By: Ilyasa Baa
The Inspector General of Police, Ambrose Sovula who was supposed to meet with executive members from the Native Consortium and Research Centre (NCRC) at a scheduled meeting on Wednesday 20th July to discuss plans for the proposed protest against the judiciary was abruptly snubbed.
The leading economic justice civil society think tanks in West Africa, Native Consortium and Research Centre (NCRC) had on 8th July written a letter for police clearance addressed to the Inspector General of Police for a peaceful protest.
The Consortium is asking the police for permission to hold a peaceful demonstration against Justice Adrian Fisher and his boss, the Chief Justice Babatunde Edwards for delaying judgment in the matter between the Consortium, 299 litigants and Africell, Orange and NATCOM.
NCRC is seeking an agreed date after 17th July for the protest to take place. In the letter, the Executive Director, NCRC, Edmund Abu Jr. said, “therefore, we want to ask for your protection to exercise our fundamental human and democratic rights as guaranteed by Section 15 of the existing 1991 Constitution of the Republic of Sierra Leone”. “We look forward to engaging you on the date, time and location at your earliest convenience”, he added.
NCRC has been demanding the landmark judgment after a full-blown trial that went on for one month preceded by Justice Fisher who withdrew the file for ruling about a year ago. His delay in giving the landmark ruling according to Mr Abu is a breach of Section 120 (16) and Section 23 (2) of the 1991 Constitution.
It could be recalled that Edmund Abu had threatened that he would lead a protest match around the precincts of the court, precisely the Office of the Chief Justice if Justice Adrian Fisher did not give out his ruling by the end of June this year.
He said the cheating of customers buying these mobile companies’ products must stop in the country which is why they have been calling on the Judge to deliver the ruling he had promised to deliver earlier on. Before his departure to the United States in May to raise funds for the matter to be taken to the ECOWAS Court, Edmund Abu had called on Sierra Leoneans to exercise restraint over the matter never mind the “unnecessary delay” he put it.
However, the file was withdrawn for ruling on 16th August 2021 and according to Edmund, Justice Fisher has breached Section 120 (Subsection 16) of the 1991 Constitution which states that ruling shall be given no more than 90 days after withdrawal of a file.
The case started in November 2017 and that three Judges including the current Chief Justice Babatunde Edwards had to transfer the file to Justice Binneh Kamara who then took eight months with the file. The file took a whole year with Justice Komba Kamanda before it was finally transferred to Justice Fisher.
The Consortium is sure to win the case on behalf of all Sierra Leoneans who used mobile sims since 2017, noting that they are expecting punitive damage against the companies which will enable consumers to be compensated. ” We are confident that the companies will lose the case on the grounds of the negligence of duty, breach of contract and the statutory obligation NATCOM Act no. 9 (Section 40,41 and 42) of 2006 as amended”, Edmund had said maintaining that their lawyers have already started the ball rolling before the ECOWAS court noting that the sum of twenty thousand dollars has been paid by the Consortium to the lawyers to commence the legal battle.
He said the same two-pronged approach applied here would be applied before the ECOWAS court where they are sure justice will not delay.
Three hundred consumers together with the Native Consortium sued these mobile companies in 2017 after series of engagements with NATCOM for the companies to decrease their tariffs. Meanwhile, four of the complainants have passed away without justice.
