Group volunteers to defend Abba Kyari against FBI
A group of 31 lawyers from 19 northern states and religions have volunteered to render free legal services to the former commander of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team, Abba Kyari who is being indicted in a $1.1 million fraud case involving fraudster Abbas Ramon aka Hushpuppi.
According to the spokesperson of the group, Sunusi Bappah Salisu in a statement on Wednesday, he said the development was in response to calls for support for Kyari by the Coalition of Northern Groups for the preservation of Kyari’s fundamental rights that might be potentially jeopardized by his alleged indictment by a court in the United States of America.
He said, “We would raise questions involving the possibility of breaches to Kyari’s fundamental rights entrenched in Articles 6 and 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Right which essentially state that every individual shall have the right to liberty and to the security of his person and every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard.”
“This comprises the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts of violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force.
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“The right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal; the right to defence, including the right to be defended by counsel of his choice; the right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal.”
He further said they would also weigh the FBI procedures against Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which entitled the embattled Kyari to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court, or other tribunals.
He said, “Subsections 9 and 10 of this section also stipulates that everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law and everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
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“Also, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights also states that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.”