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Tag: impunity

  • Police reign of impunity must stop, says APC

    Police reign of impunity must stop, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) urged yesterday President Goodluck Jonathan to urgently stop the worsening reign of impunity in Rivers State.

    It alleged that such acts were being carried out under the President’s watch “by those who are obviously acting to impress him and the First Lady”.

    In a statement in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the call became imperative, following “the irresponsible act of brigandage by the police, which stopped a peaceful and lawful rally billed for the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state yesterday by the Save Rivers Movement (SRM), an organisation campaigning against the impunity of the PDP-controlled Federal Government against the government and people of Rivers State”.

    ‘’The police went to the venue of the rally, pulled down the erected canopies and fired tear gas at everyone around there and even into nearby homes, with the result that five children are now feared to have died from suffocation due to this shameful Gestapo-style action of the police, who are being funded by taxpayers to protect the lives and property of the same citizens they are now brutalising and killing.

    ‘’Not only that, they injured the Chief of Staff to Governor Chibuike Amaechi and fired a supposed rubber bullet, at point blank range, at Senator Magnus Abe, who is now gravely injured. The Senator is believed to have been deliberately targeted for attack by the police.

    ‘’We understand that the exceptional brutal clampdown on the planned rally by the police, who seem to have now surpassed even their own act of brutality against the people of the state, was aimed at impressing the First Lady, believed to be due in Port Harcourt on the same day (Sunday),’’ it said.

    The APC said a Commissioner of Police in any state will not be so bold as to be waging a war against an elected governor and his aides/supporters, if he is not empowered to do so by higher authorities. It said “everyone knows that the impenitent Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu believes he is now the de facto Governor of Rivers because he has the support of the Presidency to exhibit impudence”.

    ‘’Mbu, who is going down in Nigeria’s history as a classic example of an officer of the law turned the biggest violator of the law, has not only defied the resolutions of the National Assembly, he has also thumbed his nose at the ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). He is the Alternate Inspector General of the Police who takes orders only from a conniving Presidency,’’ the party said.

    It said the only reason the impunity in Rivers could have continued unabated is because it is a dress rehearsal for what is being planned for 2015, hence the APC has continued to raise the alarm over the instigated crisis in Rivers.

    ‘’Since this reign of impunity started, the Rivers Governor has been barred from accessing his official residence by the police; members of the State House of Assembly have been tear-gassed and harassed endlessly; the plane owned by the state government has been grounded, using the institutions of state; and even a chartered plane bearing the Governor has been prevented from take-off, not minding that the member of the state House of Assembly which the plane was supposed to be carrying was not on board. No one has apologised for this chutzpah.

    ‘’This is all happening under the watch of a President who has been widely quoted as saying his ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian. The statement now rings hollow, considering what is happening in Rivers and elsewhere, which is widely regarded as a sign of things to come ahead of 2015.

    ‘’President Jonathan should act today to bring Rivers State and indeed Nigeria back from the brink of lawlessness. His body language must discourage the likes of Mbu from turning Nigerian into a lawless nation. He must differentiate his position as the leader of the PDP from his perch as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’’ the APC said.

  • Taraba and culture of impunity

    Taraba and culture of impunity

    In this piece, human rights activist Comrade Lanre Suraju contends that the political impasse in Taraba State may continue to undermine governance, the constitution and democracy.

    Community-Based Organisations, (CBOs), professional organisations and the human rights community have expressed concern about developments in Taraba State.

    In recent times, governance has virtually collapsed in Taraba State and there seems to be the conspiracy of silence across the country. For one thing, Taraba is in the Northeast, distant from the mainstream media and isolated from the economic hubs in Nigeria.

    Events in this remote state continue to suffer excommunication and isolation from the rest of the country. This is to the excruciating pains of the people of Taraba State, whose economic and political lives are negatively being affected by the inactivity of an ailing governor, who nevertheless has become enslaved and trapped by a cabal that has no legitimacy, no constitutional status and no political structure. Yet, the cabal continues to rule the state by exploiting the ill disposition of the legitimately elected Governor of the state, His Excellency, Dambaba Suntai.

    Governor Danbaba Suntai had an accident during a crash involving a small plane, which he was flying. He was taken abroad. He was yet to fully recover when he was virtually dragged to the seat of power after he was away for 10 months, hence, the struggle for the political and economic control of the State began. In the course of this bizarre struggle, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Haruna Tsokwa, slumped at his residence and was rushed to Jalingo Federal Medical College where he later died and was he buried on November 28, 2013.

    This incidence is reminiscence of the case involving the late President Musa Yar Adua when efforts were made by an exploitative cabal to keep him in power against his prevailing health condition.

    In Taraba, a small clique fraudulently claiming to act on behalf of the ailing governor has unsuccessfully tried to hijack the leadership of the state, including the running of the finances of the state. The health challenges of the governor is being compounded by the antics of a self-serving group that wants to keep him in power, instead of allowing him to go for full medical treatment.

    It is appalling that the control of political power and the resources of the state are being lifted above the safety and well-being of the state governor. It is high time Nigerians spoke out and stood on the part of the people of Taraba state who deserve good governance and the right to know the state of health of the leader they had freely elected.

    This is the time to speak out against the criminal and inhuman act of a small, unfeeling group that is more concerned about making financial gains from the misfortune of the state Governor. As it is, Taraba, given the weak democratic institutions and the weak civil society tradition in this great state of cultured people, can no longer speak for itself. The Human Rights Community needs to take over this campaign for sanity in governance.

    One is alarmed that the state of Suntai’s health remains undisclosed to the people that elected him. This has continued to fuel distrust and apprehension. The electorate is therefore not aware if the person they have elected is the one running the state or his unelected, curious and shadowy kitchen cabinet.

    The desperation by the cabal to keep the state in its pocket reached a feverish peak recently when attempts were made to assassinate the current speaker of the House of Assembly. We should also not forget that the former speaker of the Taraba House of Assembly, Tsokwa died in mysterious circumstances.

    The failure of Inspector General of Police, to investigate the forged letter to the House of Assembly said to have been written and signed by Governor Suntai is equally worrisome. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice have refused to obey the court order of an Abuja Federal High Court to cause a letter to the acting Governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar for Medical report on Governor Suntai. An obvious indication of Conspiracy involving government at the federal level.

