Spirited Dispatch from Sambo Dasuki’s Family
The role of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, in FG’s refusal to release the detained former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, despite numerous court bails, speaks volumes about the mentality and professionalism of our chief law officer. The decision of the family of the oppressed ex-NSA to petition the Nigerian Bar Association about Malami’s conduct in the Dasuki saga is thus apropos. This burdened family is asking the NBA to investigate and sanction the minister for his alleged unethical conducts and utter disregards for the rule of law. I fully concur.
The family in the petition accused Malami of conduct likely to cause anarchy in the country through his defence and promotion of disobedience of lawful orders of court by the federal government. The Dasuki family wrote in the petition dated July 23, 2008: “Malami has been making reckless and unprofessional statements to denigrate the court, violate the constitution and encourage the continued breach of the fundamental human rights of Sambo Dasuki who has been clamped into detention since December 2015.”
The family also wants the Minister to be investigated in the resolve of the federal government not to comply with any order of court admitting the former NSA to bail. The family insisted that Dasuki had been unjustly detained without a lawful order for almost three years. In the petition signed by his wife, Bintu Dasuki; his son, Abubakar Dasuki and his nephew, Umar Dahiru, the family also added that Sambo Dasuki, in his lifetime, had never been convicted of any crime till date. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, and Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, got copies of the petition.
Honestly, Malami has persistently made very unprofessional remarks in support of the illegal detention of Sambo Dasuki. He was quoted as saying that Dasuki’s personal right should be violated for the larger public good and that the ex-NSA was responsible for more than 100,000 deaths during his tenure. Malami said: If the issue about an individual coincides with that which affects the people of a country…you are now saying the government did not obey a court order that infringes on a single person’s rights. Remember, we are talking about a person who was instrumental to the deaths of over 100,000 people. Are you saying that the rights of one person are more important than that of 100,000 who lost their lives?
“Reports have shown that there was a massive mismanagement of funds meant for military hardware, which the military could not access and that led to the death of many, and because of that, many people have lost their lives. Obeying the court is not the issue per say. Are we going to take the issue of an individual more important than that of the people? The government’s main responsibility is for and about the people. The essence of governance is to better the lives of its people. So you have to weigh it based on that; the rights of an individual or the rights of the people.”
The offence for which this former NSA was arraigned is bailable under the Nigerian law. Our chief law officer must not be seen promoting impunity and disobeying court orders. He must not be seen assaulting the Rule of Law. Unfortunately, these are the things Malami has been doing regarding the case of Sambo Dasuki. On December 29, 2015, when Dasuki’s bail conditions were perfected, and the warrant of release signed by the court, the operatives of SSS stormed Kuje Prison, immediately rearrested the ex-NSA and clamped him in their detention camp. It was so depressing, yet, Malami, our chief law officer defends this lawlessness.
The family also approached the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and in a landmark judgement, the detention of Dasuki was declared unlawful, null and void. The court subsequently ordered his immediate release in addition to imposing a fine of N15 million on the federal government as compensation for the breach of Dasuki’s fundamental rights. The federal government refused to obey this order of the international court, yet, we have a chief law officer defending this anarchy.
Again, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court Abuja on July 2, 2018, admitted Dasuki to bail upon a discovery that his detention was a breach of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that of the fundamental right of the ex-NSA. Upon meeting the bail condition, the warrant of release of Dasuki on bail was signed by the court and served on the Director General of SSS and the Attorney General of the Federation for their compliance, but they arrogantly ignored it. In fact, Malami confidently declared that the order of the court would not be obeyed by the federal government. Is this a chief law officer?
The Dasuki family wondered: “Should a lawyer, let alone, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), engage in such an unprofessional conduct capable of causing anarchy in the nation? Malami’s statement is prejudiced, unwarranted and unbecoming of a legal practitioner.”
I sincerely hope that the NBA will invoke its laws on professional misdemeanor against Malami and impose deserved disciplinary sanctions against him for promoting impunity in this country. The NBA must speak out against impunity and lawlessness by our chief law officer and take actions that will compel the federal government to obey the orders of our courts.