FOR allegedly neglecting and discriminating against the South-East geopolitical zone over the years by successive governments, former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has instituted a Fundamental Rights Class Action against the Federal Government.

Agbakoba did so for himself and on behalf of the zone.

In the suit he filed before the Federal High Court, sitting in Enugu, at the weekend, the constitutional lawyer is claiming from the Federal Government the sum of N1 trillion to be shared among the five states in the geopolitical zone, as compensation for the alleged discrimination and neglect, which he listed as the total neglect of the South-East by the government in terms of infrastructure and general federal presence, abandonment of the Niger Bridge, failure to build the Second Niger Bridge and Failure to exploit the oil/gas reserves in the Anambra Basin, thereby stalling the applicant’s legitimate expectation from employment and derivation funds for development.

Others are: Abandonment of the Enugu Colliery, failure to develop trade-friendly ports and Customs policies and establishing ‘ease-of-business’ platforms to assist the applicant’s trading brothers and sisters to do better and operate on a higher and modern scale in trading, as well as failure to have an operational international cargo airport at Owerri, the Imo Stte capital, to aid trading.


Others include: Failure to dredge the Lower Niger and build a port at Onitsha to aid trading, disparity in states’ structure, which puts the applicant’s South-East zone behind every other zone, over-policing and police menacing, abandoning of the zone to gully erosion, as well as failure to respond to calls to check widening gullies in the zone.

Agbakoba is, therefore, praying the court, in the case which the Federal Attorney General is also co-respondent, for an order directing the 1st respondent to forthwith prepare and release for immediate execution a comprehensive South-East Development Master Plan (SEDM) for urgent turn-around of infrastructure in zone, and the phased execution of such master plan to be pursued with dispatch and vigour.

The applicant is also urging the court for an order directing the government to, forthwith, prepare and send to the National Assembly for enactment, a bill to establish the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and for ancillary matters, which shall be charged with the execution of the said master plan and the general development of the zone.

He also wants an order directing the government to put all its machinery, including but not limited to legal and political apparatuses, in motion, with a view to urgently creating two additional states in the zone to balance with the seven states in the North-West, and thereby bring to an end the discriminatory practices against the South-East in terms of legislative representation, political and judicial appointments and federal allocation accruing to the zone.

Besides, the applicant is further seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the 1st respondent, whether by itself, its agents, servants or privies, or, otherwise, howsoever from further acts of discrimination against the applicant or any member of the group and class he represents.

Agbakoba brought the suit on the following grounds: *The government has discriminated and continues to discriminate against him and the group and class he represents, as a Nigerian, as well as by reason of his being of the Igbo ethnic group and of the South-East geopolitical zone.

*The total neglect of the applicant’s geopolitical zone by the Federal Government in terms of infrastructure and general federal presence making the Applicant feel not part of the Nigerian.

The SAN argued that Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 and Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, protect the right of the applicant to freedom from discrimination based on his ethnic grouping and place of origin.

Other grounds are: *That the conduct of the affairs of the Nigerian state is discriminatory against the applicant, running contrary to Section 14(3) of the Constitution, which provides that the composition of the government of the federation, or any of its agencies, and the conduct of its affairs shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, and ensure that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in the government of the federation.

*That the grant of the reliefs sought will restore the applicant’s social, political and economic dignity and equality with regards to people of his Igbo ethnic group and South-East geopolitical zone in the federation of Nigeria, by protecting the applicant from further discrimination by the Nigerian state based on his being of the Igbo ethnic group and South-East origin.

In a 99-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the human rights activist, Agbakoba averred: “The origins of the discrimination have roots deeply grounded in Nigeria’s historical, political and economic development and the inherent contradictions within the Nigerian state itself from foundation, which were left unresolved before pushing for independence.

“I admire my compatriots in other geopolitical zones, and expect to be integrated and made relevant in the affairs of the 1st respondent just like them. I reject the status of a poor cousin with which the South-East has been unfairly burdened.

