Impunity Takes Over
During the run-up to the 2015 general election, Nigerians were warned that General Muhammadu Buhari as president would not respect human rights. But voters largely ignored this warning. Today, impunity is gradually becoming the order of the day, writes To
Two years into the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, it is becoming clearer to discerning Nigerians that old habits die hard. In the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, voters were repeatedly warned that the record of General Muhammadu Buhari in human rights and rule of law should be a source of concern. However, the general reassured the voters that he was a changed person, a democrat and that people have nothing to fear. In a nutshell, he promised to respect the rights of citizens. But the president has failed to keep that promise.
The choice of Yemi Osinbajo , a professor of law and a pastor noted for his humility and commitment to rule of law when he was the attorney general of Lagos State helped to further reassure voters that rights would be protected under Buhari as president. Two years after, the vice president, it appears, is helpless. To the disappointment of many, he had, as it is usually the case with our leaders, chosen to side with the oppressor. His justification of the raiding of judges’ houses during ungodly hours in the name of fighting corruption left many questioning his commitment to the rule of law.
Instances abound where the present administration had shown that it did not give a damn about human rights. Let us begin from recent events.
Take the case of a former governor of Benue Gabriel Suswam. He was detained incommunicado for more than two months despite the fact that the constitution frowns at such incarceration. After spending a month in court and it became clear that the authorities would not release him, he filed a case in court to enforce his rights, but when the court ruled in his favour, the authorities simply disregarded and disobeyed the order of court of competent jurisdiction which ordered that Suswam be produced in court.
The state does not have any justification for that. For a government seeking to ensure that judges are not corrupt, disobeying a court order is not just impunity, it is also corruption.
In a Gestapo style action, The Punch Newspapers’ State House correspondent, Lekan Adetayo was expelled from the Aso Villa over a story he wrote on the state of health of the president.
Can Nigerians forget the manner with which members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (NIM) were massacred on December 14, 2015? Despite the stories told by the Nigerian Army to justify the killings, discerning members of public knew that what transpired on that day was genocide. The impunity did not just stop there: the leader of the NIM, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky has been in detention since then. A judgment of Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court Abuja ordering his release and that of his wife was disobeyed and they remained in detention till this day. Their offence is that their version of Islam does not agree with those in authorities. The government has gone further to categorise members of the religious group as enemy of state. More worrisome is the fact that no one was punished for these atrocities.
On April 26, 2017 followers of El-Zakyzaky staged a protest in Abuja to mark the 500th day since their leader was arrested.
The Chairman, Martyrs Foundation of IMN, Abdullhamid Bello, while address-
In the run-up to the 2015 presidential election, voters were repeatedly warned that the record of General Muhammadu Buhari in human rights and rule of law should be a source of concern.
Unable to keep quiet, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, on April 13, said it was constrained to alert Nigerians that the nation was fast drifting into a dictatorship and possible anarchy under the All Progressive Congress (APC) government.
ing members of the group said: “As Sheikh Zakzaky clocks 500 days of unjustifiable detention, we come out in our numbers to peacefully show our dissatisfaction with the way the government of President Buhari has been handling the subject of Zaria pogrom that was conducted by the Army under his ultimate command”, he said in the statement.
“This was what led to the Sheikh’s unwarranted detention in the first place, and its aftermaths, including the extra-judicial murder of over a thousand innocent citizens under 48 hours.
“As Sheikh Zakzaky clocks 500 days in this unjustified detention, we have come out to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to Sheikh’s freedom and justice for all those oppressed sequel to that brutal massacre. We will not be cowed into silence by any oppressive measure this government will employ.”
Bello noted that a court had ordered the government to release. El-Zakzaky and his wife within 45 days but that the two had remained in the custody of the State Security Service over 100 days after the court order.
According to him, the Nigerian Army that committed the horrible massacre in Zaria remains unpunished and has even chosen not to investigate what it did between 12-14 December, 2015, as it recently inaugurated an investigative panel on accusations of human rights abuses against the army.
“What is the Army hierarchy afraid of that it can’t even dare investigate a serious allegation of cold-blooded killing of over 1000 civilians in Zaria?” he added.
