AND HE IS A FREE MAN

“Of all presidential perks, the pardon power has a special significance. It is just the kind of authority that would attract the special attention of someone obsessed with himself and  his own ability to influence events.”[1]

According to Wikipedia, a pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the cancellation of the relevant penalty. It is usually granted by a head of state (such as a monarch or president) or by acts of parliament or a religious authority.

In most countries, pardons are granted where the convicts have been shown to have paid their debts to the society, or considered to be deserving or have shown remorse. For instance being of good behavior in the prison or community service. Sometimes, pardons are also granted to people wrongfully convicted or who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. A pardon in such circumstance does not set aside the conviction, it only removes the penalty and restores a clean slate to the person pardoned but it doesn’t mean the judgment was wrong so if a person who believes he was wrongfully convicted is pardoned, it does not mean he did not commit the offence he was tried and convicted for, it only means he has been forgiven.

The president isn’t required to explain or justify his actions to anyone. The power to pardon is left solely to the discretion of the president, and cannot be reviewed or overturned by any or other branches of government .

Presidential pardon is not new to the Nigerian government, past Nigerian Heads of state and presidents have pardoned convicts in the past. We can’t list all but below are some worthy of note:

President Shehu Shagari granted pardon to General yakubu Gowon for his role in the coup that led to the death of General Murtala Muhammed. He also granted Col. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu pardon for his role in the Nigerian civil war.

General Abdusallami Abubakar granted a pardon to General Olusegun Obasanjo who was convicted for treason by General Sani Abacha.

President Olusegun Obasanjo in turn granted pardon to the former speaker house of representatives, Alhaji Ibrahim Salisu Buhari who was convicted for forgery and perjury. President Obasanjo further granted pardons to 13 individuals who were convicted alongside himself during the 1995 coup trial.

United States of America is not left out, here is a brief history of some remarkable pardons by US presidents.

President George W.Bush commuted the prison sentence of vice- presidential aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby who was tried and convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice and he was pardoned and he didn’t serve any prison term, just like that.

President Gerald Ford is widely considered to have lost the 1976 election by pardoning his predecessor, President Richard M. Nixon; President Bill Clinton was nearly indicted for one of the 459 pardons he issued during his two terms in office.[2]

Twenty four hours before leaving office, President Bill Clinton pardoned 140 individuals including Marc Rich who was indicted for evading more than $48 million in taxes, and charged with 51 counts of tax fraud, as well as running illegal oil deals with Iran during the 1979- 1980 hostage crisis. His partner, Pincus Green was also granted a pardon[3]. Bill Clinton also granted pardon to his half brother Roger Clinton for his conviction of cocaine possession; and so many others.

The most recent presidential pardon granted by president Goodluck Jonathan to seven Nigerians have proved to be very controversial as groups have called on him to rescind his decision.  A lot of issues have been raised one is that some of the people pardoned by the president had been pardoned by previous administrations.  General Shehu Musa Yaradua who was pardoned along with President Olusegun Obasanjo by the Abdusallami Abubakar administration and who is also dead and buried. Also pardoned were three former army officers who were accused of coup plotting: Oladipo Diya, Major General Abdulkareem Adisa and Major Fadipe who were also pardoned by the general Abdusallami Abubakar administration. The question now is what is the effect of a double pardon in law? Is this a new precedent or can we say since the earlier pardon was by a military administrator, it was unconstitutional and now the president just “legalized” it? Could it also mean that the president and the council of state were not aware that they had been pardoned before, what happened to the records?

Also pardoned by President Jonathan are a former managing director of the defunct bank of the north, Alhaji Shettima Bulama jailed for unauthorized lending credits to the tune of 600million naira and Mr Bello Mogaji who was convicted of sodomizing little children was also pardoned.  Chief DSP Alamieyesigha who jumped bail in the Uk on money laundering charges and was later convicted in Nigeria was also pardoned by president Jonathan. This particular pardon has caused an uproar, may be because of his history with the president as his political “god father” or because of the offence he was convicted for which bothers on corruption or the fact that he is still a fugitive.

