The Socio-Economic Rights and
Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Mr. Diego García-Sayán, UN
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers requesting him to
use his good offices to prevail on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari
to end persistent disobedience of court rulings and orders.
SERAP also wants Mr. Garcia-Sayan
to urge President Buhari to uphold the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended)
and the country’s international obligations on protection of the independence
and integrity of the judiciary.
In the petition dated 11 May 2018
and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said, “The
selective enforcement of court orders if not urgently addressed would
ultimately put the rule of law in Nigeria under siege.”
It added that the “persistent and
apparently deliberate disobedience of court rulings by the Nigerian authorities
is an affront to the supremacy of the Constitution and the independence of the
judiciary and if not urgently addressed may lead to self-help and undermine the
authorities’ oft-expressed commitment to fight corruption.
“Protecting judicial independence
is an obligation to be guaranteed and not a privilege that States may grant.
Disobedience of court rulings also directly violates the fundamental principles
of the rule of law and separation of powers.
“We urge you to publicly condemn
disobedience of court orders by the Nigerian authorities and prevail on them to
refrain from any threats or interference that may hamper court’s independence
as the supreme guardian of the country’s constitution and laws.”
“Disobedience of court orders is
a serious threat to the independence and integrity of the judiciary and would
undermine the crucial role of the judiciary in combating corruption and
obstruct access to justice, contrary to international standards, including
Article 11 of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state
party.”
“SERAP also notes Principles 2
and 4 of the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary mention
the requirement of non-interference to guarantee the independence of the
judiciary. Such lack of interference implies that no authority, private group
or individual may interfere in judicial decisions; they must respect and abide
by the decisions of the judiciary.
“Nigerian authorities have
disobeyed court orders in several cases including those involving the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria Leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, the former
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and SERAP. Many state
governments in Nigeria also continue to flagrantly disobey court orders with
almost complete impunity.
“Other court orders that the
government continue to disobey include: the ECOWAS court judgment ordering the
Nigerian authorities to provide free and quality education to all Nigerian
children without discrimination; the rulings by Nigerian courts ordering the
authorities to establish education banks to assist poor students to obtain
loans to pursue tertiary education and the restoration of people’s bank to give
loans without collaterals to underprivileged citizens.
“At least two of the court
rulings SERAP recently obtained from the Federal High Court have been disobeyed
by the Nigerian authorities. The first involves a case with suit number
FHC/IKJ/CS/248/2011 delivered in March 2016 where Justice Mohammed Idris
ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to widely publish details on the
spending of recovered stolen funds by successive governments since the return
of democracy in 1999.
“The details ordered to be
published by the court include: (a) Detailed information on the total amount of
recovered stolen public assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria (b)
The amount that has been spent from the recovered stolen public assets and the
objects of such spending (c) Details of projects on which recovered stolen
public assets were spent.
“The second court judgment
involves a case with suit number FHC/CS/964/2016 delivered in July 2017 where
Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari ordered the government to tell Nigerians the
circumstances under which allegedly recovered stolen assets were recovered, as
well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official. However,
the Nigerian authorities would seem to have only partially obeyed the court
orders in this case. The authorities are not known to have appealed any of
these court judgments and rulings.
“Under both the Nigerian Constitution and
international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party including
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights everyone is entitled
to the right to an effective remedy, and to seek justice in courts in cases of
violations of human rights.”
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