By Okechukwu Onuegbu
The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, (COSEYL), an umbrella body of all the youth fronts in the South East geopolitical zone, Thursday, blasted the federal government and security agents for denying Journalists and prominent Igbo leaders access to court room where Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was tried.
Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), faced Justice Binta Nyako at Federal High Court, Abuja in amended count charges, during which he pleaded innocent of all the allegations levelled against him.
Blueprint reported that journalists initially cleared to cover the court processing, lawyers and some prominent Igbo leaders including Senator Ifeanyi Ubah of Anambra South; and the former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, were refused to access the court room in what security men on duty described as "an order from above."
Reacting in a statement, the President General of COSEYL, Hon. Goodluck Ibem, described it as a pathetic situation and an insult on Igbo nation, adding that the DSS by their action had become an integral part of executive arm as well as desecrated the temple of Justice.
"The DSS operatives threatened to shoot lawyers and Igbo leaders who dare to enforce their right by approaching the entrance to the courtroom. They said they were acting on orders from above. Does the order from above also mean that assassination threat be meted out to lawyers and great Igbo leaders in broad daylight at the court premises? Wonders shall never end!
"Is the Nigerian Court now the court of the North where no Igbo man is allowed access?. It is so pathetic. This present administration has destroyed all our democratic ethos. What played out at the court today is the height of insult against Ndigbo and we condemn it in its entirety. It is very clear that the present regime enjoys insulting the sensibility of the Igbo race. Can the DSS stop a representative of the Arewa Elders Forum from entering the courts? The answer is no.
"But because Dr. Ezeife, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah and other great Igbo leaders were representatives of the Igbo Nation, they were denied access to the court in a matter involving their own son and brother, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu in a supposed democratic administration.
"Also, journalists were denied access to the court room. Infact what happened today at the Federal High Court, Abuja can best be described as a show of shame. The DSS is part of the executive arm of government that executes its orders," COSEYL added.