one would think that Nigerian presidents has learned to obey court orders after over 16 years of uninterrupted democratic rule. Former president Obasanjo was an expert in disobeying court orders which almost ruined Nigerian nascent democracy during his tenure. Late President Yar’Adua quickly put an end to his over-the-top insanity when he assumed office. He ordered governors who were sacked by the courts for rigging themselves into office to immediately vacate office. Yar’adua’s successor, former president Goodluck Jonathan kept same tradition of making sure that court orders were obeyed. Mr. Obasanjo use to ignore those rulings by picking and choosing which law to uphold or ignore.
Well, here we go again, another former military president finally won the presidency after several tries and sadly, we are now back to the era of flagrant flouting of court orders for what they termed higher purpose, without realizing that they are endangering the rule of law and Nigerian democratic institution which is the glue that hold the nation together. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was freed by the court in late 2015, but the federal government have not released him as mandated by the court. He was instead slammed with more charges and the federal government are now shopping for a judge who will rule in their favor. Former National security adviser, Sambo Dasuki was granted bail in late 2015 but was rearrested by the federal security agency with the approval of the president as soon as he left his jail cell.
This is a very dangerous development for Nigeria at this time. In a democracy, successive administrations builds on good policies of their predecessors. But Nigerians are now seeing retrogression in upholding the rule of law by President Buhari. Let me make it clear, I am in support of President Buhari’s fight against corruption. Corruption has destroyed Nigeria in any way imaginable. Corruption is the primary reason for the sad state of affair in Nigeria since our independence. I am glad that we now have a president who has the political will to tackle this monster. However, the war cannot be waged with disregard to the rule of law since both goes hand in hand. If the president continues on this part, sooner or later, successive administrations, other government officials and law enforcement agencies may begin to pick and choose which law to obey or disregard. The end result will be anarchy. The most important legacy president Buhari can leave for his successors and the nation is the institutionalization of Nigerian democracy and the rule of law.
Short-term gain to accomplish certain objective, in this case, further prosecution of Nnamdi Kanu who has been freed by the court and failure to release Mr. Dasuki who was granted bail is a strange way to accomplish long term goals to the detriment of the courts which is arguably the most respected institution in Nigeria even though the judiciary has its own share of corrupt judges. The issue here is not whether Mr. Kanu and Mr. Dasuki committed the offenses preferred against them by the federal government. The court has basically finalized Mr. Kanu’s case and he must be set free as mandated by the court for the sake of Nigerian democracy and rule of law.
Mr. Dasuki has very serious charges against him and the gravity of the allegations against him is immense. However, the federal government’s responsibility is to file charges against him and present their case before the judge. It is then left for the judge to hold hearings and determines what happens to the defendant. If a judge renders a ruling, in this case, granting bail to ex-National security adviser contrary to the wishes of the federal government, the only avenue left for the government is to appeal and possibly go all the way to the supreme court instead of re-arresting Mr. Dasuki. Federal government’s action is terrible and looks so bad because it is a very basic application of the law. Why not release Mr. Dasuki and keep a tab on his movement so he will not flee the country? Why not plead to the court that he is a flight risk so the court may reverse their earlier decision allowing him to travel overseas for medical treatment.
President Buhari need to change course immediately in enforcement of court orders no matter how noble the goal is. A lot of Nigerians have long suspected that President Buhari has not changed his dictatorial toga from his military days, but choose to give him the benefit of doubt. He is now failing the test and his old image is fast overshadowing the new democratic image he is trying to project. Enforcement of court orders is critical for the survival of any nation and the rule of law. Sometimes, known criminals evade justice by manipulating the judiciary system, however, the loopholes in the law needs to be addressed by the National Judiciary Commission, Chief Justice of the federation and the legislatures working in conjunction with the head of the executive branch. A house must not be destroyed in order to save it.