Appeal Court Dismisses Appeal to Quash Judgment on Saro-Wiwa, Others
The Appeal Court Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has struck out an appeal by leader of “Conscience of Ogoni People”, Gani Topba, against the judgment of the Ogoni Civil Disturbances Tribunal of 1995.
The appeal was struck out for lack of merit.
The tribunal tagged the late environmental activist, Ken-Saro Wiwa, and 11 others, criminals, found them guilty and sentenced them to death.
Topba approached a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt seeking clearance of the 12 Ogoni heroes from the negative image placed on them by the judgment, and for the court to declare them innocent.
Justice Lima Abdulahi, in a 2017 judgment, struck out the suit, thereby upholding the tribunal’s ruling. He held that the suit was an academic exercise.
Abdulahi said the appellant did not state what he suffered following the judgment; neither did he claim damages over the death of the victims, following the decision of the panellists.
According to him, the decree which established the Special Tribunal on Civil Disturbances, including that of Ogoni, did not make provision for appeal. He added that those sentenced to death or long term imprisonment had no opportunity to appeal the judgment based on the decree binding the tribunal.
Justice Cordelia Jombo-Ofo on Thursday also upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, affirming that the “appellant was merely exercising his academic prowess”. In striking out the appeal, Justice Jombo-Ofo said the appellant lacks the needed Locus Standi to initiate the appeal. She therefore dismissed the appeal.
She said: “It is not the function or duty of the court to engage in academic exercise or speculation, the court was established to determine live issues.”
However, Topba said it is not yet over. He insisted that the Appeal Court was bias and he will proceed to the Supreme Court.
He said: “We are heading to the Supreme Court. It is sad that the right of the minority could be denied, even at this level. I had an incline that today’s judgment would look like this and I am not surprised. I have hope in the Supreme Court to do justice to this matter because Ken Saro-Wiwa was killed wrongly and that must be established, corrected, because if it is not, it will happen again.”
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