    At present two, people are standing as governors of one state with conflicting orders. The instability in the state can lead to further break down of law and order, violence and at present constitutes another major threat to democratic renaissance in Nigeria.

    The situation in Taraba has further underlined the fear that politicians value political power, its associated pecks and privileges more than human lives. The House of Assembly in Taraba is to as a matter of urgency institute the process of ascertaining the state of health of the state governor.

    At the height of the controversy, the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, intervened, volunteering that it was better for Suntai to resume his treatment in New York where he came from. The association used the opportunity to appeal to governments in this country to vote more money to the health sector. This is to stem down the huge quantum of medical tourism Nigerians currently indulge in. Suntai has refused to either accept NMA’s counsel or allow the state government function with his deputy as his replacement inspite of overwhelming evidence that it would be better to subscribe to both. The National Assembly has been too busy to intervene on this even as the greatest beneficiary of the child of necessity theory in governance, President Jonathan, has also chosen to be indifferent.

    For now, Taraba is one of the few states that hardly make newspaper headlines on account of violent fights. As the fate of the governor hangs in the balance, especially with the sudden demise of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, violence may not be far from bursting open. How often shall it be repeated that those who make peaceful change impossible shall make violent change inevitable? As we speak, neither the concerned state governments nor the Federal Government has any workable solution to the Ombatse phenomenon in Nasarawa. Yet, the protracted Plateau State killings which has taken the lives of thousands including that of a senator remains far from over as it renews by the day.

    As the chief executive of his state, Governor Suntai swore to defend the constitution on assumption of office but the extent of his faithfulness to this today, after a long period of self-inflicted fate, leaves a lot to be desired. Not only has he denied the state the leadership he promised, the character of the leadership he was even able to offer will hardly qualify as a model for anyone. Governor Suntai allegedly acquired three aircrafts, following his assumption of office as the governor of a state that has no airport. The implication of this is clear: He is an absentee governor and got his absenteeism prolonged, even if unwillingly.

     

    Olanrewaju Suraju is the chairman, CSNAC

  • Politics, impunity  and deterrence

    The  International  Criminal Court – ICC – trial  of  Kenya’s Vice President William Ruto   over  crime against human

    ity in the post election  violence that marked Kenya’s 2007  elections  began at the Hague  this  week.  Just  as the US  secretary  of State John Kerry  also  met   Russia’s Foreign Minster  Sergei  Lavrov  in Geneva to sort out  plans on  how Syria will submit its nuclear arsenal to an international custody to avert Barak Obama’ s  now   sterile  threat  of the  use of a limited attack to punish Syria over the use  of chemical weapons against its people. These  went on against a background  of violent protests in Chile over the 40th  anniversary of the coup that brought in former President  Augusto Pinochet into power  when he ousted President  Salvadore  Allende violently  in 1973  and held on to power brutally for 17 years during which thousands of people disappeared in unmarked graves;  and for which the Chilean Judiciary offered an unreserved apology to the Chilean people for its complicity in the Pinochet era,  just last week.

    If  you lace these  events with the home based political skirmishes between  New  PDP Secretary former Governor  Olagunsoye  Oyinlola  and   embattled PDP Chairman  Bamanga Tukur  and their  utterances  over the split in Nigeria’s ruling party; as well  as the verbal  gymnastics between former EFCC  boss   Farida  Waziri  and the charge  by  former  President  Olusegun  Obasanjo  that she was recommended to her   high profile  anti- corruption job by a former governor  of Delta  State  James  Ibori  now   jailed for corruption overseas, then you know that we have  very juicy cocktail for consumption and analysis   on global politics  and diplomacy today.

    First  let me caution that we have grave issues  to  discuss  today on which  l  have strong opinions which may  rankle  some bones but then that is the essence  of political  analysis  and public discourse. I  fire the first salvos by making some initial comments on the issues highlighted before going on to clarify extensively  on these issues . On  Kenya I  agree with former UN Secretary General  Kofi  Annan who said that the trials of the two Kenyan leaders must go on even  though some have charged the ICC  of prosecuting only Africans, a charge that does not jell at all with me.  On  the meeting between John  Kerry  and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov in Geneva, I think  it is a poor substitute   for the deterrence an attack would   have created  over Syria. This has  in turn  unwittingly and diplomatically   given great leverage to Russia in world affairs such that a dictator like Russia’s Vladmir Putin can,   in an   appeal to the American people  in article in New York Times    now write that the US  is  noted for  ‘brute force’  globally in interfering in other nations internal   affairs,  and  not democracy . Such  a statement coming from a man with  Putin’s  repressive leadership credentials is just  nauseating . But then that is the result of a drifting and rudderless US  policy on Syria for now.

    It  is with the likes of leaders like Vladmir  Putin in mind that I sympathise with  those who foment trouble in Chile when they  see the beneficiaries of Augusto   Pinochet’s  dictatorship taking to the streets  in Santiago  to celebrate his 17 years of dictatorship which started in 1973  and ended in1990. Relatively Chile had political stability but the  democratically elected Marxist leader that had mass appeal was slaughtered by Chile’s military to install their boss as president in that nation and the supporters  of Allende still have painful memories of their political loss  and the psychological trauma  of living in fear under military rule. It  was  an era  with arbitrary rules,  insecurity,  detention and torture aided  by a judiciary  that was too willing at the time to use the law to back and strengthen the   rotten government of the day

    In  Nigeria the mudslinging between the New  and Original PDP  and that  between Waziri  and a former Nigerian dictator threw up  some interesting vocabulary   like ‘senility‘, dictator’, ’exposure’  and ‘respect‘  which I  am  sure make very interesting reading. Especially  when  we analyse  their context, relevance and appropriateness  by  both the sender  as well as the receivers of the verbal exchanges.

