Three months into his presidency, Bola Tinubu has not abated from his predecessor’s pattern of blatant contempt for the law and violation of court decisions. The Department of State Services is in charge of the attack as usual, solidifying its reputation for lawlessness. In a recent case involving the illegal possession of a firearm against Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s suspended governor, Federal High Court judge Nicholas Oweibo strongly criticized the Federal Government for continuing to disobey court orders. Tinubu’s waning democratic credentials will become irreparably soiled unless he acts fast to rein in the people and agencies breaking the law.
Oweibo voiced his annoyance at the government’s propensity to ignore court orders by disobeying them in response to the state authorities’ resistance.
The judge dismissed Emefiele’s indictment for lack of a diligent prosecution, saying that the prosecution had demonstrated that the government was not law-abiding and did not respect the court. The judge cannot compel them. What benefit will it have for the arrested defendant? What advantage would the file’s continued presence on the court’s docket provide? Allowing them to drop the case, in my opinion, is the correct course of action. The court will still have to dismiss it for lack of diligent prosecution if they simply abandon it. I now grant the request to withdraw.
Tinubu, who was actively involved in the fight for democracy in Nigeria, regularly enjoys referring to himself as a devoted democrat; yet, democracy is based on, and preserved in practice by subordination to, the rule of law.”The rule of law, safeguarded by an independent judiciary, ensures that civil and political rights and civil liberties are safe and that the equality and dignity of all individuals are not at risk,” according to a statement from the United Nations.
Tinubu needs to firmly distance himself from the Muhammadu Buhari administration’s impunity, which used the DSS as its primary weapon against court orders and civil liberties. It shows a disconcerting lack of disgust or indifference to that agency’s routine disrespect for the law from Tinubu’s joyful retention of its leadership when he fired the military, customs, and police heads he inherited.
In the future, he must enforce rigorous adherence to the law and strengthen statutory institutions to secure their freedom from interference.
The rule of law is defined as “a lasting system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment that promotes accountability, just law, open government, and accessible and impartial justice” by the non-governmental organization (NGO) World Justice Project.
The Nigerian government, its agencies, and agents regularly disregard the courts in addition to making arbitrary arrests, detaining people without cause, and attacking the media and the right to peaceful assembly. However, disobeying court orders jeopardizes democracy and the rule of law. In any democratic country, defiance of court orders is the best recipe for anarchy, according to a study released with the support of the Kenya Law School. It prepares the ground for later self-help use.
Many Nigerian officials, though, don’t seem to mind. Despite being granted bail by the Court of Appeal in 2022, Nnamdi Kanu, the head of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra separatist group, has continued to be held by the DSS. Ibrahim el-Zakzaky, the head of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, and his wife Zeenah haven’t had access to their confiscated passports since July 2021 despite a Kaduna High Court judgment requiring their release for medical travel and directing their discharge.
The police and the state government in Ilorin, Kwara State, have banded together against traditionalists trying to exercise their rights. Three of the victims are battling for their release in court. The suspended Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa has been held by the DSS for nearly three months without being put on trial. To date, Tinubu has disregarded an FHC, Abuja judgement requiring him to provide complete information about the administration of the $5 billion that the late dictator Sani Abacha stole and the previous governments eventually recovered.
Tinubu has to immediately overhaul security organizations, particularly the DSS. He and the newly appointed Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, have a sacred duty to uphold the rule of law, guarantee adherence to court rulings, and strengthen Nigerian democracy.
