Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) recently chided the Federal Government for its scant regard for court orders and the rule of law.  At a press conference in Abuja to commemorate the 2017 Democracy Day, the NBA National President, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, said the association was “appalled at the continued detention of certain individuals in blatant disobedience to court orders.” Among those individuals are the leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakyzaky, his wife, the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki,   and some judges.

The Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), has also backed the NBA position. He urged the Federal Government to obey court orders on Dasuki and El-Zakyzaky. 

The NBA acknowledged the seriousness of the charges against the detainees but stated that their continued detention was unjustified and   contrary to express court orders, which it called on the government to respect without further delay.  The association also used the opportunity to admonish the Federal Government to continuously demonstrate religious adherence to the tenets of constitutional democracy. It argued that a situation in which judges are kept under investigation for eight months without being prosecuted or charged before any court of law is completely unsatisfactory. It, therefore, advised the government to terminate the investigation of the judges so that they can resume their duties.

We wholly support the position of the NBA. If anything, the association ought to have spoken up earlier than now.  Col. Dasuki was arrested to render an account for the $2.1 billion meant for procurement of military equipment.   He has been in custody for nearly two years within which it is expected that the investigation into his offence should have been completed, so that he could be brought to trial.  He has been granted bail by three different trial courts which ordered that he be released.  Indeed, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court, in its judgment delivered on October 4, 2016, also ordered the Federal Government to release him from detention.

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The case of El-Zakyzaky is even more poignant.  Although the Sheikh was not present during a misunderstanding between his Shi’ite adherents who allegedly blocked the route of the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Tukur Buratai, on December 12, 2015, he has been clamped in detention since then. 

On December 2, 2016, Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordered the release of the Sheikh and his wife.  He ruled that their detention was illegal and that the claim by the government that they were under protective custody was unknown to law.  The judge observed that if the applicant “dies in custody…it could result in many needless deaths,” citing the case of Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, whose death in police custody in 2009 unleashed the unrelenting bloodshed in the Northeast.  The judge allowed the government 45 days to enable it make arrangement for the Sheikh’s accommodation, his home having been demolished by the Army.  The government was also ordered to pay the Sheik and his wife N25 million each.  The government ignored this judgment, but later appealed it.  The Sheikh is still in detention.

The Constitution of Nigeria does not permit the detention of persons beyond certain periods without trial.  The continued detention of these men continues to place question marks on the character of the government. If they have committed offences, they should be made to face trial. If they cannot be brought to trial, they must be released on bail since the courts have satisfied themselves that the offences they committed are bailable.  They cannot, therefore, be held in perpetuity or at the pleasure of either the President, the Attorney-General or other persons. 

That is against the spirit of the Constitution and the rule of law.  When he was campaigning to be president, Buhari promised to abide by the rule of law.  Nigerians expect him to remain within the law and release Sheik El-Zakyzaky and Col. Sambo Dasuki.