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| Barrister Courage Nsirimovu |
A Port Harcourt based human rights lawyer, Barrister Courage
Nsirimovu has advised the masses of Nigeria to "seek remedy beyond the court
room”, which he said entails “being informed about incidents in the polity and
knowing your electoral candidates in order to exercise the rights to vote
reasonably.”
Barrister Nsirimovu said this during an online interaction with
chidi opara reports. He quoted Fidel Castro’s advice that “in a state of
lawlessness, it is unlawful to be law abiding” and also quoted from Karl Marx’s
“Theory Of Law” to buttress his position.
The young activist who collaborates with his uncle, Barrister
Anyakwee Nsirimovu, the facilitator of Institute Of Human Rights And
Humanitarian Laws in Port Harcourt reiterated the fact that the Institute is in
court seeking judicial review of the Rivers State Contributory Levy Law, which
he said “amounts to double taxation”.
Barrister Courage Nsirimovu then zeroed in on the Rivers
State Governor And Deputy Governor Pensions And Fringe Benefits bill which was
recently passed and signed into law. The human rights lawyer revealed that the
bill was sent to the House Of Assembly from the Office Of The Governor, which
went further to ensure that the bill was speedily passed without adequate prior
information about the constitutionally required public hearing.
Nsirimovu said that the Rivers State Governor And Deputy
Governor Pensions And Fringe Benefits Law Provides among other things, For:
(1) 100% basic salaries
(2) Two houses in any area of choice in Rivers state and
Abuja.
(3) Three cars replaceable every three years
(4) 20% funding for utility, 10% for entertainment and 10%
of same for houses of choice.
(5) Medical expenses for beneficiaries and immediate families.
(6) Security details which will include two operatives from
the State Security Service(SSS), one female operative of same department and
eight police officers for personal and domestic security.
(7) Domestic staff; including cooks, stewards, gardeners and
others. All domestic staff shall be pensionable.
“The Legislature only has right to make for the order, peace
and good governance of the state and not for self aggrandizement as the pension
law shows,” he proffers.
The legal activist who recently featured in a programme on
Rivers state television titled “Actionable Acts Of Parliament” with the
Nigerian Bar Association Port Harcourt branch Chairman, Barrister Oko-Jaja
recalled an incident when another illegitimate agency in Port Harcourt named “PHALGA
Enforcement” forced him to part with the sum of twelve thousand naira near the
premises of the Central Bank Of Nigeria for “illegal parking” as he stopped to pick
some colleagues.
Barrister Nsirimovu finally said that “the pension law is
thus unconstitutional as it less represents the will of the people”.
“We will go to court and if need be, we will protest and we
must go all out to disobey such evil law that targets tax payers’ money,” he
concluded.