“It is in the interest of justice and a united and harmonious Nigeria for injunction to lie against the 1st respondent to reverse the neglect of the South-East zone and award general damages to be shared among the states of the South-East as mitigation for huge losses occasioned by over forty years spent by the South-East in the wilderness of marginalisation.”

http://www.compassnewspaper.com/NG/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68929:alleged-marginalisation-of-seast-agbakoba-slams-n1t-suit-on-fg&catid=43:news&Itemid=799

slap1:

This is a 'white elephant suit'. We should also know that we have a hand in our marginalization. What has Agbakoba said to the SE governors about the universities that have been on strike for over three months? Has he also questioned what they do with their monthy allocation? We have silly, greedy and indifferent leaders in the SE, 1 trillion naira will start a South East 'Civil' War.

Ileke-IdI:

The Yoruba community  up North wants some billion nairas

S'E wants one trillion naira

So where are all these money going to come from? 

EzeUche0:

If only they can redistribute the wealth!

But to be honest, the East has been neglected! No one wants an unhappy East. Because we Igbos do not only use words, we pick up the guns when necessary.

Ileke-IdI:

And has the East been the only region neglected? So the East is only made of Igbos? I can't think of any Nigerian region [except fro lagos] that can boast of "lack of" Government neglect.
Pick up the guns and that will get you more than N1t. . . . you ppl are still complaining about the millions of life wasted during the Nigerian/Biafran war, yet you still wanna boast of starting another one.

If the S'east gets it's money, then they better be ready to distribute the Yoruba communities up North their money because they will not relent.

Ileke-IdI:

^^^ Interesting.

So the roads in Ekit state could have easily been fixed/built by Federal handouts? [Sorry, had to mention it].

chyz:


Ekiti---------censored . Well depends whether those roads are federal roads or state roads and how the former governor was in carrying out work on the state roads.

chyz:

Ileke-Idi read all of the stuff that were written down and then tell me if his case is unwarranted. No zone has faced federal neglect as the SE. When you see alot of those good picture of establishments or good areas in the SE most of that comes from the sweat and hard work of private investors and indegenes from overseas. Its a shame that other zones get federal hand-outs but we have to work for our own and without hand-outs.Imagine we have how we have the lowest poverty rate and our states look pretty decent compare to others and this is without federal hand-outs. Imagine what it would be like if we got our rightful federal attention as the other zones are given. Imagine how long this niger bridge was suppose to be rebuilt its ridiculous.Its on the verge of collapse. The minister that is incharge of handling the roads,bridges and things like that is from the north and has always been,that is the problem. If you go to Katsina today, you would believe who a state that produces nothing and be so equip to the T. Any time the north needed a new bridge or one needed to be fixed it was done right away.Dones that make sense?. Long story short every region has governmental neglect but We Igbos would rather exchange your neglect with ours.

And as far as boasting about starting another war,you done here about Igbos trying to start another war in nigeria,this is just people on the internet.

And that last line you typed is similar to what awolowo said.

chyz:

Ileke-Idi read all of the stuff that were written down and then tell me if his case is unwarranted. No zone has faced federal neglect as the SE. When you see alot of those good picture of establishments or good areas in the SE most of that comes from the sweat and hard work of private investors and indegenes from overseas. Its a shame that other zones get federal hand-outs but we have to work for our own and without hand-outs.Imagine we have how we have the lowest poverty rate and our states look pretty decent compare to others and this is without federal hand-outs. Imagine what it would be like if we got our rightful federal attention as the other zones are given. Imagine how long this niger bridge was suppose to be rebuilt its ridiculous.Its on the verge of collapse. The minister that is incharge of handling the roads,bridges and things like that is from the north and has always been,that is the problem. If you go to Katsina today, you would believe who a state that produces nothing and be so equip to the T. Any time the north needed a new bridge or one needed to be fixed it was done right away.Dones that make sense?. Long story short every region has governmental neglect but[b] We Igbos would rather exchange your neglect with ours.[/b]

And as far as boasting about starting another war,you done here about Igbos trying to start another war in nigeria,this is just people on the internet.

And that last line you typed is similar to what awolowo said.

Ileke-IdI:


If the S'east gets it's money, then they better be ready to distribute the Yoruba communities up North their money because they will not relent.

EzeUche0:

Ileke-idi reminds me of ChinenyeN in a way.

She is not a tribalist. She is CLANNISH!

ChinenyeN and his Ngwa and Ileke-idi with her Ekiti people.