    Let  us now go back to the trial  of William Ruto Vice President of Kenya which has begun although the Kenyan Parliament has voted that Kenya should pull out of the ICC  which has said the trial will continue any way. That  the Kenyan VP is attending shows that in spite of Kenya’s pull out of the ICC that nation has respect for the rule of law  and the international community. Again  Kofi  Annan who played a part in the investigations has affirmed that such trials are necessary  to affirm the rule of law and show that no one is above the law any where in the modern world .President Uhuru Kenyatta’s trial is to start in November and he has said he would attend as long as both himself and his VP  are not  away on trial at  the same time, a fact that the ICC has promised to respect. So  impunity is on trial at the Hague in Kenya while politics  and the threat of deterrence  take a back seat and that is good for global democracy in my book.

    Again let us  talk about the floundering  US  foreign   policy  on Syria which has subsituted   deterrence with diplomacy  . This   was  in the hope that threat of force will  galvanise the use  of diplomacy  to achieve   the objective  of making the Assad regime pay for  its use of chemical weapons , of which the US president said he had proof  and  with which the  Russians said they  disagreed. Now, speaking at home,  the US president pleaded  with Americans to give him permission to strike and he alerted his armed forces to prepare to strike any time and the law makers  to give him a vote to strike. At the end these   muscle  flexing and diversionary  press  ups  however,  the US president did nothing because right from the outset he had no stomach for this or any fight   whatsoever;  and that is the grim truth that the international community must face during the remaining part of the presidency of Barak Obama. When even the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon could exclaim and denounce what he called the ‘paralysing inaction‘  over the    Syrian  matter, then  one can see how far the US president has led both admirers  and critics down a blind alley over the deterrence  option in calling the blood thirsty regime in Damascus to order, over the use of   chemical weapons against children  and innocent victims in Syria.

    Undoubtedly,  the US president has been boxed into a corner by the strong  anti war lobby in Europe  and the US that heralded  his assumption of office. They even gave him a Nobel  Prize  just  because they hated those who carried out the invasion of Iraq on a false premise of availability of weapons of mass  destruction. Now Obama’s albatross is in living up to his electoral promises  as well as pleasing his admirers  while forgetting those whose hope for freedom he ignited in the Arab world with his Cairo Speech and the support he gave to the Arab Spring   street  revolution together with  France  and Britain leading to the overthrow  of dictators in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya.  In  those heady days, David Cameron and France’s former President Nikola Sarkozy even visited the demonstrators in Cairo to offer support before using the No Fly Zone to scuttle the  Muammar Gaddafi regime.

    Now,   Britain  has jumped ship in liberating the Arabs as Parliament has handcuffed David Cameron on the matter and he can only bark and not bite but could  shout   only on humanitarian aid on Syria’s use of chemical weapons. I  am sure Winston Churchill is turning in his grave  at the impotence of his present  replacement  and his beloved Britain  over  the use of chemical weapons on thousands of innocent Syrians by their government.  Only  France’s  new president is trying to do what he can to get the Americans who have developed political incontinence over Syria to do something at least similar to that which France did so well in driving the Tuaregs away from Mali so recently.

    One  thing is clear. The American leader has allowed domestic politics to befuddle international diplomacy and he will pay a steep price for that eventually before the end of his presidency as history will attest. This  was  what Richard Nixon noted in his memoirs  and he in spite of Watergate opened up US relations with China. Now the Americans have a man in charge who revels in gay rights and same sex marriages  at  home, and sells  human freedom  and liberty  abroad.  Yet,  when it comes to the crunch when he should  show a red card to  a blood thirsty  tyrant in Damascus,  he chose  to hobnob  with the residue of the Red Army in the Kremlin and to sermonize his armed forces and legislators to a miserable state of inertia  and   hand wringing over the  violation of their  core ethical  and cultural values,  right before their eyes  and  with them in full control of their senses. Really ,   I do not know whether to cry or laugh at the impotence of US foreign policy over Syria  and  its    consequences  for global democracy, freedom  and liberty in all ramifications.

    On  the PDP  spat  and Farida’s tussle with Obasanjo,  some things are clear. First it was wrong for Tukur and Oyinlola to be trading tackles while the elders have been called in  to mediate  in the crisis rocking the party. Secondly  it was right of Tukur to see dictatorial  tendencies in Oyinlola who  served as a military governor of Lagos state before. But  Oyinlola is now a lawyer and Tukur should beware. Just as it was  in order    for  Oyinlola to use the word ‘senile’  on Tukur who has been  in the public gaze  for so long since his days   as boss of the NPA that one was wondering if Oyinlola was not talking of another Tukur. Tenacity or longevity of office can more often than not induce unexpected senility  sooner than later. That  too can be a great  political risk or hurdle for anybody or any political party.

    Similarly  it was  highly uncalled for for Obasanjo  to mention the Ibori connection with Farida  and to question Farida’s credentials the way Obasanjo  has done in EFCC house magazine interview. Undoubtedly  Farida  has impeccable credentials  for her job in spite of Obasanjo’s unexpected spite and hatred. In  addition she operated under very difficult conditions and she could not have moved mountains alone in her anti corruption crusade. It  was nice to hear that her successor Lamorde at a function asked the media  to exercise restraint in reporting cases involving the EFCC  to avoid media trial of suspects. That was rampant during Farida’s  time and that could not have  been her fault alone especially in a high tension democracy like Nigeria.

  • Suntai: Impunity, greed killing Nigeria

    SIR: Circumstances surrounding the health situation of Governor Danbaba Suntai, of Taraba State Nigeria have been deliberately shrouded in secrecy in the last 10 months after an air crash that left him hospitalized in the United States. I thank God that Suntai is still alive today. It could have been worse.

    But impunity, hide and seek game, greed, lies, deceit, dishonesty, breach of contract etc have been the hallmark of the leadership in Taraba. Associates of Suntai including his wife have been deceiving Nigerians and the people of Taraba State for 10 months now and this must be stopped. The Suntai I saw on TV on Sunday cannot continue to remain governor of Taraba State until he gets back his health.

    I am not a lawyer but the 1999 constitution 191 (1) gave five grounds under which a deputy can become a governor. These are on the ground of death, resignation, impeachment, permanent incapacity or removal of Governor from office for any other reason in accordance with section 188 or 189 of the constitution. The Deputy Governor could become a governor if the state executive council decided to give effect to section 189 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. That section says the governor or deputy governor of a state shall cease to hold office if by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all members of the executive council of the state (i.e. the body of commissioners of the Government of the State) it is declared that the governor or deputy governors is incapable of discharging the functions of his office. This declaration has to, however, be verified by a medical panel of five (one of who must be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned) to be appointed by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.

