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Popular P.H Lawyer, AWELE IDEAL
Popular Lawyer and activist, Awele Ideal, has bared her mind on the recent life jail sentence given to secessionist and IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, by the court. And expectedly, the ruling triggered outrage, particularly amongst Nigerians of Igbo extraction. They variously described the ruling as biased and political. Some even insisted it was tribal because a Yoruba man, Justice Omotosho, was the Judge. In all, they branded the ruling as nothing but a sham and an injustice to Nnamdi Kanu and the Igbo people.
But Awele Ideal disagrees with the aforementioned position despite being a proud Igbo woman herself. In a video presently making the rounds, she vehemently stood against the outrage of her kinsmen who have since gone on social media to decry the judgement and insult everyone that had anything to do with the case. Their most abused and insulted personality, of course, has been the President, who by the way was not in office when Nnamdi Kanu was arrested and taken into custody, and the Yorubas, whom they insist are behind their political travails.
Awele Ideal has expectedly come under fire for her comments against the Igbo’s condemnation of Kanu’s judgement. She stated very clearly that Justice Omotosho was fair in his ruling. Awele explained that, as a Lawyer, she only looks at a case through the eyes of the Law and not sentiments. She explained that Nnamdi Kanu had a really bad case and then made things even more difficult for himself when he debriefed his entire legal team.
Despite having been harassed, insulted, cursed and threatened by her Igbo people, Awele, known for her rare courage and defiance in the face of intimidation, has stood her ground, explaining that, beyond her legal position to the case, the killings and atrocities committed by Nnamdi Kanu’s IPOB and ESN, make it utterly impossible for her to support Nnamdi Kanu and the criminality he perpetuated. Below are her comments from the video:
“This live video I’m making this morning is to let you guys know that look, yes, the court of first instance has given his judgment, that doesn’t mean that Nnamdi Kanu’s rights to appeal has been closed or foreclosed. No, he has a right to appeal the judgments. Even when the Judgment in court of appeal comes out, you also have a right to the Supreme Court. It is not yet the end, so why the crying? Why insulting people? Must everybody support IPOB?
I’m an Igbo woman, but I’m not IPOB, I’m not in support of them. Now, we say justice is everybody’s business, what about those who died? What about those who were killed by this IPOB people under his command, what about them? Dora Akunyili’s husband is an example, what about the unknown gunmen? Yes, I agree. He has every right to seek what he wanted. Everybody has a right to agitate for change. You guys know me, I’m like very stubborn when I believe in something. So, at a point, I liked this young man. I loved Namni Kanu, at a point, because I could see a young man vibrating, calling for change, just like our late Ojukwu. Everybody loved the movement. Everybody loved the idea. Everybody loved the way he was going. But immediately blood shed entered, I cut myself off. Immediately bloodshed came in, I said, no, I’m not going to be part of this. Because my love, first, is to humanity. Nobody’s life should be cut short because I’m agitating for something I don’t even know if I will get.
Now, what was the cause of the fight in Rwanda? Most of you don’t know history. Most of you don’t read. Everybody is saying did he kill anybody, did he do this, did he do that? When you incite violence, or when you talk to people in a way that you ginger violence…. That’s why influencers should be careful, especially facebook influencers, especially those that have the power to move people. Most people don’t reason. Most people don’t use their brain. Then, there are some of us that have the brain, but when you now use that brain to incite violence in people, and tell them this person or that person is your enemy and they believe you because you have worked on them. They see you as a god. Once people start looking at at you, looking up to you as a role model, you have to be careful what you say, cos if what you say makes them commit a crime, you’re in for it. That’s the truth.
It was ordinary utterance that scattered Rwanda, a whole country, and you people are here, saying its injustice! Then, what about those that died? That your family member was not involved does not mean that the person who incited does not deserve some level of punishment! What are you people saying? Everybody is just being emotional. What about those that their lives were cut short, those tht were kidnapped? There’s a Rotarian in Portharcourt, up till today, they’ve not seen his body. What are you people saying? Igbos are the ones suffering this thing, Igbos are suffering it. Any small incitement anywhere in the country, they will pursue Igbos, kill Igbos. Igbos will run down to Igbo states, their own home, IPOB will strike. So, I begin to cry for the Igbos, where will they stay? Where will they call home? They run to Lagos, Lagosians say no be Igbos get am. So, where do you want the Igbos to stay? Most of you are not looking at that. Most of you are just brainless!
