If the sudden release of activist Omoyele Sowore had happened during the Easter season, it would have been cryptically humorous. Jesus’ traducers pined so much on his crucifixion that the incumbent Roman Emperor wanted no hand in it. To clear his conscience, he could release him in fulfilment of his annual prerogative of mercy. They shouted instead – release Barabbas!
Barabbas was a convicted thief granted freedom because the bloodhounds preferred his freedom to an innocent man whose constant heckling piqued their conscience.
Sowore was released along with Sambo Dasuki, a retired colonel who was National Security Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan. Dasuki, described as one of the longest detainees, spent time in confinement in spite of myriads of court orders for his release. Dasuki does not, as yet fit the Barrabas description, seeing that all that the state has against him are mere allegations yet to be proven in court. The salacious details of his alleged management of security funds led to his being dubbed Santa Dasuki. He will now have his day in court, as our laws prescribed since no man is guilty until the courts have said so.
Dasuki’s long incarceration and the mixed reactions trailing his release evinced a folkloric recount of my late father. Pa MB Asaju told the story of the tortoise stealing from his in-laws. In that story, the tortoise was tied to a huge tree where passers-by would conspicuously see him on a market day morning. As traders trudged to the market, they found the tortoise writhing in pain and wondered what the maverick had done this time. When told he had been stealing his father-in-law’s yams, the people exclaimed – what callousness. However by sunset as the traders made their way home and still finding the famished tortoise still tied to the tree, the narrative changed to – is his in-law bent on killing him?
The moral of the story, my Dad would say is that while going, the blame was on the tortoise, but on their return, the blame had turned full circle against his in-law. In spite of the collateral damage of allegations against Dasuki there are those who wondered if he has not suffered enough. Many of those who benefited from the Dasukigate are either walking free or voted with their feet. Some are regime bigwigs. May the side with the facts to convince the courts win!
The release of Sowore and Dasuki has opened a new argument as to whether the Attorney General’s powers supersede law our courts. The answer is not far-fetched. The sloppiness with which both Dasuki and Sowore’s case have been handled has raised doubts about the doctrine of separation of powers.
Like Pilate, government has the prerogative of mercy under which it could set a detainee free or pardon a condemned criminal. Those rights have been exercised in numerous instances at state and federal levels. Two incidences stand out for me. Evangelist Solomon Kayode Williams was condemned to death for armed robbery. He spent years on death row until the prerogative of mercy found and freed him. He would go out to help detainees and those who have served terms as well as those still in.
Bode George, a PDP kingpin was jailed for his role as chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority. He was serving term until the Supreme Court reviewed his case. Goodluck Jonathan’s pardon expunged his criminal records from the statute books.
If President Muhammadu Buhari was looking for accolades or kudos for this belated act of temporary reprieve to his captives, he gets none! In the court of public opinion, Sowore did not deserve the persecution for his activism that in no way threaten the security of the nation. The world waits for the court’s interpretation of the crime of ‘insulting the president’. The way and manner the Nigerian secret police handled his detention attracted global condemnation. Government’s egregious disobedience of court rulings mocks the concept of the rule of law and separation of powers. Their brazen attack on the courts amounts to gross contempt by any standard.
People believe that Dasuki’s case would not have been different from other high-class suspects facing various trials. The ‘democracy’ we profess is premised on the rule of law and separation of powers. A government wanting to be taken seriously would not cherry-pick which pronouncements of the courts to obey and which to disobey because the constitution grants no such opportunity.
Government needs to open the vaults and give full account of what it’s been hiding. Detainees such as Sheikh Elzakzakky deserve their liberty. The outlawing of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria could not have retroactive effect in a democracy. Government should make a categorical statement on Abubakar Idris, aka #Dadiyata and commit to freedom of expression and the press beyond rhetoric. The continued silence over #Dadiyata and recent reports of several unaccounted detainees is a scar on this regime. It is also a national embarrassment. The easiest way to gain global respect at home and abroad is to play by the rules in all situations.
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