Those citing the Robbery and Firearms Act as authority in support of the power of Armed Forces to fight robbery should note:
1. This law came into existence in 1970 during Gowon's regime when the military was in power. It is a product of militarism, legacy of military incursion.
1. This law came into existence in 1970 during Gowon's regime when the military was in power. It is a product of militarism, legacy of military incursion.
2. Those conversant with military dictatorship in Nigeria will know that soldiers were more important to law enforcement than the Police during the military days. Soldiers were everywhere. It's not surprising that the military gave themselves powers under the Decree (now Act).
3. The power of arrest under this law is not limited to armed robbery. It extends to all offences in that law including illegal possession of firearms, robbery (without arms) & assault, etc. If you rely on law for armed robbery it means the Army can arrest for the other offences.
4. The Armed Forces can only be called-in to AID civil authorities. They cannot be called-in to take over the functions of civil authorities as we've been seeing. The word "aid" as used in the Constitution will be useless if activated when civil authorities aren't overwhelmed.
5. The fact that we've a dysfunctional police does not derogate from the constitutional demarcation of the roles of the Police and that of the Armed Forces. If the President can deploy the Armed Forces irrespective of the circumstances, it means Nigeria is not a sane country
