Man of the Year: Rule of law

THE primary purpose of government is to ensure peace, security and stability in the society. The government does this by protecting the weak against the strong; ensuring that everyone is equal before the law and creating an enabling environment for good governance, a sine qua non for economic growth and development. All this is captured under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Chapter 4 of the same document clearly itemises what constitutes the fundamental rights of citizens regardless of status or creed. It is tagged: Fundamental Rights.

As a signatory to international conventions and charters, Nigeria is equally duty-bound to not trample upon those rights as enshrined in the grundnorm, no matter the circumstance. Those basic rights listed in sections 33 and 43 include freedom of expression and the press; freedom of movement; freedom from discrimination; freedom of association; rights to acquire and own property, dignity, personal liberty, life, fair hearing, private and family life, as well as freedom of thought, conscience and religion. A major instrument for achieving that critical purpose of government is the principle of the rule of law. Aptly defined by eminent scholars, including an erudite law scholar, A V Dicey, as equal subjection of all to the law, the principle underscores the least conditions to guarantee a civilised society as opposed to the jungle or the animal kingdom where bestiality reigns. The late army general who served as the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D Eisenhower, underlines the distinction, thus: “The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall on what has happened when there was no rule of law.”

Eminent scholars and jurists believe that the scope of the rule of law has since transcended the initial concept. The progression and expansion, they say, is result of the resolutions at various international conferences held by jurists and other stakeholders. So, the principle of the rule of law encapsulates the supremacy of the law, the constitution, independence of the judiciary, the right to personal liberty and other fundamental freedoms – especially of speech, the press and fair hearing.

For a late Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, the rule of law is not Janus-faced; there is no sacred cow before the law. It presupposes, therefore, that those entrusted with power and authority must lead by example, subjecting their actions and utterances to the principle at all times. “The law is no respecter of persons, principalities, governments or powers, and the courts stand between the citizens and the government, alert to see that the state or government is bound by the law and respects the law.”

 

Concept of Man of the Year

The choice of the Man of the Year by the Nigerian Tribune is a product of intense, serious process of engagement. In arriving at a choice, the focus is naturally on either personalities, phenomena, happenings or events with the greatest and most remarkable impact on the society and humanity. Having defined the shape and form of the major issues with unmistakable impact on the society and the citizens, the Rule of Law is pre-eminent. The crusade was most pronounced and most profound. The subject matter and events that surrounded it dominated the political space, created eddies, schism and outrage across the board. The sweeping anger and disparaging remarks against the authorities over the contemptuous attitude towards the rule of law resonated across all the strata of the society and shook the democratic arena and, indeed, the nation as 2019 wound down.

 

Statesmen on the rule of law

According to John F Kennedy, among the niceties that buoy the democratic setting in the United States is the rule of law. He did say there is no alternative to the practice. “Certain other societies may respect the rule of force—we respect the rule of law,” Kennedy stated. On his part, Eisenhower said the rule of law symbolized civilisation: “The world no longer has a choice between force and law; if civilization is to survive, it must choose the rule of law.” Also, the view expressed by a former secretary-general of the United Nations, the late Kofi Annan, also underscores the primacy of the rule of law in the society. Annan felt the preoccupation of any government that desires positive change and impact on the citizenry must be to uphold the rule of law.

 

Passive resistance

The outrage by most Nigerians over what appears to be disdain for the rule of law was because of the perception that the government usually chose the court orders it obeyed while it ignored others. Despite repeated warnings by judges that their order granting bails to certain persons on arraignments were flagrantly ignored, the government and its agents often played the ostrich or offered weak excuses for neither going on appeal nor taking any concrete action. Yet, an American politician, Jesse Ventura, said the syndrome of selective respect for the rule of law is sheer hypocrisy: “You have to accept the rule of law, even when it’s inconvenient, if you’re going to be a country that abides by the rule of law.” The thought of another American president, Ronald Reagan, on the rule of law is also instructive. He said there could only be peace of the graveyard when the values espoused under fundamental rights are infringed upon. He declared: “When we speak of peace, we should not mean just the absence of war. True peace rests on the pillars of individual freedom, human rights, national self-determination, and respect for the rule of law.”

The first elected president of South Africa, Dr Nelson Mandela, also spoke profusely on the number of reforms that he introduced to shore up international recognition and prestige for post-Apartheid South Africa. One of the initiatives was to restore the integrity in the judiciary, having realised the incalculable disrepute the apartheid regime had brought to his country. The late Supreme Court of Nigeria icon, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, reiterated what former President Theodore Roosevelt said on the sanctity of the rule of law and human rights long ago. He had stated: “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right, not asked as a favour.”

 

High profile cases

Three high profile cases that turned out to be the metaphor for the attitude to the rule of law include that of a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd); the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim Yaqoub El-Zakyzaky and the convener of the Revolution Now movement, Omoyele Sowore.

 

Colonel Sambo Dasuki

The former National Security Adviser was arrested for alleged illegal possession of firearms and corruption changes bordering on contracts for helicopters, fighter jets and ammunition, but he denied the allegations. He is undergoing criminal trial before a Federal High Court in Abuja. The ex-NSA has pleaded not guilty to the counts as contained in the charge. Operatives of the DSS had raided his residences in Abuja and Sokoto shortly after he left office, hinging the action on “credible intelligence” linking Dasuki with alleged plans to commit treasonable felony against the country. The DSS later issued a statement assuring that it would not trample on the freedom of individuals.

