A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ferdinand Orbih, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of being a champion deviant in the compliance with rule of law.
In a comparative analysis of the obedience to court orders under the All Progressives Congress (APC) –led federal government and the previous PDP administrations, Orbih stated that it was a shame for President Muhammadu Buhari to go on national television to brag that his government will disobey court orders.
In an interview with Vanguard, he said: “Governments at all levels must bear in mind that in a democratic dispensation, the rule of law, as opposed to rule by force must prevail.
“That is the main difference between democracy and autocracy or dictatorship. One of the major pillars on which the rule of law rests, is equality before the law.
“The government and the governed must not only be equal before the law, they must also be manifestly and undoubtedly be seen by all, to be equal before the law.
“Now, when government refuses to obey court orders, it automatically places itself above the law. That is unacceptable in any democratic dispensation.
“While the Goodluck administration was able to reduce incidents of disobedience of court orders to the barest minimum, the President Buhari administration has elevated disobedience of court orders to official state policy.
“President Buhari is the first President in the history of Nigeria to come out on national television to state that his government will disobey court orders granting bail to former National Security Adviser to the Jonathan administration, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, retd, and the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
“Till date, Dasuki is in prison custody despite court orders releasing him on bail. It is a shame on the government.”