Of Honourable Lawbreakers and Anarchy
“IS HE NOT THE ONE, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NIGERIAN GOVERNORS FORUM, WHO INSENSITIVELY DECLARED PUBLICLY (WHILE THE THREAT OF STRIKE ACTION BY WORKERS STILL LOOMS) THAT, GOVERNORS TRAVELLING BY PRIVATE JET IS A NECESSITY AND NOT A LUXURY, WHILE IN THE SAME BREATH, DECRYING N30,000 AS THE MINIMUM WAGE FOR NIGERIAN WORKERS?”
State Houses of Assembly
Icannot, but, comment briefly on the scourge of removals of principal officers in the States Houses of Assembly in 2018 alone – Anambra, Ekiti, Benue, Kano, and now Ondo. For the avoidance of doubt, Section 92(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)(the Constitution) provides that a Speaker or Deputy Speaker can only be removed from office, by a resolution of votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of the House. Some of the common threads that run through the reasons for their purported removals, are financial impropriety and incompetence.
My observations are that firstly, it is such a pity that in Nigeria, at all levels, Government is mostly in the hands of unqualified inept people, who handle their tasks in a maladroit way, whether they are from the North, South, East or West.
Secondly, I’m sorry to have to say this, but it seems that, Nigerians are now at the mercy of lying fraudulent desperados. If not, how does the situation arise, in which 18 lawmakers are required to remove principal officers in the Ondo State House of Assembly, and two of those purported to have signed the removal notice, claim that their signatures were forged? Mind you, Forgery is a criminal offence, contrary to Sections 464 and 465 of the Criminal Code Act (CCA) (applicable in the Southern parts of Nigeria), and is punishable with three years imprisonment by virtue of Section 467 of the CCA. And some ‘lawmakers’ are being accused of this crime? What an irony.
This same issue of forgery previously arose, when Kogi State sought to recall Senator Dino Melaye, and many of the names of the constituents which appeared on the list of those who wanted the Senator recalled, claimed not have been the ones who signed the petition.
‘Naijanarchy’
It is actually bizarre to say the least, when you have Government, its agencies, officials, politicians in their lines of duty, people in positions of governmental authority, generally, who are meant to be the custodians and upholders of the law, breaking the law more than the citizens themselves! How do we refer to this growing phenomenon in Nigeria? Anarchy? Not exactly, because in the Nigerian scenario, even though there seems to be the absence of governance, individuals are not absolutely free to do as they please, as is required for anarchy to truly obtain. For there to be anarchy, the two must go hand in hand, that is lack of governance and absolute freedom for individuals. Maybe we should coin a new word for our situation –
‘Naijanarchy’, meaning government or its agencies, officials, or politicians, or anyone in a position of governmental authority, who breaks the law or disobeys the Constitution or fails to adhere to the rule of law,
for example, agencies who refuse to release Defendants on bail, after they have been granted bail by courts of competent jurisdiction; Army opening fire on protesters or the DSS blocking the entrances of the National Assembly and preventing people from entering the premises to go about their lawful business, thereby depriving people of their right to freedom of movement.
Section 1(1) of the Constitution clearly provides that it is supreme and binding on all persons and authorities throughout Nigeria; everybody and every institution, inclusive. Sections 4 – 6 of the Constitution provide for the powers of the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary, respectively, part of the duties of the Judiciary, being to adjudicate on matters. Therefore, if a court of competent jurisdiction has granted bail to Sheik El Zakzaky, Zeenah his wife, and Sambo Dasuki, who are their jailers not to release them on bail? It is unheard of, that such a thing can occur in a democratic dispensation. It is the antithesis of democracy. Such blatant disobedience to court orders and disregard of the rule of law, occurred under military/ authoritarian/totalitarian regimes.
I must say that even though I do not purport to hold court for Col Dasuki, and as far as I am concerned, if he is found guilty by the court, so be it, I felt a deep sense of shame when the man stated that he would no longer attend court, if the DSS does not obey the court order to release him on bail. I wondered how this constant disobedience of court orders by Government, has been reflecting on Nigeria, amongst the international community. Whether we are being seen as a ‘mobocratic’ banana republic, by the world!