    The arrival of governor Suntai at Abuja Airport spoke volumes about the state of the governor’s health. His looks suggest that he is far from recovering. His eyes are something else and it tells a bigger story that all is not well with him

    The carriage of his handlers suggests a despicable desperation to remain in power by all means. The idea of bringing a sick man home even when it is obvious to the world that all is not well suggests the way we are. Because of greed we have all become a slave to public office. I guess some people are feeding on the governor’s predicament. I guess that billions would have been stolen using his name and his fake signatures. This is a shame! But we have seen it before in the days of late President Yar’Adua of the blessed memory.

    The late former president of United States, Ronald Reagan had cause to undergo a surgical operation few years back. What did he do? He signed off his office as the President of the United States, went into the hospital for the operation. After a successful operation and recovery he took back his office. This is what civilized people do.

    Governor Suntai’s case has become an embarrassment to Nigerians and democracy. Handlers of governor Suntai have mismanaged the man’s recovery plans and Taraba State House of Assembly must do its work. The Deputy Governor of Taraba is now going through what President GEJ went through in the hands of Yar’Adua’s men. They have kept the man in the dark for fear of losing power.

    Let the law makers of Taraba State raise a team of five competent medical doctors to honestly ascertain the true state of the governor’s health and have the courage and the political will to do what needs to be done in the overall interest of the entire people of Taraba State.

    Let no one play politics with this man’s health and life.

     

    •Joe Igbokwe

    Lagos

  • When corruption meets impunity

    Nigeria’s lawmakers had long mastered the fine art of farming out a chunk of the national treasury for their personal well-being which deservedly earned them the singular ‘honour’ as the most money guzzling legislature in the world. But before The Economist comes up with yet another survey on the most corrupt executive cabinet in modern time, Hardball would want to put it on record that the Goodluck Jonathan administration will have no rival in this regard either. The reason is that corruption in this era now co-habits with impunity giving forth a wanton and licentious result.

    Over one week ago, a national newspaper had run a front page story about a female minister in President Jonathan’s cabinet who travels by chartered jets and who has run up a bill of over N2 billion in the last two years. The story itself emanated from a civil society group, Crusaders for Good Governance, CGG, which had deposited a petition at the office the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, exactly two weeks ago. Even though the details of the petition are gross and highly unsettling, not a word has come forth from the Presidency, the EFCC or even the minister in question. Mum has been the word from all the concerned quarters, perhaps in the full knowledge that Nigerians are not only inured to the bad ways of their leaders, but that they also have a very shot attention span and will soon forget about this one too.

    That may be so but the report is grievous and damaging: to this Presidency, to the minister and to the image and essence of Nigeria. According to the co-ordinator of CGG, some of the allegations include, one: that a parastatal maintains a private jet, Challenger 850 Visa Jet, at $500,000 per month for the minister; two: that every trip she makes abroad she does with a chartered jet at the cost of $300,000 per trip. Even in trips with the president, this minister would rather cruise a private jet instead of flying in the presidential jet. They cited some of the presidential trips to include those to China and South Africa. Three: during the last Easter break, the minister was said to have also flown her family to Dubai in a chartered private jet as the cost of $300,000.

    As a proof to its allegations, CGG directed the EFCC chairman to verify its claims through the records of aviation regulatory bodies like the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA; and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. There are numerous other allegations against this minister but these few are mind-blowing enough. In most other countries of the world, such a minister would have been suspended promptly while a public inquiry would have been empanelled to investigate the allegations. But condoning corruption and shielding corrupt officials has become the hallmark of the Jonathan administration to the ruin of his administration and the utter dismay of the international community.

    There are over a dozen examples to prove that the president is quite comfortable with unbridled corruption going on in and around his cabinet. First the EFCC was defanged at the outset of this administration by strapping it to Office of the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice who himself seems not only quite cozy with, and unperturbed by financial malfeasance around him but has clearly lost any sense of umbrage and moral sufferance towards official corruption. In over half a dozen cases, officials of multinational companies doing business in Nigeria have recently been tried and convicted in the U.S and France for offences committed in Nigeria. But their partners in crime in Nigeria have all been shielded. And when corrupt activities go on for years unchecked, impunity sets in. It is a damaged society in which government officials assault the treasury in this manner.

     

  • Impunity writ large

    Impunity writ large

    STRIPPED of any legal hair-splitting, it is hard to find a more befitting word than – self help – to describe the June 21 blockade of the premises of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) by Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, over their long running tax dispute.

    NIMASA had reportedly stormed NLNG operational base in two boats, with 15 naval officers on board; in the course of the blockade, it prevented the company’s tankers from accessing their loading terminal in Bonny Island, Rivers State. That was three days after a Federal High Court granted NLNG an injunction.

    The development obviously marks a new phase in the lingering feud between the two organisations; it has also, in our view, introduced a dangerous dimension into the revenue collecting activities of the maritime agency.

    We must hasten to separate the two parts of the NIMASA/NLNG affair. The first part is the revenue which the maritime agency is mandated to collect under the NIMASA Act, which is legitimate. What is however not legitimate is the strong arm tactics under which the agency would seek to shut down the operations of an organisation when there are disputes over assessment, and only because it thinks it has the means to do so. This is wrong.

    We recall that it was in fact NIMASA that first took NLNG to court – although it later withdrew the case. It was after this that NLNG instituted its own. Part of the outcome of the latter is the ruling of Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos on June 18, in which he issued an injunction against the Attorney General of the Federation, Global West, and any other parties, including NIMASA “from charging, imposing, demanding or collecting the three percent gross freight earnings or any other sums further to Section 15(a) of NIMASA Act 2007 on all of NLNG’s international in-bound or out-bound cargo ships owned, contracted or subcontracted by it.”

    NIMASA claims to have a problem with the ruling which specifically named the Attorney General of the Federation and Global West as parties.

    Whether properly joined in the suit or not, it seems to us utterly untenable for NIMASA to scoff at the ruling the way it did on June 21. Why was the agency in a hurry to do things its own way? And whose interest is it serving? And couldn’t it have gone to court to ask to be joined or even ask for the discharge of the ex parte order?

