Is the rule of law on trial in Nigeria?

I t does look like we have decided as a nation that violence is an acceptable part of the political process. One is just a little worried at the way it is all panning out. The now-classic victory song of Governor Yahaya Bello’s supporters notwithstanding, two incidents related to the Kogi elections are baffling. The […]

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t does look like we have decided as a nation that violence is an acceptable part of the political process. One is just a little worried at the way it is all panning out. The now-classic victory song of Governor Yahaya Bello’s supporters notwithstanding, two incidents related to the Kogi elections are baffling. The failure to act by past governments has placed our country in the throes of insurgency.

Before the Kogi election, the secretariat of the Social Democratic Party, SDP was attacked at dawn. According to the party’s gubernatorial flag bearer, Natasha Akpoti, no help came and it was burnt down right in the centre of Lokoja, the state capital. The campaigns held, and the elections were declared won and lost without state condemnation of an act, apparently directed at a woman. Even in traditional combat situations, non-combative women are spared targeted violence.

The next violence made the first one pale out to insignificance. According to a report carried by Daily Trust, a woman, Mrs Acheju Abuh of Ochadamu, Ofu local government of Kogi State was ambushed in her own home and burnt to ashes days after the polls. Police spokesman, William Aya described the crime as ‘culpable homicide and mischief by fire.’ The police believed it was a reprisal attack staged by thugs to avenge the stabbing of another person who is unrelated to the late Mrs Abuh. In both cases, no arrests were made.

That is not the only trouble signposting the trouble with our country. The detention of Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore has prompted Amnesty International to name him and his comrades as ‘prisoners of conscience’. Twice, the courts have granted Sowore bail. The first time, the Directorate of State Security, DSS refused to grant him the freedom because of plans to appeal the decision.

A second court granted Sowore his freedom on what some have described as incredibly stringent conditions. Bails are usually contingent on the gravity of a charge and are by nature usually stringent. They are made so to ensure that a person under investigation or indictment present themselves in court whenever they are required. After a lull, Sowore’s lawyers met the bail conditions and hoped that he would be granted freedom. The DSS, on the other hand, appeared to stall his release.

Its initial statement was that nobody showed up to receive Sowore. Femi Falana, Sowore’s principal lawyer contested that. He claimed to have sent a lawyer to the DSS office and that the lawyer waited till nightfall without securing his freedom and without explanation.

Last week, the DSS issued another statement steeped in humour. It said it would not have released Sowore to the mob that besieged its headquarters demanding for his release and that it had a responsibility to guard against him being knocked down by a car. Some have called these excuses preposterous. Meanwhile, Sowore remains in custody with some lawyers accusing their colleagues of playing to the gallery. Those of this view say that a proper way to handle his freedom would have been to return to court for an order to free the detainee in the face of the court.  But critics argued that it would not have swayed the DSS who could rearrest him if it wanted even within court premises.

In faraway Kano, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s love-hate relationship with Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi purportedly led to the creation in May; of four new emirate councils to weaken a very strong and ancient Kano Emirate. The move by government tested the hitherto deep relationship between Kanawa and their traditional institution.

Politically, it was a deft move, as nobody from the newly created emirates would have openly kicked against it without making themselves the enemy of progress in their area. The balkanization of the Emirates came shortly after a controversial corruption investigation against the Emir. It is on record that the Emir and the governor have been on a cat and mouse game with policies and their repercussions.

Ganduje is not alone. Ex-governor Abiola Ajimobi, an Ibadan chief did not appear to fancy the territorial hegemony of the Olubadan of Ibadanland. Towards the end of his second term, Ajimobi granted 21 high chiefs the full power to wear crowns. Although the Olubadan was unhappy with the move, it did not stop Ajimobi from gazetting it. Both cases went to court.

In Ibadan, a high court has declared the action a nullity and revoked the rights of the 21 new Kings to wear crowns. Prior to that declaration, newly sworn-in Governor Seyi Makinde had set in motion, a machinery to resolve the problem amicably. In Kano, a high court of coordinate jurisdiction issued an order dissolving the four new emirate councils created by Governor Ganduje. But in a swift reaction, the governor declared that he would not abide by the court order. In other words, the Emirs and the Emirates would stay.

Actions like these prompt the question of what the rule of law means to those in government. What is human life worth in our country? Are some people’s lives more valuable than others? Are those in government immune from the rule of law or does the judicial system exclude them from obeying certain orders of the courts? Lastly, is this a new way of assessing what is important in our society and could we sustain such a system without witnessing a total breakdown of law and order in society?