* Litigation underway to challenge expulsion of citizens
* Lament sabotage of guidelines by security operatives
With the sustained evacuation of non-indigenes from different
states of the federation as part of measures to enforce the
COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, senior lawyers saturday warned
that such decisions might stoke constitutional crisis and further
endanger the unity of the country, ThisDay
reports[1]
Besides, the lawyers argued that the decisions of the state
governments to send non-indigenes to their states of origin
violated Chapter III and section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which
respectively spell out the privileges of every Nigerian citizen and
guarantee fundamental human rights.
In separate conversations with THISDAY, a former President of
the West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana (SAN);
Nigeria’s leading human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN)
and a former Chairman, Governing Council, National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu expressed grave concern about
the decisions of these governors.
Hiding under the enforcement of the COVID-19 guidelines and
regulations, the Kano State Government had evacuated non-indigenes,
especially Almajiris residing within its territories to their
states of origin across the North.
The decision of the Kano State Government had sparked reprisal
in other states across the federation with Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos,
Nasarawa and Osun, among others, either expelling non-indigenes
from their states of residence to their states of origin or denying
them entry into their territories under the guide of enforcing the
COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.
With these developments, Falana observed that the fundament
rights to freedom of movement, like other rights under the 1999
Constitution, might be derogated from or abridged in defence of
public health, public safety or public morality.
The human rights lawyer acknowledged that in order to reduce the
spread of the coronavirus, the federal government banned inter
state locomotion of all citizens for two weeks.
He noted that the decision “cannot be questioned since it is
based on the protection of public health. Section 45 of the 1999
Constitution allows such derogations,” which according to him, are
based strictly on public interest.
However, Falana observed the policy might be impugned if it is
applied in a discriminatory or selective manner, noting that even
though the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) suggested the policy, the
federal government accepted it.
The senior advocate said the state governors “have incorporated
the ban into the COVID 19 regulations made by them. They are
binding on all and sundry.”
He, however, lamented that the ban “is not effective as it is
being sabotaged by security forces who have erected toll gates in
the border towns.”
He faulted the decision of some state governments expelling
non-indigenes residing within their territories, noting that such
decision violated the fundamental rights of the affected citizens
under the 1999 Constitution.
He explained that the 1999 Constitution “has recognised the
fundamental rights of citizens to move freely and reside in any
part of Nigeria. To that extent, the expulsion of flotsam and
jetsam otherwise called Almajaris by some northern governors is
illegal and unconstitutional.
“The danger of the illegal expulsion at this point in time is
that many of the expelled citizens are COVID 19 positive. So the
actions of the governors are promoting community transmission of
the infectious disease.”
He lamented that the federal government “has not deemed it fit
to call the governors to order. Some public interest litigation
lawyers have concluded plans to challenge the constitutional
validity of the expulsions in the federal high court after the
lockdown..”
Like Falana, Adegboruwa provided two interrelated grounds, which
according to him, showed that the decisions of some state
governments to expel non-indigenes living within territories are
completely unconstitutional.
He, first, cited the significance of citizenship to the
federation, to which a whole chapter of the 1999 Constitution was
devoted and the chapter explicitly outlined the rights and
privileges attached to the citizenship status.
He said: “Once you are born in Nigeria and can trace any of your
parents to Nigerian origin, you are a free born citizen with all
the rights and privileges attached to that citizenship in line with
the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Constitution.
“This cannot be taken away by a declaration by a governor. I
have no doubt that the decisions of the governors in expelling
citizens from their states on the ground that they are not
indigenes of those states are totally unconstitutional.
“It is unfortunate what is currently happening in Nigeria, in
respect of the COVID 19, which now seems to have its own Nigerian
identity, from fake test results, to propaganda of bloated capacity
and even corruption,” Adegboruwa.
He, also, explained the illegality of the decisions of the
governors under section 41 of the Constitution, which according to
him, stated that every citizen of Nigeria “is entitled to move
freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof and no
citizen shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry or
exit.
“This provision is very sacrosanct to our unity as a nation,
going by our collective motto of unity and progress. You should be
able to stay in any part of Nigeria, so long as you are law-abiding
and you have not committed any offence to warrant the deprivation
of your rights as a citizen.
“Now, some of the reasons given are that these are itinerant
persons who have no visible means of livelihood and they are said
to constitute some risks to the containment of the COVID 19
pandemic. The question then is this.
“If they are already infected persons, will the act of expelling
them from their state of residence take away the virus from them?
Is the virus regulated by physical boundary between states such
that once you are expelled, then the virus would immediately
recognise the boundary and then disappear?
“We compel those who occupy positions of authority to
familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Constitution
which they have all sworn to uphold. In that wise, we will have
less infractions of the Constitution when leaders become more aware
of its provisions,” the senior advocate said.
He warned against expelling citizens from their places of
residence to their states of origin, noting that such decision “is
like sowing the seed of disunity.”
He said the state governments that expelled them “are simply
telling them that even though they have worked and lived all their
lives in their places of residence, they are not welcome as
Nigerian citizens unless they can trace their states of origin. It
will lead to social disintegration, social disharmony.”
