Atiku Abubakar
Being
a letter written by HE Atiku Abubakar to the Ambassadors of France,
Germany, EU, US and UK High Commissioner.
CONSTITUTIONAL
BREACHES UNDER THE WATCH OF PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI
I
have chosen to write this letter to Your Excellency for the enviable
role that your country plays as champion of Democracy and the Rule of
Law. I am also writing you as Nigeria’s international development
partner working together to deepen and strengthen our democracy as
well as to help in the transformation of our economies and societies
for the better.
President
Muhammadu Buhari is threatening our democracy by serially breaching
the provisions of our constitution and undermining organs and
institutions of State in order to advance his personal interest.
While the President has ironically taken oath to safeguard and defend
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the reality of
his selective and wanton violations of its provisions means that his
oath is observed only in the breach.
And
as Your Excellency very much knows, respect for the rule of law is
integral to promoting and preserving the values and principles of
democracy. Sadly, however, by the actions of the government of
President Muhammadu Buhari, one is forced to think otherwise.
As
a Presidential Candidate in the forthcoming General Elections that
will be conducted and supervised by the Government of President
Muhammadu Buhari, I feel the urgent need to share with you some of
these key violations of the provisions of our constitution and to
demand that you pile pressure on the Federal Government to desist
from these violations and ensure a level playing field for the
General Elections that are only a couple of weeks away. We
acknowledge with profound appreciation the positions taken by some
members of the International Community in Nigeria and urge Your
Excellency to add your country’s very strong voice against these
breaches of Nigeria’s constitution. Your Voice is very important to
the survival of Nigeria’s democracy.
Some
of these constitutional infractions are highlighted below for your
information and action as you may deem appropriate.
1.
The Purported Suspension of CJN Onnoghen
On
Friday, January 25, 2019, our nation woke up to the shocking news of
the unilateral and extra-constitutional suspension of the Chief
Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen and the immediate
appointment and swearing in of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, as the
new acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). This action of President
Muhammadu Buhari, not only breaches the Nigerian Constitution, but
has also managed to undermine Presidential democracy by assaulting
one of its hallowed doctrines of separation of Powers. For the
records, Justice Walter Onnoghen is the head of one of the Tripartite
but mutually independent organs that form the government of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. To attempt to muscle out the Chief
Justice of Nigeria using phony charges at a time when His Lordship
was primed to play a central role in the fast approaching nationwide
electoral process represents the boldest steps in the march to
undermine our democracy. This is undoubtedly an anti-democratic act
which my political Party and I reject without reservation and for
which I urge Your Excellency to condemn unequivocally.
Need
I say, this brazen authoritarian and imperious stride of President
Buhari is the latest action in a series of carefully planned
onslaught on our nation’s hard earned democracy by an extremely
power hungry and anxious President and the cabal that feeds fat
around him as February 16, 2019 draws nearer.
The
fact that the unlawful suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen
was announced just as it became public knowledge that the CJN was
constituting the election petition tribunals is not lost on
discerning Nigerians and the international community. This act of
desperation is geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019
Presidential elections. Indeed, it is not just the CJN that has been
"suspended", it is the Nigerian Constitution that has been
infracted and, in effect, suspended, under the guise of the
suspension of the CJN.
The
case involving the legality or otherwise of the charges against Chief
Justice Walter Onnoghen is in court, as it should be. So far, the
judiciary has ruled in Justice Onnoghen’s favour.. So, why not
allow the court to adjudicate on the matter? What is the pressing
urgency about this matter?
Let
me therefore take the opportunity of this letter to urge your country
and all well-meaning members of the International community to mount
pressure on this government and all its anti-democracy functionaries
know that their actions will have consequences. Strong consequences.
2.
The illegal purchase of the Tucano Aircrafts:
President
Buhari sometime in April 2018 approved the purchase of Tucano
Aircrafts for the Nigerian Military at the sum of $496 million (Four
Hundred and Ninety-Six Million United States Dollars). This, he did,
without seeking prior approval of the National Assembly contrary to
Section 80 (3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which
states very clearly, how the President can spend monies belonging to
the Federation. It provides:
“(3)
No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any
other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner prescribed
by the National Assembly.”
