South West Governors: Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State; Gboyega Oyetola, Osun; Dapo Abiodun, Ogun; Babatunde Sanwo-Olu, Lagos; Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti; and Seyi Makinde, Oyo
Governors of Nigeria’s southwest states have condemned the alleged role of the attorney-general Abubakar Malami in deploying security operatives to evict residents of Magodo Estate in Lagos State.
The governors said it was ‘disgraceful’ for a security agent to disregard Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu who visited the scene to broker a truce in the ongoing issue.
Consequently, Southwest governors have advised Sanwo-Olu to Amotekun, a security outfit launched by states in the Southwest, “to protect the lives and property of the people.”
Sanwo-Olu visited Magodo on Tuesday and ordered an Assistant Superintendent of Police Abimbola Oyewole and other officers to vacate the place.
The officer, who claimed to be acting on the orders of Malami and the inspector general of police, however, disregarded the Lagos State governor’s order.
Rotimi Akeredolu, chairman of the Southwest Governors Forum in a statement said “the utter disrespect and response of the officer to the governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened “federalism”.”
“We condemn, in very clear terms, the role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami SAN in this act of gross moral turpitude,” Akeredolu said. “We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency.”
The Southwest governors chairman called on the IG to “explain the justification for this intrusion.”
Akeredolu said any expectations of rapprochement between so-called federating units and federal security agencies “are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.”
The governor, an advocate of a state police system in Nigeria questioned the current federal policing structure which compels a governor to “seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons”, describing it as “a sure recipe for anarchy.”
“We, on our part, will continue to interrogate the current system, which treats elected representatives of the people as mere prefects, while appointed office holders ride roughshod over them as Lords of the Manor,” Akeredolu said.
“If the purported Chief Security Officers of the States of the Federation require clearance from the office of the IG on matters within their areas of jurisdictions, only hypocrites will wonder why the current security crisis deepens and there appears to be no solution in the foreseeable future.”
The Southwest governors called on President Muhammadu Buhari “to rein in the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government.”
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Already, the police officer’s refusal on Tuesday to obey Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has sparked outrage on Wednesday.
The Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) have come under fire over the deployment of policemen in Magodo Phase II Estate, Lagos.
Their alleged involvement drew knocks from the Southwest Governors Forum, lawyers and lawmakers.
The police officer in charge of the team, Bimbola Oyewole, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), had told the governor that he was acting on instruction.
“I’m here on the instruction of the IGP through the AGF,” he told the governor.
Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday urged the parties to ‘stand down’, pending when the matter would be resolved.
Before the governor visited the troubled estate, over 50 armed policemen had laid siege to it following the planned demolition of some properties labelled: ‘Possession Taken Today 21/12/21 by Court Order’.
The police also allegedly invaded the community with members of a family said to be executing a Supreme Court judgment on the ownership of the land on which the properties were built.
When Sanwo-Olu and members of the executive council visited the estate, he met CSP Oyewole, who told him his team had been sent from Abuja to execute the Supreme Court judgment.
After the police team lead could not provide a copy of the judgment as demanded, the governor ordered the policemen to deactivate their operation and leave Lagos in the interest of peace.
But the officer refused, saying he was acting on the orders of the AGF and IG.
The governor then told him to call his superior and those who gave him instruction, saying the matter was between the Lagos State Government and the judgment creditor.
Sanwo-Olu said: “It is a case between the residents of Lagos and the supposed people, not the residents. They have nothing to do with the residents.
“Please, can you call your superior now in Abuja that the governor is standing in front of you, and, as the Chief Security Officer, I want you to leave now as you have no business in my state, and that I want you to disengage now?”
But, the officer insisted that his rank was too low to call his superior officers, and he would not leave with his team, since he was acting on the instruction of the AGF through the IG.
However, after several calls placed to the authorities in Abuja, Sanwo-Olu briefed the residents and appealed to the concerned parties to ‘stand down’ until the matter is completely resolved.
He then invited the stakeholders to a meeting in his office at 11 am Wednesday, saying the issues called for proper deliberation in the interest of peace.
Sanwo-Olu said he spoke with Malami who denied knowledge of the deployment of police to the estate.
Activist lawyer Jiti Ogunye described the Magodo crisis as a rule of law catastrophe.
Also, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa stated that only restructuring could save the nation.
Governors of southwest states condemned the alleged role of Malami in deploying security operatives.
Southwest Governors Forum Chairman Rotimi Akeredolu, in a statement, said it was ‘disgraceful’ for a security agent to disregard Sanwo-Olu.
