The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has slammed the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
While confirming that he sent policemen to Magodo Phase 2 Estate area of Lagos State, Malami said the action of Sanwo-Olu in preventing the execution of the Supreme Court judgement was tantamount to promoting impunity.
Malami stated this in a lengthy statement that follows the South-West governors swipe at him and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba over the deployment of police to the Lagos community.
The Governors in a statement released by their Chairman, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state, accused the IGP and AGF of showing “utter disrespect and gross moral turpitude.”
In the statement titled ‘Southwest Governors: Police officer’s disrespect to Sanwo-Olu an unacceptable intrusion,’ they stated that they received with disdain, videos of a “disgraceful exchange between a police officer, a CSP, and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the supposed chief security officer of the state at the Magodo Residential Estate.”
They stated that the “dubiously christened federalism”, treats elected representatives of the people as “mere prefects while appointed office holders ride roughshod over them as lords of the Manor. ”
They also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to curb the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government.
The statement read;
“We are in possession of a video which has gone viral on the social media concerning the disgraceful exchange between a police officer, a CSP, and the governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the supposed Chief Security Officer of the state, at the Magodo Residential Estate.
“The content of the video is very disconcerting, and this is being charitable. The utter disrespect, which underlines the response of the officer to the governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened “federalism”. An arrangement, which compels the governor of a state to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons, is a sure recipe for anarchy.
“We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion. This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We condemn, in very clear terms, the role of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), in this act of gross moral turpitude. We, on our part, will continue to interrogate the current system, which treats elected representatives of the people as mere prefects, while appointed office holders ride rough shod over them as Lords of the Manor. If the purported Chief Security Officers of the states of the federation require clearance from the office of the IG on matters within their areas of jurisdictions, only hypocrites will wonder why the current security crisis deepens and there appears to be no solution in the foreseeable future.
“We condemn very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion. This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We stand by our brother, the governor of Lagos State. We advise him to deploy the regional security outfit in the state to protect the lives and property of the people. We call on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to rein in the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government. It is preposterous for political appointees to seek to undermine the very structure of service upon which their appointments rest.”
However Malami fired back at the South-West Governors by saying that the police officers were deployed because the state government refused to implement a Supreme Court judgment.
In the statement released by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Umar Gwandu, the AGF accused South-West Governors of supporting “impunity”.
The statement read;
“It is important to state that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation belongs to the Executive arm of the Government. The Supreme Court belongs to the Judiciary.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice takes exception to the Southwest Governors unjustifiable insinuation of impunity against the office of the Attorney General over execution of a judgment of the Supreme Court.
“The role of the executive is, in this respect, simply to aide the maintenance of law and order in due compliance with rule of law arising from giving effect to the judgment of the apex court of the land.
“Let it be known that the issue is regarding a Supreme Court Judgement that was delivered in 2012 long before the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in office at a time when Malami was not a Minister.
“The judgment was a reaffirmation of the judgments of Court of Appeal and High Court delivered on 31st December, 1993.
“It is widely reported in the papers that the Lagos state Governor was quoted to have said “I’ve spoken extensively with the Inspector-General of Police and the Honourable Attorney-General, and we’ve resolved all the issues”.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, would appreciate if the coalition of the Governors will help to unravel the circumstances preventing the Lagos State Government from enforcing the court order despite several attempts from 2012- 2015 and so-called settlement initiative started in 2016.
“Some of the cardinal pillars of democratic Government are the doctrine of separation of powers and obedience to the rule of law inclusive of Court Orders.
“It is a common knowledge that execution of the judgment and orders of Courts of competent jurisdiction, and the Court of last resort in the circumstances remains a cardinal component of the rule of law and the office of the Attorney General wonders how maintenance of the law and orders in the course of execution of the judgment of the supreme can be adjudged by imagination of the governors to be unruly.
“We want restate that sanctity of the rule of law is not a matter of choice.”
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