    We must make the point that NIMASA as a creation of law cannot be seen to act in such ways as to suggest that it is above the law. In this particular matter, it seems to have acted both rashly and most indecorously.

    We find the role of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in the matter no less deplorable. NLNG, we know, is a private entity but only to the extent that the Federal Government, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the minority 49 percent equity. NIMASA on the other hand is owned 100 percent by the Federal Government. We would have expected the office of the AGF to have properly advised the two parties, not just on the relevant provisions of the applicable laws but the position of the government on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the heart of the dispute. We expected that this would have happened before things got to this stage.

    The Federal Government bears the ultimate responsibility to get NIMASA to act responsibly in future. No matter what it considers the rightness of its cause, NIMASA needs to appreciate that this can only be done within the ambits of the law. It seems the agency has a long way to go to appreciate this elementary fact.

  • Bauchi legislators’impunity

    The despicable impunity of the male members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly survived for nearly 12 months, before the court could intervene. On June 7, 2012, that house of lawless men shamelessly conspired to suspend Mrs Rifkatu Danna, representing Bogoro Constituency, simply because she had the audacity to educate her colleagues on the basic provisions of the 1999 constitution, on whose authority they were elected.

    Mrs Danna had told the ignorant men that the House lacks the authority to single handedly amend the constitution of the country. Befuddling in their ignorance, the legislators blackmailed their only apparently female Honourable member to apologise for her temerity, and there after suspending her.

    Probably, the only qualitatively educated member of the state House of Assembly, Hon Danna, was suspended by her colleagues and ordered to apologise for publicly criticising the decision of the House to relocate the Headquarters of Bogoro Local Government from Tafawa Balewa to Bununu.

    She had correctly argued that the headquarters of a local government is listed in the schedule to the constitution, and as such is a provision of the constitution.

    She had also succinctly informed the ignorant men, that to change the headquarters amounts to amending the constitution; and that the Bauchi State House of Assembly lacks the power, to do so. Instead of thanking her, they fired her.

    Now, Mrs Danna is reportedly the only female member of the Bauchi House of Assembly and the only Christian too. Again, Tafewa Balewa the current host of the local council is predominantly Christians, while Bununu is predominantly populated by Muslims. The report is that these reasons were the driving force for the Assembly’s unwholesome attack on the constitution; as they conspired to unlawfully relocate the council headquarters. In their desperation, the all-male members did not spare a thought for gender sensitivity or our country’s secularism as they moved against their only female and Christian member, despite that she is a classical example of a minority. By their discrimination, the legislators also offended the provisions of Section 42 of the constitution, which provides that nobody should be discriminated against based on her sex, religion or place of birth.

    Thankfully last week, the state Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Zango, restored Hon. Zanna to her legislative duties. The Judge described the action of the Assembly as mere arbitrary show of power, which had infringed on the fundamental human rights of the plaintiff. The learned Chief Judge also directed the House to pay the lawmaker all her salaries and entitlements which accumulated during her unlawful suspension. The court, however, rejected her claims for damages. I will graciously add that the court and Zanna’s lawyers should be on standby to send the members of the House to the goal, for contempt, if they refuse to obey the orders of the court, or take any kind of steps to ridicule the clear orders made by the court.

    Unfortunately, the court was not persuaded to sanction the lawless men, who by their illegal conducts had undermined our constitution for nearly one year, until the intervention by the court. It is my wish that the High Court had been persuaded to show radical activism, by going ahead to order exemplary damages to be paid personally by the lawbreakers amounting to their one year total emoluments to Mrs Danna; to discourage similar rascality elsewhere. The experience of the Bauchi lawmaker should also precipitate a national discuss on the desirability of legislative houses suspending their members, as a legislative privilege, as against a constitutional question.

    It will be recalled that the National Assembly has on a few occasions suspended their members, especially when such members show courage against the leadership of the House. So, it can be argued that the Bauchi House merely aped their colleagues at the national level. The implication across the country are that we have Houses of Assembly and a National Assembly that is oppressive of any in-house dissent, forgetting that opposition is a fundamental necessity for a sustainable democracy. I can wager that the fear of being ostracised by other colleagues may be one reason why none of the members of the national assembly, has risen against the unlawful and unconstitutional enrichment of members, through dubious allowances.

     

    Condolence to Sen. Ben Ndi Obi

     

    I met Ojeligbo High Chief Senator (Dr.) Ben Ndi Obi, at the arrival hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, barely one week after the death of his amiable wife, Deaconess (Chief) Mrs Collette Ojirhomu Ben-Obi, on the April 14, 2013.

    As I warmed up to the Oku-Uzu-Nagbaze-Igwe-Awka, our discussion centered on the preparations for the burial of Professor Chinua Achebe, without the High Chief betraying any personal emotions. True to his name, Ojeligbo was more concerned about the loss by Nigeria and Ndigbo, than his personal loss. Without any inkling about his personal loss, I was also generally interested in his political disposition as one of the foremost Nigeria’s politicians.

    So, I was shocked when a few hours later, the Senator’s special assistant informed me, that the Senator was mourning his wife, having lost her a few days earlier. This week marks her final burial rites. Here is wishing the distinguished Senator and their children, God’s grace and the fortitude, to bear the irreparable loss. As Deaconess Ben-Obi, (nee Ejumudo) is buried next Friday, here is wishing her a blissful night rest in the bosom of the Lord.

     

  • Tension rises in Rivers

    Tension rises in Rivers

    -Five anti-Amaechi lawmakers at Assembly

    –Soyinka: stop executive impunity

    -Speaker, commissioner allege emergency rule plot

    -PDP chair calls for calm

     

    THERE was tension yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital where two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are struggling for control.

    Five lawmakers loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, were at the House of Assembly, escorted by Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu.

    The 27 pro-Governor Rotimi Amaechi lawmakers, including Speaker Otelemaba Dan Amachree, stayed away.

    Pro-Wike protesters, armed with placards bearing various inscriptions and singing anti-Amaechi songs, thronged the Assembly and the secretariat of Obio/Akpor Local Government in Rumuodomaiya, Port Harcourt.

