American Bar Association Wades Into Elombah Brothers Versus IGP Case

The American Bar Association [ABA] has taken up the case of unlawful arrest and detention of the Elombah brothers, London-based lawyer, Daniel and Nigeria-based journalist, Tim, as well as the cyber-crime and terrorism charge leveled against them by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris. Staff Attorney, Sub-Saharan Africa Center for Human Rights, American Bar Association, Mrs. Mooya Nyaundi ‏had, via email, earlier written the Elombahs seeking their consent to intervene fully on their behalf. She said that she had been following the case against Daniel and Tim Elombah and that the ABA Center for Human Rights, through its Justice Defenders program (JD) are in a position to assist in this case. During the arraignment of the brothers at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on March 1, 2018, ABA sent a representative, one Barrister Eze Eluchie, to monitor proceedings and give proffer them with a full update. Mrs. Nyaundi, however, assured that she will be live in person to monitor the proceedings during the next adjourned date, May 3, 2018, to assess the case by herself. Shortly after the March 1 proceedings, ABA JusticeDefenders tweeted on their Twitter handle @JusticeDefend: “ABA trial observer reports from #Nigeria arraignment of Journalists @Elombah & @ElsTimmy: Both pleaded not guilty to all charges incl. cyber-crime and terrorism. They’ve been granted bail, case is adjourned to 3 May. ABA will cont. monitoring their trial @angelaquintal @CPJAfrica.” Tweeting further, it said: “The ABA Center for Human Rights has sent an observer to #Nigeria to monitor the trial of @ElsTimmy and @Elombah to ensure that their legal harassment does not result in continued judicial harassment. We will seek to ensure they are given a fair trial, free of violations.” Thereto, the Committee to Project Journalists [CPJ] Africa also retweeted on its handle @CPJAfrica, statement by CPJ Program Coordinator Angela Quintal, @AngelaQuintal, from New York: “#Nigeria: “Timothy and Daniel Elombah are journalists and not terrorists who should be free to continue their #journalism without legal harassment or fear of going to jail. Authorities should drop all legal proceedings against them.” Mrs. Nyaundi explained that the Justice Defenders Program is an emergency response program that provides pro bono legal assistance to human rights advocates who are facing retaliation for their legitimate human rights work. According to her, “JD provides a range of assistance, including technical legal assistance and advocacy, which can be tailored to the needs in a specific case and country”. She narrated some potential ways in which the JD Program supports human rights advocates as follows:

1. a) “Providing pro bono technical legal support to local counsel representing political prisoners, protesters, journalists, and others who are facing retaliation for exercising and defending basic rights.

“Our pro bono lawyers with expertise in a particular area of law, such as freedom of expression or assembly, can prepare research and analysis into comparative and international law and consult on potential litigation strategies.

1. b) “Conduct trial monitoring by sending observers in the name of the ABA.

“Trial observations encourage the courts to respect fair trial rights and also help to raise the profile of a case as part of our advocacy efforts.

1. c) “Recruit pro bono lawyers to represent detained human rights defenders at regional and international bodies, such as the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention or the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and to assist in international advocacy and campaign work.

“In addition, the Program’s pro bono legal experts are available to support efforts to revise and challenge laws that are affecting the ability of advocates to operate, such as overly broad counterterrorism or public order acts that impermissibly restrict the legitimate exercise of basic rights, such as freedom of expression, association, and assembly. “For example, our independent experts have analyzed such laws and then provided recommendations to government officials and/or national civil society groups to take forward in order to bring the laws into conformity with international standards,” she added. See attached a copy of the letter addressed to the Federal High Court indicating intents to observe the case In PDF FORMAT: [pdf-embedder url=”https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/ja.pdf” title=”American Bar Association letter”] Culled from elombah.com]]>