Victor EzejaHuman rights lawyer and President of Cultural Credibility Development Initiative (CCDI), Chief Goddy Uwazurike, has condemned the action of operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) at the Federal High Court in Lagos during the arraignment of the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday.
In a chat with Prime Business Africa, Chief Uwazurike said that the conduct of the DSS officials means that Nigeria is fast becoming a Banana Republic where lawlessness reigns supreme, adding that it is a big shame and a sad tale for the country’s democracy.
The DSS, Tuesday, took Emefiele to the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, where he was arraigned on a two-count charge bordering on illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, filed against him by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Justice.
READ ALSO: DSS Rearrests Emefiele After Tussle With Prison Officials
The presiding judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, in his ruling, granted Emefiele bail in the sum of N20 million with one surety in like sum.
The judge, however, ordered that he should be remanded in the Ikoyi custodial facility of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
The judge, subsequently, adjourned the case till November 14 for trial.
However, operatives of the DSS ignored the order and moved to re-arrest Emefiele. The situation led to a clash between the operatives of the agency and officials of the NCS, who had come to take custody of the embattled CBN boss in line with the order of the court.
In the ensuing fisticuff over who should take custody of Emefiele, a prison commander was rough-handled with his uniform torn. Videos that went viral showed DSS operatives dragging the Ikoyi Prisons Official toward the DSS van.
Reacting to the incident, Uwazurike, who spoke to Prime Business Africa correspondent said that by ignoring the court order for Emefiele to be released, the DSS has displayed its unbridled attempt to suppress the rule of law, a core pillar of democracy.
He said it is a very unfortunate reflection of what he called the “carryover of lawlessness” from the previous administration and warned that the country may be heading to political disaster if such a trend is allowed to continue.
“It is extremely a very sad day for the rule of law in this country. Today has defined the government of Tinubu as a lawless one. It is called executive lawlessness,” Uwazurike stated.
The CCDI president noted that prior to the arraignment of Emefiele, there had been three court orders that he should be released on bail, but the DSS ignored them.
“They held the man for more than a month. First, the court said, don’t arrest him, they went and arrested him. Another court said don’t arrest him, they went and arrested him. Then the court said the man should be released and they ignored it. They now charged him to court and now court has granted him bail, and said he should be kept in Ikoyi Prison pending the perfection of bail and the DSS now engaged in a standoff with the correctional services people. That is one of those things we never knew that we were going to descend into. That means Nigeria has become a Banana Republic. It is a Banana Republic because there’s nothing like a law in a banana republic. It’s a question of might, where superior power takes charge,” the senior lawyer stated.
“Correctional Services people are there to obey the order of the court to take Emefiele to Ikoyi Prisons, and the DSS is saying no, we only take orders from above. That’s a shame. And tomorrow, Nigeria will go and stand before the comity of nations to teach them about human rights and democracy. I think we should bow our heads in shame,” he added.
Comparing Nigeria with some African countries in terms of maintaining the rule of law, Uwazurike said Kenya, and South Africa, among others, are now far ahead of Nigeria, adding that the country is now ranking side by side with Sudan, Afghanistan and North Korea that have over the years become “notorious countries for lawlessness.”
Uwazurike, who is also an ex-president of an Igbo think tank, Aka Ikenga, called on President Tinubu to rise up and arrest the ugly situation, noting that he is a product of the civilian era and should not behave like a dictator.
“Mr. Bawa (suspended EFCC chairman) was bundled into DSS detention, no trial, no court order, nothing, just like Emefiele was. And we still talk of democracy? This would show how bad things are now. This demonstration today (Tuesday) before all including the firing of weapons around the court premises, that’s a big shame on all of them.”
He said that given what transpired in the court on Tuesday, he doesn’t see any difference between Buhari’s administration and that of Tinubu in terms of adherence to the rule of law. He recounted instances of violation of court orders during Buhari’s regime and warned that such should not be allowed to repeat itself in the present administration.
“I don’t see any difference between Buhari’s administration and Tinubu. I was part of a delegation that went to Buhari on Nnamdi Kanu’s case. Buhari insisted that he must obey the court order and when Nnamdi Kanu was granted bail, and was ordered to be released, Buhari never did that. He ignored it. Dasuki was granted bail several times but Buhari ignored it.
“Nnamdi Kanu is being held without court order up till today. And now, a man we thought that being a product of the civilian era he should understand that there is no alternative to the rule of law, is now behaving like a dictator.
“He Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, appointed the DSS team even though it is a carryover from the Buhari era, appointed a prisons man. The rule of law is binding on everybody and the constitution is supreme. If you don’t want the rule of law then you’re asking for the rule of man. And believe me, that is a disaster,” he warned.
He said that given all that has transpired, something is actually brewing that the public is yet to know, adding that if the presidency wants to remove Emefiele from office, it should follow due process by writing to the National Assembly to seek two-third majority vote on that, rather than adopting a dictatorial approach.
“So something is actually brewing. If you want to remove Emefiele from office, it is very easy. All you have to do is send the letter to National Assembly, ask for two-third and they would vote. Any other way is called dictatorial tendency, any other way is unconstitutional. So, it is the rule of law and no alternative.
“Buhari was the one campaigning that the rule of law is subject to national security which is number one for us as a nation. Now Tinubu has come in, with the same error, the same steps, in the name of national security. It makes no sense. Please let them not destroy this country,” he added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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