    The protesters, from the 23 local government areas, called for the resignation of Amaechi or his impeachment, as well as the removal of the Speaker.

    To the state government, it was all part of a grand plan to provoke violence and pave the way for emergency rule and the governor’s removal.

    The protesters also called for the reinstatement of the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Timothy Nsirim, his deputy, Solomon Eke, and the 17 councillors suspended on April 22 by the 27 pro-Amaechi legislators.

    The Chief Felix Obuah-led executive of the PDP also condemned the speaker’s call for Mbu’s redeployment, accusing Amachree of raising false alarm.

    But the speaker insisted that the police commissioner should be removed for taking sides and acting the script of “Abuja forces”.

    The case filed by the 27 suspended lawmakers against the Obuah-led PDP at a Port Harcourt High Court presided over by Justice Henry Aprioku was yesterday adjourned till May 23.

    The five lawmakers — Michael Chinda (Obio/Akpor II Constituency), Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) — said they got information from the Clerk of the Assembly, Emmanuel Amaewhule Ogele, that the House would reconvene at 10 am yesterday and they decided to attend.

    The speaker, who spoke through his Press Secretary, Jim Udede, said the House would have reconvened at 10 am, but decided to postpone the sitting indefinitely when he was hinted of a planned protest, which he claimed could lead to the breakdown of law and order. It was not to allow “enemies of progress” to declare emergency in the state, he said.

    The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers moved to the Assembly, amid tight security, and stayed in their offices. They were still there as at the time our reporters left the Assembly around 1 pm.

    They said they were waiting for the 27 pro-Amaechi lawmakers to show up for the sitting, stressing that they were not informed of the postponement. The speaker admitted that they were not informed, because, according to him, the information that Wike’s supporters would unleash mayhem came very late on Sunday.

    On April 22, the Chairman of Obio/Akpor council, Prince Timothy Nsirim; his deputy, Solomon Eke; and all the 17 councillors loyal to Wike were suspended. The Obuah-led PDP executive, also on April 29, suspended the 27 pro-Amaechi lawmakers, including the speaker.

    The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers condemned the suspension of Nsirim and others.

    Bipi said: “How would the 27 lawmakers have suspended Nsirim and others, without following due process? Where did they get the committee’s report? Nothing like that. The report was forged. No petition against Nsirim and others.”

    Ihunwo said: “We are supposed to reconvene today, but we cannot see any of them (27 pro-Amaechi lawmakers). We believe in the rule of law. In suspending Nsirim and others, they did not follow Order 22, Rules 1 and 4, which make it mandatory for the petition to be laid before the House by a lawmaker.

    “What is chasing them could be what they did to Obio/Akpor Local Government chairman and others. Rivers people should be calm and law-abiding.”

    Chinda said: “The procedure through which they suspended the Obio/Akpor chairman and others is wrong. They did not follow Order 22, Rules 1 and 4.

    “There was no petition against Nsirim and others. They should stop deceiving Rivers people. There should not have been any caretaker committee in Obio/Akpor council.”

    Nwogu and Amaewhule also corroborated the three others, insisting that there was no petition against the suspended officials. They maintained their suspension was illegal.

    The anti-Amaechi protesters, in over 100 buses, under the umbrella of Grassroots Democratic Initiative (GDI) and led by Kinikanwo Amadi, stormed the locked gate of the secretariat of Obio/Akpor council at Rumuodomaya around 7:30 am.

    But battle-ready policemen did not allow the protesters into the expansive secretariat. They later moved to the Rivers House of Assembly on Moscow Road in Port Harcourt.

    The peaceful protest led to a heavy traffic jam on the ever-busy road to the Port Harcourt International Airport and Moscow Road, with the youths declaring that the protest would continue daily, until the caretaker committee members and chairman vacate their offices for Nsirim, his deputy and councillors.

    Some of their placards read: “Felix Obuah, man of the people”; “Go Round (Felix Obuah), Agwu Zumba”; “GDI is in full support of what policemen are doing”; “Dike David Chikordi (chairman of a seven-member caretaker committee inaugurated on April 23) out, Hon. Timothy Nsirim in”; and “Hon. Timothy Nsirim is our choice. Rivers State House of Assembly, leave him alone.”

    Speaking for the protesters, ex-Security Adviser of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Godwin Ikeazor said: “We are condemning the action of Governor Chibuike Amaechi and members of Rivers House of Assembly, who suspended Nsirim, his deputy and 17 councillors.

    “We are asking the caretaker committee members to leave office and also call on Governor Amaechi to resign from office within 48 hours. Amaechi masterminded the suspension of the performing, focused and hardworking Hon. Nsirim and others.

    “The leader of Rivers House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, should also resign with immediate effect. Lloyd is the person causing the whole trouble for Amaechi. He is making noise here and there, but he could not win the last election in his constituency, if not through the help of Amaechi, who pleaded with his people.

    “We will continue with the protest, until the caretaker committee members leave office. We want Hon. Timothy Nsirim to return to the office. The allegations levelled against him are baseless, untrue and frivolous.”

    The leadership of the PDP also “strongly” condemned the statement credited to the speaker, calling for the redeployment of police commissioner.

    The Obuah-led PDP said: “The call on the Inspector-General of Police (Mohammed Abubakar) to redeploy the Rivers State Police Commissioner (Mbu Joseph Mbu) is baseless, malicious, reckless and another demonstration of legislative rascality.

    “Mr. Mbu is a professional police officer, who has discharged his duties diligently and should not be dragged into partisan politics.

    “We hereby urge the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly to concentrate on the business of lawmaking, for the good people of Rivers State, rather than blaming his incapacity and ineptitude on some federal institutions in the state.

    “The PDP leadership in the state is also using this medium to ask the speaker and his cohorts to stop raising false alarm and spreading rumours about impeachment of the governor of Rivers State, arrest of state functionaries and the plan to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State. The PDP in Rivers State is not aware of the said plans.

    “It is pertinent to state that no reasonable and responsible government is administered on the basis of cheap blackmail. Enough of the unnecessary and unwarranted political tension in the state.”

    Obuah, while responding to questions from reporters, after reading the five-paragraph statement, in company of the party’s secretary, Walter Ibibia, and other members of his executive, declared that the speaker’s “blackmail” was capable of chasing away investors and heighten tension in the state.

