As more ill comments keep coming against the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan over the meeting she called to address both parents and teachers of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State where 276 students were abducted by the dreaded Boko Haram insurgents, a Lagos Lawyer and human right activist, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has referred to the meeting as illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
He advised the immediate disbanding of the panel set up without further delay.
Falana advised the President not to trivialize the abduction of the girls in the interest of the sensibility and public morality. He added that the comment by some certain people, including the wife of the President, that no child was missing was capable of deepening the pain of the parents of the abducted girls.
The Lagos lawyer in a statement said the comment credited to “some people”, including the President’s wife, Patience, that “no child was missing”, was “incendiary” and capable of deepening the agony of the abducted children’s parents.
He said, “President Goodluck Jonathan should ensure that the abduction of the innocent girls is not further trivialised in the interest of our collective sensibility and public morality.”
Falana expressed disappointment over some certain high placed person to insist that there was no child missing despite the fact that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) took step to publish some of the abducted girls names.
He said, “In spite of the inauguration of the Presidential Committee to investigate the abduction of the over 200 girls and the publication of the names of about 185 of the missing girls by the Christian Association of Nigeria some political leaders have insisted that no child has been abducted.
“Such level of insensitivity is being displayed by highly placed persons at a time that the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau has admitted that the criminal sect abducted the innocent girls and threatened that they would be sold into slavery.”\
Falana therefore wonder why the Federal Governemtn accepted the international assistance to rescuing the abducted girls if really, no children where missing.
“Why has the Federal Government accepted the offer of the United States’ Government to join in the frivolous -search for the girls since they are no longer missing?
“No doubt, the incendiary statements credited to certain people to the effect that ‘no child is missing’, must have accentuated the agony of the parents of the abducted some of whom had taken part in street demonstrations to demand ‘Bring Back Our Girls’.”
He urged President Jonathan to disband the committee which was set up by his wife, Patience to look into the incident, adding that she has no such power to set up such committee of Inquiry, adding that even the Committee set up by the President could best serve as a ministerial act and never a Committee of Inquiry.
According to him, the Supreme Court had held in its judgment “in Fawehinmi v. Babangida (2003) 3 NWLR (PT 808) 604 that the power of the President to set up a Commission of Inquiry is limited to the Federal Capital Territory by virtue of the Tribunal of Inquiry Act (CAP T21 ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.”
He said, “Therefore, the Committee set up by the President and inaugurated on Tuesday, May 6, 2014 to probe the abduction of the girls is best a minister But the First Lady has no power whatsoever to institute a panel to investigate any matter in any part of Nigeria.
“To that extent, the panel of inquiry alleged to have been set up by the First Lady is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void. It should be disbanded without any further delay.”
#Bringbackourgirls: Patience Jonathan Committee of Inquiry unconstitutional, illegal, null and void - Falana
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