Indices abound that the brand new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is wearing the robe of military dictatorship in governing the country for the past two months or thereabout that he took over the mantle of leadership in the country
By Miracle Egbo
Perhaps the greatest mistake of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the perception that governing a country like Nigeria could be as smooth as governing Lagos State as governor for eight years. Otherwise there is no better reason two months into his presidency of the much impoverished country, President Tinubu has remained another albatross of the country called Nigeria who is still searching for a space to plant his feet.
This, has indeed necessitated such derogatory posers from even his die-hard supporters in the country as well as skeptics: “Is he another despot in the making?” “Is he fit to lead the country or just a noise maker?” “Can he deliver Nigerians from poverty and palpable lawlessness that characterized his predecessor in the office?” “Is he the Nigeria version of Idi Amin of Uganda who ruled his nation with disregard to rule of law?” “Or is he just another maximum ruler on the saddle whom the helpless citizens of Nigeria would perhaps keep a trailer load of satchet water with which to pelt him goodbye by the time the judiciary do something against his alleged stolen mandate which is subject of contest at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal?”
Reasons for these posers are not far-fetched. When he ordered the arrest of the embattled suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele for a trumped up charges many Nigerians were of the belief that he was going to work the talk of being a democrat and avatar of the rule of law. He never worked the talk as the narratives surrounding the persecution of the suspended CBN governor are reminiscence of the dark days of the military dictatorship which produced the like of Abacha.
When what looked like prosecution of Mr. Emefiele started, the Department of State Service, DSS was literally forced by the lawyers to produce him at the court, when DSS ate the humble pie and produced him in the court with flimsy charges, operatives of the secret police turned 360 degrees Gestapo even in the premises of the Federal High Court Lagos. Information scooped by Tentacle revealed that at the Federal High Court, Lagos, Justice Nicholas Oweibo had granted bail to the embattled CBN governor with the condition that he is requested to drop his International Passport, a surety of N20 million and a top civil servant who will stand as his surety and should be remanded in the prison custody until he met all the conditions spelt out as the condition for his bail out. Nay, in a Gestapo style again, the DSS defied the bail order and manhandled a very senior officer of Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS, beating him like a criminal in the course of discharging his official duties. After the show of shame, according to reports made available to this medium, Emefiele was said to have urged the officers of Correctional Service to allow him to be taken by DSS to avoid blood bath in the premises of the hallowed chamber of the court. DSS operatives violently whisked Emefiele back to their custody against the ruling of the court that he should be remanded in prison custody.
It was gathered that all the efforts of the DSS to use legal means to continue the detention of the embattled suspended CBN governor hit a brick wall as the same Federal High Court, Lagos which again was approached by the security outfit to seek an injunction to perpetually keep Emefiele in its custody, turned down the DSS request on the basis that it was an abuse of the court processes. Despite the rejection of the DSS request by the court to keep the former governor of CBN in its custody, the security outfit has refused to obey the court order in this matter.
Weeks after the shameful drama, Justice Oweibo again granted the embattled suspended CBN governor leave to serve the Director General of DSS, Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi by substituted means, the order of Court admitting him to bail and directing his remand in the custody of NCoS . The order was granted following an ex-parte application moved by Emefiele’s counsel, Mrs. Ogonnaya Sonuga. Disturbing is the fact that DSS is still in defiance of many orders churned out by a court of competent jurisdiction to grant the embattled suspended CBN governor freedom.
In spite of the disregard of the court orders in this regard, the administration of President Tinubu has never deemed it fit to arrest Bichi for the flagrant desecration of the judiciary. The attitude of the government in this regard has draw flak from all quarters including the Nigeria Bar Association and others who have come out to condemn the actions of DSS in the continuous bid to disrespect judiciary, a tradition that was atrophied by democracy but resuscitated by the advent of All Progressives Congress, APC government since 2015.
Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN argued that Nigeria is gradually sliding to dark days of the military dictatorship. According to him, the lack of respect for the rule of law by the successive APC government since 2015 is a source of worry to all the advocates of democracy in Nigeria and those who fought for its enthronement since 1999.
