Disobedience to court order dangerous for democracy – Lawyers

Reacting to the latest bail granted to Dasuki, human rights lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to boycott the courts if the government fails to honour the order. Ajulo, in a statement, said the continued flouting of court orders by the federal government in respect of bails for Dasuki was […]

Reacting to the latest bail granted to Dasuki, human rights lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo, called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to boycott the courts if the government fails to honour the order.

Ajulo, in a statement, said the continued flouting of court orders by the federal government in respect of bails for Dasuki was a danger to democracy and the rule of law.

“The Federal Government should not be allowed to decide which orders it will obey because by so doing, it endangers the authority of the judiciary as an arm of government and offers little hope to citizens that their fundamental human rights can be guaranteed,” Ajulo said.

According to him, despite assurances by President Muhammadu Buhari not to encroach on the functions of the other two arms of government in his inaugural address on May 29, 2015, the president had not kept faith with the promise as his administration has continued to decide which court orders it should obey or not.

However, some senior lawyers have said the call for boycott would have more far reaching and negative impact on the justice system.

A professor of public law and president of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) said the idea of boycotting courts to drive home a point may not be ideal because it would foist hardship on others. “We should not try to right a wrong by committing another wrong,” he said.

He said what NBA could do is to continue to use lawful means to ensure that government does the right thing. He said “the national executive of the NBA should pay a courtesy visit to the Attorney General of the Federation and demand not only the release of Dasuki but all others kept in custody against the laws of the land.

“Democratic governments should not disobey orders of court. If they have other reasons of detaining him, the reasons should be made public and known to the court. Government should not open door for anarchy by disobeying its own courts. If the court says release somebody and you refuse, that is sending a wrong signal which endangers our nascent democracy.”

Similarly, a former president of the NBA, Chief O.C.J. Okocha (SAN) condemned the continued detention, saying the refusal by the executive to obey court order is most unbecoming of any democratic system.

 “This indicates a determined effort to undermine the rule of law in Nigeria and put our democratic governance in serious jeopardy. It casts us in bad light as a nation that our government refuses to obey orders duly granted by courts of the land. It is very disturbing that such is going on in this day and age,” he said in a phone interview.

On whether the call for the NBA to boycott court sittings over the issue is justified, Okocha said it will have more adverse effect on the justice system. “On one or two occasions in the past, the NBA and some branches of the NBA have boycotted courts and this was to drive home a point. But as a senior counsel, I know boycotting courts have its own detrimental effects as it will affect other cases and the litigants will now be the one at the receiving end.”

He however said it was a matter that would be brought up at the upcoming National Convention of the NBA, adding that “something ought to be said about this scenario playing out under a democratically elected government.”