Service Chiefs: Buhari violated Nigerian Constitution, Armed Forces Act – Lawyers
Mr Buhari named a new set of service chiefs on Tuesday. 4 min read
President Muhammadu Buhari violated the Nigerian Constitution and the Armed Forces Act by appointing new service chiefs without the approval of the National Assembly, lawyers have said.
Mr Buhari, on Tuesday, appointed Lucky Irabor, a major general, as the new chief of defence staff.
He also appointed Ibrahim Attahiru, a major general, as the chief of army staff; Auwal Gambo, a rear admiral, as the chief of naval staff, and Isiaka Amao, an air vice marshal, as the chief of air staff.
Introduction
To “summon” is to ‘send for’, ‘call for’, ‘gather’ or ‘rally’. It could also mean to ‘command’.
Earlier last month, I read with angst and trepidation, a statement credited to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, to the effect that the National Assembly (NASS) has no power to summon the President over his “operational use of the Armed Forces”. I was the more disturbed with the AGF’s stance, because the President has already voluntarily agreed to appear before the NASS. Under Sections 217, 218 and 219 of the 1999 Constitution, the President cannot carry out the “operational use of the Armed Forces” without the NASS concurring or empowering him to do so. In fact, under Section 219(b), the composition of the Armed Forces of the Federation must reflect the Federal Character of Nigeria, and it is only the NASS that has the powers to make laws regulating how the President as Commander-
Daily Post Nigeria
Published
God sparing us life, by May 29th 2023, the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari will quit office after what would have become some of the most tumultuous 8 years of Nigeria since the British Colonial rulers forcefully amalgamated the North and the South Protectorates which the Mistress of the then Colonial governor Lord Lugard, Flora named Nigeria from the River Niger.
But as the President still has nearly three years out of his eight years to govern the Country that his many divisive actions and policies have almost crippled, there is a critical area that if indeed at his old age of 78, he aspires to bequeath any form of enduring legacies that generations to come will look back at and draw some inspiration, then he has to address the issue of the total breakdown of Law and order all around the Country made worse by the lack of professionalism and Discipline in what we regard as the Nigerian Police Force which has become a farce.
Buhari needs emergency powers to tackle insecurity
By
Thu Dec 17 2020
The military of any nation is not a sheer ‘outpost’ for men in uniforms looking out for distress situations to intervene in. As a composite architecture of the armed forces and all its constituting elements, the military is indeed a strategic national guardian entrusted with security matters connected with lives and property within the geographic space of a country. The Nigerian Constitution, for instance, adequately provides that ‘there shall be an Armed Force for the Federation, which shall consist of an Army, a Navy, an Air Force, and such other branches of the Armed Forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly.’
National Assembly, AGF and power to invite the President
On
By Festus Ogun
THE Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has said the National Assembly lacks the power to invite President Muhammadu Buhari, to speak on security matters. This is coming a few days after the President agreed to honour the invitation of the House of Representatives to address a joint session of the National Assembly on the security challenges in the country after the unfortunate massacre of 43 farmers in Borno State.
In light of the relevant constitutional provisions, we are compelled to respectfully disagree with the Attorney General and humbly hold the view that it is yet another exculpatory defence to shield the President from responsibility and accountability. Without doubt, the clear position of the law is that by virtue of Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2011 as amended),