Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the
\nPresident of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of
\nRepresentatives Mr Yakubu Dogara to urgently withdraw the patently
\nunconstitutional directives to some banks to unfreeze former First Lady
\nMrs Patience Jonathan\u2019s accounts.<\/p>\n
The organization said that, \u201cthe directives to banks to unfreeze Mrs
\nJonathan\u2019s accounts amount to mingling of the executive and judicial
\npowers in the National Assembly. Checks and balances should ideally help
\ncontribute to the rule of law and strengthening our democratic
\ndispensation but if one branch of government grows too strong and
\noverreaching the country might be in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement today signed by SERAP deputy director Timothy Adewale the
\norganization said that, \u201cIt\u2019s an affront to our constitutional democracy
\nfor the National Assembly to turn itself into a tool for checkmating the
\ncountry\u2019s justice system, especially the prosecution of grand corruption.
\nRather than helping Mrs Jonathan\u2019s desire to achieve justice for what she
\nmay consider to be violations of her human rights, such directives are
\ndoing exactly the opposite and politicising the criminal justice process.\u201d
\nThe Senate had last week decided that Mrs Jonathan\u2019s accounts should be
\nunfrozen, saying that some of the accounts including with Stanbic IBTC,
\nFirst Bank, Union Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank\u00a0and Bank
\nZenith Bank were frozen based on some administrative lapses. It claimed
\nthat the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) used the banks to
\nclose the accounts without due process of law. The House of
\nRepresentatives in September gave a similar directive to the banks to free
\nthe former first lady\u2019s blocked accounts.
\nBut SERAP said that, \u201cNigerians are concerned about their lawmakers\u2019
\nthirst for power, and about the National Assembly aggrandizing its
\nlegislative powers without sufficient checks and constitutional scrutiny
\nand validity. The National Assembly ought to focus the exercise of its
\nlegislative powers solely on making laws for the peace, order and good
\ngovernment\u00a0of our country, addressing only matters of prime national
\nconcern, and when necessary, checking the excesses of the executive
\nbranch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement reads in part: \u201cThe directives purportedly unfreezing the
\naccounts of Mrs Jonathan will not give the public the confidence that the
\nNational Assembly will change its ways and embrace the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe National Assembly should not show itself as incapable and unwilling
\nto address the concerns of Nigerians about its operations and apparent
\nlack of transparency. These kinds of interventions by the National
\nAssembly could portray our lawmakers in the eyes of Nigerians as
\nforgetting what they are in Abuja to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Senate and House of Representatives should advise Mrs Jonathan to
\nseek appropriate judicial remedies if she feels the criminal justice
\nmechanisms have violated her human rights. That\u2019s the essence of the rule
\nof law, separation of powers and checks and balances. The supposed
\ndirectives to banks have unfortunately again put the reputation of the
\nNational Assembly at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Nigerians want and deserve is a balanced sharing of constitutional
\npowers for the sake of the public good, and not \u2018Imperial National
\nAssembly\u2019, a National Assembly that sits on its throne in Abuja and treats
\nNigerians as serfs in their fiefdoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the body that makes law also controls its execution, implementation
\nand interpretation, it can effectively tailor the laws to help itself and
\nits friends and hurt its perceived enemies. It can thwart the virtue of
\nimpartial general law-making by rendering it a tool for singling out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr Yakubu Dogara to urgently withdraw the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n