FESTUS KEYAMO'S MIGHTY FALL
Posted by Onyebuchi Ememanka | 8 years ago | 3,794 times
When I heard that lawyer and self styled activist, Festus Keyamo released a press statement on the Abia political imbroglio, I braced myself for an intellectual feast. I sincerely expected a harvest of intellectualism considering the fact that Keyamo has always presented himself to the public as one outstanding lawyer who knows his onions.
I looked forward to an excellent legal analyses that will enrich our jurisprudence and create a higher level of public awareness.
After reading the piece, what I saw was a poorly researched and badly written piece.
The write up sounded more like a literary presentation replete with ad hominem arguments. Bereft of any sound legal reasoning, garnished with embarrassing factual inaccuracies and stewed with shocking legal inconsistencies, Keyamo simply exposed himself as one who blows nothing but hot air in legal analyses.
The gravamen of his presentation is that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, by reason of non payment of his taxes as at when due was ab initio not qualified to contest election as Governor.
In Keyamo's words...
"A thorough scrutiny of the judgment of the Court will reveal that contrary to widespread opinion that Dr. Uchechukwu Samspson Ogar's case was that Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu presented forged tax papers to INEC, his case was SIMPLY that Dr. Ikpeazu APPARENTLY rushed to pay all his backlog of taxes just before the elections, yet HE SWORE TO A FALSE ADDIDAVIT and supplied a false information to INEC that he paid his taxes as at when due. It was based on this false information that the Court nullified his candidature". (CAPITALIZED WORDS MINE, PLEASE FOR EMPHASIS)
The above statement, in Keyamo's books was enough to nullify the candidature of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.
It is obvious that Keyamo is completely ignorant of the constitutional requirements for any person to contest election into the office of Governor in Nigeria. He is also oblivious of the fact that tax and payment thereof do not form part of the conditions laid down by the Electoral Act 2010, as amended and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
If neither the Electoral Act nor the Constitution do not make tax a condition to run for elections, will the evasion of tax or false declaration thereof preclude anyone from contesting?
One critical point that has been missing in the entire Abia narrative is that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu did not present any tax papers to INEC. He couldn't have since INEC does not require it. He presented his tax papers to the PDP because the party requires it.
It is elementary law that where the guidelines of a political party conflicts with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, the guidelines remain void to the extent of the inconsistency.
That apart, Keyamo's assertion that Dr. Ikpeazu "apparently rushed to pay all his backlog of taxes just before the elections..." show clearly that the so called brilliant lawyer knows practically nothing about how our tax laws operate. He is ignorant of the Personal Income Tax (PAYE) and how it applies to an individual who works and receives salary.
Dear activist Keyamo, workers do not rush to pay taxes. Indeed, workers do not go anywhere to any pay taxes anywhere in this world. When a worker is paid his salary each month, his employer mandatorily deducts his tax and other things like pension contributions at source even before the worker gets his money.
Oga Keyamo, have you ever heard of GROSS AND NET SALARIES?
I am sure you have not. Let me educate you small.
Gross salary of a worker is the total package of emoluments payable to a worker BEFORE any statutory deductions are made while Net salary is actually what gets to the worker finally after all lawful deductions have been made from his salary.
Therefore, Mr. Keyamo, a worker has absolutely no part to pay in his taxes. He makes no contributions whatsoever into how his taxes are assessed. The law does that. The law fixes rates of assessment of tax. The worker too plays no part in how the taxes are deducted. It is the statutory responsibility of his employer. Indeed, when employers fail to deduct taxes of their workers, they run foul of the law. The law comes after the employer, not the employee.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was an employee of the Abia State Government within the tax period under review. He worked as General Manager and Deput General Manager respectively of ASPIMS and ASEPA. Was he working for free?
With the above explanation, the statement that Dr. Ikpeazu "rushed" to pay his tax backlogs shows Keyamo as a dangerously ignorant fellow. This is very unfortunate indeed.
Let us now return to the judgment proper.
Keyamo stated that Ikpeazu "swore to an affidavit and supplied a false information to INEC...".
By his own admission, Keyamo states that Governor lied on oath. The offence of perjury is committed when a person knowingly tells lies in an affidavit.
Let me ask Lawyer Keyamo one elementary criminal law question. Perjury, is it a civil wrong or a crime?
Does our criminal laws define the offence of perjury?
As a lawyer who has handled several criminal cases, including the conviction of Chief Bode George, Keyamo should tell the world what the standard of proof in a criminal matter is.
