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In the constitution of most democratic nations of the world today, freedom of speech and expression is a right that every citizens enjoy, but that fact is just on the paper, as many people don’t get to determine their fate immediately after such rights are being expressed. Such was the experience of 112 women who were arrested and recently freed for demanding to know the whereabouts of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
The rate of repression and oppression being witnessed under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, a Professor of Law, Yemi Osinbajo is becoming too alarming. People are being whisked away and threatened by government’s apparatus like the Nigerian Police Force and Men of the Department for State Services (DSS) at every attempt to expose this administration’s inadequacies and inhuman treatment of innocent citizens expressing their discomfort and discontent about certain matters.
The apparent show of disdain to the rule of law by this Buhari’s administration is alarming. The recent case of Mr. Abiri, the publisher and editor-in-chief of the weekly source; who was detained by the State Security Service for two years without trial over allegations he was linked to armed militancy in the Niger Delta is a good example. For two consecutive years, his freedom was taken away from him by this regime.
In a recent outing by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in which the President was invited to give a speech, President Muhammadu Buhari sited occasions in which the rule of law may be trampled upon. He said “Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that; where national security and public interest are threatened or there is a likelihood of their being threatened, the individual rights of those allegedly responsible must take second place, in favour of the greater good of society” This should never be the case. It is like using a form of injustice to cure another injustice.
There is no single agreed definition of the rule of law. However there is a core definition that has near universal acceptance. Geoffrey de Q. Walker in The rule of law: foundation of constitutional democracy, (1st Ed., 1988), posited that most of the content of the rule of law can be summed up in two points: (1) that the people (including, one should add, the government) should be ruled by the law and obey it and (2) that the law should be such that people will be able (and, one should add, willing) to be guided by it. At its most basic level the rule of law is the concept that both the government and citizens know the law and obey it. However the rule of law is also much larger than this. The relevance of the rule of law, and an understanding of its concepts, can be seen in its effects on society.
The US recently published a report in which the Muhammadu Buhari led APC administration was scored low on anti-corruption and widespread abuse of human rights especially by the security agencies. This is to show the extent at which rights violation of the citizens under Buhari has gone unabated. Peaceful protesters are being tear gassed and sometimes arbitrarily locked away in cells, journalists are being threatened and illegally arrested and detained. These and many more are ways in which this administration is suppressing the views of many Nigerians as regarding the many failures of his administration.
The President must be reminded that Nigeria is a democratic nation governed by the rule of law. The last time I checked, we are led by a democratic leader and not a military junta. The rule of law cannot be secondary! The state must abide by it in all its affairs and conducts.