Governmental Lawlessness
To buttress my point on governmental lawlessness, here is an email which I received last Tuesday –
Dear Editor, I read a disturbing news report on 8th November, 2018, and there are even pictures to back it up. Apparently, Zamfara State has a policy to reward people, who can kill bandits who have been roaming the State, destroying property, and killing people. So, the State Government gives N1 million per bandit killed and gun taken! In the news report, a driver who ran over two bandits and took their guns, was rewarded with N2m: along with others: the photo showed a Commissioner in the State rewarding four people - people who presented guns taken from bandits whom they had killed. This is State sanctioned murder!
The Zamfara State Government says that, with this policy, the days of bandits in the State, are numbered.
I am outraged, and we all should be too. How can a State Government, reward murder in this way? No trials, arrests, convictions? Just kill a bandit, take his gun and get N1 million? How is this lazy policy, going to solve the bandit issue in the North?
The reason l write you, is not to share my outrage, but to demand that you use your page, to put this issue in the spotlight. This is a national disgrace, and the State Government must be called to order. We have laws in Nigeria.
The NBA as a national body, must take up the matter with the Zamfara State Government and the AG of Federation, to demand a stop to this ill-conceived and disastrous policy.
Regards, Dear Oghogho, Thank you for your email. I cannot say that I am completely shocked by your message, because in recent times, strange policies are being implemented by Government and its agencies, rather frequently. Is the Governor of Zamfara State, not the one who made the absurd statement during the last meningitis outbreak when people were dying, that the epidemic was a punishment from God for sexual immorality or something frivolous like that? Is he not the one, the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, who insensitively declared publicly (while the threat of strike action by workers still looms) that, Governors travelling by private jet is a necessity and not a luxury, while in the same breath, decrying N30,000 as the minimum wage for Nigerian workers?
With the crop of most of the leadership we have today, one must accept the fact that, there will be many hair brained ideas and policies. I do agree with you, however, that if the policy you outlined in your mail is being practiced in Zamfara, it is indeed, a disturbing one that must not be encouraged.
The last time I checked, murder and the solicitation of murder or conspiracy to commit murder, are still offences under the Criminal Code Act (applicable in the Southern parts of Nigeria) and the Penal Code Act (applicable in the Northern parts of Nigeria, like Zamfara State), and murder is a capital offence. Likewise, Section 33(1) of the Constitution guarantees all the right to life, except in circumstances mentioned in Section 33(2), which I don’t believe this outlandish reward scheme, can come under.
It is therefore, not just strange, but unthinkable that, any responsible State will consider murder as a solution to stemming the tide of banditry in its territory, and not only encourage people to commit such a heinous crime, but reward them for it. This is Naijanarchy of the highest order!
I placed a telephone call to the NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN, to brief him about your extremely troubling e mail, and requested that the NBA look into this matter urgently.
Thank you.
Is there any Justification for Breaking the Law?
Some are of the school of thought that, in some circumstances, it is permissible to break the law, if it is for a good cause! While the jury may still be out on this, since sticklers for the law will argue that, there’s no justification for breaking the law under any circumstances, there can be no acceptable reason for the solicitation of murder of bandits, and worse still, offering a reward for the crime of murder.When Reverend Martin Luther King (MLK) and his colleagues, were arrested and placed in solitary confinement in Birmingham City Jail on Good Friday 1963, for marching to protest against segregation, contrary to Alabama’s law against mass public demonstration, which MLK saw as an unjust law, and of course, saw segregation as abhorrent and ungodly, his act of civil disobedience was criticised by his fellow clergymen as being “unwise and untimely”. MLK wrote a long letter to them from jail, explaining the reasons for his actions, and close to the end of the letter, he said: “I have tried to make it clear, that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends”. I concur.
I believe that the Nigerian leadership, has a lot to learn from MLK’s statement. I do understand some of the frustration experienced in trying to bring Defendants to book, but, there is a legal procedure, which must be followed. The fact that DSS or whoever, believes that Sambo Dasuki is guilty of misappropriation of funds or whatever offences he has been charged for, does not mean they can treat him as guilty, until he is found to be so, by a court of competent jurisdiction. The fact that some people in Zamfara are criminals and possess weapons, does not give the State the right to resort to self help. Section 36(5) of the Constitution is clear about the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Likewise, the offences that he and the El Zakzakys are charged with, are bailable offences, and accordingly, the courts have granted them bail. The moral end of trying to make someone accountable for their infractions, must not be achieved by illegal or extra-legal/extra-judicial means. After all, we are in the 21st century and not the dark ages or the inquisition.