(Intersociety,
Onitsha Nigeria, 2nd April 2017)-It is the firm position of International Society for Civil Liberties
& the Rule of Law that there must be immediate end to
institutionalization and cementation of personal
legal opinions and biases in Nigeria or any part thereof; particularly in
matters of presidential and gubernatorial conducts and policy directions
affecting the entire population of over 174million people.
Nigeria as a Federal Republic or a
Federation is clearly, fundamentally and elementarily governed by a set of laws
parented by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as
amended in February 2011. In a society thoroughly designed to be governed by a
set of laws parented by the Constitution, such as Nigeria, personal legal
opinions and biases must be controlled and quarantined to public discourse,
awareness, academic debates and court-room proceedings. They must not be
allowed to impeach the Constitution or usurp the powers and functions of the
Attorney General of the Federation and courts of superior records in Nigeria or
any part thereof.
In Nigeria, how these laws parented
by the 1999 Constitution are obeyed and enforced by all authorities and persons
including those holding judicial, executive and legislative powers are clearly
spelt out in the same 1999 Constitution, likewise their orders of precedence
and seniority. For the avoidance of doubt, legislative powers (including
creation, amendment and repealing) of the Federation or Federal Republic of
Nigeria are vested in the National Assembly of the Federation. This is by
virtue of Section 4 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, while its subsection 7 vested
in the House of Assembly of a State power to make laws for order, peace and
good governance of its legislative territory.
By Section 5 of the 1999
Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation are vested in the hands of
the President and his or her cabinet or executive council members; and those of
the State are vested in the hands of the Governor and members of his or her
executive council. This is by virtue of subsection 2 of Section 5. The judicial
powers of the Federation are vested in the judicial courts led by the Supreme
Court of Nigeria, while the judicial powers of a State are vested in the State
High Courts headed by the Chief Judge of a State. This is by virtue of Section
6 and its subsection 2 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
Further, by orders of precedence and
seniority, all other laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are governed by
and subject to the 1999 Constitution. This is by virtue of Sections 1 (1), (3)
and 315 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution. By Section 315 of the same Constitution,
existing laws of the Federation and of the States/LGAs must be brought in
conformity or in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution by way of
amendments or modifications. By Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, the
National Assembly of Nigeria is solely empowered to alter any provision of the
1999 Constitution, but under strict procedures and processes.
By the provisions of Nigeria’s 1999
Constitution, no other law(s) in Nigeria can rise at par or above the
provisions of the Constitution. This is in accordance with Sections 1(1) &
(3) and 315 of the 1999 Constitution; and by Section 4 (5) of the same
Constitution, the law of a State can never rise at par or above the existing
Act of the National Assembly.
The judicial interpretational powers
of all laws in Nigeria including its Constitution of 1999 are vested in the courts
of superior records (i.e. High Courts, Appeal Court and Supreme Court) with
clearly prescribed orders of seniority, supremacy and procedures.
The power of the Chief Law Officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the Federation;
particularly in matters of unbiased, sound and public oriented legal
opinions as well as respect and enforcement of the rule of law and governance
policies and procedures and chief crime prosecutor; are clearly vested in the
hands of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice/Government of the Federation. This is by virtue of Sections 150 and 174
of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
By convention and Nigeria’s 1999
Constitution, laws of the Federation and
of a State parented by Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution are never written or
designed for lawyers alone particularly the Silk and the Bench. All laws meant
to be operational and enforceable in Nigeria or any part thereof; are written
in clearest and simplest language and wording with accompanied understandable
meanings and modes of interpretation that are of international standards. In
other words, our laws are written in black and white for common understanding
of every citizen of the country or through his or her legal or social guardian.
Also, by convention, where laws are
written in clearest language and wording,
legal technicalities, jargons, gimmickry, manipulations and strenuous and
uncouth legal arguments and opinions are permanently nailed in the coffin.
Modern words of law are traditionalized in the concept of law as it is and law as it ought
to be. These are commonly referred to as spirit and letters of the law or
the constitution. While the letter
of the law is the literal meaning or interpretation of the law, the spirit
of letter is the understanding of intention of the maker of the law or what it
intended to achieve specifically, generally and socio-legally. To serve the
real purpose of its creation, there must be community reading, understanding
and enforcement of the spirit and letters of the law.
Law is nothing but codified sanction
code and written rules and regulations governing a democratic society for the
purpose of preventing anarchy and dictatorship and ensuring steady growth and
development of the society including greatest happiness for greatest number of
citizens of such society at all times. Conventions and precedents are literally
invoked to fill any loophole created by absence of law in black and white. Part
of this is commonly called “Doctrine of Necessity”.
We at Intersociety are, therefore,
deeply concerned and worried over mindless and rapacious institutionalization
and cementation of personal legal opinions and biases in the art of public
governance in Nigeria particularly since June 2015. Apart from clear takeover
of the constitutional powers and functions of the Attorney General of the
Federation by some lawyers particularly those holding the non academic title of
“Senior Advocates of Nigeria”, such personal legal opinions and biases have
gravely emboldened the Presidency of Nigeria and forced same to partly or
wholly abandon the Constitution and laid down conventions in its marathon race
of executive recklessness and blunders particularly in matters of temporary and
substantive appointment of certain persons as “public office holders” in the
Presidency or Executive Arm of Government.
