[MrOneNaija]

THE RABBLE AND ITS DING-DONG

That the current AG (AGF, for short) Aondoakaa is doing an excellent job with his insistence, that is to say that of the Yar'Adua administration, on due process and the rule of law as guiding principles for Nigerian civility is not in doubt. Only criminally minded individuals and those that did benefit tremendously from the rascality and lawlessness of the previous Obasanjo regime and would want to continue doing so have a problem with the new posture which is the antithesis of the reign of criminal impunity and terror that was the hallmark of the violent kleptocracy of the Obasanjo misrule between 1999 and 2007. Today, sadly, one is witnessing a lynch mob constituted essentially by Third Term apologists, carpet baggers of every hue, mindless opportunists who milked Nigeria dry and genuine but misguided characters join a wayward chorus out to smear the AGF through a resort to sophistry and the type of crude posturing and rabble-rousing that is reminiscent of the ugly days of the Obasanjo dictatorship.

Yet, it is clear that discerning minds repudiate the rabble and its ding-dong - the hangover from the impunity of the militaristic antics the nation was witness to in the last eight sordid years of Ali Baba. It is noteworthy that the heckling the AGF has been subjected to is the kind that is couched in pedestrian ethos that pander to emotionalism as opposed to appealing to rationality. It is the stuff that raw, grotesque propaganda of the vilest kind is made of.

Nigerians in their majority should remember that the Obasanjo interregnum, as evil and as nightmarish as it was, is no more. This is a fact that is hard for pro-Obasanjo acolytes and footsoldiers to swallow. And that is precisely why they are desperate. Their desperation to remain relevant is informing the vicious attacks against the AGF. That way, they hope to villify and cause unnecessary diversions for the Yar'Adua government. The perpetuation of the status quo is good for them. It is in their interest that Yar'Adua fails. Resorting to complacent and corrupt elements within a segment of the national media, the cabal that reigned supreme during the Obasanjo kleptocracy is especially irked by the AGF's principled stand on the rule of law. Citizens also remember vividly the illegalities and lawlessness the EFCC under Ribadu and his political master, the crooked Obasanjo, inflicted on the nation in a cynical but hypocritical witch-hunt of the ex-tyrant's political foes wickedly and infantilely masked as the war against corruption.

Well, Nigerians rejected what Obasanjo stood for and still do so. This is a critical point the rabble should take note of in their misguided campaign of calumny against the AGF.

AGF, EFCC And The Rule Of Law
Leadership
Abuja
Tuesday, Oct. 09, 2007
By Max Gbanite

In this very analytical and engaging argument, Max Gbanite describes how the law enforcement agencies handle their jobs with flagrant abuse of the rule of law.
"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records. They are written, as with a sun beam in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power."
Alexander Hamilton, 1775.

The rule of law is perhaps the most important stabilizing link to the establishment of true democracy. Rule of law does not protect or project any particular ethnic group, the rich or the poor; instead, it guarantees to protect the rights of the offender as well as that of the defender, and any individual’s right to fairness. The recent attack on the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN), by Chief Falana, the President of West African Bar Association, is in bad taste.
About two years ago, Mr. Falana argued for the plaintiff in a case involving a daughter of Chief MKO Abiola, Chief Tony Enahoro and Dr. Arthur Nwankwo (plaintiffs) vs. General Abdulsalam Abubakar (defendant) in a United States’ circuit court. He posited that the court should allow the case to be tried in the United States, not in Nigeria, because in his view the plaintiffs will not get justice due to "lack of Rule of Law." He was probably correct then in his assessment of ‘rule of law,’ as practised under former President Obasanjo and given that he is an articulate lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)-in-waiting who understands the tenets of the laws of Nigeria. Why now ridicule the AGF on an issue he has already argued and stood for in the United States?

We all agree that Nigeria needs a vibrant and purposeful organization to tackle the menace of corruption and reduce it to the barest minimum. However, such an organization must not be seen to constrict and abduct the rights of the citizens on one hand and obliterate the rule of law and the constitution on the other. Mr. Nuhu Ribadu as head of EFCC, though a lawyer and policeman by training, has done more harm to the Constitution of Nigeria than the military. Whereas the military could be pardoned, after all, theirs is government by decree, Mr. Ribadu should he is operating under a democratic setup where the rule of law is essential.

