Two civil society organisations, the Campaign for Democracy and Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, CDHR, have said the country is in military democracy.
The groups stated this while reacting to the petition by by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to Mr. Diego García-Sayán, UN Special Rapporteur on President Muhammadu Buhari disobedience to court rulings and orders.
The organisation, in a petition dated May 11, 2018 to the UN, lamented the Federal Government’s habit of picking and choosing court judgments to obey.
The groups noted that Federal Government’s continual disobedience of court orders has amounted to “executive recklessness and a military democracy.”
The CD President, Usman Abdul told Punch that the civil society was in support of SERAP’s UN petition, noting that the Federal Government by its continual disobedience of court order was taking Nigeria back to the military era.
Abdul said, “This disobedience shows that the dictatorship in the military era is playing out in this government. The President should be aware that these cases of disobedience will not go in vain. Therefore, the CD will join other groups to seek redress of justice at whatever level.
“We are not in a lawless country and so we expect this government to abide by the core values of democratic ethics. It is baffling that the Federal Government wants to be a judge in its own cases and undermine the judiciary.
“This is not in tandem with the principle of separation of powers. As investigations continue, the government ought to obey the court orders and release these persons.”
Also, the CDHR President, Malachy Ugwummadu described federal government’s refusal to release El-Zakzaky and Dasuki as an act of impunity and plunging the country into military era.
Ugwummadu said “It is completely condemnable that the Federal Government has refused to obey several court orders regarding the release of El-Zakzaky and Dauski.
“Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution states that the government is bound by the decisions of the court and obligated to implement them.
“So, it is a constitutional duty. To refuse to do that is to show executive recklessness and impunity.”
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