Breaking : Suit seeking prosecution of Buhari, Buratai over alleged mass killings of Biafran agitators head for US supreme court
By Steve Oko
United States lawyers handling the suit seeking to prosecute President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai, have vowed to take the matter to appeal court and US Supreme Court eventually should the appeal court not give a favourable outcome.
The case against the Nigerian Authorities over the alleged mass killing and torture of unarmed and defenseless Biafra agitators as well as other defenseless Nigerians of Igbo origin going about their legitimate businesses was filed on the instructions of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB.
The suit (civil claimant suit) was originally filed on 30th June 2017 pursuant to the US Torture Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of March 1992.
It was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in DOE 1, ET AL. v. TUKUR YUSUF BURATAI, ET AL, Civil Action No. 17-1033 (DLF).
The District Judge (Dabney L. Friedrich) refused to reverse herself on 31st October 2018 as the plaintiff’s lawyers had sought after an unfavorable ruling.
But determined to get justice for their clients, the lawyers said the suit “is headed for the United States Supreme Court”, if they still fail to get justice at the appeal court.
The Law Firm of Fein & DelValle PLLC had on 4th August 2018 asked the federal district court to reconsider and reverse its prior “MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER” dismissing a lawsuit to redress the Nigerian Government of “President Buhari’s mass killings and torture of unarmed and defenseless pro Biafra activists peacefully protesting their religious and ethnic persecution as well as other defenseless Igbo-Nigeria citizens going about their legitimate businesses.”
In a release issued by the law firm Monday in Washington DC, and obtained by Wawa News Global, the law firm said :”We have filed a notice of appeal of Judge Friedrich’s judgment in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“If necessary, we will appeal all the way to the United States Supreme Court to vindicate the TVPA claims of Nigerians in the Eastern Region that have been murdered or tortured under authority of Nigerian law as it currently exists under the murderous and genocidal regime of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Justice will forever defeat tyranny. This lawsuit will strengthen the resolve of the people of Nigeria to defeat the murderous tyrant Buhari”.
The statement further described the verdict of United States District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich in Doe 1 et al. v. Buratai et al . as “the terrifying Halloween interpretation of the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA).”
According to the statement, “On October 31, 2018, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s military or security thugs may kill or torture Nigerians in the Eastern Region at his direction with impunity.
” If there are worse judicial decisions that insult human rights and the rule of law, they do not readily come to mind.
The tersely worded statement further read :”It would seem that Judge Friedrich’s decision would immunize Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman from TVPA liability for orchestrating the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey and henceforth any and all other “extrajudicial killing(s)”… “under actual or apparent authority or color of law, of any foreign nation”, notwithstanding the clear and unequivocal language of the TVPA holding otherwise.”
Meanwhile pro -Biafra activists see the move as “a sign of hope that Justice is on the horizon ” according to Christopher Uzoma , in a chat with our correspondent.
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Steve Oko, Publisher/C.E.O, WaWa News Global. For more information on advert placement and news coverage, contact us on: 08038725600, or via email stevemanofgod2000@yahoo.com; wawanewsglobal@gmail.com Always read WaWa News Global - Your most dependable online news platform for the latest breaking news in Nigeria.
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