"By causing the election to be postponed, the NSA and the security
chiefs have staged a coup against the Constitution," Falana said. "They
are liable to be prosecuted for the grave offence of treason at the
appropriate time.”
By causing the postponement of the general elections,
the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and the military chiefs
have plotted a coup against the Nigerian constitution, radical lawyer,
Femi Falana, has said.
Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, stated this in his response to
the postponement of the general elections as announced by the electoral
agency, INEC, through its chairman, Attahiru Jega.
Mr. Jega on Saturday night said the elections, initially scheduled
for February 14 and 28 will now hold on March 28 and April 11. He
explained that the postponement was necessitated by the statements of
the NSA and military chiefs that they could not provide security in
February as the military would be busy with tackling the Boko Haram
insurgency.
Mr. Falana, citing constitutional provisions, however, argued that
both the military chiefs acted wrongly by making such assertions.
“In a desperate bid to blackmail the INEC to postpone the election
the NSA wrote a letter to the INEC to the effect that the armed forces
could not provide security for the election because of the operations in
the north east region.
“By writing directly to the INEC on the security situation in the
north east region the NSA usurped the functions of the National Security
Council.”
Mr. Falana added that “by causing the election to be postponed, the
NSA and the security chiefs have staged a coup against the Constitution.
They are liable to be prosecuted for the grave offence of treason at
the appropriate time.”
Read his full statement below:
At a public lecture delivered at the Chartham House in London
last month, the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki
disclosed that he had “advised” the Independent National Electoral
Commission to postpone the election. The reason adduced then for the
unsolicited advice was that the INEC needed time to distribute permanent
voters’ cards to all registered voters. As an adviser to the President
on national security the NSA has no powers whatsoever to give directives
or advice to the INEC. Indeed, there is no statutory nexus between the
INEC and the NSA to warrant the purported demand for the postponement of
the General Election. To that extent, the NSA acted illegally. The INEC
rightly rejected the unwarranted interference from the NSA.
But as soon as the INEC announced that all arrangements had
been put in place for the distribution of the remaining permanent voters
cards in readiness for the February 14 election the NSA began to sing a
different tune. At that juncture, President Goodluck Jonathan convened a
meeting of the Council of State. The NSA and the security chiefs were
curiously invited to the meeting with a view to convincing the Council
members to endorse the postponement of the election. To their utter
dismay, they failed to achieve the illegal objective as the Council
declined to support the postponement of the election. The Presidency had
wanted the advisory body to usurp the constitutional duty of INEC by
taking a “decision” on the postponement of the election.
In a desperate bid to blackmail the INEC to postpone the
election the NSA wrote a letter to the INEC to the effect that the armed
forces could not provide security for the election because of the
operations in the north east region. By writing directly to the INEC on
the security situation in the north east region the NSA usurped the
functions of the National Security Council. That is the only body that
has the constitutional duty to “advise the President on matters relating
to public security including matters relating to any organization or
agency established by law for ensuring the security of the Federation.”
The Council which is established under section 153 of the Constitution
is comprised of the President, Vice-President, the a Defence Minister,
Chief of defence staff, minister of interior, minister of foreign
affairs, inspector-General of police and national security adviser.
It is pertinent to point out that the security chiefs are not
members of the National Security Council. Neither are they members of
the Nigeria Police Council. Therefore, they lack the constitutional
power to make any authoritative pronouncement on the security of the
nation. Even though the NSA is a member of the National Security Council
he cannot usurp the constitutional responsibilities of the body with
the connivance of the service chiefs. Since the NSA and the service
chiefs acted illegally and mala fide the INEC ought to have rejected
their politically motivated request for the postponement of the
Election. The reliance on section 25 of the Electoral Act by Professor
Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman is totally misleading. The provision
does not support the postponement of a general election in the entire
country but “in the area or areas” where there is violence or actual
threat of a breakdown of law and order.