S. 175 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria as amended grants the president power to grant pardon to individuals convicted by any law made by the National assembly. S.212 of the constitution also gives the governor of a state power to grant any person concerned with or  convicted of any offence created by any law of a state pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions;

The main concern of most people is that by the pardon of  ex governor of Bayelsa state, Mr Alamieyesigha who was convicted for looting the country’s treasury, what message is the president sending to the youth and entire Nigerian populace? Does it mean this administration doesn’t care about fighting corruption, does this mean it is now ok for one to enrich himself with the country’s  wealth, to jump bail in a foreign country and in the process tarnish the image of Nigeria in the international community  and still be entitled to the wealth corruptly amassed?

S.175(1)(d) of the constitution provides inter alia that the President may remit the whole or any part of any punishment imposed on that person for such an offence or of any penalty or forfeiture otherwise due to the state on account of such an offence.

The import of the above section is that Mr Alamieyesigha may end up getting back all the money he stole. He now has a clean slate, he can even run for any public position like president.

People have been calling on the president to rethink his decision but we all know it would be very impossible. It is his right, he cannot be forced to change his mind, it has already been done, the constitution backs him up and there is hardly anything anyone can do about it.

In a country where corruption is celebrated, criminals are set free in the name of pardon, ex convicts throw parties at the expiration of their sentence, accountability thrown to the wind, exam malpractice is normal, incompetence and ignorance is turned into the joke of the week, terrorism the order of the day and the youths are unemployed, one can say we are hopeless but that shouldn’t be the case. We can all rise up and fight this madness. It doesn’t have to continue this way. We are fortunate enough to be in a democratic society, we should rise up to the challenge, we can elect our officials, not by sitting at home but by registering and going out to vote, by doing the right thing, by shunning  thuggery, cultism, mal practice and violence. We also have the internet to speak our mind and fight our course, a quiet revolution can start on the internet, we must not keep quiet and pretend that it doesn’t affect us, all hands must be on deck to save our Nigeria because we have no other home.

I will end this article with this quote by Cindy Sheehan-

“We can’t let somebody rise to the top who will pardon these war criminals. Because they need to go to prison for what they’ve done to this world. We can’t have a pardon. They need to pay for what they have done”.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

 

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[1] Barbara Olson

[2]  How presidential pardons work by Josh Clark

[3] Short history of presidential pardons in Nigeria and the United states – Obasi Akpa Obasis

OBSTRUCTION OF TRAFFIC BY TRAFFIC OFFICERS

It is expected that when there is a presence of traffic officers like the FRSC or the VIO, or other law enforcement agents like the police, that there should be a free flow of traffic but sadly it has been observed that the reverse seems to be the case especially in some parts of the FCT, Nigeria.

This is so because these uniformed men have turned our roads to market place where they trade your freedom of movement with papers or money. The worst part of it all is that they are everywhere during the day and when it is evening when the traffic is chaotic  or when there is an accident and they are really needed, they are nowhere to be found.

For the purpose of this article, we shall use the vehicle inspection office, driver and vehicle licensing administration (VIO-DVLA) as a case study. Vehicle inspection office driver and vehicle licensing administration (VIO-DVLA) of the 36 states is charged with the responsibility of issuing driver’s license, learner’s permit and vehicle insurance.

 It has almost become a normal practice to see VIO-DVLA cars parked on the highways in Abuja. The cars are usually parked blocking half of the road, like a barricade and then the VIO-DVLA officials standing on the road, stopping vehicles so they can check for vehicle papers. Most of our roads are not even wide enough for three cars yet, a part of the road is blocked forcing motorists to only use one part of the road thus obstructing traffic. Does the Road Traffic Act Chapter 548, LFN(1990) regulates the  operation of vehicles and traffic in Nigeria and the FCT permit the VIO-DVLA to obstruct traffic?

Is barricading the road and risking the life of VIO-DVLA staff in the process the best way to enforce driving with valid driver’s license, learner’s permit and vehicle insurance? An angry driver for instance can just run over any VIO-DVLA official trying to stop him. Worse still is when they impound a vehicle and the VIO official enters the car to make sure the car is taken to the office, what if the driver drives away with the VIO official in his car, the official is not armed, what if the driver is a ritualist? The risk isn’t worth it.

