Dear @olusogaowoeye. Let me now respond to your thread below. I had planned to do a much more extensive response but I am increasingly becoming convinced that there are too many people on Twitter without the ability to grasp simple concepts, such as the Rule of Law. Thread...
In responding, I will be asking you a series of questions to ensure that I understand your position. I will also try and embed some surveys, as suggested by @the_davidatta, so that we can gauge what other people think about some concepts.
As with any intellectual discourse, we must ALWAYS start with definitions, to be sure we’re debating the same thing. What is Rule of Law. Simply put, it is that the law as passed by the legislature is superior to the views of any individual, including the President. Do you agree?
The Rule of Law has two major components:
1. In all cases, the law must be supreme, otherwise we would have arbitrariness and quickly descend into anarchy.
2. Every person SHOULD be treated equally before the law, no matter who they are.
Do you agree with this concept or not?
1. In all cases, the law must be supreme, otherwise we would have arbitrariness and quickly descend into anarchy.
2. Every person SHOULD be treated equally before the law, no matter who they are.
Do you agree with this concept or not?
Another legal concept is the presumption of innocence. This means that everyone is presumed innocent until they are convicted by a competent court. The legal maxim is that it is better to free 10 guilty men than to let 1 innocent man suffer for what he didn’t do. Do you agree?
Let me now ask you some questions:
1. When Ganduje was videoed stuffing $$$ into his babanriga, should he have been arrested and detained despite his Constitutional immunity?
2. Isn’t the arrest of Sowore for allegedly threatening the Constitution about upholding the Rule of Law?
1. When Ganduje was videoed stuffing $$$ into his babanriga, should he have been arrested and detained despite his Constitutional immunity?
2. Isn’t the arrest of Sowore for allegedly threatening the Constitution about upholding the Rule of Law?
3. Isn’t it the same Rule of Law that meant he should have been released from DSS custody once he was granted bail by the courts?
4. Isn’t taking Onoghen to the CCT upholding the Rule of Law, that the law is supreme and everybody should be treated equally no matter who they are?
4. Isn’t taking Onoghen to the CCT upholding the Rule of Law, that the law is supreme and everybody should be treated equally no matter who they are?
The law is that public servants must fully declare their assets. He didn’t. I called for his resignation to save us the embarrassment of having our Chief Justice docked like a common criminal. He was eventually found culpable and retired.
I criticised the manner of his suspension by the President because it was illegal. He was eventually found culpable by the NJC, who recommended his retirement. I criticised the CCT directive to the President to suspend him. It was ultra vires.
That’s why I was attacked by ALL sides.😂 You see, the symbol of justice is of a blindfolded lady carrying a set of scales in one hand and a sword in the other. She wields the sword whenever the scales tilt in EITHER direction, not just when it tilts in our favour.
The law remains the law until it is changed. If you don’t like it, change it. I support special courts for corruption and terrorism cases.Those courts will try cases speedily and dispense justice quickly. I also support greater use of the CCT. See how quickly Onoghen was tried.
The government has the power to put necessary changes in place. It cannot disobey the law on the excuse that it is being abused and yet fail to address the abuse by changing the law. Doing so is to set us on the path of arbitrariness and autocracy.
Of course, there are those that say that the military should not have intervened to stop the Mpape robbery yesterday because it is not their role. We mustn’t take such people serious.
There are also those that say court orders granting bail should be ignored. We mustn’t take such people serious either. That’s why the Attorney General affirmed the government’s commitment to the Rule of Law when he announced the release of Sowore and Dasuki that had been bailed.
In supporting our favourite politician, we must be careful not to damage our institutions, including our justice institutions. As Aristotle said centuries ago, the supremacy of the law is better than the supremacy of any man, no matter who that man is. Thanks for your time. End.
