Law week: Don calls for amendment of section 14 to tackle insecurity

A professor of Law, Abdulwahab Olasupo Egbewole (SAN) has called for the amendment of section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 constitution with a view to making the security of lives and properties of the citizens a justiceable obligation on the government.

He said amending or enriching that aspect of the constitution with justiceable caveat would force the government rise to the occasion in the events of spiraling insecurity and threat to lives of the citizens.

Egbewole, who gave the advice yesterday in a lecture at the ongoing Law week organized by the Kano state Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), also called for the overhaul of the country’s security architecture by unifying some of the existing security agencies for better accountability and ease of administration.

He said for the country to be able to get out of the woods in the current security challenges, “We need to have a holistic overhaul of our laws regarding security. This will have to start with possible amendment to the constitution in either making the provision of Section 14 (2)(b) justiceable or enacting further laws to enrich its justiceability.

“We cannot continue to run away from the discussion that Nigeria cannot provide enough security for its populace. Quite apart from state policing which has been taunted in the past, there could be a public private arrangement which would guarantee safety of lives and property when properly implemented” he added.

He argued that it is quite antithetical to allow government security operatives protect private individuals, while at the same time the masses are left to defend themselves against security threats.

Section 14 (2) (b) states that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”