GUN RUNNING: “Justice Cannot Be Adjourned Forever, Enough of This Slow-Death Tactics” Says Niger Delta Stakeholders Group, Demands Public Trial OF Micah Polo, Olu Of Itsekiri, Others Involved In Gun Smuggling -

By Esther David

OPEN LETTER TO THE DSS, NSA, AGF AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA

From: Niger Delta Stakeholders for Transparency & Constitutional Order

Subject: Justice Cannot Be Adjourned Forever, Enough of This Slow-Death Tactics
20/11/2025

We write with unfiltered anger and constitutional conviction because what is unfolding in the matter of FRN vs. Micah Mobitse Igbenu Macopolo & 6 Ors (FHC/ASB/84c/2025) is a dangerous replay of the same Nigerian script where justice walks with crutches while the powerful sprint freely. We have watched the slow, deliberate, almost mechanical delay of this case and we refuse to pretend that we do not see the hands pushing the gears behind the curtain. Every adjournment, every excuse, every medical diversion, every technical delay is beginning to look like a soft landing being quietly prepared for individuals who should be facing the full weight of the law.

Let it be stated clearly: we are all watching and this time, we will not be silent. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not a decorative book. Section 14(2)(a) places sovereignty in the hands of the people. Section 15(5) commands the State to abolish corruption and abuse of power. Section 36(1) guarantees fair and PUBLIC hearing. Section 174 empowers prosecution in the public interest, not in the interest of backdoor deals. And Section 287 demands that court orders be obeyed without manipulation. What we are seeing is not justice complying with the Constitution; it is justice tiptoeing around the Constitution in the service of people who believe they are too important to face the law.

The slow pace of this case is not ordinary. It is not random. It is not natural. It is intentional. When a case of national security importance is dragged like a corpse across the courtroom calendar, we know what is happening: someone somewhere is hoping that time will weaken the public’s outrage. Someone believes Nigerians will get distracted. Someone believes the noise will die. But we are here to warn you, loudly and without apology that this time, the noise will not die. This time, the people will not sleep. This time, we will not allow justice to dissolve into the silence of adjournments.

The 5th Defendant has been granted bail on medical grounds, and while we do not oppose any person accessing medical care, we must remind the Court and the security agencies that bail is not immunity. Medical treatment is not a shield. Surgery is not a license to escape justice. The Constitution guarantees the right to health and the right to fair hearing but not the right to manipulate either. The law does not pause because a defendant chooses convenience over accountability. The law does note bend because someone is connected or protected.

Equally disturbing is the continued detention of the 7th Defendant who remains in custody allegedly because the prosecutor has not signed bail documents. Since when did justice become hostage to signatures? Since when did freedom depend on paperwork being “conveniently delayed”? If the prosecutor’s pen is now the jailer, then the justice system has already collapsed in slow motion. Nigerians are not ignorant; we know when a system is being gamed.

Let every security agency hear this loud and clear: We demand an open trial. We demand full transparency. We demand the exposure of everyone involved, financiers, accomplices, coordinators, handlers and shadow actors. Any attempt to close this trial, bury it quietly, manipulate its timeline or water down its seriousness will be met with national outrage. Nigeria cannot continue to operate a justice system where the poor are tried quickly and the powerful are tried slowly, where the powerless face immediate consequences and the privileged hide behind adjournments.

We issue this warning with total clarity: the people are watching. Civil society is watching. The Niger Delta is watching. Nigerians across the country are watching. And the international community will also watch if this case is mishandled. If this becomes another case that enters the graveyard of forgotten files, the DSS, NSA, and AGF must accept full responsibility for the erosion of trust that will follow. Justice must be seen, not buried. Justice must be heard, not whispered. Justice must be immediate, not postponed into irrelevance.

It is no longer enough to say “the matter is in court.” That excuse has expired. We refuse delays. We reject secrecy. We condemn any attempt to protect criminals and gunrunners that if not God want to destroy Warri. We will resist every form of legal manipulation. We remind all agencies involved that constitutional duty is not optional. The law must move and it must move now.

This is not just a case, it is a test of Nigeria’s soul. And we demand that the Federal Government, through all its instruments, ensures that justice is not only done but clearly and publicly seen to be done. We are watching and we will not blink.

Signed,

Dr, Tega Confidence
(President)

Hon, Izonkoro O. Mathew

Niger Delta Stakeholders for Transparency & Constitutional Order

Cc:
President of the Senate

Speaker, House of Representatives

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights & Legal Matters

Chairman, House Committee on National Security & Intelligence

Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Petitions

Chairman, House Committee on Public Accountability

The Chief Judge, Federal High Court

Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)