A clear case in point is the ongoing
self-inflicted and self-invited travails of the “Acting” Chairman of the EFCC,
COMPOL Ibrahim Magu and the “Controller General” of Custom, Retired Col Hameed
Ali. While the so called EFCC Boss has remained in acting capacity since 2015,
a period of almost two years, the so called Custom Boss, had his appointment
mired in grave error; conventionally and constitutionally; likewise the current
“boss” of SSS. Their appointment was nothing short of militarist,
unconventional and unconstitutional executive action till date.
It is unheard of in a sane democratic
Nigeria that a public office holder appointed in acting capacity, would remain
so endlessly since 2015. What then is “acting capacity”? The current Chairman
of INEC was also a product of endless acting capacity appointment for several
months, likewise the said “acting Chairman” of EFCC, who has so remained till
date. The appointment of the current heads of Custom and SSS was gravely
erroneous in that despite the fact that they have served and retired from
Service; President Muhammadu Buhari and his cabinet goofed unpardonably by
recalling them unconventionally and unconstitutionally and placed them in their
present respective positions in the named highly professional and career
government coercive establishments. Today, chickens have returned home to roost
and blunders of the immediate past have revenged and reared their ugly heads.
Retired Director (of SSS) Musa Daura
was recalled from his legitimate retirement in 2013 and named “DG-SSS”, in
deviance of convention and law guiding the SSS and despite the fact that there
are serving Assistant and Deputy Directors General in the Service. Retired Col
Hameed Ali of the Nigerian Army was never part of the Nigerian Custom as a
career Custom officer, yet he was militarily and magisterially appointed
CG-Custom even when there are serving Assistant and Deputy Controllers General
of Custom. Today, they want him to “customize himself” with a uniform he never
knew its origin and intents.
The current Chief of Army Staff, Lt
Gen Tukur Yusuf Buratai, ought to have retired statutorily since 31st
January 2016 having attained 35 mandatory years of service in the Army as at 31st
January 2016. He belongs to the Class 29 Regular Combatant Course (29 RC) of
the Nigerian Defense Academy of the Nigerian Army. He was enlisted into the NDA
on 31st January 1981 where he obtained a National Certificate in
Education (NCE) which disqualified him from benefiting from the Harmonized
Terms and Conditions of Service Officers (HTACOS: 2012) (Revised); designed to
affect and benefit officers of Class of 36 (C36) and above, who were the first
set to start degree programs at the NDA. Till date, COAS Tukur Buratai is still
defiantly retained by President Muhammadu Buhari and his Presidency.
The list of Presidential recklessness
and blunders in the appointment of its public office holders, etc is endless.
We are deeply concerned and worried that among members of the Silk who have
condemnably backed and defended the named Presidential recklessness and
blunders since 2015 till date are Barristers Itse Sagay (SAN) and Femi Falana
(SAN), to mention but a few. They are former members of the hitherto respected
Lagos School of Social Sainthood. Such socially and constitutionally
unfriendly personal legal opinions and biases have also been extended to the
legitimate legislative proceedings and internal affairs of the National
Assembly (i.e. recent suspension of Senator Ali Ndume by Senate).
While we hold nothing against them
for expressing their personal legal opinions, but we are deeply worried because
such personal legal opinions have risen to an apogee and begun to impeach the sacred provisions of the
1999 Constitution and laid down legislative, executive and judicial conventions
and the spirit and letters of the Constitution. Their personal legal opinions
are also considered biased and undemocratic on account of their undue influence
and emboldening of the Presidency in its clear acts of executive recklessness
and blunders. Such personal legal opinions and biases also appear as if there
is no longer office and person of the Attorney General of the Federation and
powers and functions so attached.
We, therefore, make bold to say that
the bold steps taken by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in
nipping in the bud the referenced presidential recklessness and blunders are
totally commendable and should be supported by all and sundry. Though the
Senate also deserves strong condemnation too for keeping quiet all this while,
but it has our total support in its ongoing moves to checkmate the Presidential
recklessness and blunders above mentioned; provided they are not designed for
illicit enrichment or attraction of presidential cakes.
We respectfully appeal to the likes
of Barristers Itse Sagay (SAN) and Femi Falana (SAN), among others to restrict their
personal legal opinions and appropriately channel them towards educating
Nigerians on general issues of law, Constitution and public enlightenment; and
allow the 1999 Constitution, its subsidiaries and laid down conventions to
operate and be operated. They must remember that all hands must be on deck to
save and develop our hard won democracy and must stand bold at all times with
the generality of Nigerians and condemn at all times all forms of executive
recklessness, blunders and brigandage or militancy.
They must be reminded very
importantly that Government as we have them today is not anybody’s property and
even if one sympathizes, supports or is a member of such government with
specified period of time and tenure of office; someday, such person will leave
same and fall back on the society to render the account of his or her
stewardship or support to such government which tenure has expired.
Signed:
For: International Society for Civil
Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety)
·
Emeka Umeagbalasi
(Criminologist & Graduate of Security Studies)
Board Chairman
·
Florence C. Akubilo, Esq.,
LLB, BL
Head, Campaign & Publicity Department
·
Obianuju Joy Igboeli,
Esq., LLB, BL
Head, Civil Liberties & Rule of Law Program
·
Ndidiamaka C. Bernard,
Esq., LLB, BL
Head, Int’l Justice & Human Rights Program
·
Chinwe Umeche, Esq., LLB,
BL
Head, Democracy & Good Governance Program
Email: info@intersociety-ng.org
Phone Lines: +2348182411462,
+2349063500218
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