Some will tell me, I will unfollow you now and I say to them, f—k you! Block yourself! Do you pay me? Because I aired my opinion? Because I expressed my view? You see that judgement, it is airtight. There is no Judgement that cannot be appealed, but the truth is that that Judgement will stand any appeal, even appeal before God, that Judgement will stand. I have gone through the judgement, I read it. That Judgement is airtight. Justice Omotosho did a very thorough job. Now, let us even look at it.
He had his lawyers. His choice of lawyers was even very okay. Kanu Agabi, SAN, I love that man to stupor. Onyechi Ikpeazu, one of the best lawyers in Nigeria. He had them, but along the line, he debriefed them, that he wants to do his case himself. They gave him time to do his case himself, he started dribbling everybody.
Okay, look at his attitude in court, how do you even start to beg for such a person, I was just asking? Get a hold of your emotions because the international community is watching. If they want to beg for you, how do they start? You that insulted a judge, called a judge by his name and told him he doesn’t know anything? You that was pushing people and telling them don’t touch me? Why the gra gra, to what end? And nobody is looking at that. He had his chances. Okay, defend yourself, time was running out, nothing.
Let me tell you, when you rest your case on that of the prosecution, when you say I have no case to answer, or I rest my case, it’s suicidal. You’re now giving the court the right to judge you by your opponent’s testimony against you, that’s what he did. Okay, my opponent has finished talking abi, I don’t have anything to answer him. He refused to put up a defense. No matter what the defense is, put up a defense. You did not put up a defense. And you want the judge to give you what you didn’t ask for. You want the judge to perform magic. How? By the time you rest your case on that of the prosecution, it is a suicide! Immediately he did that I knew it was suicidal!
What were the people expecting? That they would just free him? He couldn’t even defend himself. Even though you know all the law, when it comes to representing yourself, you will lose it. I am a lawyer, a proud lawyer. But there are some cases that are personal. I will have to brief my colleague to come and represent me because if I represent myself, I will make mistakes.
Even if you are a born lawyer, when push comes to shove, you call a lawyer, you brief a lawyer to please come and represent you. You know the law, but when it comes to that, representing yourself, you will miss it. You will be emotional.
You had a very beautiful legal team. Kanu Agabi, I no dey joke with that man, you debriefed him. How do you start to beg? How do you even start to defend such a person? Erratic, anger, everything. Everything, everybody watched it. Yet people are saying it’s injustice. How? How is it injustice? Those who lost their life through IPOB and all this his demand, what happened? Or people were not listening to his radio communication? People were not listening to everything he was saying? What about the military guys, the military couple that were killed in Orlu? The video was there, the woman was beheaded, her vagina was cut off. Una no see the video? How do you see white and call it black? How is it injustice? Who will give those ones justice? Under whose command were they killed? Igbos in military, waste them, kill them. Whose command were they carrying out? You incite people into war, you incite people into fighting themselves and say it’s not your fault because you are not the one in the forefront that did it. As long as you are an influence that incited these people, my dear, you are going down with them. So at what point did they do injustice? Let me understand, you people are calling it injustice. What is injustice? He was given a right to represent himself. He was given a right to Counsel.
I was even shocked that Justice Omotosho gave his people right for Allocutus. I called one or two of my friends. I was following up the trial but I was too busy. So, once in a while, I would just call Victor. How far, have they finished delivering the judgement? Okay, what about Allocutus? This one that he doesn’t have a lawyer, who will do Allocutus for him? Allocutus means plea for mercy. I was so happy when Justice Omotosho gave them the microphone. He said, since you are his legal consultants and you have been coming to court for him, please, I will not shut him out from Allocutus. Say his Allocutus or say something about Allocutus, that is plea for mercy. And this Mr. Obi, he used to be my friend, Mr. Obi took the microphone and started talking.
I listened to his speech. I listened to his legal counsel’s speech. He was given all, all the rights for fair hearing up to Allocutus. He was given all. There was no comma, no mistake. That’s why I said that judgment is airtight. It will stand any appeal, even before God and man, that judgment will stand any appeal. And my only fear is that if it stands for appeal, I pray they don’t give him the maximum punishment. Maximum punishment is death. Death sentence immediately. So now, I’m even surprised that the judge was mindful enough to reduce it to just life imprisonment. At least, being alive and serving a life imprisonment, there is hope that one day something will happen. But what about death sentence? He did not even pronounce the maximum that was required by law. He gave him life, which is fair. But you people don’t understand. That’s why you are emotional. What if it was death sentence, wetin una go dey talk? Death sentence that if they give him today, before Friday he is dead, wetin una go dey talk? Make una dey reason!”
