• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

The rule of law is national interest

rule of law

Citing national interest as reason for disobeying court orders and trampling on the rule of law is disingenuous. In a democracy, the rule of law, and not what the administration thinks, is the national interest. Prosperous and sustainable societies are built around respect for the rule of law and on strong institutions. Disobedience of court orders, disregard for the rule of law and destruction of institutions are the sources and greatest acts of corruption in a democracy and negates the possibility of building a prosperous and democratic society.

Early in the life of this administration, when the Attorney General of the federation and minister of Justice said the illegally detained former National Security Adviser would not be allowed to enjoy the bails granted him by several courts in the land in the interest of the ‘public good’, we thought he was overreaching himself and was not speaking for the government. How wrong we were.

But even the president was to repeat the same line of thought at the 59th annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Abuja. He was quoted as saying:

“Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that where national security and public interest are threatened the individual rights of those allegedly responsible must take second place in favour of the greater good of society.”

Aside the fact that the president and his speechwriters were wrongly interpreting the decision of the court, two questions come to mind. The first is what is ‘public good/national interest and who determines the public good or national interest?

Despite the fact that no government, as yet, has been able to define the terms and there is no body of laws called public good or national interest, governments still cite it often as reason for abridging the rights of citizens. In effect, governments usually have the sole rights to determine what national interests or public goods are and they may be no more than regime or personal interests. This has allowed governments to deny or abridge individuals’ rights while allowing them to get away with murder literally and metaphorically.

Secondly, the case being relied by the president and his attorney general was that between the federal government and Asari Dokubo. In that case – a treasonable felony one – it was the court that declined to grant the defendant bail based on the nature of the crime for which he was accused and not the government. Like we said the last time, “only under tyranny would the Presidency or the executive arm of the government act as the accuser, the law enforcer and the judge at the same time”.

Sadly, the same argument of national interest is being used to disregard court orders or the rule of law in dealing with government critics. Clearly, under the Buhari Presidency, the whims and caprices of the president and the sustenance of his rule is more important than the rule of law. But it should be noted that those who ignore the rule of law today, will need the law to protect them in future.

What is more, this manner of reckless behaviour has consequences, which will deeply hurt the country and its corporate image among the comity of nations. First, no self-respecting country will do business with a country that doesn’t respect its laws. Second, no foreign investor will invest in a country that has no regard for its laws and where the courts are not independent or cannot be trusted to arbitrate on contract and trade disputes impartially and efficiently.

It is therefore very dangerous to the freedom of all citizens when the rule of law is ignored in the name of a ‘perceived’ public good or national interest as determined by the President and not by the courts. The President we see today, no matter how good intentioned, will not be there forever. Only the law, and quest for justice lasts forever and justice is what everyone seeks for and deserves.