The Plight of Odirri
By Chuck O. Egbune, Esq.
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March 23, 2001
It is very imperative that we all recognize as Martin Luther King once said that "Injustice any where is a threat to justice everywhere."
Nigeria is littered with injustice from incessant police brutality to blatant abuse of power. The government might have changed but the same brute force is being applied against Nigerians. For the Nigerian Police, it is business as usual. They still engage in extra judicial killings and even killing the innocent and then labeling them armed robbers so much so that Justice Oputa recently decried the blood tasty Nigeria police.
You might have read the debacle or preferably the massacre of innocent students of the University of Lagos by these animals in "uniform of brutality" as the late reggae legend Bob Marley would call the Nigerian police if he had met them. Nigerians are under siege and the earlier those of us in diaspora did something the better. It is quite pertinent to mention here that "the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
At this moment, there is a travesty of justice that is going on in Delta state that I would like to bring to the attention of Nigerians. One Mr. Odirri, a lawyer in Lagos was engaged in a war of words with the Governor of Delta state and he said something (which I don't remember now) but whatever he said does not justify what is happening now. The governor did not take kindly to what he said.
First the governor's lawyer threatened to sue Mr. Odirri if he did not retract what he said. Then when Mr. Odirri failed to retract, the governor sent policemen from Asaba to Lagos and abducted Mr. Odirri and brought him to Asaba where he is currently being held incommunicado without bail. The governor and his cohorts charged Mr. Odirri with sedition.
Just before anybody starts getting any ideas, I must state here that I do not have any relationship with Mr. Odirri. Although I am from Delta state, I am from the Igbo speaking part while Mr. Odirri is an Urhobo. I have never met Mr. Odirri and I am not his errand boy. However, what is happening to Mr. Odirri should concern every Nigerian because it is Mr. Odirri today, it could be any of us tomorrow.
As a lawyer practicing here in the U.S., I believe that Mr. Odirri is a victim of the system. The state machinery is being deployed to settle a private score.
If the governor was aggrieved, he should have gone to the civil court to seek redress. Even then, I am not sure he should prevail because as a public figure, he should be subjected to a higher standard of proof for defamation. Can Nigerians imagine if the president of the U.S. or any governor here were allowed to arrest and charge a U.S. citizen for saying something bad about them, the jail would be so full that there would be no space for regular criminals.
In fact, if Clinton had arrested everybody that made defamatory statements about him, at least 20 million Americans would be in jail. They accuse him of everything including murder and conspiracy yet he persevered.
Mr. Odirri's plight has become a crusade for me and I was glad to receive your email talking about human rights. I want to use this opportunity to implore every Nigerian who is perturbed about the malicious state action against Mr. Odirri to sign a petition that I will personally pay for to publish in a reputable Nigerian Newspaper asking Delta state government to reconsider their actions.
Many have abandoned Mr. Odirri including his sister but we must not turn a blind eye to this travesty of justice for any precedence set therefore is a slippery slope that would consume many.
It is quite disturbing to me that the Federal government and Federal courts would allow this injustice and charade to continue.
If you are concerned, please circulate this email to as many people as possible. You may also choose to send email directly to the governor or go to Delta state webpage
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Forwarded by Bamidele Ojo, PhD
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