» The Orders For The Bail Of Dasuki & Kanu Should Be Obeyed - Femi Falana. «

For 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party was in
power, the federal government exhibited total contempt for
the Rule of Law. The Constitution and other laws were
breached with impunity while court orders were disobeyed
on a regular basis. In the famous case of Attorney-General
of Lagos State v Attorney-General of the Federation (2005)
2 WRN 1 at 150 the Supreme Court held that "In our
democracy all the Governments of this country as well as
organizations and individuals must kowtow to the due
process and this they can vindicate by resorting to the
courts for redress in the event of any grievance."
One of the reasons why Nigerians voted for the candidate
of the All Progressive Congress, General Mohammadu
Buhari (rtd) during the last general election was his
promise to fight corruption and end impunity in the
country. Upon winning the election, President Buhari further
pledged to abide by the Rule of Law. To that extent, he has
a duty to ensure that all organs and officials of the
Government operate within the ambit of the law. In
particular, he should not allow overzealous security
personnel to engage in any form of impunity and thereby
expose the Government to unwarranted embarrassment.
In July last year, the State Security Service (SSS)
searched the private residence of former NSA, Col Sambo
Dasuki (rtd) at Abuja. When Col Dasuki alleged that his
house was illegally searched, I pointed out that the action
of the SSS was justified as there was a search warrant
validly issued by a magistrate court in the federal capital
territory that authorised the search. He was eventually
charged with money laundering and criminal diversion of
huge sums of public fund before the Federal High Court and
the Federal Capital Territory High Court at Abuja.
Notwithstanding the gravity of the offences, both courts
have admitted him to bail. But after he had met the bail
conditions the SSS decided to rearrest him at the gate of
Kuje prisons on the ground that investigations have not
been concluded in respect of other criminal allegations.
The decision of the SSS to ignore the order admitting Col
Dasuki to bail coupled with the failure to re-arraign him on
fresh charges is tantamount to impunity in every material
respect. If the federal government were aggrieved by the
order admitting Col. Dasuki to bail it should have
challenged it in the Court of Appeal. Much as the Nigerian
people are fully behind the Buhari Administration in the
patriotic move to recover the looted wealth of the nation,
the federal government should be advised to ensure that
the procedure for the loot recovery meets the tenets of the
rule of law. The SSS and other security agencies should
therefore refrain from allowing corruption to fight back by
playing into the hands of the criminal suspects who have
committed crimes against humanity by diverting money
earmarked for the procurement of arms and armament to
fight the terrorists.
In the same vein, the order admitting the leader of the
Indigenous People of Biafra, Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, to bail
should also be complied with. If the federal government
has other charges against both suspects it should file them
in the court. There is no provision for keeping criminal
suspects at the pleasure of security officials. Meanwhile,
all valid and subsisting orders made by courts in favor of
criminal suspects should be obeyed without further delay.
To ensure that suspects are no longer held in custody in
any part of Nigeria without any legal justification section
34 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act has
imposed a duty on each the Chief Judges to designate a
Chief Magistrate and a Judge of the High Court to visit all
police stations and other detention centers within their
jurisdiction, at least once a month. During such visits,
appropriate directives shall be given while any officer who
detains any person illegally will be sanctioned.