Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has claimed that the judge who gave the order restricting hunger protesters to Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, shares the same village with the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Professor Chidi Odinkalu said Justice S.C Oriji ought to have withdrawn from the case since he shared a village with the FCT minister.
The Professor of Practice in International Human Rights Law at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, disclosed this on Sunday, on his X handle.
“I didn’t really want to be the person saying it, but the FCT High Court judge who gave the order to kettle #EndBadGovernanceinNigeria protesters in the Moshood Abiola Stadium just happened to come from the same village as the Minister of the FCT, the plaintiff. Calculate the odds! Odinkalu wrote.
Our reporter checked the FCT High Court website and found out that Justice Oriji hails from Obio/Akpor local government of Rivers State as Wike.
However, the website did not disclose Justice Oriji’s village.
It read, “Hon Justice SC Oriji hails from Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State. He was called to Bar in 1990. He was appointed as a judge in the FCT High Court, Abuja in 2003.”
Recall that Wike approached Justice Oriji’s court seeking an order restricting organizers of hunger protests to the National Stadium. Wike told the court that if protesters are allowed to move, there may be breach of law and chaos.
In granting Wike’s request, Justice Oriji said, “In light of the above, the court finds it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are upheld while preventing negative impacts on other citizens’ rights to movement and ensuring that properties and public facilities are not destroyed.”
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