Still on the Tyrannical Executive Order 6

The federal government has brazenly shown that it would tame opponents with the ludicrous Executive Order 6 which gives President Muhammadu Buhari the right to arbitrarily seize people’s assets. Buhari has gone further to impose restrictions on the movement of unnamed 50 high profile Nigerians and placed them on security watch list. Are we back to a military government? No section of our constitution gives the President such executive authority. This is an intrusion into the principles of separation of powers and must be opposed by all. The laws of this country did not authorise the Executive to restrict the movement of criminal suspects.

I was really impressed by the courage ofhuman rights activist and Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, in opposing this illegality. He described the restrictions on the 50 Nigerians as repressive, adding, “the President’s Executive Order cannot restrict the movement of any Nigerian citizen.”

Falana declared: “The travel ban is a sad reminder of the reckless placement of political opponents on security watch list and seizure of their passports by the defunct military junta… the directive to place the 50 high profile suspected persons on watch list and restrict their movement is highly superfluous, completely unwarranted and totally uncalled for. In fact, it is an ingenious design to expose the Buhari administration to ridicule… For the umpteenth time, I am compelled to caution the Buhari administration to wage the war against the menace of corruption within the ambit of the rule of law.”

It is pertinent to note that the Supreme Court had in 1999 ruled that the right of citizens to freedom of movement guaranteed by Section 41 of the Constitution and Article 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act could not be abridged or abrogated by the Executive outside the procedure permitted by law.

Patriots must proceed to the appellate court and challenge the Federal High Court’s ruling upholding the validity of the controversial Executive Order 6. This judgement can’t stand in a higher court.

Residents of Kasuwan Magani community in Kaduna State are still burying their loved ones. Scores of people were killed in this area about two weeks ago, following clashes between the natives and Hausa settlers. Many were also killed in various parts of Kaduna metropolis three days after the Kasuwan Magani massacre.

Tension has always been very high in this state. There is so much mistrust among the diverse people here. Unfortunately, Kaduna State lacks a dispassionate leader; one capable of uniting these assorted people. The truth is that Christians, natives and other minorities across the state have no speck of trust in Governor Nasir El-Rufai. I concur that this man clearly lacks the capacity to govern a multi-ethnic and multi-religion society like Kaduna State. El-Rufai openly and persistently displays his prejudices, particularly during attacks in Southern Kaduna. This is why this state is on fire again.

The last three years have been horrendous, with so many communities in Southern Kaduna torn into shreds by bandits and herders. The only way forward is for this state to have a dispassionate governor, who would treat all parts of the state and all faiths equally. They need a governor to unite them and draw strength from their diversity. I believe that the people of Kaduna State know what to do in 2019.