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Tag: Petitions

  • SERAP drags Nigerian govt to UN over disobedience of court rulings, orders

    SERAP drags Nigerian govt to UN over disobedience of court rulings, orders

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has petitioned Mr. Diego García-Sayán, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers requesting him to use his good offices to prevail on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to end persistent disobedience of court rulings and orders.

    SERAP also wants Mr. Garcia-Sayan to urge President Buhari to uphold the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international obligations on protection of the independence and integrity of the judiciary.

    In the petition dated 11 May 2018 and signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the organization said, “The selective enforcement of court orders if not urgently addressed would ultimately put the rule of law in Nigeria under siege.”

    It added that the “persistent and apparently deliberate disobedience of court rulings by the Nigerian authorities is an affront to the supremacy of the Constitution and the independence of the judiciary and if not urgently addressed may lead to self-help and undermine the authorities’ oft-expressed commitment to fight corruption.

    “Protecting judicial independence is an obligation to be guaranteed and not a privilege that States may grant. Disobedience of court rulings also directly violates the fundamental principles of the rule of law and separation of powers.

    “We urge you to publicly condemn disobedience of court orders by the Nigerian authorities and prevail on them to refrain from any threats or interference that may hamper court’s independence as the supreme guardian of the country’s constitution and laws.”

    “Disobedience of court orders is a serious threat to the independence and integrity of the judiciary and would undermine the crucial role of the judiciary in combating corruption and obstruct access to justice, contrary to international standards, including Article 11 of the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”

    “SERAP also notes Principles 2 and 4 of the UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary mention the requirement of non-interference to guarantee the independence of the judiciary. Such lack of interference implies that no authority, private group or individual may interfere in judicial decisions; they must respect and abide by the decisions of the judiciary.

    “Nigerian authorities have disobeyed court orders in several cases including those involving the Islamic Movement of Nigeria Leader Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife, the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), and SERAP. Many state governments in Nigeria also continue to flagrantly disobey court orders with almost complete impunity.

    “Other court orders that the government continue to disobey include: the ECOWAS court judgment ordering the Nigerian authorities to provide free and quality education to all Nigerian children without discrimination; the rulings by Nigerian courts ordering the authorities to establish education banks to assist poor students to obtain loans to pursue tertiary education and the restoration of people’s bank to give loans without collaterals to underprivileged citizens.

    “At least two of the court rulings SERAP recently obtained from the Federal High Court have been disobeyed by the Nigerian authorities. The first involves a case with suit number FHC/IKJ/CS/248/2011 delivered in March 2016 where Justice Mohammed Idris ordered the Federal Government of Nigeria to widely publish details on the spending of recovered stolen funds by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999.

    “The details ordered to be published by the court include: (a) Detailed information on the total amount of recovered stolen public assets that have so far been recovered by Nigeria (b) The amount that has been spent from the recovered stolen public assets and the objects of such spending (c) Details of projects on which recovered stolen public assets were spent.

    “The second court judgment involves a case with suit number FHC/CS/964/2016 delivered in July 2017 where Justice Hadiza Rabiu Shagari ordered the government to tell Nigerians the circumstances under which allegedly recovered stolen assets were recovered, as well as the exact amount of funds recovered from each public official. However, the Nigerian authorities would seem to have only partially obeyed the court orders in this case. The authorities are not known to have appealed any of these court judgments and rulings.

    “Under both the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights everyone is entitled to the right to an effective remedy, and to seek justice in courts in cases of violations of human rights.”

  • Saraki pledges to address petitions on injustice against Nigerians

    The President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki has pledged the commitment of the 8th Senate to address on petitions bordering on injustice against Nigerians.

    This is even as he has called on Nigerian to feel free to submit their petitions to the Senate or the House of Representatives through their representative in the National Assembly.

    Saraki made this call in a video interview published on @NGRSenate, the official twitter handle of the Nigerian Senate.

    The video was published on Tuesday by Mr Bamikole Omishore, Special Adviser to the President of the Senate on New Media.

    In the video, Saraki said that the commitment of the 8th Senate to representing Nigerians in this regard could be exemplified by the number of petition which it had addressed in only two years.

    Saraki said that the 8th Senate had finalised 74 petitions in only two years stressing that the number was more than what any other senate had treated in the history of Nigeria.

    “We represent Nigerians, we are voted for that, the difference between democracy and military rule is parliament.

