'I may have appointed you but you don't represent me. You represent the people of the United States, and that's the way it's supposed to be.' President Barack Obama to his former Acting Attorney General, Sally Yates.
'As the nation’s top law enforcement officer and leader of the ... Department of Justice, the Attorney General is responsible for making real the promise of equal justice under the law ... That is a core and enduring mission of the Justice Department... The Attorney General must also operate with integrity and independence in service to the people, not the President.' Vanita Gupta - The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
According to the Vanguard newspaper of December 06, 2019, quoting Barrister Femi Falana (SAN), the prosecution counsel, "Mr. Hassan Liman, SAN, ... had earlier told the court in the course of Friday’s proceeding that he was not aware of any plot to re-arrest the defendants [Sowore]." Mr. Hassan Liman (SAN), if you must know, is the State Prosecutor, representing the Attorney General and Minister of Justice (the people). And he stated on the record that he was not aware of any plot to rearrest Mr. Omoyele, when Mr. Falana raised the fear in court earlier during the proceedings.
The DG of the DSS is not above the law. The DSS is under the Ministry of Justice. The Justice Ministry, specifically, the Attorney General of the Federation (Abubakar Malami SAN) is the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of Nigeria. Not the DG of the DSS.
The Attorney General of the Federation cannot feign ignorance of the televised perversion of justice by the DSS operatives in their execution of the rearrest of Mr. Omoyele yesterday.
If the AG was complicit in the rearrest, he stands condemned, because the process violates every known strand of the principles of the rule of law. If he wasn't a party to it, and he hasn't tendered his letter of resignation by now in protest, he remains a greedy coward and a disgrace to the legal profession worldwide.
Before the revelation of the allegations of quid pro quo between President Donald Trump and the Ukrainian officials, two White House officials had already resigned in protest.
According to the New York Times and the Washington Post of October 26, 2019, "Two officials at the White House Office of Management and Budget resigned this year partly because of their concerns about President Trump’s decision to hold up congressionally approved security assistance to Ukraine," quoting a witness at the impeachment hearing.
Mr. Abubakar Malami is a Lawyer, and a SAN to boot. That he is financially stable for life is an understatement. This is his fifth year in office as the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. What else can a lawyer ask for in a professional career? And when does integrity come to play?
Globally, compliance with the rule of law is an objective test. And that's what lawyers dubbed "in the opinion of the reasonable man" or "the reasonable man's test." There is nothing subjective or "personal perspective" about reasonableness. Mr. Malami cannot explain or justify the arrest and re-arrest of Mr. Sowore Omoyele applying some convoluted and indefensible benchmarks.
If the AG is to resign today in protest, there would be a radical shift in the violation of court orders and maltreatment of the so-called enemies of the State by President Buhari and the DG of the DSS.
If on the other hand, he doesn't see anything legally or morally reprehensible about the treatment of Sowore, Col Dsuki, El Zakzaky and numerous others in captivity under this administration, then, it is trite to conclude that Abubakar Malami has no conscience and he doesn't deserve another day as a member of the Nigerian Bar Association.
Finally, as I stated yesterday, I want to reiterate: The time is now for all the SANs as well as the Senior Lawyers in this administration to stand up for justice and to take a stand for what is right, or else remain intellectually bankrupt and professionally captive for life.
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