them for the abuse of the human rights of two community citizens.
“In the case of Obioma Ogukwe v Republic of Ghana the Ecowas Court ordered the defendant to pay the sum of $250,000 to the plaintiff as reparation over the failure to investigate and bring to book those who caused the death of his 15-year old son by drowning on October 15, 2013, at Tema, in Ghana.
“The judgment which was delivered on June 17, 2016, was disobeyed by the Mahama administration without any justification.
“In the case of Col Sambo Dasuki v Federal Republic of Nigeria the Ecowas Court ordered the defendant to admit the plaintiff to bail pending the determination of the criminal cases pending against him at the federal high court and the federal capital territory high court.
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“As the federal government could not justify the prolonged detention of the criminal suspect the court awarded N15 million damages in his favour. Since the judgment was delivered on October 4, 2016, the Buhari administration has not adduced any reason for treating it with contempt.”
Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said Jammeh would want to hing his refusal to accept defeat on the fact that Buhari and Mahama are in contempt of a valid and subsisting judgments of the ECOWAS Court.
Falana said: “To avoid such avoidable embarrassment I am compelled to call on President Buhari of Nigeria and President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana to ensure that they purge their countries of the contempt of the juridical organ of the Ecowas without any further delay.”
Source: Legit.ng