 Is it even being enforced or are motorists just being delayed for nothing? I dare say, it is not being enforced because of the level of corruption, it seems the only people that are arrested by VIO-DVLA are the less privileged, who do not have any “god-father”. It wouldn’t be false to state here that VIO-DVLA does not stop uniformed men, instead they salute them and make way for them to pass; but woe betide you if you are just a common taxi driver and your papers are expired, your car will be impounded and even after paying the fine, to get the papers and your car back will be a hassle.

Furthermore, the process of issuing of driving license is a sham as we all know that most people in Nigeria do not go through any driving test before getting a driver’s license, you just pay some money and provide your data and the next thing, you hold a driver’s license, no due process. Let’s not even talk about the learner’s permit as most learners are not even aware such a thing exists in Nigeria. Ask the common man and he will tell you to put “L” sign on your car and you are good to go. Talking about the vehicle insurance, most motorists are yet to understand why they should pay such an amount to government in the name of insurance and does the insurance mean that the government or third party will pay for the damages to the car if there is an accident? Still waiting to hear that VIO-DVLA paid for a car damaged in an accident.

In other developed countries, it is not the usual practice to barricade half of the highway and conduct stop and search. Modern technology has made everything easy, chips or tags are imbedded on cars containing all the information about the car, (insurance and particulars, license) and readable by the vehicle inspection officers from their offices or computers thus there is no need to stop all cars and constitute nuisance; only cars which do not fulfil the requirements will be stopped. The e-coding was once introduced by the VIO-DVLA in the FCT is a step in the right direction and should be embraced instead of allowing it to just fizzle away like that.

Furthermore, how do we check speed limit in Nigeria and how do we even stop motorists that are driving above speed limit as is done in other developed countries? Our governors are car-crashing on daily basis because of too much speed, who dares to stop them, because there is no speed limit being enforced.

Also on the issue of stolen cars, cars are easily stolen in Nigeria and can’t be found because we lack the technology to do so. Rather than obstruct traffic in the name of checking for particulars and licenses, let us move with the times and also try as much as possible to fight corruption, do not give or take bribe, Nigeria can be made a better place.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

  

OBSTRUCTION OF TRAFFIC BY TRAFFIC OFFICERS

It is expected that when there is a presence of traffic officers like the FRSC or the VIO, or other law enforcement agents like the police, that there should be a free flow of traffic but sadly it has been observed that the reverse seems to be the case especially in some parts of the FCT, Nigeria.

This is so because these uniformed men have turned our roads to market place where they trade your freedom of movement with papers or money. The worst part of it all is that they are everywhere during the day and when it is evening when the traffic is chaotic  or when there is an accident and they are really needed, they are nowhere to be found.

For the purpose of this article, we shall use the vehicle inspection office, driver and vehicle licensing administration (VIO-DVLA) as a case study. Vehicle inspection office driver and vehicle licensing administration (VIO-DVLA) of the 36 states is charged with the responsibility of issuing driver’s license, learner’s permit and vehicle insurance.

 It has almost become a normal practice to see VIO-DVLA cars parked on the highways in Abuja. The cars are usually parked blocking half of the road, like a barricade and then the VIO-DVLA officials standing on the road, stopping vehicles so they can check for vehicle papers. Most of our roads are not even wide enough for three cars yet, a part of the road is blocked forcing motorists to only use one part of the road thus obstructing traffic. Does the Road Traffic Act Chapter 548, LFN(1990) regulates the  operation of vehicles and traffic in Nigeria and the FCT permit the VIO-DVLA to obstruct traffic?

Is barricading the road and risking the life of VIO-DVLA staff in the process the best way to enforce driving with valid driver’s license, learner’s permit and vehicle insurance? An angry driver for instance can just run over any VIO-DVLA official trying to stop him. Worse still is when they impound a vehicle and the VIO official enters the car to make sure the car is taken to the office, what if the driver drives away with the VIO official in his car, the official is not armed, what if the driver is a ritualist? The risk isn’t worth it.

 Is it even being enforced or are motorists just being delayed for nothing? I dare say, it is not being enforced because of the level of corruption, it seems the only people that are arrested by VIO-DVLA are the less privileged, who do not have any “god-father”. It wouldn’t be false to state here that VIO-DVLA does not stop uniformed men, instead they salute them and make way for them to pass; but woe betide you if you are just a common taxi driver and your papers are expired, your car will be impounded and even after paying the fine, to get the papers and your car back will be a hassle.

