There’s no disagreement over removal of ex-DSS DG Daura- Presidency

The Presidency on Wednesday dismissed reports that the Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s decision to sack former Director General, Department of State Service (DSS), Lawal Daura, had anything to do with power struggle between him and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, refuted the reports when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council which was presided over by Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

According to him, there is no disagreement between Buhari and Osinbajo over the sacking of Daura.

Adesina said that Buhari was fully aware of the events that led to the sacking of the former DG of DSS.

He said, “The presidency is one. Whenever the President is proceeding on vacation, he transmits power to the Vice-President who then becomes acting President.

“On this occasion, he also did that. So the acting President has all the powers of a president.

“Now, it is then a matter of decency and we know that the acting president is a decent man. There is no tussle for power, there is no tough battle between him and the president.

“When something like what happened yesterday (Tuesday) would happen then there will be unanimity, there is no way there won’t be unanimity on that kind of decision.

“It is not something that will be discussed with the press but know that there was unanimity in that decision.’’

Osinbajo had on Tuesday directed the termination of the appointment of Daura and directed him to handover to the most senior person in the organisation.

Mr Matthew Seiyefa has since assumed duty as the acting Director-General of the DSS.

Daura was appointed by President Buhari on July 2, 2015, following the dismissal of his predecessor, Ita Ekpeyong.

Meanwhile, senior lawyers under the aegis of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Wednesday, condemned the laying of siege by operatives of the Departmeent of State Service (DSS) who were joined by police officers to prevent lawmakers from accessing the parliament for several hours on Tuesday.

Apparently miffed by the security operatives action, the lawyers, who described the invasion as harassment of lawmakers and an abuse of power, unanimously called on the presidency to without further delay prosecute the sacked Director General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, to serve as deterrent to those who aimed at disrupting our democracy.

First to fire the shot was a constitutional lawyer and human rights activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN.

He said: “The chickens have finally come home to roost. How fast the cookies crumble! The hitherto veiled crude assault on Nigeria’s democracy and democratic ethos has finally been lifted by a desperate, clueless, rudderless and non-performing APC government that has been nothing short of a “one- chance” vehicle of fake and failed promises of “change”.

Yes,”change” there has been, but one of negative, retrogressive and anti-people “change” that has not only impoverished and degraded Nigerians, but has actually endangered and imperilled our hard worn democracy, and enthroned incredible mediocrity, nepotism, cronyism, clannishness and corruption in government and governance.

“Nigerians had woken up on 7th August, 2018, to behold the ugly spectre of a menacing armada of a seige laid on the National Asembly by mask-wearing DSS operatives.

It was an undoubted failed attempt to overthrow the third arm of the legitimate government of Nigeria. Both in law and fact, de facto and de jure, it is a case of pure treason or reasonable felony that is punishable with either death or life imprisonment.

“The crude invasion and condoning off of the NASS, wherein Senators, members of the House of Representatives, Clerks and staff of the National Assembly, were violently prevented by hooded operatives, was hatched by top APC echelon and the presidency to illegally and unconstitutionally overthrow the leadership of the Senate, the red chamber of the bicameral legislature, viet armis, by force of arms, through the vile use of weaponry.

“Thank God for social media. The spine-chilling live videos mercilessly assailed us in our various homes. As is to be expected, the APC has disingenuously denied it. But, no one believes it;

not even its slavish, fawning, bootlicking, and die-hard supporters, cheerleaders and chorus masters. The president is alleged to have cleverly travelled abroad to the UK, on a “working visit”, to provide a ready made alibi of not being party to the ugly and odious developments back home.

“As our hard fought democracy totters towards total annihilation by this desperate government’s dastardly and unspeakable acts of impunity, totalitarianism, absolutism and fascism, Nigerians and the international community should brace up for tougher times ahead, in the fight for the control of the heart and soul of this beleaguered nation.

I see Mr. Lawal Daura, the now sacked DG, DSS, as a mere unfortunate fall guy, who has been made the victim and guinea pig of our blood-spattered political chess board.

“I say this because, there is no way that Daura, not being the President and Commander-In Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, even with the intoxicating and inebriating effect of power liquor,

can unilaterally, whimsically, capriciously and arbitrarily lay seige on the National Assembly without presidential directive, or at least approval, whether tacit or overt, of the “ogas at the top”. This is a very sad day for democracy in Nigeria.