In 1999, then defence minister General T.Y. Danjuma, GCON, discovered that President Obasanjo’s nephew, Mr. Makonjuola, allegedly stole well over 400 million naira, he handed him over to the police for prosecution. This novel case of corruption fell on Nuhu Ribadu’s desk in the DPP’s office. Mr. Ribadu prepared almost a 15-count case against the accused. Unfortunately for Nigeria, either for lack of legal knowledge, legal errors or inexperience, and youthful exuberance, Ribadu lost all counts in court. It was said that he went back to prepare another 22 count, but the AGF, after the embarrassment and having seen the legal incompetence displayed and being suffocated by pressure from the presidency, declared the case ‘nolle prosequi’ as a way out. After the case was discharged, President Obasanjo probably noticed that Ribadu with less legal prowess, will make a good cop. Therefore, when EFCC was created Obasanjo appointed Ribadu to head it.

Let us look back at some of the illegalities that Obasanjo, in collaboration with EFCC, the police, and SSS brought upon Nigerians and which almost destroyed the same nascent democracy that we are building. His actions generated bad blood among some of the people of Nigeria. There were the abduction of elected legislative assembly members of Bayelsa State by EFCC and were taken to Lagos against their will and forced to impeach the elected governor, who main offence was that he was alleged to be corrupt but who was against the third-term ambition of the former president. The constitutional requirements for such an impeachment were disregarded.

Clearly the rule of law was severely abused. Elected legislative assembly members of Plateau State, were kidnapped by EFCC and moved to an unknown location against their will and coerced under duress to impeach an elected governor, again without the quorum required under the Constitution. Though alleged to be corrupt and an acolyte of the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and was against third-term agenda, the process was devoid of due process or the rule of law. Others include the intrusion by security agencies and the then AGF, Mr. Bayo Ojo, (SAN) in the affairs of Oyo State, resulting in the illegal impeachment of the elected governor without constitutional quorum: The illegality was approved by then AGF Bayo Ojo; his interpretation of the Constitution was so warped and at variance with the reality that I went to the African Independent Television (AIT) to discuss the matter. The rule of law was garrisoned by PDP’s elder-statesman-thug, Chief Adedibu. Obasanjo, the State Security Services, the police, and EFCC were again implicated in the execution of an illegal operation tagged ‘Get Ayo Fayose’ in Ekiti State. The elected governor was again impeached without quorum. Some members of the legislative assembly were kidnapped and moved to a secret hideout, where they carried out the impeachment. Yes, he was alleged to be corrupt, but he claimed that he was impeached because he built a large chicken farm for the state, and this farm was to challenge Otta Farms (owned by Obasanjo).

In Anambra State, the police, led by the late AIG Ige, acting on what he (Ige) called "orders from above" and in collaboration with one of the Uba brothers and some shameless Anambra indigenes, abducted a sitting state governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, forced him to sign a forged letter of resignation, and wrecked havoc on the state.
Hon. Morris Ibekwe, a serving member of the House of Assembly, was arrested by EFCC for financial crimes (419), committed against a German national. He was denied bail. He subsequently died in custody. His wife and children were stripped of his assets, and the German who was equally a crime partner was let free.

Hon. Mrs. Bagge, the chief registrar of FCT courts, was arrested by EFCC based on illegal accusation from her male predecessor. Her rights were abused as EFCC refused to grant her bail, though a lower court had ruled in her favor. It took a higher court’s affirmation to get EFCC to conform to the rule of law. EFCC ultimately lost the case because of lack of preparation and proper investigations. Had they investigated the allegations in the first place, they would have found that the charges against Mrs. Bagge were false. Thank God, she is back to her seat and doing her job with due diligence. The court has since ruled that all her assets and property confiscated by EFCC be returned to her immediately. However, as of the time of writing this piece, it is not clear if EFCC has complied with the order of the courts.

