ONOZURE DANIA X-rays the performance of the outgoing regime of the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in the justice sector and scores the regime low
There were a lot of expectations on the part of Nigerians when the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), assumed office on May 29, 2015. He came on board at a time when many people were dissatisfied with the performance of his predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan. The thirst for change could have contributed to his victory at the poll, which saw the then-incumbent beaten.
It is not new for political officeholders to lure citizens with mouth-watering promises. Buhari was not an exception, as there were loads of promises from him ranging from economy and security to sports and justice delivery, among others.
“I pledge to lead a government founded on values that promote and protect fundamental human rights and freedoms. I will promote the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, affirm the separation of the powers of government and support an independent judiciary,” Buhari had promised in one of his numerous talks about his regime’s plans for the populace.
Eight years down the lane and as his regime is coming to an end, how far did Buhari go in his promise of ensuring access to justice and respect for fundamental human rights? This forms the central focus of this piece.
Buhari’s regime will be remembered for its penchant for regular disobedience of court orders, using national security and anti-corruption as excuses, therefore significantly contributing to the decline in public confidence in the judiciary.
On November 25, 2019, the Legal Adviser to Amnesty International, Dr Kolawole Olaniyan, described Buhari as showing “stunning disregard for the rule of law and human rights, ignoring Nigerian judges on at least 40 occasions.”
The London-based lawyer, who accused the President of treating judges with disdain, also questioned the sincerity of Buhari’s anti-corruption fight.
Olaniyan made the claims in a piece titled, “Buhari is ignoring
Nigerian judges – We must not let him get away with it.
“Anytime the courts have told Buhari’s government to do something it doesn’t like, it has refused to obey it. Even Buhari’s Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami (SAN), once said the rule of law is what the authorities determine it to be.
“The government always has explanations on why it should not obey lawful court orders, seemingly replacing binding legal decisions with the vagaries of politics, and obeying the decisions whenever they suit it,” he said.
The initial refusal of the DSS to release Omoyele Sowore, the publisher of SaharaReporters, an online news platform from its custody, brought to mind several other instances where the government ignored court orders.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate, was on August 3, 2019, arrested by the DSS in Lagos and transferred to Abuja.
The DSS obtained an ex parte order to keep Sowore for 45 days. Barely 24 hours before the expiration of the 45-day detention order, the
AGF’s office filed charges of treasonable felony, cybercrime offences and money laundering against him before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Another case in point is that of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife, Zeenat.
On December 2, 2016, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered their release from the custody of the DSS.
As of the time of that ruling, El-Zakzaky and his wife had been in DSS’ custody since December 2015 following an altercation between members of the Nigerian Army and the IMN in Zaria, Kaduna State.
Aside from the order of the court to release them, the court also ordered that the DSS should pay the couple the sum of N50m as compensation.
This court order was disobeyed.
On August 5, Justice Darius Khobo of Kaduna State High Court, granted El-Zakzaky leave to seek medical attention in New Delhi, India.
A former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, also tasted the bitter pill of the Buhari regime’s disdain for court orders.
On Monday, July 2, 2018, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted bail to Dasuki from the custody of the DSS.
Delivering judgment in the suit filed by the ex-NSA in March 2019,
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu ruled that his detention since December 29, 2015 amounted to a violation of his right to liberty.
Ojukwu ruled that the Federal Government’s contention that Dasuki was being kept in custody on the grounds of his alleged threat to national security and his alleged investigation for money laundering did not warrant “abrogating his right.”
Dasuki was arrested by DSS operatives in December 2015. He was accused of illegal possession of firearms and diversion of $2.1bn from the arms deal contract.
The Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice on October 4, 2016, ordered his release from illegal custody; a judgment which the DSS failed to obey.
The redesigned Naira notes of N200, N500, and N1,000 were officially launched on November 23, 2022. The introduction of the new notes attracted a lot of criticism due to its poor implementation.
The scarcity of the new naira notes disrupted the day-to-day running of activities, with the situation resulting in civil disturbance, anger and protest across all states.
Due to the challenges encountered by Nigerians in depositing the old notes and the unavailability of the redesigned notes, Buhari and the Central Bank of Nigeria extended the deadline for the exchange of old notes for new ones to February 10, 2023, from December 31, 2022.
Two days before the deadline, some governors filed a suit at the Supreme Court and the court restrained the CBN from implementing the policy. The apex court later ruled that the new naira notes should exist side-by-side with the old ones till December 31, 2023.
But Buhari, in a nationwide broadcast on February 15, declared that only the old N200 note would remain legal tender and that it would be so until April 10, while the N500 and N1,000 notes remained invalid.
The broadcast attracted criticisms of Buhari with prominent Nigerians and groups viewing his position as contrary to the position of the court. Following the backlash on the regime and the CBN, the apex bank later reluctantly bowed to pressure on the matter.
Judgment on consolidated debts: In February 2018, a judge of the Federal High Court, G. O. Kolawole, ordered Buhari to set limits for the consolidated debt of federal, state, and local governments.
The judgment complied with section 42 (1) of the Fiscal
Responsibility Act. The case was filed by the Centre for Social Justice Limited.
The five defendants in the case included the President, the Senate, the House of Representatives, a (former) Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, and the AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
However, the pronouncement was not obeyed.
The Nigerian Immigration Service seized the passport of a former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili. The passport of Odili, who served as the governor of Rivers State from 1999 to 2007 was seized at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in June 2021 upon his arrival into the country.
The NIS claimed that the former governor’s passport was seized based on a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after placing him on a watch list.
Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, however, pronounced the passport seizure unlawful. The judge ordered the NIS to return the passport to him.
But 38 days after the initial directive, the NIS did not comply with the order, which made the court give another directive.
Peter Odili’s passport was finally released to him in December 2021.
Besides the flagrant disobedience to court orders that the Buhari regime is known for, some judicial officers also came under attack by the government.
For instance, the judiciary was under attack between October 7 and 8, 2016, when operatives of the Department of State Services raided the homes of some judges over allegations of corruption.
The DSS had, in what it described as a sting operation, arrested Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and Inyang Okoro, both of the Supreme Court; the suspended Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, Justice Mohammed Tsamiya; Justice Kabiru Auta of the Kano State High Court and Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Others arrested were a former Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice I. A. Umezulike, and Justice Muazu Pindiga of the Federal High Court, Gombe Division.
On January 25, 2019, Buhari suspended the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, is from office pending the final determination of the cases against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and other allegations relating to his alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers.
Buhari hinged the suspension on an order he was served with by the Code of Conduct Tribunal issued on January 23, 2019, directing his suspension as CJN.
Irrespective of what Buhari and his handlers, especially the AGF, may be saying about how the justice sector faired under the President, it is clear that the sector was indeed under attack and siege for the better part of this regime. It is therefore safe to conclude that stakeholders in the sector will be heaving a sigh of relief on May 29 when the Daura-born general will be bowing out and passing the baton to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