    The PDP chairman, who is a former chairman of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area, also admonished Rivers people to disregard all the statements credited to the speaker, who he said wanted to cause confusion, insisting that the police commissioner acted fast, to prevent the breakdown of law and order and should be encouraged, rather than being castigated.

    Obuah noted that no problem had been recorded in Rivers state, since Mbu took over as police commissioner about two months ago, stressing that the speaker and 26 other members disrespected the leadership of PDP in the state, by refusing to reinstate Nsirim and others, within the 48-hour ultimatum given.

    He added that there was no plan to impeach Amaechi and that no fake mace was smuggled into Port Harcourt to remove the speaker and governor.

    Obuah, while commenting on yesterday’s protest by pro-Wike supporters, said: “Members of my executive and I are in the state for peace. Rivers people should remain calm. It is not in our character to use thugs.

    “Thugs were not involved in yesterday’s peaceful protests. The people of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area protested because of injustice and showed their displeasure to the illegal removal of Prince Nsirim, his deputy and the 17 councillors.”

    The speaker issued a statement in which he insisted that there was a plan to create violence and declare a state of emergency. Besides, he condemned what he called the plot to make the sitting of the legislature violent.

    Amachree said: “The overall plan is to introduce gunshots outside the chambers, create pandemonium in the Assembly and its environs. Thus paving the way for the declaration of a state of emergency.

    “All those who live and do business in Rivers State know that the Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has worked very hard for the return and sustenance of peace in Rivers State since he assumed office in 2007.

    “The Rivers State House of Assembly, as an active partner, stands with the governor and challenges anyone, who is part of the plot to destabilise Rivers State to do the following, before declaring any emergency in Rivers State:

    “Declare a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Kano states, where Boko Haram and their collaborators are killing innocent men, women and children on a daily basis. Identify, arrest and prosecute those who carried out the Madalla Christmas killings of December 2011.

    “In Bayelsa State, 12 policemen were killed in Azuzuama Creek, followed by another round of killings in Lobia1 last weekend, without a state of emergency declared in the home state of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “We state again that Rivers State is peaceful and that the symbol of democracy in the state, the Rivers State House of Assembly, is peaceful and very orderly. Let the law enforcement agencies cooperate with us, not to be tools against the people.

    “There is a plan to arrest the speaker and other key members of the Rivers House of Assembly before May 7, 2013 and also to arrest the Rivers Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Chamberlain Peterside, as soon as possible, so that a state of emergency can be declared in Rivers State before May 9, 2013.

    “Rivers people, is this the way to go? Please rise against the plot to abort democracy in Rivers State.”

    The Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, speaking with reporters in Port Harcourt yesterday, said that some hoodlums were trying to cause disaffection, thereby pretending that there was chaos in the state.

    Semenitari said: “I know that Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi is in full control of the state. There are no matters for concern in Rivers State.

    “We are certain that there is no chaos in Rivers State and that government is in full control of the situation.

    “As far back as about two weeks ago, we heard of rumours that a few miscreants were making an attempt to foist something that is totally undemocratic on the people of Rivers State.

    “We are aware that people were imagining that it would be possible to attempt a Dariye treatment in Rivers state, where they would take just five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, out of 32 members and attempt an impeachment of the governor of Rivers State.

    “This is Rivers State, this is not Plateau State and Nigerians are lot more aware now, than they were at that time. This democracy must stand and the people of Rivers State will defend every vote that they have cast for Governor Chibuike Amaechi.

    “There is no way it is going to happen, that a very tiny insignificant minority in the Rivers State House of Assembly will be able to oust Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.

    “As at yesterday, the Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government council issued a statement saying that it had come to his notice that some disgruntled elements and certain politicians had been going around local government councils across Rivers State to see if they could mobilise a crowd.

    “I was told that they went as far as Khana and Emohua to try and get a group of boys to join them to come to protest the removal of Obio/Akpor council chairman, his deputy and 17 councillors. I found it a little curious, but I believe that because the council chairman is the Chief Security Officer of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, that he certainly knew what he was talking about.

    “He went ahead and notified the relevant security agencies about this threat. I believe he was on top of the situation. As at this (yesterday) morning, I heard that a group of people were at the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

    As the Obuah-led executive of PDP was suspending the 27 Assembly members on April 29, a Port Harcourt High Court, presided over by Justice Henry Aprioku, was granting an order of interim injunction, restraining the PDP from suspending the pro-Amaechi lawmakers. The court directed that the order should stand, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

    The case was adjourned till May 23.

    Rivers Progressive yesterday condemned the take over of the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex.

    In a statement by Owei Lawson, the group said: “Today, 6 May, 2013, over two dozens armed men converged on Rivers State House of Assembly in a desperate attempt to disrupt activities in the Assembly and circumvent the wishes of the people.

    “All over the world, the legislature is sacred and remains a critical arm of government because of its representative nature. Therefore, Rivers Progressives condemn this invasion in its entirety.

    “As a people, we must be vigilant and continually remind ourselves that these are perilous times. Therefore, the interest of a few politicians in Abuja must not be allowed to triumph over the aspirations of our people.

    “We are not unmindful of this orchestrated act, which is geared towards engendering disaffection and mayhem, all in an attempt to provide sufficient reason for the Presidency to declare a state of emergency in our peaceful state. We must not fold our arms and watch this act of lawlessness.

     

  • Soyinka: stop executive impunity in Rivers

    Soyinka: stop executive impunity in Rivers

    Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday for the second time, intervened in the face-off between the Federal Government and the Rivers State government.

    “Break this spiraling culture of executive impunity”, he said in a statement entitled “Cool it, President Goodluck Jonathan,” yesterday.

    Soyinka said: “The increasing flash points in the nation have reached an unsustainable level, and responsible governance must accept that it is an urgent duty to diminish, not increase them.

    “Even the notoriously short Nigerian memory remains traumatised by recollection of the rape of Anambra State that was enabled by the connivance of federal might, and the abandonment of all moral scruples in executive disposition.

    “The people of Ogun state were humiliated by the antics of a power besotted governor, with their elected legislators locked out of the state Assembly for upwards of a year.