There are many more examples. While these illegalities were going on, the same critics of the new AGF and rule of law were crying foul against EFCC, police, and the SSS on the manner with which EFCC abused the rule of law. Have we forgotten the numerous occasions that the SSS, under Colonel Are, invaded media houses, especially LEADERSHIP Newspapers without warrants from the courts? On other occasions, they did not obey court orders to release detainees. Is our memory so bad that we have forgotten how the former Minister of FCT, Malam El-Rufai approved the demolition of houses and structures against court orders? Yes, whilst Mr. Rufai deserves praise for his focused attention in restoring the city, he and his office blatantly flaunted the rule of law.
Now, obtaining of court orders does not end a case; instead, it means that the other party needs to apply to a higher court to overturn the earlier order in order to continue with the case. These are the wonderful blessings of democracy.

One might argue that some laws are antiquated and need to be reviewed and reformed, but that is up to the National Judiciary Council, the Body of Benchers, and Nigerian Bar Association. They need to refine the laws, lobby the members of the National Assembly through their chairmen of the judiciary committees. Most importantly, lawyers must be cautioned to stop filing frivolous lawsuits which clog the wheel of justice in their attempts to frustrate a case.
Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution stipulates: "In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality."

Simply put and according to The Guardian editorial of September 6th 2007, "In decoding the expression ‘reasonable time’ the Constitution states that in the case of an arrest or detention in any place where there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of 40 kilometers, ‘reasonable time’ means a period of one day (or 24 hours); and in any other case, a period of two days (or 48 hours), or such longer period as in the circumstances may be considered by the court to be reasonable. If any arrested or detained person, who is not entitled to bail, is not tried within a period of two months or, where he has been released on bail, he is not tried within a period of three months from the date of his arrest or detention he "shall (without prejudice to any further proceedings that may be brought against him) be released either unconditionally or upon such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears for trial at a later date

The SSS did not follow the above when they arrested my friend Mr. Gbenga Arulegba of AIT for simply restating what he read in the newspapers regarding the Presidential jet being a used aircraft and not a new one, though President Obasanjo was alleged to have paid for a new plane. The case is still in court, and the government knows that at the end of the day, it will be embarrassed, and that is why they are stalling.

The absence of the practice of rule of law during the eight years of President Obasanjo gave the security agencies the impetus to invade an ANPP political rally in Kano and attack their leaders with tear gas; the inhalation of that nauseous gas by Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, former Senate President, and ANPP vice-presidential candidate, led to his untimely death a few days later. If the rule of law had been in place, the security agencies would not have stopped the anti-third-term meeting, organized by elected members of the national assembly, some state governors, and the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, scheduled to be held at Sheraton Hotels, Abuja, and forced the organizers to move the meeting to Niger State government guesthouse.

As a nation clamoring for true democracy, we cannot jettison the very essence of democracy embedded in the rule of law because we are in a hurry to prosecute and jail corrupt offenders. We are all against corruption, and we truly hail Mr. Ribadu and EFCC for his efforts. We must also caution Ribadu not to personalize the affairs of EFCC so that the agency will live on after he is replaced by someone else. This can be accomplished quickly by restoring the rule of law.

The fact that EFCC and other government agencies are asked by the AGF to abide by the rule of law in the pursuit and prosecution of their cases should not be interpreted to suggest that the AGF is meddling in the cases against corrupt officials. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact, these agencies should see this as a new challenge, a challenge that brings docility to the polity; a challenge that if nurtured and implanted in the psyche of the citizens will go a long way to saving democracy, and give dignity to man, especially now that ‘the animal called man’ has left the stage. We must band together and encourage President Yar’Adua and his AGF to pursue this matter of rule of law relentlessly until it becomes embedded in our system of thought and operation. After all, democracy without the practice and implementation of the rule of law is tantamount to civil rule by military decree.
The existence of the rule of law in our daily lives guarantees proper elections; it gives the citizens the right to challenge the government in courts when their basic rights are trampled upon. The rule of law allows us all the opportunity to choose our representatives in government, and it eliminates the selection process currently practiced by all the political parties. On the other hand, the rule of law also enables EFCC, ICPC, and other related agencies to do their jobs with due diligence by carrying the population along. Finally, the rule of law is indeed the embodiment of civilization and encapsulation of true democracy.
It is all about issues, not individuals.

If the AGF and EFCC stay on thier turfs; no wahala. Ribadu should do more investigati
ons and obtain convictions in court. His net should also catch all fishes not some \'
selected\' ones. Then he will prove his intergrity and the sky will be his limit. AGF
will be condemned by history if he leans from the rule of law to one side. Rule of l
aw does not lean; it looks straight without