Furthermore, the process of issuing of driving license is a sham as we all know that most people in Nigeria do not go through any driving test before getting a driver’s license, you just pay some money and provide your data and the next thing, you hold a driver’s license, no due process. Let’s not even talk about the learner’s permit as most learners are not even aware such a thing exists in Nigeria. Ask the common man and he will tell you to put “L” sign on your car and you are good to go. Talking about the vehicle insurance, most motorists are yet to understand why they should pay such an amount to government in the name of insurance and does the insurance mean that the government or third party will pay for the damages to the car if there is an accident? Still waiting to hear that VIO-DVLA paid for a car damaged in an accident.

In other developed countries, it is not the usual practice to barricade half of the highway and conduct stop and search. Modern technology has made everything easy, chips or tags are imbedded on cars containing all the information about the car, (insurance and particulars, license) and readable by the vehicle inspection officers from their offices or computers thus there is no need to stop all cars and constitute nuisance; only cars which do not fulfil the requirements will be stopped. The e-coding was once introduced by the VIO-DVLA in the FCT is a step in the right direction and should be embraced instead of allowing it to just fizzle away like that.

Furthermore, how do we check speed limit in Nigeria and how do we even stop motorists that are driving above speed limit as is done in other developed countries? Our governors are car-crashing on daily basis because of too much speed, who dares to stop them, because there is no speed limit being enforced.

Also on the issue of stolen cars, cars are easily stolen in Nigeria and can’t be found because we lack the technology to do so. Rather than obstruct traffic in the name of checking for particulars and licenses, let us move with the times and also try as much as possible to fight corruption, do not give or take bribe, Nigeria can be made a better place.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

  

BARRICADING OF ROADS BY CHURCHES AND MOSQUES DURING THEIR SERVICE/PRAYER DAYS

“Two wrongs don’t make a right, but they make a good excuse”[1]

“Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government, a fair deal”[2]

“Most people want security in this world, not liberty”[3]

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”[4]

With the recent spate of bombings and killings in the Northern part of the country by the sect- boko haram, barricading half part of the road or even a whole street has become the order of the day in the Nation’s capital Abuja and some other parts of the country as every street that has a church is blocked on Sundays and every street that has a mosque is blocked on Fridays, and even when it is not blocked, you find that there is still no movement as the worshippers lay their mats on the main road, blocking the entire road till the end of the Friday prayers.

Worse-still is that all the streets that house police stations are a no go area because they are completely cordoned off as they seem to be the main target of the sect. The military and the state security service are not innocent of this as the same thing is obtainable in their area.

In this article we intend to raise four major concerns:

Right to freedom of movement: the blocking of these roads, does it not constitute a breach of the right to freedom of movement enshrined in Section 41 of the Nigerian constitution? When a citizen of Nigeria cannot pass freely on a road he is entitled to, thereby restricting his/her movement what is it called?

Some may argue that it is for security of many other citizens and right to life comes first before freedom of movement, while we agree that this is a valid point we ask,  does it make this right or lawful, does the blockade actually prevent attacks?  When a major road is blocked and there is diversion, it leads to traffic jam which makes the people in the traffic prone to attack. Besides, a suicide bomber who is ready to carry out his assignment, a simple blocking of the road may not stop him as he would easily and readily seek an alternative route.  

Break down of law and order: A situation whereby road safety officials will help a church block a major road and encourage drivers to drive against traffic doesn’t make it lawful rather a total break down of law and order is not far as few hours later or the very next day you may be arrested by that same official for obstructing traffic or more traffic offences if you drive on that same lane he commanded you to be on. Also some churches have turned it to a right such that anytime they have programs during the week, (not just on Sundays), they block the road; people returning after a long day of work now have to face heavy traffic which ordinarily should not be there. What if everyone decides his life is in danger and block entrance to their street, where will people pass through?

Managing the situation: like stated above, blocking of major roads will not stop bombing, we are at best delaying the evil day. Barricades may caution the effect of the bombing but it is not a solution, it does not bring it to an end. People still live in fear even with the barricades, what if the bombers decide not to bomb churches or mosques again and then go to the open market and plant bombs , would we barricade the markets too?

