Malami faces disciplinary panel over comments on Dasuki’s detention

…Ex-NSA’s family petitions NBA, seeks imposition of sanctions on ex-AGF

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

Abubakar Malami (SAN), the immediate past Attorney General of the federation and Minister of Justice, has been summoned to appear before the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee over comment on Sambo Dasuki continues detention.

He will on June 14 face the Disciplinary Panel the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee over a prejudicial statement made against former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who has been in detention since December 2015 despite bails granted to him by the courts.

The hearing notice marked No: PET/LPPC/23/2018 and dated May 16, 2019 signed by Patricia Orhomuru Esq, the Secretary Disciplinary Committee of the Legal Practitioners’ Privilege Committee has been served on Malami.

The notice read in part: “Take notice that the above matter is fixed for hearing by the Disciplinary Committee of the Legal Practitioner Privileged Committee of the Office of Registrar Supreme Court of Nigeria Abuja on June 14, 2019, at 11.00 o’clock in the forenoon.

Malami is expected to face the panel for investigation in a statement credited to him in the Voice of America (VOA) Hausa Service on July 13, 2018, in which he was quoted that Dasuki would not be released despite all subsisting court orders for his release on bails.

In the audio recording of the interview he granted VOA, Malami had accused Dasuki of being responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 Nigerians during Jonathan’s era.

In the interview, Malami had said: “Remember, we are talking about a person who was instrumental to the deaths of over 100,000 people. Are you saying that the rights of one person are more important than that of 100,000 who lost their lives?”

A Notice of hearing in the petition filed by Dasuki’s family against former AGF indicated that Malami would be interrogated by the committee of the Legal Practitioners at the Office of the Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Abuja.

The Dasuki family had petitioned the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) praying for an investigation and sanction of the minister over his unprofessional conducts and utter disregard to the rule of law likely to cause anarchy in the country through his promotion of disobedience to the lawful order of court by the Federal Government.

In the petition dated July 23, 2018, and received by the NBA the same day, the family wanted Malami to be investigated in the resolve of the Federal Government not to comply with any order of court admitting the former NSA to bail and has been unjustly detained for almost four years.

Dasuki family recalled that their son served Nigeria for 21 years as an officer in the Nigerian Army; Managing Director Nigeria Security Printing and Minting Company (NSPMC) and later as National Security Adviser to the immediate past administration. They stated that Dasuki in his lifetime has not been convicted of any crime till date.

The petition signed by his wife, Bintu Dasuki; his son, Abubakar Dasuki and his nephew, Umar Dahiru explained how the ordeal of the former NSA started when Buhari’s government came on board with the invasion of his houses in Abuja and Sokoto during which his vital properties including vehicles were carted away by the operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS).

The petition also chronicled how Dasuki was arraigned before four different High Courts and was granted bail by all the judges claiming that the charges were bailable offences under the Nigerian law.

They also added that the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) declared the detention of Dasuki as unlawful, null and void and subsequently ordered his immediate release in addition to imposing a fine of N15m on the Federal Government as compensation for the breach of Dasuki’s fundamental rights.

The family regretted that up till date, none of the orders of the high courts and the international court was obeyed by the Federal Government.

The petition noted the latest judgement of Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu on the Federal High Court which on July 2, 2018, admitted Dasuki to bail upon discovery that his detention was a breach of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and that of the fundamental right of the Ex-NSA.

The Dasuki family claimed that upon meeting the bail condition, the warrant of release of Dasuki on bail signed by the Court was served on the Director General of the SSS and the attorney-general for their compliance with the order of the court.

The family, however, informed the NBA in the petition that rather than complying with the order of the court, the AGF as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation made remarks that the order of the court as relates to Dasuki would not be obeyed by the Federal Ggovernment.

The family wondered whether a lawyer let alone a Senior Advocate of Nigeria ought to have engaged in such an unprofessional utterance that is capable of causing anarchy for the nation.

The NBA was prayed to invoke laws on Code of Ethics on professional code of ethics against Malami, investigate him and impose deserved disciplinary sanctions against him in order to safeguard the rule of law for the country referred the petition to Legal Practitioner and Privileges Committee which has powers to discipline erring Senior Advocates of Nigeria.