The Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre has told the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to take action against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for failing to obey the orders of the Supreme Court.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of RULAAC, Okechukwu Nwanguma, on Tuesday, the group said it wasn’t persuaded by the statement issued by the spokespersons of the President, which had stated that Buhari neither directed the Attorney-General of the Federation nor the governor of the Central Bank to disobey the order of the Supreme Court.
Nwanguma stated that it did not make sense for the president’s spokespersons to make excuses for him when Malami and Emefiele were both answerable to the president.
Recall that the Supreme Court on March 3, 2023, had directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes, remained legal tender until the 31st of December 2023. The court held that the president’s directive on February 16 that invalidated the N500 and N1,000 notes—except for N200 notes which he said were valid until April 10—was invalid as it was issued “without due consultation.”
RULAAC, however, noted that the AGF and the CBN governor were public officials and that the buck stopped at the table of the president. They added that Buhari had failed to lead by example in previous rulings of the courts, which had repeatedly directed the release of Omoyele Sowore, El-Zakzaky, and Nnamdi Kanu.
Part of the statement reads, “It does not make sense for President Buhari’s spokesperson to make excuses for the President, saying he did not direct the Central Bank Governor or the Attorney General of the Federation to disobey Court Orders.
“Ultimately, the buck stops on the President’s table and what Nigerians want to hear, is what the President has done to call to order, lawless officials of his government under his supervision when they act wrongfully. This is the only way to demonstrate that he does not endorse lawlessness.
“Above all, the President needs to lead by example by demonstrating that he has respect for, and is subject to the rule of law, and that he stands against disobedience to court orders. We didn’t see the President demonstrate this when the courts gave repeated orders for the release of Omoyele Sowore, Dasuki, El Zak-zakay, and Nnamdi Kanu.
“In the case of Nnamdi Kanu who remains in illegal detention in contemptuous disregard of the multiple orders of the Appeal Court, the orders of international courts have also been ignored.
“Let Buhari demonstrate to Nigerians that he stands against disobedience to court orders and that he respects the rule of law by taking actions against the Attorney-General and the CBN governor and by complying with subsisting court orders to release Nnamdi Kanu.”