    “That hideous travesty was again made possible by the abusive use of the police. Even a child in this nation knows that the police derives its enabling and operational authority from the dictates of the Centre, so there can be no disguising whose will is being executed wherever democratic norms are flouted and the people’s rights ground to mush under dictatorial heels.

    “Before the irretrievable point of escalation is reached, we have a duty to sound a collective alarm, even without the lessons of past violations of constitutional rights and apportionments of elected representatives of the people, and their consequences.

    “There is an opportunity in Rivers state to break this spiraling culture of executive impunity – manifested in both subtle and crude ways – that is fast becoming the norm in a post-military dispensation that fitfully aspires to be called a democracy.”

  • Presidential pardon: Abuse of discretion is impunity

    The criminal code of every country partakes so much of necessary severity, that without an easy access to exceptions in favor of unfortunate guilt, justice would wear a countenance too sanguinary and cruel. As the sense of responsibility is always strongest, in proportion as it is undivided, it may be inferred that a single man would be most ready to attend to the force of those motives which might plead for a mitigation of the rigor of the law, and least apt to yield to considerations which were calculated to shelter a fit object of its vengeance. The reflection that the fate of a fellow-creature depended on his sole fiat, would naturally inspire scrupulousness and caution;” …..Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist #74, March 25, 1788

    In one of the most embarrassing acts of ill-advised ‘self immolation’, President Jonathan on Tuesday, March 12 granted presidential pardon to Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha. The President purported to be acting within his powers under Section 175 of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which grants the president power to grant pardon to individuals convicted by any law made by the National Assembly. On legal grounds and going by the conventions around the world, the Presidential power of pardon is discretionary. The Constitution under section 175 did not even require him to provide a reason. However, the exercise of discretion speaks more to the moral authority of the President than his legal authority. In granting discretionary powers to elected officers, the Constitution is not only imposing a grave obligation on them but also calling on their sense of responsibility to help give meaning to the intendment of the constitution as a document designed to ensure rule of law, democracy and the moral integrity of the state. By the reckless exercise of this power by President Jonathan, he has destroyed the moral foundations of this presidency and undermined the sanctity of his office. It is not enough to follow the law to the letters. If the constitution intended a zombie-like fidelity to the constitution without the human interpretation of the spirit the Constitution, then the constitution can as well be a computer program that brooks no allowance for human ‘creativity’. Exercise of power under the Constitution answers to three gods. The god of public good, the god of the letters of the constitution and the god of morality from whence power drives legitimacy and credibility.

    The defects of this pardon lies not just in its abysmal moral contradictions but also in its inadequacies on legal and conventional grounds. On conventional grounds, after examining the practices around the world democracies and dictatorships, pardons are granted to – cure the defect of judicial process; promote public good; promote repentance by acknowledging extra-ordinary act of penitence by a convict; ensure national security and promote reconciliation. These lists are not exhaustive but are rather indicative of the altruistic nature of the exercise of presidential pardon powers. Under the current presidential rascality, none of the above is captured by this act extended to Alamieyeseigha . On the legal front, it becomes more problematic.

    Alamieyeseigha is an international fugitive with an international arrest warrant hanging over him having jumped bail in the United Kingdom. He also has charges of money laundering against his person in the United Kingdom and the United States. These realities are peculiar circumstances and carries with it serious legal implications. How then can the President justify extending pardon to an international fugitive? How can you claim that Alams has repented if he cowardly hides in Nigeria and takes no steps to clear his name in the UK? Never has a presidential pardon in history anywhere in the world to the knowledge of this writer been extended to an international fugitive who is properly so called. Essentially the message Nigeria is sending is its manifest disdain and disregard for the UK justice system or to international conventions on law and order. Hamilton above captures the dangers of presidential pardon and the moral obligation needed in exercising this authority. President Jonathan appears blind to these moral obligations or blindsided to the dangers of executive impunity.

    It is important at this point to clear certain misconceptions and share some open secrets about this abuse of power. The decision of granting pardon to Alamieyeseigha was not that of the National Council of State. The Presidency is attempting to couch this insanity with the cloak of ‘legitimacy’ that a suggestion of a collegial decision may give. Sadly it is not so. Under the section 175 of the Constitution, what the president is required to do under the law is to consult the National Council of State. He is not BOUND by their decision and neither do they have any constitutional powers to stop him. He simply informs them. So the responsibility for this action rests with President Jonathan alone. The second point is that this presidential pardon is primarily for Alamieyeseigha. The other people in the list are just a feeble attempt to legitimize the indefensible. To drive this point home, Diya and Shehu Yar’Adua were both convicted by a military tribunal that falls short of basic requirements under international convention and our constitution of what fair trial should be. It will be a historical injustice of an unquantifiable proportion to group these men in the class of Alamieyeseigha.

    It is necessary also to state at this point that the crimes for which Alamieyeseigha was convicted are in a special class. Nigeria has been defaced by corruption. Since the return to civilian rule, corruption has been the bane of our development as a people. Now it defines us. From the fuel subsidy fraud to the pension fraud, from the decay of infrastructure to growing poverty, we as a people are under a strangulating hold of corruption with the danger of suffocation if it is not combated. And so for Nigeria, corruption is not just a social ill, it is an existential problem that is more dangerous than violence since violence is just a manifestation of the problems of corruption. State response to corruption has been grossly inadequate. Our international image has been battered by this virus. Given all these dynamics and existential dangers of corruption, our government cannot be granting pardon to corrupt officials. It is unconscionable to do that at this time, and in this form. This is shamefaced endorsement of corruption. It destroys the faith of the people in government, tarnishes our image home and abroad and undermines our anti-corruption fight if at all there is any.

    The Presidency embodies not just legal authority and power but also symbolic of everything that is Nigeria. It is an institution bigger than any individual and must be preserved not so much for itself but for its fundamental significance. What is being destroyed here is not just the spirit of our constitution or the integrity of our already damaged presidency but the legitimacy of the Nigeria state. It is such a steep price to pay to clean the up after an international felon. Hamilton captures the essence and substance of presidential pardon above here and rightly so. Every time an elected official exercises discretion, he is sending a message on behalf of the state. Mr. President, what message are you sending here?

    •Ilo writes from Abuja