    “In Kwara central if anybody feels there has been an injustice against him anywhere in the system it is me that he comes to and says you are representing me, fight for me.

    “Over the years, nobody attends to such petitions but we have treated over 70 petitions in two years: I know a senate that treated only 5 petitions in four years.

    “So there is an avenue now for Nigerians to go to if they feel there has been an injustice,” he said.

    The President of Senate said that there was a case of wrongful termination of employment where the man died in the process and the petition was brought to the Senate.

    He said that the Senate heard the petition and directed that the late man’s entitlement up to when he died including his death benefit be paid to his widow and children.

    He added that the family has been uplifted and the widow has started a business to support the family.

    “That is what we are here for, that is why we created the opportunity for Nigerians to bring their petitions and we will address them and get justice,” he said.

    The 8th Senate hold the record to have received the highest number of petitions and in just two years have treated more petitions than any other Senate in the history of Nigeria.

    However, the Senate has also warned Nigerians not to submit frivolous petitions or petitions without facts and only aimed at damaging the reputation of an individual or a company.

  • Corruption: Start receiving, treating petitions from public, Saraki orders committees

    The Nigerian Senate has expanded the responsibilities of its Committees to include taking petitions from members of the public on allegations of corrupt practices in any government establishment across the country.

    Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who stated this in his speech at the 11th Annual Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) in Lagos, said the decision was part of its anti-corruption policy aimed at eradicating the menace in the country.

    Saraki, according to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Sanni Onogu, also called on the NBA to partner with the National Assembly in using amendments of existing laws and introduction of new legislative proposals for the purposes of curbing corruption.

    The Senate President reiterated that the ongoing anti-corruption war could only succeed if it is devoid of politics even as he said the anti-graft bodies need more capacity building to enable them carry out thorough investigations.

    He said, “On the issue of corruption, while we have continued to pursue this issue using our oversight scheme, and for which there has been remarkable success, we however, think that unless we innovate and apply smart technology we will not go too far.

    “The 8th Senate is expanding its anti-corruption policy by empowering its committee to now receive corruption petitions. The National Assembly is also taking another look at the issue of expansive discretionary powers under our laws that may be contributing to make corruption fester. We would therefore want you to ponder on this and work with us to use law amendments and new legislative proposals to narrow corruption opportunities to the barest minimum.

    “Corruption is one area of our national life we cannot afford to play politics with. On the prosecution of cases, it is clear that there is a whole lot of more work to be done to ensure we succeed against corruption. The trend today with the cases we have seen play out indicates that a lot more work needs to be done to guarantee better outcome. From the prosecution culture to capacity there is a need for thorough investigations to take precedence over media sensationalism.

    “There may be need for better training and strategy building. Let me once again charge you as lawyers to help come up with your ideas on what legislative path we can take to help close the gap,” he said.

    He said that while the 8th Senate has surpassed previous sessions through the number of bills and legislative interventions, it has also fulfilled its major promise to open up the affairs of the National Assembly and publish its budget while also using new legislation to modernize the economy.

    “Our Vision going forward is that with the capital outlay and regulation it is expected that Nigeria will create 7.5 million jobs in the next five years owing solely to their infrastructure reforms, and to ensure a sound economy, our legal regime must be equally sound and provide an assuring platform for investors, entrepreneurs and businesses,” he added.

    The Senate President noted that the NBA has a great role to play in ensuring that the objectives of the laws passed by the National Assembly to aid the economic growth are realized.

    “It is upon you who work with these legal instruments and on whom the business community and the courts will rely on providing the right advisory that will see to the realization of the full potential of these laws when signed into law.

    As you deliberate on your conference theme, it will be good to see the NBA develop new legal culture that will help promote these new laws for effectiveness. We will like to see new tools for better commercial contract development and enforcement, conflict management, private property protection, judicial protection and security of enterprise,” he said.

    According to him, the NBA remains not just a stakeholder but one of the most critical voice of reason within the nation’s body polity, hence “the Senate has continued to seek out and engage you for advice and consultations on national issues.”

    He noted that the role the NBA plays in shaping public perception and the opportunity it offers as a vehicle for promoting good governance has continued to grow.

    “This is why when we opened up consultations and engagement with the private sector and the wider civil society on our legislative agenda which has been anchored on the economy, the NBA was one of our first port of call,” Saraki said.