 

Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his Shi’ites group

Members of the group have continued to march round the Federal Capital Territory to protest the prolonged detention of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Shia group, was in detention for a year without charges. He was arrested by the military on December 14, 2015, and detained following a clash with the military during which about 347 members of his Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were killed. The incident occurred while the group was having its procession in Zaria, Kaduna State. The clash occurred after the Chief of Army Staff (CAS), Lieutenant General Yusuf Buratai, who was on his way from Dutse to pay homage on the Emir of Zazzau before proceeding to the Depot NA Passing Out Parade of 73 Regular Recruits Intake, ran into the Shiite procession. The sect reportedly mounted a blockade. But the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which investigated the incident, in a report released on September 21, 2016, asked the Federal Government and the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, to compensate and pay the medical bills of victims. It indicted both the Nigerian Army and the Shi’ite group, but called for speedy trial of the detained leader.

El-Zakyzaky went to court through his lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), to demand for his freedom. The court ruled that the state operatives’ “decision to hold the Islamic cleric and his wife for their safety was not based on law.” In an order for the release of the sect leader, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, said: “I have not been shown any incident report or any complaint lodged by residents around the neighborhood that the applicant has become a nuisance to his neighborhood.”

Meanwhile, on December 2, 2016, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the unconditional release of the detained leader of the sect and his wife, Malami Zeenat, within 45 days. Justice Gabriel Kolawole made the order while delivering judgment on a fundamental right enforcement suit El-Zakzaky filed against the Federal Government. The court held that the continued detention of the applicant without trial was a gross violation of his rights. The court dismissed the Federal Government’s position that the El-Zakzaky and his wife were under “protective custody,” saying such protection was “unknown to any law in Nigeria”. Justice Kolawole also noted that the Federal Government failed to, by way of evidence, substantiate its claim that the defendant constituted a threat. “I am unable to accept the view that the applicant was being detained with his consent”, the judge held, adding that the government’s claim that it expended over N5 million to treat the applicant did not in any way justify his continued detention without trial.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was not left in demanding for the authorities to respect the fundamental rights of the detainees after they had been granted bail by courts of competent jurisdiction, also citing Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife and Colonel Dasuki.

 

Omoyele Sowore

There were strident and consistent demands for his release after he had been granted bail. While his legal team stuck to using the judicial process to secure his freedom, the campaign against the official disdain for court orders on his case took a global dimension, with concerned individuals and international organisations staging rallies and protest in major cities across the world over his continued detention and disregard for court orders granting him bail. He was granted bail on September 24 but the Department of State Services (DSS) did not honour the court order. The court had varied the original terms following the request of Sowore’s counsel. He granted another bail order on October 4, with the DSS still unyielding and gave conditions not contained in the Order of Court instead of filing an appeal. The melodrama between the DSS and Sowore raged with the former claiming that 1) “Sowore and other detained persons prefer to stay in DSS detention because the agency has five-star facilities,” (2): “Sowore is better off in the custody of the state secret police so he doesn’t get killed by a hit and run vehicle,” (3) “The DSS could not release Sowore and Bakare because nobody had shown up to receive them that (4): “For Sowore and Bakare to be released, their sureties must report to the DSS and go through proper documentation.”

On December 4, the Federal High Court of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu gave the DSS a 24-hour ultimatum to release Sowore and pay him a sum of N100,000 as damages or face the wrath of the law. This time, the DSS paid the fine following a threat by the judge to evoke the power of contempt on the prosecution. Coupled with the threat was the pressure that came from the public, leading to the DSS releasing Sowore and Bakare but on December 5, both parties were back in court and the judge fixed the commencement of trial on the four-count charge against Sowore – treason, money laundering, insulting the president and cyber stalking – for February 11, 2020. But the DSS re-arrested Sowore within the court premises allegedly without a warrant of arrest and an order of detention and without recourse to the court of law. It was in a commando manner as the operatives engaged in a shove with the supporters of Sowore right inside the temple of justice. The incursion of the operatives into the courtroom was considered as an affront to and desecration of the temple of justice. Lawmakers from the US, the home of modern democracy, joined their government to express strong indignation on the worsening cases of disrespect for the rule of law, human rights and institutions like the judiciary in Nigeria.

 

Role of legislature

Despite the seething anger from members of the public, the general feeling is that the legislature largely demonstrated insensitivity and lack of sufficient political will to whip the executive and its agents back in line. The legislature appeared to look the other way while the rights of citizens were brazenly being trampled upon, and pressure groups outside the ambits of political power and authority were left to bear the burden of mobilising and collaborating with the judiciary to sustain the heat that necessitated the sudden attitudinal change by the executive. The legislature ought to have led the way, being made up of representatives of the people. In the face of the usurpation of the powers of the other arms of government by the executive, there was an escalating fear that the other arms could soon be overwhelmed and emasculated by the executive because of the inertia of the legislature.

In conclusion, the release of Colonel Dasuki, who was in detention for four years and Sowore after five months being in the custody of security operatives, despite the two being granted bail at different times by courts, is a triumph of the rule of law. It amply affirms that democracy and indeed, modern society has no room for the rule of the thumb. Therefore, our Man of the Year is incontrovertibly the Rule of Law.