Is it not interesting that while our president deserved to travel abroad for medicals, ElZakzaky is not so deserving? His followers said he needed urgent medical attention but government is not interested in his health.
The case of Sambo Dasuki, the former National Security Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, is as worse. He was granted bail by two high courts but because the Department of State Security is above the law, Dasuki remains in detention. He had been charged to court, pleaded not guilty and was granted bail, yet the prosecution is at liberty to amend the charges but Dasuki’s liberty must be restricted to prevent him from running away, so we were told.
. The ECOWAS Court of Justice also ruled in his favour, but because those at the helms of affairs are above the law, they ignored the court’s judgment thereby making Nigeria a laughing stock among nations.
How can an institution that does not have the slightest respect for the judiciary be the one fighting corruption in the judiciary?
Even though government is in denial and has arrays of rationalists who continue to defend these obnoxious and reprehensible acts, the international community is not so deceived.
This year, Nigeria again recorded a fall on the international press freedom index.
According to the Press Freedom Index, released last month by Reporters Without Borders, (RWB), Nigeria ranked 122 out of 180 countries examined. The index was released at the time when The Punch correspondent was expelled from the State House. In 2016, Nigeria recorded a decline on the world ranking, falling from 111 to 116.
In 2017, the country recorded another fall, moving from 116 to 122, which placed it conveniently on the red-zone for press freedom across the world.
According to the RWB: “In Nigeria, it is nearly impossible to cover stories involving politics, terrorism, or financial embezzlement. Journalists are often threatened, subjected to physical violence, or denied access to information by government officials, police, and sometimes the public itself.”
Those who think that only ‘big men’ are feeling the heat are mistaking. The police know that the authorities are detaining people illegally, and so why should they not too detain people unjustly?
As at press times, many innocent people are languishing in police cells; they are detained for the flimsiest of excuses. The Special Anti-Robbery Squad is even worse. The level of lawlessness by this police unit is unprecedented. Members of SARS routinely arrest and detain people for no just cause while some detainees in their custody die under mysterious circumstances. As it is, the change promised by the president is yet to be extended to ordinary citizens of this country who suffer untold hardship in the hands of policemen.
Unable to keep quiet, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, on April 13, said it was constrained to alert Nigerians that the nation was fast drifting into a dictatorship and possible anarchy under the All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
The leadership of the PDP national caretaker committee alleged that prominent leaders and citizens especially, the governors, ministers and other public office holders during the previous PDP administration had been arrested in a Gestapo manner and detained indefinitely without trial.
It said the actions of the APC-led administration was a clear case of injustice and vendetta, adding that it should charge all those in detention to court as a matter of urgency and free all those granted bail by the courts immediately. PDP listed those so far rested by security agents to include, the former Governor of Benue State, Hon. Gabriel Suswam, former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu and the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki who has been in custody for about two (2) years now without trial.
“It is no gainsaying that under the present APC led government; the agencies arrest suspects, convict them in the media and detain them against the law before they are proven innocent or otherwise by the court. It is also very clear in the constitution of Nigeria that no security agency has the right or power to detain suspects more than 48 hours without trial,” the party said.
In case those in authorities have forgotten or are having difficulty understanding the principles of rule of law, the World Justice Project has simplified it. It stated that rule of law comprised of the following four universal principles: That the government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.
That the laws are clear, publicised, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights
That the process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.
That justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.
As simple as these principles appear to be; those in authorities usually find it difficult to understand until they become the victims. Dasuki was once a man of power, today he is behind bars.
When he was sworn in as president, Buhari embarked on international trips to woo investors to Nigeria. At every available opportunity, the president asked for stolen wealth to be returned to the country. But because these countries operate under the rule of law, they can not just seize people’s money and bring it to Nigeria. Persuading people to come and invest in a country where courts’ orders are not respected is also proving to be a tough job.
In the fight against corruption, suspects are treated as if they have been found guilty. This clearly violates the provisions of the constitution which provides that an accused person remains innocent until his guilt is proved. Little wonder many high profile cases are being struck out while convictions secured at lower courts are being upturned.