An Abuja based, Ilorin born Legal Practitioner, Barr. Senior Sulyman speaks on the aftermath of EndSARS protest and Judiciary topping the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC corruption index among other salient issues, in this interview with HALEEMAH SANNI.
The EndSARS protest and the events that followed is one that will be remembered for long in Nigeria’s history, what’s your take on the protest?
It started as a movement to curb the excesses of a particular unit of the police. Well, I strongly believe if there is homicide section, rape, anti-kidnapping section, it is absolutely necessary to have the anti-robbery section. Although, there is no gainsaying the fact that the Nigerian Police like any other Government agency has its excesses, but in reality, it is not peculiar to them. The excesses are in every governmental establishment, the Government immediately proclaimed the banning of SARS; I don’t know how realistic the banning is? Maybe it is mere change of name, but since the demand itself lacks tact, it was given a tactless response.
However, we cannot say the Government doesn’t have its own fair share of the blame. The effect of the covid-19 lockdown is that the government is broke, the people are broke, and the government has to tax the broke people to survive. I think it is policy summersault to share food items as palliatives to cushion the effect of covid-19 lockdown and at the same time increase electricity tariff, fuel pump price and other taxes that will pass more burden on the people you are giving palliatives.
The Federal Government already disbanded the SARS police unit, but recently, we have youths in states like Osun among others trying to stage a renewed EndSARS protest, what is your reaction to this?
Yes, I heard that some youths are planning to go back to street, but I will advise them to learn from the last experience. I could recall when it started on the walk ways in Abuja, when they were not obstructing the free flow of traffic, we all applauded them. But the moment they are blocking government roads, denying people that do not share their sentiment or believe access to government facilities, whoever that partake in such, is a hoodlum and a criminal, and had committed a crime. There is no other way to call it.
Now the problem is this, the press created a semantic difference between protesters and hoodlums. The distinction seems to me mischievous, the moment you have an unscreened gathering of people, the good, the bad and the ugly must be there. Though not all protesters are hoodlums but of course there must be hoodlums among the protesters. I don’t know how you can tell me that somebody smoking Indian hemp on the main road in the course of a protest isn’t a hoodlum.
The youths, in the course of the protest, also demanded for good governance, do you think this is achievable within a short period?
Since the first target is against the very machinery for maintenance of law and order, I mean the police; the police have to leave the streets for peace to reign, and definitely another institution must take up their duties. Somewhere along the line, the demands change to putting an end to bad governance. In as much as it is good to put an end to bad governance, how long have we been witnessing bad governance? How do we put an end to it? To my mind, the only way to go about it is to wait for the next poll and flush out people that have failed the governed. But since majority of Nigerians who voted for the current crop of leaders about 18 months ago, it is a cowardly way of politicking to attempt to use chaos and lawlessness to retrieve power from them. When election time approaches, they should mobilize and vote people they believe will do it better. It is quiet unfortunate that the EndSARS movement cannot survive without chaos because they lack the population and popular will to achieve their aim. If for instance, Abuja has about 4. 6 million people, I have not seen up to 10,000 people protesting anywhere here, so it cannot be effective except they take laws into their hands or rain abuses to force the will of a super minority over majority of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, we also have youths in some other parts of the country supporting the Police Force, what’s your advice to the protesters?
I will advise the protesters to learn from the mistakes of the aborted one. Agreed, the right to peaceful protest is a constitutionally guaranteed one, in fact and in law, you need no police or any other security agent permit to protest. However, if in the course of your protest, crimes are committed, automatically, the perpetrators will be made criminally liable.
I think the movement is simply to caution the Government in its insensitivity to the plight of the people. So will finally, appeal to EndSARS and ProSARS protesters to do so peacefully and not endanger the lives of those who do not share their sentiments.
Do you see the state government’s judicial committees constituted after the protest addressing the issues of police brutality?
Well, in as much as the state Government have powers to set up committees of inquiry, I am sure, the committee cannot be judicial, the judicial powers of the state rest on the judiciary, and the Nigeria Police Force is under the exclusive list, it is only the National Assembly that can legislate for them, so the committee to look at Police reform, even to inquire about the EndSARS issue, recommend and implement positive resolutions ought to be from the Federal Government and not any state, who had no power over the police whatsoever.
Earlier this month, The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said that the judicial sector is currently on top of the Nigeria Corruption Index between 2018 and 2020. The anti-graft commission also claimed that about N9,457,650,000 was offered and paid as bribes by lawyers. Do you agree with this position?
Well, I do not know the yardstick the ICPC used in arriving at that. But I do not believe the judiciary topped the corruption index in Nigeria. Incidentally, the oath of office of judicial officers doesn’t permit them to defend themselves. Although, the system has been designed in such a way that judicial officers may be bent, and the judicial officers are part and parcel of the society.
Since the process of appointment of judicial officers, in some instances promotion and even removal is largely determined by the politicians, they become corruptible. We saw a few years ago, when the house of Justices were raided in broad day light by some security agencies, they have no immunity in law. These are people saddled with the responsibility of dispensing justice without fear or favour. In their shoes, it becomes logical to fear the agency that can conveniently raid your house whenever it feels like.
So you don’t agree with ICPC on this?
Yes, I do not agree on the ICPC position on these issues considering the mode of operation of the judiciary, which I already highlighted.
Now, back to Kwara State, following the expiration of the tenure of the Local Council chairmen, the state governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq set in motion the process for the appointment of caretaker committees to oversee the affairs of the Councils. Is such appointment legal?
On the issue of the legality or otherwise of caretaker committee at the Local Government level, I have no comment.