I am convinced that past heroes, heroines and founding fathers and mothers of this unworking Nigerian project must by now, be weeping in their graves.

“But, make no mistake about it: it is simply not enough for this pretentious and janus-faced government to simply sack Daura, an action that was forced on it anyway, by the spontaneous national uproar and unanimous outcry and condemnation of this barbaric and unconscionable act of attempted treason.

The full weight of the law must be visited on Daura and all those usurpers who believe that Nigeria is nothing but their footstool of hegemonic self-aggrandizement and ego satisfaction.

“Sections 37 to 43 of the Criminal Code and sections 410 and 415 of the Penal Code, which operate in the the southern and northern parts of Nigeria, respectively, deal with the offences of treason and reasonable felonies. While treason is punishable by death, treasonable felony is punishable by life imprisonment.

“All those who participated in the national shame that has caused Nigeria monumental international odium, opprobrium and derision, must surely fall into one of these limbs.

It is treasonable felony punishable with life imprisonment for anyone to device, by overt acts, to depose or levy war against the sovereign, or to compel changes of policy, or to intimidate or overawe Parliament (National Assembly).

“The sections provide, inter alia, that, anyone who levies war against the state in order to intimidate or overawe the president or governor of a state, or who conspires with others, either within Nigeria or outside Nigeria, to levy war against Nigeria, or instigate a foreigner to invade Nigeria with an armed force,is guilty of treason and is punished by death.

“It is treasonable felony punishable with life imprisonment, for anyone to become an accessory after the fact to treason, or fails to report to appropriate authorities of his knowledge of people attempting to commit treason, or forms an intention to commit the offence of treason, or prepares, advises, aids, or participates in any act of war against a traditional chief or a band of citizens.

“Let the law now take its full course. It is no respecter of any person. Enough is enough. Nigeria cannot descend lower than this lowly abyss, this unenviable nadir.

Let the president exonerate himself, for once, by speaking up loud and clear in condemnation of this subversive and criminal acts against Nigeria’s sovereignty.

He should not hide behind the facade of the now well known usual condescending ostrich-like pretentious tarciturtnity and indifference. No. It is not acceptable to the overwhelming shocked and angry Nigerians”.

Another human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said: “I honestly do not bother about the intrigues leading to the invasion of National Assembly. There was an illegal action of invasion and there was a prompt reaction by the Acting President, to arrest it, simple.

Whether it was Saraki that masterminded the invasion or whether the PDP or APC are both using it to curry public sympathy is not my brief, as I’m not a politician at all.

“I don’t bother myself about all these permutations going round, but whenever any infraction of the Constitution has taken place, we shall confront it as usual. Enough of politicians and their worthless intrigues”.

In his reaction, Mr. Bolanle Olugbani, said: “The presidential system we run in Nigeria is one where the executive, the legislature and the judiciary are the three arms that constitute the government of Nigeria. The 1999 constitution guaranteed the equality of the three arms of government in Nigeria.

“The three arms, though separate and distinct in their functions are suppose to serve as checks and balances on each other.

When the legislature makes laws, the executive implement the laws and when the implementation is not clear, the citizens can approach the court of law on any issue concerning that law. When the judiciary makes an interpretation become part of our laws which regulate the executive.

“The judiciary cannot make laws singlehandedly but their decisions form part of what is called case law. The executive cannot make laws but can sponsor Bills which after deliberations can pass such a Bill into law with the assent of the President.

If the president withhold his assent, the National Assembly can override his veto with a two third majority vote.

“The executive cannot express displeasure in whatever form by laying siege to the National Assembly or preventing lawmakers from doing their duly elected functions just as the executive arm cannot go to the Supreme Court to lay siege and prevent the Supreme Court or judicial officers from adjudicating in a matter because the Supreme Court didn’t favor the executive arm in previous case.

“A physical assault or siege on any of the three pillars of the executive, the legislature or the judiciary is an abuse of power. It’s an impeachable offence.

It goes to the root of integrity of the federal government. No arm of government should hold another arm of government hostage. “Any act that bothers on what happened on Tuesday, is an act that undermines our democracy and foist anarchy on our society.

“The abuse of power started a couple of years ago when the executive arm at 2:00am launched gestapo operations by climbing fences of Supreme Court Justices, breaking down their walls purportedly on anti-corruption operations that was clearly an act of intimidation by the executive arm on the judicial arm.

On Tuesday, a similar act has been carried out by this government against the legislative arm of government.”