Bayo Ojo And The Militarization Of Democracy And Rule Of Law

By

Akinwole  Ogunlola

akinlaw05@yahoo.com

While all eyes are on President Obasanjo of Nigeria for any possible extension of his regime beyond May 29, 2007, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Bayo Ojo represents the most vicious and potent instrument that can single handedly truncate the forthcoming elections. Nigerians seems to have forgotten that in 1979 general elections, General Obasanjo used a legal instrumentality, through chief Richard Akinjide, who later became the Attorney-General under the Shagari Administration to impose Alhaji Shehu Shagari on the nation using the infamous interpretation of the twelve-two third of Nineteen states.

Doubts as to the handing over date and the holding of the general elections began to crystallize last month when the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo (SAN) hinted of the challenge of getting adequate voter cards before the elections. He did not say more than that after the Council of State meeting in Abuja. The Minister has unequivocally, fired several warning shots as to what his roles would be in the emerging issues that would arise in the crucial months of April and May this year. Unfortunately, nobody appears to be awake to these realities; nobody has ever stopped to ask the question: Why did he suddenly become the spokesperson for the INEC or the president on this type of issue? But the stark realty is that Chief Bayo Ojo may hold the ace to the third term extension. Only last month, Bayo Ojo informed the country that the upcoming April general election is not feasible and few days ago, President Obasanjo refused to sign into law, a vital electoral law that would have benefited millions of Nigerians and reassure the country of this regime’s commitment to May 29, 2007 as Obasanjo’s last day in office.

Whereas, President Olusegun Obasanjo may be forgiven for his vendetta- driven policies and selective persecutions of political opponents through the instrumentality of the law, such forgiveness cannot be extended to Bayo Ojo, the current Attorney-General of Nigeria. Obasanjo is a just a former brigade commander who never attained a university degree and crass opportunist and  tactless beneficiary of Nigeria’s democratic struggle, a military demagogue who accidentally found himself in Aso Rock due to MKO Abiola’s “forced” exit from Nigeria’s  political landscape. We cannot hold him to a higher standard in the art of democratic governance and the rule of law because you simply do not give what you do not have.

In sharp contract to Obasanjo, Bayo Ojo may well go down in Nigerian history as the worst, most incompetent, most wasteful and manifestly ignorant Attorney General ever produced in that country. He has acted throughout his tenure as a judicial contractor, and a ready tool in the hands of the president or the president’s cohorts, in politically motivated, ill-conceived and poorly executed legal actions. Because he belongs to a noble profession and presumably should know better than Obasanjo, it will be very hard for history to forgive Bayo Ojo’s atrocities and excesses. His reign has been one characterized with ethical abuse, incompetent professional advise and misconduct that it is reasonable to conclude that Nigeria is a country without an Attorney General.

Traditionally, the attorney general is head of the Department of Justice and chief law officer of the federal government. He represents the country in legal matters generally, and gives advice and opinions to the president and to other heads of executive departments as requested. In cases of exceptional gravity or special importance, the attorney general may appear in person before the Supreme Court to represent the interests of the government.

As head of the Department of Justice, the attorney general is charged with enforcing federal laws, furnishing legal counsel in federal cases, construing the laws under which other executive departments act, supervising federal penal institutions, and investigating violations of federal laws. The attorney general also supervises and directs the activities of the government lawyers throughout the country.  The two principal or most important duties of the Attorney General therefore are: (1) to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court that concerned the United States and (2) to give an opinion on questions of law when asked to do so by the president or heads of other executive departments.

A good attorney general must not be caught in the complicated political power struggle or institutional tensions between the executive, legislative or judicial branches of government or that of powerful individuals that run the government (in this case, Obasanjo v. Atiku for example). According to the American Enterprise Institute for Policy Research in 1968, it was said that the Attorney General of the country serves “three masters”: the President, the Congress, and the Courts. Independence and integrity are vital to ensuring the fair and impartial administration of justice by any occupant of this position. Bayo Ojo has neither of these important attributes.

This is because although the Attorney General advises the president, the basic authority of the office is derived from the Congress (i.e. National Assembly) and the functions of the office are subject to congressional control. In addition, the Attorney General is a member of the bar and therefore, an officer of the Court subject to the directives of the judicial branch. In most cases, the attorney general occupies a unique position in the cabinet and therefore participates in cabinet meetings with a hand in policy making as well as in interpreting and enforcing the laws.

Because of these realities, the occupant of the position of Attorney General may become so powerful within a particular government that recklessness, abuse of power, illegalities or near criminal activities as we presently witness under the current Nigerian Attorney General, Bayo Ojo may become rampant unless adequate measures are in place to address the problems when and if they occur. This is where the Council for Nigerian Legal education, the Nigerian Bar Association and Nigerian body of benchers must as a matter of urgency, put in place an enduring Office of Professional Responsibility to oversee, investigate cases or allegations of ethical abuse, misuse of power, professional misconduct etc, not only by a particular Attorney General but also the entire Justice Department lawyers. The present Attorney General, Bayo Ojo has proved and demonstrated beyond all doubts, from his woeful record that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.

From his unprofessional and highly partisan utterances, bad faith prosecution and destruction of selected political opponents of Obasanjo, planned demolition of Court building in Abuja on politically motivated grounds, mischievous legal advice/opinions, complete ignorance of the internationally acceptable norms and standards. In a recent development, the Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the lawyers representing Chief Anthony Enahoro, Hafsat, Daughter of late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, and Dr. Arthur Nwankwo in international human rights violation case against the former military dictator, Gen. A.A. Abubakar in a U.S Court. 

The Attorney General in the legal action accused the lawyers that are just carrying out their professional duties to their clients of committing a criminal offense under the Nigerian law. What this boils down to mean is that human rights attorneys such as Chief Gani Fawahinmi, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Kayode Oladele, Clement Nwankwo, Bamidele Aturu, Osagie Obayuwana, Prof. Sagay and a host of others that are currently defending the oppressed in Nigeria are susceptible to treason charges because they may be committing crimes under the Nigerian law by Bayo Ojo’s standard. What a reminiscence of military dictatorship!

We are all living witnesses to the unfolding events in the U.S on the action of the U.S Attorney-General, Alberto Gonzales after the firing of the seven U.S Attorneys. It is very dangerous to politicize the office of the Attorney General.  Unfortunately, Bayo Ojo has abundantly demonstrated that his loyalty is neither to the legal profession, the rule of law, the Nigerian Constitution nor the Nigerian people but to the selected and powerful few that appointed him to that position. At the appropriate time, the detail of Ojo’s incompetence and abuse of power will be exposed. 

According to the U.S. National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, exposure of prosecutorial abuse helps to cleanse the system, impart balance and restore fundamental fairness for citizens accused of crime. This will also assist the incoming administration to determine whether or not Bayo Ojo should continue to represent the country in the International Law Commission. The Matter is far from being over because he has consistently engaged in very serious misconducts and malpractice that unless curtailed, will soon drag the country into serious political debacle and legal disaster.

* Akinwole Ogunlola is a U.S. based attorney.