Since the reason for the postponement of any election must be
“cogent and verifiable” it is crystal clear from the press conference
addressed by Professor Jega last night that the INEC did not verify the
bogus claim of the NSA and the security chiefs as required by the law.
By saying that they would not provide security in aid of civil
authorities pursuant to section 217 of the Constitution the security
chiefs have committed the offence of mutiny contrary to section 52 of
the armed Forces Act. Contrary to the mistaken belief of the INEC
leadership the armed forces have no role to play in the electoral
process.
Since it is the exclusive constitutional responsibility of
the Nigeria Police Force to maintain law and order during elections the
INEC should have called off the bluff of the security chiefs. More so,
that the Inspector-General of Police had confirmed the readiness of the
Police to provide security for the election. Just last week, the federal
high court sitting in Sokoto declared illegal and unconstitutional the
involvement of soldiers in election duties. That judgment is binding on
all authorities and persons in Nigeria.
It is pertinent to point out that the postponement of a
General Election throughout the country is provided for under section
135(3) of the Constitution where it is stated that “If the Federation is
at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the
President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the
National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years
mentioned in subsection (2) of this section from time to time, but no
such extension shall exceed a period of six months at any one time.”
Since the President could not persuade the National Assembly to pass a
resolution for tenure elongation on spurious grounds the service chiefs
allowed themselves to be manipulated to subvert the democratic process.
Thus, by causing the election to be postponed, the NSA and the security
chiefs have staged a coup against the Constitution. They are liable to
be prosecuted for the grave offence of treason at the appropriate time.
If the satanic Boko Haram sect is not defeated by the armed
forces of the republics of Chad, Cameroon and Niger in the next six
weeks, the security chiefs are likely to ask for another postponement of
the General Election on the ground that the operations in the north
east region have not been successfully concluded. As such extension
cannot be accommodated under the Electoral Act and the Constitution, the
democratic process may be terminated by the security chiefs to pave way
for the much touted INTERIM NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. Since some of the
Colonels who played a dominant role in the criminal annulment of the
June 12, 1993 presidential election have taken over the security of the
country, the democratic forces in Nigeria should be prepared for a long
drawn out battle for the restoration of civil rule. In the circumstance,
I am compelled to urge Nigerians to beware of the “Ides of March”.
Femi Falana SAN
That
Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her
latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow No - See more at:
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That
Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her
latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow No - See more at:
http://www.afro-news.com/2015/02/tonto-dikeh-call-ini-edo-nollywood.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.dyy6HwKF.dpuf
That
Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her
latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow No - See more at:
http://www.afro-news.com/2015/02/tonto-dikeh-call-ini-edo-nollywood.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.dyy6HwKF.dpuf
That Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow Nollywood actress, Ini Edo.
Tonto
Dikeh who is nominated for future awards(Best actress) shocked fans
when she posted a twet referring to a fellow Future Award Nominee as a
“Desperate Nollywood old cargo”. - See more at:
http://www.afro-news.com/2015/02/tonto-dikeh-call-ini-edo-nollywood.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.dyy6HwKF.dpufv
That Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow Nollywood actress, Ini Edo.
Tonto
Dikeh who is nominated for future awards(Best actress) shocked fans
when she posted a twet referring to a fellow Future Award Nominee as a
“Desperate Nollywood old cargo”. - See more at:
http://www.afro-news.com/2015/02/tonto-dikeh-call-ini-edo-nollywood.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.dyy6HwKF.dpuf
That Nollywood Tonto Dikeh is controversial is no news,what is news is her latest jab directed at someone considered to be fellow Nollywood actress, Ini Edo.
Tonto
Dikeh who is nominated for future awards(Best actress) shocked fans
when she posted a twet referring to a fellow Future Award Nominee as a
“Desperate Nollywood old cargo”. - See more at:
http://www.afro-news.com/2015/02/tonto-dikeh-call-ini-edo-nollywood.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.dyy6HwKF.dpuf
