PM News
Nigerian Lawyers in Canada have raised a serious concern over the suspension of Kaycee Madu as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Province of Alberta. It was the Premier of the Province, Jason Kenney, who signed Madu’s temporary removal. This is pending the outcome of a probe into Madu’s call ( after the Police issued him a ticket) to Edmonton’s Police Chief, Dale McFee.
The events that underlaid Mr. Madu’s suspension are, according to a 24 January statement issued by The Canadian Association of Nigerian Lawyers (CANL), slated for a “full investigation” by an independent panel. It is to be appointed by the acting Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Province of Alberta.
Trouble started on 10 March 2021 when Madu was en route to a pre-arranged news conference to address the media about disturbing revelations that several police officers had been engaged in misconduct. He was stopped by a traffic police officer and issued a traffic violation ticket.
Given the reported prevalent climate of racial minority profiling and surveillance power abuse by the police at the time, the Nigerian lawyers were curious. They wondered aloud about “the coincidence between the time of Mr. Madu’s fateful encounter with the traffic police officer and the time that he was billed to tackle allegations of police misconduct.”
They went further: “Some people have contended, and we agree, that while the phone call placed by Mr. Madu to the Chief of Police may generate concern in the minds of many, the concern ought to be resolved in the full context of the lived experiences of those in Mr. Madu’s shoes. Mr. Madu has acknowledged that since the call had the potential to generate concern, he should not have made it in the first place.
“We believe that it was reasonable for Mr. Madu to have wondered whether he had fallen victim to the racial profiling scourge himself – as he has explained in his press release on the issue – and then for him to try to seek answers somehow.
“We believe that Mr. Madu had both personal, communal, and official responsibilities to ensure that he or similarly situated people were not being victimized in light of the prevailing circumstances. We have examined the reported circumstances of the phone call more closely. We deem that the main issue…