Destroying tax payers road: some very heavy blocks are used to bar passers-by in the name of security. Lets look at the long term effect, most of those barricades will damage the road because when placed there for a very long time it will leave pot-holes or worse still erosion. One major problem Nigeria has been trying to tackle is bad roads, we cannot in the name of securing lives and property loose the few good roads we have.

Based on the concerns raised above, we submit that blocking of roads as good as it may look right now is not the best idea as it will cause more harm than good in the nearest future. When is it going to stop? The Federal Government of Nigeria should put an end to this menace once and for all, they should find a lasting solution to this boko haram issue as no amount of money is equal to a life lost.

Also, the security officials should come up with a better solution than blocking of roads, there are bomb detectors that can detect bombs from afar, there are several other ways to prevent bombing rather than restriction of movement and damaging our roads. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

 More importantly, everyone should be vigilant, the government and the security officers can’t do it alone. you don’t need to be a trained security officer to help, be a good citizen, love your neighbor, embrace peace and eschew bitterness, avoid bad company, report any suspicious persons or movement, believe in positive change, with one heart and might, we can make Nigeria a better and safer place.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

 

 

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[1] Thomas Szasz

[2] Harry S. Truman

[3] H.L Mencken , minority report 1956

[4] Martin Luther King jnr

DISCRIMINATION IN THE JUDICIARY; WHAT HOPE DOES THE COMMON MAN HAVE?

“Diversity on the bench is critical. As practitioners, you need judges who ‘get it’! We need judges who understand what discrimination feels like. We need judges who understand what inequality feels like. We need judges who understand the subtleties of unfair treatment and who are willing to call it out when they see it!” [1]

“When women thrive, all of society benefits, and succeeding generations are given a better start in life.”[2]

It is no more news that the Chief justice of Nigeria, Justice Maryam Alooma Mukthar stepped down the swearing in of one of the recently appointed justices of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo on the basis of her state of origin. The strange thing however, is the existence of such a policy within the judiciary; a policy which denies a married woman a position whether appointed or elected, in her husband’s state.

We do not have much to say about the decision of the CJN[3] to step down the swearing in of Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo based on the petition before her, as the constitution says it all in Section 238(2) which provides that a justice of the court of appeal shall be appointed by the president on the recommendation of the NJC[4], it means that constitutionally, she automatically became a justice of the Court of Appeal, the very day, the president appointed her.

Our major concern is the policy that estopps women from taking up positions in their matrimonial state. If such a policy or law is real or actually exists, it means that when a woman gets married she is not entitled to any benefits from the husband’s state, in fact she is not even a citizen of that state yet she bears the man’s name but she is a stranger in her own home, that is wrong on all levels. It is discrimination which is against Section 42 of the Nigerian constitution. The constitution is supreme and any law or policy that is inconsistent with the provisions of the constitution is null and void to the extent of its inconsistency.

Furthermore, it is trite that once a woman gets married, as much as she still retains the right of indigeneship of that state, it is really difficult to get appointment or be elected in her state of origin because she is already “sold out” to the other state, in fact her chances are higher in her husband’s state. This policy or whatever it is, threatens the sanctity of marriage. It means when a woman gets married and still wants to build her career especially in the judiciary, she should be limited to her state of origin, in which case she may not have to remain in her state to pursue her career while the husband stays in his own state.

Moreover, it threatens our unity as a nation, because it discourages inter- state marriage as only women who do not care about their career that will get married outside their state. There is unity in diversity, it is what makes us a great nation, Inter- state and inter- tribal marriage fosters unity and peaceful co-existence.

Before we conclude may we ask, what is the fate of other married women who have built their career for years in their husband’s state? What happens to the women who are already occupying positions in states other than their state of birth, should they resign and go back to their state of origin? Is it okay for a woman to bear her husband’s name but not enjoy other benefits accrued to the marriage like career advancement? What is the hope of her children, how are we sure that tomorrow they won’t be denied their right because of their mother’s state of origin?

The stepping down of Justice Ifeoma’s swearing in on the basis of her state of origin is sad, even more pathetic as it is coming from the judiciary we submit that that law needs to be reviewed as soon as possible no matter the reason it was made in the first place because it is discriminatory, unconstitutional, unfair, offensive, manifest injustice and contrary to natural justice, equity and good conscience.

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[1] Debbie Wasserman Schultz

[2] Kofi Anan

[3] Chief Justice of Nigeria

[4] National Judicial Council