Sowore's Abduction by the DSS and the Culpability of the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN

The barbarism of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, has assumed a dismal scale of absurdity in recent times. Watching this video, as a lawyer, I am appalled. As a Nigerian, I am ashamed of our criminal justice system and the Mob-style approach it has degenerated under Mr. Malami.

I have watched this episode reenacting its self repeatedly in the past few months, with no end in sight. What prompted this opinion is the disappearing act of the Attorney General from the Sowore vs DSS saga. He has taken refuge under the canopy of the "bad boy image" the DSS is not shy of flaunting. What makes the saga so deplorable is that Nigerians are directing their grievances solely on the DSS.

The DSS, as a body, is an enforcer of the laws. Once an arrest has been made and the culprit is handed over to the Prosecutor and the court by the DSS, the continuous incarceration or the nature of freedom granted the culprit is at the calling of the Prosecutors, acting on the whims and caprices of the Attorney General. The DSS cannot "suo motu" confined a criminal defendant to an indefinite prison term without the involvement of the AG.

Mr. Abubakar Malami is a lawyer and he is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association. And he knows what the law says. He deserves condemnation for the brutality visited on Mr. Omoyele Sowore at the court premise this afternoon in Nigeria. Nothing could be so barbaric and disgusting.

President Buhari is not a lawyer. He is a retired Military Officer, who is historically reputed to being an enemy of the rule of laws and fundamental human rights. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, to ensure that Mr. President understands the demands of justice and the rudimentary of the principle of the rule of laws, especially as they apply to one indicted and undergoing prosecution.

That Mr. Abubakar has failed abysmally in living up to his calling as an Attorney General and his status as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria is outside the threshold of reasonableness. Why the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has not deemed it germane to rein in on this Minister of "Jungle" Justice since all these years; counseling him to embrace civility in his tainted prosecutorial activism is mind bugling.

Nigerians, much as condemning the DSS and the President remain a legitimate pastime, the AG holds the ace - he defines the trajectory of the Nigerian justice system. He knows what to do if the President continues to overrule his sound legal judgment - resign. From all indications, it is very likely that he has never counseled the President about the enormity of morality inhered in judicial compliance. I expect all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) in this administration to develop a modicum of gumption and call the AG aside for advice. This picture is a national enbarrassment - an indictment of all the lawyers in this administration.