The Kano branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has decried the involvement of Nigerian soldiers in the crisis over the repeal of the Kano Emirate Council Law 2019 and the sack of emirs.
The branch chairperson, Sagir Gezawa, in a statement, said as a body of lawyers, the association is deeply concerned about the developments in the matter.
“It’s within the constitutional duty of a State Assembly to legislate and once passed it remains the prerogative of a Governor to assent to such Law.
“Once assented to by the Governor, it has become a Law and its implementation is to be done by state apparatus and of course enforced by a competent court of law.
“It’s further within the purview of courts to interpret such Law to be in tandem with other existing laws or the Constitution.
“In doing so, we urge our members to act responsibly in approaching courts with competent jurisdiction.
“A court order, once given is sacrosanct and must be obeyed. That is the motto of this association, ‘promoting the rule of law.’
“However, it must be noted that the court has its own mechanism of enforcing its order, it’s not within the powers of the Nigerian Army to deploy troops to enforce a court order. This is a sad reminder of the military dictatorship and must be condemned.
“Anyone found wanting or in disobedience of a court order (which is declaratory in nature) must first be proved to have been notified of the existence of the said court order by issuance of Form 48 and subsequently Form 49 notifying such person of the consequences of his or her actions. This is in line with the Sheriff and Civil Processes Act and Laws of the various States for enforcing court judgments.
“Engaging security apparatus without the officers of the Deputy Sherrif’s Department of the relevant court that made the order may appear to be self-help, which must also be condemned.
“As an association, therefore, we call on all state actors, to be mindful of their oaths of office and for the security agencies, their scope of duties so as not to make mockery of our judicial system.
“They should as well be mindful of the fact that their actions may breach the security and peace of Kano State and they shall be held accountable in this life or the next,” the statement said.
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