In Abuja and Sokoto, two acts that defy the principle of justice
What our country needs most is strong institutions built on the rule of law and due process, not strong men or institutions showing off strong-arm tactics. What has played out in the past week in Abuja and Sokoto, in two separate instances, seemed a negation of that fundamental principle of any true democracy, and that is very worrisome.
In Abuja, Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court has refused to commence trial of Air Commodore Umar Mohammed, a member of the presidential committee investigating the procurement of arms and equipment in the Armed Forces. His grouse is that the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to comply with a previous order he made with respect to the custody of the accused person. According to a report, the judge had granted Mohammed bail and ordered that until he perfects the bail, he should be remanded in prison custody.
According to the defence counsel, Hassan Liman, the DSS has refused to admit the accused to bail despite meeting the bail condition, even as it refused to send the defendant to prison custody as ordered by the court. So when the prosecutor sought to open the trial, the defence objected, noting that an order of the court has not been obeyed, an objection which the court rightly upheld in our view. Considering the provisions of our legal system which provides for bail at the discretion of the court, it is strange that the DSS would disobey the order of the court over the rights of the defendant and yet expect the court to proceed to hear the prosecutor as if their conduct is in compliance with the due process of law.
The DSS and its legal counsel ought to realise that such conduct undermines the integrity of the court and the entire judicial system. In our view, if the DSS or any prosecutor agency feels aggrieved by an order of the court, it should appeal against such ruling to a higher court. To ignore an order of court and yet seek the authority of the same court to give binding orders on the defendant is delusional. If the DSS is not knowledgeable enough to understand the dynamics of the judicial process, it should retain the services of a legal counsel who can properly guide the state agency, unless it is interested in unleashing anarchy on the system.
In Sokoto, the contrived dispute also mocks our federal system of government and its institutions. There, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is reported to be at loggerheads with the Sokoto State government over the prosecution of Muhammad Abubakar, the Commissioner for Lands and Housing, and also Abubakar Ahmed, the Deputy Director of Sokoto State Ministry of Education. The two were arraigned in 2014 before Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Sokoto, on charges of conspiracy, forgery and money laundering involving the sum of 100 million naira.
Surprisingly, when the matter resumed again on November 24, 2016, the Sokoto State Attorney General (AG), Sulaiman Usman, stood up to announce his appearance and informed the court that he has the mandate of the federal attorney general to take over the prosecution. According to the report, the state AG brandished a letter of authority written by the late Michael Agbamuche in 1995, when he was the federal AG, authorising the state AG to prosecute matters on its behalf. In their objection, the EFCC prosecutors S. K. Atteh and E. E. Iheanacho informed the court that they are not aware of any such order from the current federal AG, AbubakarMalami.
But for the fact that the news item has not been denied, one would have dismissed the disgraceful conduct of the state attorney general as a joke. But there we have a public official sworn to obey the constitution of the country and other extant laws clearly working to subvert the laws. That move must be stopped. It would appear that the state government has dubious reasons to seek to stop the trial of the serving commissioner, as alleged. The federal attorney general must quickly disassociate himself from the Sokoto State Attorney General, Sulaiman Usman, whose conduct in this case leaves much to be desired.
In the two cases in Abuja and Sokoto, our institutions are being upended; and that should stop. We know there are still public officials ready to defend the laws of our country; these are the ones we need, not those working to embarrass us all. As we have always advocated, what will save our democracy is obedience to the letter and spirit of our constitution; and we urge those concerned to take heed.