He, also, noted that the action of the state governments
discriminated “against these citizens on grounds of places of
origin and their status in society, because most of the states that
are expelling Almajaris still accommodate the rich men and women
from the same state where the Almajaris come from.
“They are just being targeted because of poverty and low status.
If this is allowed to fester, then you cannot refer to Nigeria as a
federation. In section 2 of the Constitution, it is clearly stated
that Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to
be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“But when you don’t allow citizens of other states to reside and
take abode in your state freely, you are telling them that you are
not part of the federation, which then would mean that the governor
executing such illegality is not fit to remain in office as a
governor, having committed a breach of his oath office to uphold
the 1999 Constitution,” he said.
Adegboruwa, therefore, urged the NGF to convene an emergency
meeting and encourage all its members “to accept the people as they
are. In many cases now, those who have tested positive to COVID 19
are not necessarily indigenes of the states where they reside.
“We should not get to the level where out of panic, the problem
of COVID-19 that we are trying to solve will be escalated because
these almajaris are packed together in trucks as if they are not
human beings and in that wise, they will not be able to observe the
social distancing and hygiene policies associated with COVID
19.
“Even though one appreciates the concern of the governors that
are affected, it is important to realise that the 1999 Constitution
is the grundnorm and the organic document of our existence as a
nation and it is important not to take steps that fly in the face
of that basic document,” he explained.
In his response, Odinkalu noted that lots of issues (have been
happening in the country “that are strange to federal structure.
Expelling non-indigenes from their states of residence is one of
such strange happenings.”
In any federation, Odinkalu argued that citizens “can live
anywhere or move from one place to the other without let or
hindrance. These people have not committed any crimes. Poverty is
not a crime. Nor is destitution.
“But even if these were crimes, internal banishment is not a
punishment and there is nothing like repatriation or deportation to
your place of origin. As a fact, no one knows where most of these
people come from in terms of origins.
“The state governors, who have paid no heed to them all this
while, are all of a sudden inventing reasons to be nasty and amoral
in a way that frankly endangers everyone. It is the cluster removed
from Kano that began the spike in Gombe and Bauchi as well as in
Kano’s North-west neighbours,” he said.
With these developments, he said the federal government “has the
responsibility to protect the integrity of the federation. It is
failing woefully. Governors who swore to defend the constitution
are undermining it egregiously.”
By Gboyega Akinsanmi, ThisDay.com
* Litigation underway to challenge expulsion of citizens
* Lament sabotage of guidelines by security operatives
With the sustained evacuation of non-indigenes from different
states of the federation as part of measures to enforce the
COVID-19 guidelines and regulations, senior lawyers saturday warned
that such decisions might stoke constitutional crisis and further
endanger the unity of the country, ThisDay
reports[1]
Besides, the lawyers argued that the decisions of the state
governments to send non-indigenes to their states of origin
violated Chapter III and section 41 of the 1999 Constitution, which
respectively spell out the privileges of every Nigerian citizen and
guarantee fundamental human rights.
In separate conversations with THISDAY, a former President of
the West African Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Femi Falana (SAN);
Nigeria’s leading human rights lawyer, Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa (SAN)
and a former Chairman, Governing Council, National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu expressed grave concern about
the decisions of these governors.
Hiding under the enforcement of the COVID-19 guidelines and
regulations, the Kano State Government had evacuated non-indigenes,
especially Almajiris residing within its territories to their
states of origin across the North.
The decision of the Kano State Government had sparked reprisal
in other states across the federation with Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos,
Nasarawa and Osun, among others, either expelling non-indigenes
from their states of residence to their states of origin or denying
them entry into their territories under the guide of enforcing the
COVID-19 guidelines and regulations.
With these developments, Falana observed that the fundament
rights to freedom of movement, like other rights under the 1999
Constitution, might be derogated from or abridged in defence of
public health, public safety or public morality.
The human rights lawyer acknowledged that in order to reduce the
spread of the coronavirus, the federal government banned inter
state locomotion of all citizens for two weeks.
He noted that the decision “cannot be questioned since it is
based on the protection of public health. Section 45 of the 1999
Constitution allows such derogations,” which according to him, are
based strictly on public interest.
However, Falana observed the policy might be impugned if it is
applied in a discriminatory or selective manner, noting that even
though the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) suggested the policy, the
federal government accepted it.
The senior advocate said the state governors “have incorporated
the ban into the COVID 19 regulations made by them. They are
binding on all and sundry.”
He, however, lamented that the ban “is not effective as it is
being sabotaged by security forces who have erected toll gates in
the border towns.”
He faulted the decision of some state governments expelling
non-indigenes residing within their territories, noting that such
decision violated the fundamental rights of the affected citizens
under the 1999 Constitution.
He explained that the 1999 Constitution “has recognised the
fundamental rights of citizens to move freely and reside in any
part of Nigeria. To that extent, the expulsion of flotsam and
jetsam otherwise called Almajaris by some northern governors is
illegal and unconstitutional.