“(4)
No monies shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or
any other public fund of the Federation, except in the manner
prescribed by the National Assembly”
3.
Disregard for Orders of Courts:
The
Muhammadu Buhari administration has serially violated court orders,
going against the rule of law especially in three known cases.
a.
Col. Sambo Dasuki (Former National Security Adviser): Various courts
have granted Col. Dasuki bail on at least six different occasions;
the Buhari led government has persistently refused to comply with the
court orders.
·
Federal High Court in Abuja presided by Justice Adeniyi Ademola in
2015 ordered the release of Col. Dasuki’s passport and granted him
permission to travel abroad for three weeks on medical grounds.
Despite the order made on November 3, the Department of State
Security Services, SSS refused to release Col. Dasuki.
·
Again, the former NSA and four others were granted bail on December
18, 2015 on a similar condition with a N250 million bond by Justice
Hussein-Baba Yusuf.
·
Similarly, the former NSA; a former Minister of State for Finance,
Bashir Yuguda; former Sokoto Governor, Attahiru Bafarawa; and
three others were granted bail by Justice Peter Affen on December 21,
2015 by the Federal Capital Territory High Court in the sum of N250
million each and two sureties in like sum. The Federal Government
cherry-picked the order whilst disobeying the part that concerned the
former NSA.
·
The ECOWAS Court presided by Honorable Justice F.C. Nwoke on October
4 2016 granted the former NSA bail and ordered the Nigerian
Government to pay N15 Million to the defendant as damages for his
“illegal and arbitrary detention”.
·
On 17 January 2018, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja reaffirmed
previous court orders granting Col. Dasuki bail.
·
Also on April 6, 2018 the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court
affirmed, for the umpteenth time, its decision for the release of
Col. Dasuki.
b.
Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, Leader of a Shiite Group, IMN:
·
Sheikh El-Zakzaky has been in detention without trial for over 3years
after his followers were massacred in broad daylight; his wife and
family killed and his home burnt, in a gory and shameful show of
brute force by the Nigerian Army. This particular state violence is
nothing short of genocide.
·
On December 2, 2016 the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court
Presided by Justice Kolawole ordered the release of Sheikh El-Zakzaky
and berated the Nigerian government for violating his rights.
4.
The approval of $1 billion for military expenditure before
approaching the National Assembly:
The
Nigerian government through the National Economic Council NEC, again
in contravention of Section 80 (3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution
(as amended), granted approval for the release of $1 billion from the
Excess Crude Account, ECA, for the procurement of military hardware
and other equipment to fight insecurity in the country, ahead of the
2019 General Elections without recourse to the National Assembly.
Mansur Dan-Ali, Nigeria's Defense Minister disclosed this at the end
of security chiefs meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. By this act,
the Federal Government acted contrary to the provisions of the
Section 80 (3) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, which states:
“(3)
No monies shall be withdrawn from any public fund of the Federation,
other than the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, unless
the issue of those moneys has been authorized by an Act of the
National Assembly.
5.
Executive Order No. 006 (On Preservation of Suspicious Assets and
Related Schedules):
The
enactment of the controversial Executive Order No. 006 as an
Executive legislation which permits security agencies to freeze the
assets of persons standing trial or undergoing investigation without
recourse to court orders. This is a usurpation of legislative and
judicial powers of the National Assembly and the judiciary as
enshrined respectively under sections 4 and 6 of the Constitution of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria and reminiscent of the military era
of decrees.
The
above, and many more that did not make it into this very short
letter, are the unfortunate actions of the Government of a man who
merely pays lip service to being a reformed democrat.
General
Elections are upon us yet again. I urge you to partner with Nigerians
to defend our constitution and play an active role in building our
country. The choices facing all of us is either to stand aside and
watch Nigerians reelect a President who has been in constant
violation of the laws of the land without remorse; or to support them
show him the way out and elect a true democrat. We must send a clear
message that the Nigerian Nation is bigger than any individual.
Even
if Nigerians opted not to elect me as President, the incumbent must
go into the polls on his own record of lack of respect for the Rule
of Law and not on the spurious perception of his “Integrity”. We
need to set precedence for successive leaders not to take democratic
mandate for granted.
Sincerely,
Atiku
Abubakar, GCON
(Waziri
Adamawa)
Former
Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
and
Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
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