Can a crime be proved through affidavit evidence?
How can Keyamo forget so suddenly that crimes must be proved beyond reasonable doubt? Can that standard be achieved in an affidavit?
How come Keyamo forgot that every offence in our statute books has specific ingredients which must be proven one after the other?
Keyamo, have you heard anything like MENS REA and ACTUS REUS before which are the twin pillars of proof in criminal cases?
Keyamo, since you are so impressed with the judgment of Justice Okon Abang, what does the Supreme Court say about the duty of a court when faced with irreconcilable conflicts in affidavits in a civil matter?
Have you ever read the case of Falobi V. Falobi?
What happened to Festus Keyamo?
Could it be that his recent non inclusion in the final list of Senior Advocates of Nigeria has robbed him of the analytical power of the average lawyer or is it that he is just a guy who makes empty noise?
Or did he probably write in a hurry without doing his homework well?
Maybe...just maybe.
Let me ask Keyamo again...
Can a court, suo motu, interprete technical information in a tax document without the benefit of a tax expert?
Can a court interprete a survey plan or engineering drawing or even a bill of quantities prepared by a quantity surveyor?
Did the PDP, which presented the name of Dr. Ikpeazu as her candidate to INEC complain that their guidelines were not met?
Did the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue tell anyone that Dr. Ikpeazu did not pay tax?
Who prepared the tax papers in question?
Did Ikpeazu write the tax papers himself or did he merely apply to the Tax Authorities to issue him evidence that his taxes had been steadily deducted in line with the law?
Are you aware that the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue, a body set up by law, has openly told the world that they prepared the document in question and that the entries therein are correct?
Can any court make any valid finding on the contents of a document prepared by a statutory body without any input from that statutory body?
Keyamo, are you aware that Sections 167 and 168 of the Evidence Act firmly establish a presumption of regularity in favor of official acts and documents? And that anyone who intends to rebut that presumption must present cogent and unimpeachable evidence?
Haba, Keyamo!
How come you said nothing about Ikpeazu's notice of appeal and stay of execution which predated INEC's issuance of the certificate to Ogar and were duly served on INEC?
What did the Supreme Court say in Ojukwu V. Governor of Lagos?
Have you heard of the doctrine of Lis Pendens?
Is there any precedent anywhere in our jurisprudence that an elected governor has been thrown out of office by the orders of a court of first instance? Be it a pre or post election matter?
Why did Peter Obi wait in 2007 even after he got judgment from the Court of Appeal? Why didn't he rush into the Government House, Awka but he allowed Andy Uba to remain there until the Supreme Court gave its final decision?
Why is Dr. Ogar in a hurry to be sworn in even when the entire gamut of our legal procedures have not been exhausted?
Is he pursuing anything or is anything pursuing him?
He has been in court for over a year now, why can't he wait for just a few more months?
You described the judgment of the Abia State High Court as "non sequitur". That's very laughable.
That judgment is valid and subsisting. The issues canvassed in that matter are different from the one before Justice Abang and the parties are also different. Was the Chief Judge of Abia State a party before Abang?
Keyamo, can the judgment of a court bind a person who was not a party before it?
Did Justice Abang make any orders on the Abia State Chief Judge?
Does the possession of a certificate of return automatically make a person governor?
Did you actually expect Governor Ikpeazu to sit back and sing from the Adventist Hymn Book while Uche Ogar strolls to take his seat? A seat he secured via a sacred mandate of the people of Abia State after several weeks of vigorous and energy sapping campaigns across the state? And hand his mandate over to someone who was in Lagos drinking champagne and never canvassed for votes for once?
A mandate that has been confirmed by the Supreme Court of Nigeria?
Keyamo, if you thought that, you thought wrong.
The law expects all of us to be proactive in the defense of what is ours, lest we be caught up with the doctrine of Laches and Acquiescence. Have you heard that one before?
Eh, Oga Keyamo?
The only order that specifically affects the Abia State Chief Judge is the one made by the High Court of Abia State. Do you expect the CJ to disobey the orders of a court in a state she presides over in preference of one that didn't mention her at all?
Bros, Keyamo, do the needful. Advise Uche Ogar and his co travelers in this perfidious journey that Dr. Ikpeazu will remain in office as Governor until the highest court in this country says otherwise.
And yes, like you said in your poorly researched article, THE HEAVENS WONT FALL!
Barr Ememanka wrote from Lagos
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