Assembly leaders deserve immunity

Yet, there is no democracy without the parliament. The bills that transformed to laws which the Executive arm executes and the Judiciary arm interprets are the painstaking, tedious products of the legislature that many hold in contempt in this clime.

Democracy, globally is adjudged to be people-centered, the representatives of the people elected from the nooks and crannies of this country are the energizers of Nigeria’s participatory democracy.

Though, there are areas requiring improvement but it will be largely unfair to totally discountenance the contributions of the legislature in the deepening of democratic systems in Nigeria.

Now on the contentious issue of immunity to be extended to principal officers of the legislature, the outcry against the move ostensibly was fueled by the lack of knowledge about the importance of the legislature and sadly the false media portrayal of lawmakers of less important operatives in the polity has done huge damage.

Why should the heads of the Executive arm of government both at the state and federal levels enjoy immunity from being dragged before courts while in office and the legislative principal officers namely, the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy can’t enjoy same?

Even senior judicial officers have some sorts of immunity. In October 2016 when operatives of the Department of State Service raided the residences of judges over alleged fraud, the world railed at the Executive arm government accusing it of undermining and intimidating the judiciary.

They argued that officers at the temple of justice deserved no such brazen barbaric treatment. To me, that is a form of immunity.

Lagos based Human Rights lawyer, Femi Falana speaking during the 2016 week of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Enugu chapter, on the theme “corruption in the Judiciary”; described the arrest and prosecution of some judges on allegations of corruption as unfortunate.

His words, “Now my warning is this; if the government does not stop the SSS from carrying out midnight raids in the home of judges, the danger is this; criminal elements will wear masks and invade the home of judges at night, kidnap them and kill some of them to the embarrassment of the government.

“ I do hope that President Buhari will restrain the SSS from further kidnapping judges in the night, but if they don’t stop, I am also asking judges never to open their doors at night because this was our own resolution in 1990″

He continued: “The danger of invading the homes of criminal suspects at night, no matter what the gravity of the offence may be is that you never can say the legality of such action. Under successive Military dictatorships, the SSS subjected me to several raids.

“They raided my home regularly. On April 8, 1990, outside the raid of my house at about 4.15am, I was arrested and taken away and after driving around Lagos, I was dumped in the bush along Epe road.

“At about the same time, another team went to the home of Beko Ransome Kuti, kidnapped him and took him to Badagry road and dumped him in the bush.

We returned and addressed a press conference where we made people believe it was done by the Babangida government, not knowing that it was done by those planning to execute the Orkar coup in 1990.

In the same manner, when the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen was charged and docked at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, lawyers and informed public intellectuals fumed at such aberration. According to them, the National Judicial Council, NJC should have been the appropriate institution to adjudicate on the matter and not the court.

The framers of the immunity clause were not low in intelligence and not frivolous. The intendment of the law is to protect certain public office holders from distractions in the discharge of their duties. It is not to shield beneficiaries from facing the law.

The immunity clause for the leaders of the parliament is even more apt in the wake of curious injunctions which become cheapest commodities in town. We have seen recent times how certain individuals are undermining the judiciary by obtaining conflicting injunctions from courts of same coordinate jurisdiction.

In fact in the hierarchy of power in Nigeria, after the President and the vice-president, next in the echelon are the Senate President and the Speaker House of Representatives. Why should they not be granted immunity ?

Fears that immunity for top legislative officers would boost to corruption and protect criminals from the long hands of the law is unfounded. Reason is that the immunity won’t be in perpetuity.

If anyone is found culpable, the law will axe him in the fullness of time. For instance, a few former governors who enjoyed immunity during their reign are currently in correctional facilities after they were convicted for graft.

Meanwhile, unlike the President and governors whose immunity stretches from first term of four years through transition to second term if re-elected, the National Assembly principal officers, if granted immunity, cannot enjoy such beyond the immediate term because of the dissolution and proclamation of new Assembly after election seasons.

Therefore, before the new National Assembly is proclaimed by the President sometime in June of the election year, a criminal proceeding or court injunctions can be instituted or obtained to bring a culpable legislative officer to law.

It is time Nigerians showed greater understanding with the legislative arm of government. Once there is mutual understanding as envisioned in the social contract between the representatives of the people and the masses the nation will move forward.

We should continue to bear in mind that the legislative arm of government is the bedrock of the nation’s democracy. Its operatives deserve our support at all times.

• Akpan writes from Abuja.