“The danger of the illegal expulsion at this point in time is
that many of the expelled citizens are COVID 19 positive. So the
actions of the governors are promoting community transmission of
the infectious disease.”
He lamented that the federal government “has not deemed it fit
to call the governors to order. Some public interest litigation
lawyers have concluded plans to challenge the constitutional
validity of the expulsions in the federal high court after the
lockdown..”
Like Falana, Adegboruwa provided two interrelated grounds, which
according to him, showed that the decisions of some state
governments to expel non-indigenes living within territories are
completely unconstitutional.
He, first, cited the significance of citizenship to the
federation, to which a whole chapter of the 1999 Constitution was
devoted and the chapter explicitly outlined the rights and
privileges attached to the citizenship status.
He said: “Once you are born in Nigeria and can trace any of your
parents to Nigerian origin, you are a free born citizen with all
the rights and privileges attached to that citizenship in line with
the provisions of Chapter 3 of the Constitution.
“This cannot be taken away by a declaration by a governor. I
have no doubt that the decisions of the governors in expelling
citizens from their states on the ground that they are not
indigenes of those states are totally unconstitutional.
“It is unfortunate what is currently happening in Nigeria, in
respect of the COVID 19, which now seems to have its own Nigerian
identity, from fake test results, to propaganda of bloated capacity
and even corruption,” Adegboruwa.
He, also, explained the illegality of the decisions of the
governors under section 41 of the Constitution, which according to
him, stated that every citizen of Nigeria “is entitled to move
freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof and no
citizen shall be expelled from Nigeria or refused entry or
exit.
“This provision is very sacrosanct to our unity as a nation,
going by our collective motto of unity and progress. You should be
able to stay in any part of Nigeria, so long as you are law-abiding
and you have not committed any offence to warrant the deprivation
of your rights as a citizen.
“Now, some of the reasons given are that these are itinerant
persons who have no visible means of livelihood and they are said
to constitute some risks to the containment of the COVID 19
pandemic. The question then is this.
“If they are already infected persons, will the act of expelling
them from their state of residence take away the virus from them?
Is the virus regulated by physical boundary between states such
that once you are expelled, then the virus would immediately
recognise the boundary and then disappear?
“We compel those who occupy positions of authority to
familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Constitution
which they have all sworn to uphold. In that wise, we will have
less infractions of the Constitution when leaders become more aware
of its provisions,” the senior advocate said.
He warned against expelling citizens from their places of
residence to their states of origin, noting that such decision “is
like sowing the seed of disunity.”
He said the state governments that expelled them “are simply
telling them that even though they have worked and lived all their
lives in their places of residence, they are not welcome as
Nigerian citizens unless they can trace their states of origin. It
will lead to social disintegration, social disharmony.”
He, also, noted that the action of the state governments
discriminated “against these citizens on grounds of places of
origin and their status in society, because most of the states that
are expelling Almajaris still accommodate the rich men and women
from the same state where the Almajaris come from.
“They are just being targeted because of poverty and low status.
If this is allowed to fester, then you cannot refer to Nigeria as a
federation. In section 2 of the Constitution, it is clearly stated
that Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to
be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“But when you don’t allow citizens of other states to reside and
take abode in your state freely, you are telling them that you are
not part of the federation, which then would mean that the governor
executing such illegality is not fit to remain in office as a
governor, having committed a breach of his oath office to uphold
the 1999 Constitution,” he said.
Adegboruwa, therefore, urged the NGF to convene an emergency
meeting and encourage all its members “to accept the people as they
are. In many cases now, those who have tested positive to COVID 19
are not necessarily indigenes of the states where they reside.
“We should not get to the level where out of panic, the problem
of COVID-19 that we are trying to solve will be escalated because
these almajaris are packed together in trucks as if they are not
human beings and in that wise, they will not be able to observe the
social distancing and hygiene policies associated with COVID
19.
“Even though one appreciates the concern of the governors that
are affected, it is important to realise that the 1999 Constitution
is the grundnorm and the organic document of our existence as a
nation and it is important not to take steps that fly in the face
of that basic document,” he explained.
In his response, Odinkalu noted that lots of issues (have been
happening in the country “that are strange to federal structure.
Expelling non-indigenes from their states of residence is one of
such strange happenings.”
In any federation, Odinkalu argued that citizens “can live
anywhere or move from one place to the other without let or
hindrance. These people have not committed any crimes. Poverty is
not a crime. Nor is destitution.
“But even if these were crimes, internal banishment is not a
punishment and there is nothing like repatriation or deportation to
your place of origin. As a fact, no one knows where most of these
people come from in terms of origins.
“The state governors, who have paid no heed to them all this
while, are all of a sudden inventing reasons to be nasty and amoral
in a way that frankly endangers everyone. It is the cluster removed
from Kano that began the spike in Gombe and Bauchi as well as in
Kano’s North-west neighbours,” he said.
With these developments, he said the federal government “has the
responsibility to protect the integrity of the federation. It is
failing woefully. Governors who swore to defend the constitution
are undermining it egregiously.”
By Gboyega Akinsanmi, ThisDay.com