At least, six members of
President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet, who are lawyers, have not publicly
condemned the illegal detention of an activist, Omoyele Sowore, by the State
Security Service (SSS). Majority of them have simply kept mum, publicly, on the
matter.
They have also refused to
publicly comment on Friday’s invasion of a federal court by SSS officials, a
move for which the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has demanded the suspension of
Yusuf Bichi, the Director General of the SSS.
Sowore, the publisher of Sahara
Reporters, and an activist, Olawale Bakare, are charged with treasonable
felony, fraud, cyber-stalking and abusing President Muhammadu Buhari.
On two occasions, the court ruled
that the duo be granted bail, but the DSS failed to obey the court orders.
Sowore, who was arrested on
August 3 by the SSS for planning a protest popularised with the hashtag
#RevolutionNow, was granted bail for the second time on October 18.
SSS did not respect a previous
bail granted the defendant on September 24.
Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on Thursday
ordered that both men be released within 24 hours.
The SSS, in a bid to claim to
have complied with the order, released both men Thursday night before
re-arresting them Friday morning in court.
Armed SSS officials stormed the
Abuja Division of the Federal High Court to rearrest Messrs Sowore and Bakare.
The armed officials went into the
court premises to violently apprehend the activists, the first time in the
nation’s history.
The SSS, which is under the
purview of the president, is notorious for disobeying court orders.
It has continued to detain a
former National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki and Shi’ite’s leader,
Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, despite court orders granting them bail.
None of the six lawyers in Buhari’s
cabinet has publicly condemned the disobedience of court orders generally
including in the case of Sowore or the desecration of the court on Friday in
the bid to rearrest the activist.
This newspaper looks at six
lawyers in Buhari’s cabinet and their legal career.
Yemi Osinbajo
Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice
President, is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor of law and until his
inauguration as Vice President, a Senior Partner with SimmonsCooper Partners, a
commercial law practice.
Between 1997 and 1999, Osinbajo
was made a Professor of Law and Head of Department of Public Law, University of
Lagos. He was the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos from
1999 to 2007.
Osinbajo, as acting president,
acted promptly on August 7, 2018, when he sacked the former SSS, DG, Lawan
Daura, after the police and operatives of the SSS blocked the main gate of the
National Assembly, forcefully preventing lawmakers and staff from gaining
access into the complex.
Buhari was out of the country at
the time.
Osinbajo has not publicly
condemned Sowore’s treatment or other violations of court orders including
Friday’s court attack.
Festus Keyamo
Keyamo, the current state
minister of labour and development, began his legal career in 1993 at Gani
Fawehinmi Chambers in Lagos State.
After two years at Gani
Fawehinmi’s chambers, Keyamo left to establish Festus Keyamo Chambers.
During active practice, Keyamo
was counsel to the leader of the Niger-Delta Peoples’ Volunteer Force, Mujahid
Dokubo-Asari, in his trial for treasonable felony.
Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, has been accused by many Nigerians, especially on social media, of
abandoning activism since he secured his ministerial appointment.
Babatunde Fashola
Another lawyer in the Buhari-led
administration that has not commented on the illegality of Sowore’s detention
or general disobedience to court orders is the Minister of Works and Housing,
Babatunde Fashola.
Fashola was called to the
Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the of the Supreme Court in
November 1988 after completing the professional training programme at the
Nigerian Law School, Lagos which he undertook between 1987 and 1988.
His legal career commenced in the
law firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Belgore, where he started as a
litigator in specialisations such as intellectual property and criminal law.
Fashola, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, is also a Patron of the Law Students Association of the University of
Benin.
Godswill Akpabio
Although not much has been
reported about his legal career, the Minister for Niger Delta, Godswill
Akpabio, obtained a law degree in the University of Calabar, Cross River State.
Akpabio had a brief stint as a
teacher and as an associate partner with Paul Usoro and Co., a law firm in
Nigeria.
However, Akpabio did not practice
for so many years before he began working with EMIS Telecoms Limited, a
wireless telecommunications company in Lagos. In 2002, he rose to the position
of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company.
Boss Mustapha
He is the Secretary to the Government
of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
Mustapha started his legal
practice in Messrs Onagoruwa & Co in Lagos as a Counsel in 1983. He had a
stint at an Italian consultancy firm Sotesa Nigeria Limited earlier.
In 1994 he established his own
law practice firm Messrs Mustapha & Associates and served as its Principal
Counsel until 2000. He later worked in another law firm Adriot Lex & Co.
serving as Principal Consultant from 2000 to 2006.
Mustapha is a member of several
professional bodies including the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, African Bar
Association, International Bar Association and Human Rights Institute.
Abubakar Malami
Unlike the others, Nigeria’s
Attorney-General, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has repeatedly
spoken in support of the disobedience to court orders.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria
has argued that court orders can be ignored on matters of national security
which he argues supersedes individual freedom.
Abubakar graduated from Usmanu
Danfodio University, Sokoto in 1991, where he studied law and was called to the
bar in 1992.
As a legal practitioner, Abubakar
served in various capacities including being a counsel and magistrate in Kebbi
State and as National Legal Adviser of the defunct Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC).
Officials Keep Mum
Efforts to reach some of the government officials were
unsuccessful. Mr Keyamo, and Laolu Akande, Mr Osinbajo’s spokesperson, did not
respond to calls and text messages sent to them.
However, the spokesperson for Mr
Fashola, Hakeem Bello, in a telephone interview on Saturday morning, declined
to speak on the matter. He referred enquiries on his principal’s stance to the
attorney-general, Mr Malami, who has repeatedly justified the actions of the
SSS.
Dangerous situation – Lawyer
Mike Ozekhome, a lawyer and a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said ”the quietness of the six cabinet members in
the face of human rights violations, means danger for the citizens”.
He noted that most of the lawyers
highlighted by this newspaper” are not ordinary lawyers but senior colleagues
in the profession”.
He, however, said”it is hard to
criticise the government when one is part of governance.”
“That is why some of have refused
to go into governance. Not because it does not afford the opportunity to serve
the people but because we can serve the masses from different perspectives.”
He lamented the impunity and
total violation of the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act
by the current government.
Mr Ozekhome called on the
Nigerian Bar Association, Body of Benchers, rights activists and major
stakeholders ”to stand against impunity encouraged by President Buhari”.
Culled: PremiumTimes
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com