WAR!!! NBA - WAKES UP AS THEY TELL BUHARI, YOU CANT CHOOSE WHICH COURT ORDER TO OBEY OR DISOBEY….SEE.
In an interview with Vanguard, the NBA said the president’s position on the matter was offensive to the tenets of constitutional democracy, rule of law and presumption of innocence of an accused person.
Buhari had during his first presidential media chat given reasons why both Dasuki and Kanu could not be released from detention.
The presidential committee on anti-corruption led by Professor Itse Sagay had argued that the federal government was not in violation of the rule of law as any bail granted an accused is completely related to the offence which he is charged before the court.
The way I see it is that any bail granted an accused, is completely related to the offence which he is charged before the court. So, if after he (the accused) has been granted bail and the prosecution discovers another offence for which no bail has been granted, then the accused can be re-arrested. So, that cannot be in violation of a bail, which is in relation to an earlier stated offence,” he said.
The NBA argued that re-arresting someone immediately after the person has been granted bail by the court makes mockery of the country’s democracy which is presumably anchored on the rule of law and separation of powers.
According to Augustine Alegeh (SAN) the president of the NBA, the respect for the rule of law was a must for the government.
He said: “Government has a need to respect the rule of law. As a matter of fact, there is need for government to be in the front burner in the respect for the rule of law. Whoever is unhappy, including government with a pronouncement of the court, has the opportunity of still going back to that court, for the court’s decision to be vacated or appeal to a higher court, but not to undertake to ignore it or carrying on as though nothing has happened or that the court’s order is not binding. That is an unacceptable principle in the rule of law.
For specific cases in court, it’s not the business of the Nigerian Bar Association to make comments on them, because we have our members on both side and they can decide to speak on the matter, but on the general principle of rule of law, as an association, it is one area we are passionate about, which we feel is very essential. So, both government and citizens must subscribe to the principles of rule of law and doing otherwise is not an option. You cannot pick and choose which court order to obey, if you try to do that, you are clearly undermining the principle of rule of law and the obvious consequence will not help the society in anyway.
We believe that from our interaction with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, they do not have an option but to obey court orders. You must bear in mind that the courts are there to settle disputes between individuals as well as between government and individuals, so it is important that all parties respect the rule of law and judgments and decision of courts as that is one area we will not compromise.They had all given shared their opinion why they think the president was wrong. Some of those who had faulted the president were Mahmud Magaji, constitutional lawyer Festus Ogwuche and others
Kanu, who is facing a six-count charge bordering on treason, has been in detention since October 14, 2015, when he was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service. On the other hand, Dasuki, who is facing multiple charges before three different courts, was re-arrested last week at the gate of Kuje Prison, Abuja, shortly after he perfected all his bail conditions.
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