“Nigeria is sliding into dictatorship. Rule of law no more in practice, despotism and totalitarian regime under the colour of democracy. The show of shame at the Federal High Court Lagos between DSS and Correctional Officers support my position. I have always said that those in power operate political vendetta and no rule of law. Why is DSS now all over the places? Is DSS above the law of the land? In a country where rule of law holds sway, the judiciary is respected and nobody is allowed to subvert judicial orders.
“But in Nigeria, the judiciary is held in contempt by those who ought to be in prison. The judiciary itself has refused to assert its supremacy. When it is treated with disrespect, it does nothing. When I read law I was told you should report contempt of court to the court. Try and report to the court that its orders are being flouted; the judiciary will fold its hands in piteous state of helplessness. No sanctions, no consequences. King is a law in Nigeria. The executive is lawless. Lawyers aid executive lawlessness. I am wondering where we are going.
“In all of this practical destruction of democracy by the political class, they still pretend to be democrats. Let me ask, is Nigeria democracy indeed a democracy? I doubt. We are sliding into state of nature. The mighty is right in Nigeria. What kind of system do we operate”, Okutepa passionately posited in a tweet.
Femi Falana, SAN, Human Rights Activist and a constitutional lawyer in his response to the desecration of the judiciary by the officials of DSS posited that the rape of the democracy and rule of law is condemnable and should be rejected by well meaning Nigerians who do not want this country to be plunged into anarchy. He said that the inability of President Tinubu to sanction the Director General of DSS leaves much to be desired, adding that an apostle of democracy, which he claimed to be, is seen to be aiding and abetting the disregard of the rule of the law is a sad commentary on the government that is battling with its legitimacy at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal. He advised the government of the day to eschew any attitude that would encourage it to be disrespectful to the judiciary and the rule of law.
In the same vein, the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Debo Ologunagba condemned the behaviour of the DSS at the premises of the Federal High Court Lagos, adding that it shows that the ruling APC never wanted to respect the rule of law in the country because it supports those who want to say no to the rule of law in the country. He maintained that since the advent of APC in 2015 the country has been taken back to the era of impunity that used to be the hallmark of the military era. According to Ologunagba, Nigeria is gradually sliding to a nation where government agencies have vowed to disrespect the rule of law which is a recipe for anarchy, adding that the populace must as matter of urgency resist the attempt to destroy democracy because democracy thrives in the rule of law.
Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, a lawyer frowned at the activities of the DSS at the premises of the Court, adding that he appreciates the prompt reaction of the President of Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, SAN. “I appreciate the promptness of our NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau in reacting to the show of shame that happened at the Federal High Court, Lagos by the officers of DSS recently.
“It is obvious that our judiciary and its powers were being undermined by such a lawless and senseless display of power by the Officers of the DSS in the court premises. The legal profession cannot afford to be silent when everything about it is being threatened or destroyed by lawless government officials. It is dangerous!” Ubani offered.
Some political pundits who spoke to this medium said that the disrespect of the judiciary by the executive is a death knell for democracy. According to them, the continuous disrespect for the rule of law by the executive is a recipe for anarchy in the nation, adding that if it is not nipped in the bud it is going to escalate the already disturbing insecurity in the land. They advised the administration of President Tinubu should stop the trend being initiated by DSS because it portends danger for the country.
“How can we be pretending to be practicing democracy when the ingredients needed to drive the process are being impugned on daily basis by those who suppose to be the enforcers of the law? It is unheard of except in the military era that court order is continually being ignored by the agencies of the government, and the government expects the populace to keep quiet. We are steadily heading to anarchy in this country if this ugly trend is not discouraged by the executive”, offered Simon Sunday a Public Affairs analyst.
Whatever is the case, signs abound that Nigeria is gradually sliding into the dark days of the military era when opposition voices were steadily being exterminated with impunity as evidenced in the dance of shame by the DSS at the premises of Federal High Court, Lagos.
