The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law has advised the lawyers of the detained leader of the Self Determination Movement in Eastern Nigeria, Nnamdi Kanu, to shun divisiveness and avoid being distracted by enemies and government Moles.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Chairman of the Board, Intersociety, Emeka Umeagbalasi, and the Head of Publicity, Chidimma Udegbunam.
The group said the advice became necessary following the raging discordant sounds among some of the detained leader’s defence team and strong attempts by suspected agents and moles of the Nigerian government and other enemies to further divide and distract them.
The statement read in part, “Our attention was particularly drawn to a recent publication, titled ‘Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial: A Better Understanding Of What Happened Yesterday In Court’ and series of counter replies and reactions that followed and dotted with uncouth and ‘un-lawyerly’ or unprofessional wordings.
“While there is nothing morally or legally wrong in someone, especially if he or she was giving a written account of what happened in court session; he or she attended physically, it is morally damning for another to delve into legal issues he or she was not part of, either as a counsel or as an accredited media correspondent covering the court session.
“Ordinarily, false reportage of what transpired in court sitting is clearly an act of committing contempt of court. Therefore, seriously frowned at in the article, was its Paragraph 5(a) where the writer unprofessionally and condemnably digressed and delved into personal enmity or settlement of personal scores, thereby exposing his or her biases and grudges and robbing the article of its expected neutrality, credibility and professionalism.
“It was totally wrong for the article to usurp and threaten the right of the detained leader to choose who is who and who represents him among his lawyers, including who is a member of his defence team and who among them is the Lead-Counsel.”
According to the group, such an unprofessional attitude is not only capable of playing into the hostile hands of the prosecuting Nigerian Government, but also putting the defence team in total disarray, quackery and gravely jeopardising their legal services and representation duties.
It said such would create room for the Nigerian Government to have its way aimed at convicting the detained leader and his international body corporate at all costs or by any means “crookedly necessary”.
The statement further read, “These, if allowed, can bring about the continued endangerment and criminalisation of the globally-recognised and legally-backed agitation for Self Determination, especially under UN and AU Systems.
“The lawyers of the detained leader must, therefore, remain focused and professional and refuse to be divided and distracted by the hostile State actors and hired or uncomfortable others.”