Malami’s stance on Amotekun

The Attorney-General of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, issued a condemnable statement penultimate Tuesday declaring the Western Nigeria regional security outfit, Amotekun, armed with Dane guns, as illegal, citing the constitution. With daily reports of kidnapping even in classrooms, banditry, Boko Haram and ISWAP striking when they want, everyone in Nigeria knows that the central Nigeria Police Force has failed. The military dragged into internal security matters is over-stretched and it is only logical that state governors, as chief security officers, should find ways of securing their citizens.

As chief law officer, Malami should have long moved for the amendment of the constitution to allow more players in the area of policing our country.

In the USA, where we copied our presidential system, there are federal police, state, local and even park police. We shouldn’t be slaves to a constitution handed over by the Abubakar Abdulsalami military regime. When we find that it is not working, we should from time to time adopt the ‘Doctrine of Necessity”, at least once used in our country, despite the constitution.

Malami’s position reminds me of the infamous stance of Mallam Nasir el-Rufai who as head of the Bureau of Public Enterprises kept quoting the constitution when the Bola Tinubu administration in Lagos brought the now defunct Enron to generate close to 850 MW of electricity for the state. The constitution was the only reason the full objective was not achieved before Enron collapsed.

Finally, to Malami, please remember the maxim: The law is made for man, not man for the law. Anytime a law ceases to serve its purpose, it should either be amended or changed. Or better, we pretend it does not exist.

Bayo Onanuga,

Lagos

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