The Ondo State, who described the incident as a brazen assault on decency, lashed at Malami’s role, describing it as an ‘act of gross moral turpitude”.
He also said the IG must explain the justification for the intrusion.
The governor maintained that President Muhammadu Buhari must reign in the excesses of those under him.
Akeredolu assured Sanwo-Olu of his colleagues’ support but advised him to deploy the Amotekun Corps for effective protection and security of his people.
The statement reads: “We are in possession of a video which has gone viral on the social media concerning the disgraceful exchange between a police officer, a CSP, and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, the supposed Chief Security Officer of the State, at the Magodo Residential Estate.
“The content of the video is very disconcerting, and this is being charitable.
“The utter disrespect, which underlines the response of the officer to the governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened federalism.
“An arrangement, which compels the governor of a state to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons, is a sure recipe for anarchy.”
Also, two members of the House of Representatives – Ademorin Kuye of Somolu Federal Constituency and Rotimi Agunsoye representing Kosofe Federal Constituency – said Malami’s alleged involvement, as well as that of the IG, should be probed.
They urged the House to “mandate the committees on justice, public petition and Police to investigate the involvement of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police in the attempt to destabilise the peace of Lagos state, scuttle the ongoing settlement process and enforce an illegality”.
Ogunye noted that Malami and IGP’s agents were not court sheriffs empowered under Sheriff and Civil Process Act (SCPA).
He said: “The Magodo Lagos incident is a rule of law catastrophe.
“AGF and IGP’s agents lawfully cannot invade the estate in the pretext of enforcing a Supreme Court judgment.
“They are not Sheriffs of Court empowered to so do under the SCPA. If the LASG disobeyed the court, the redress venue is still the court, not the office of IGP or AGF!
“The AGF has no power to instruct the IGP to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court.
“The IGP has no authority outside the provisions of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act to enforce the order of any court, Supreme, Appellate or High.
“If the judgment is not being obeyed, it is still the court that parties must return to.
“Court judgments are not enforced by policemen but by the sheriffs who are assisted, security-wise, by the police.
“The enforcers are the sheriffs and the mechanism of enforcement is a ‘civil’ process. Not a martial or police process!
“The Supreme Court has the NJC by its side to receive petitions and punish any judicial officer that may be frustrating enforcement of its orders and can direct that the CJ of any state should ensure that any sheriff that subverts its orders be sanctioned.
“The judgment creditors have my sympathy. My sense of justice should make me their ally.
“But I can’t in good conscience support a situation in which agents of the central government in a supposed federation are recklessly invading a state in the name of enforcing a judgment in the face of tons of judgments being disobeyed by the Federal Government and its agencies, including the police.
“No reasonable person should support this irresponsible conduct.
“For the Lagos State Government that is locked in a fresh legal battle with the judgment creditors on appeal over the writ of possession that was issued and set aside, the resolution route is a settlement and compliance with the judgment.
“The judgment of our courts is binding on all authorities and persons – Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The judiciary that gave the judgment is the third arm of government.
“It is, therefore, an act of executive lawlessness if the executive branch willfully and perennially disobeys the decision of the judicial arm.
“We note, however, that litigation is still pending on the enforcement aspect of the judgment.
“Incidentally, history is repeating itself. The complaint of the judgment creditors was that while their action was in court and after the court had granted an injunction in their favour, the Lagos State Government and its officials kept allocating their lands to third parties. Terrible? Of course.
“But consider the situation today. While the fresh action on the set-aside writ of possession is pending in the Court of Appeal, the judgment creditors have resorted to self-help, illegally aided by the AGF and IGP to take over the subject matter of the pending appellate litigation,” Ogunye said.
Adegboruwa decried the stripping of governors of powers.
He said: “The 1999 Constitution tells a lie against the people of Nigeria when it claims that we are running a federation but strips the governor of a state of powers over security.”
In the hot exchange captured in a short video that has gone viral, the governor was seen directing the unidentified police officer, who said he is a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) to disengage from the assignment, which he (the governor) said was illegal, since he was not aware of the operations as the Chief Security Officer of the state.
The officer refused to disembark, explaining that he was there with his men at the orders of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).
He also refused to give the governor the exact figure of officers in the operations, arguing that he cannot give out such information for security reasons.
Below is a verbatim transcription of the altercation as captured in the video.
Governor Sanwo-Olu: “I have spoken with the AGF. He is not aware that you are here.”
Officer: “Then, we are waiting for their call to disengage.”
Governor: “Can you call your superior officer in Abuja and tell him that the governor is here, I am the Chief Security Officer of the state and that you have no business being in my state, and that I want you to disengage right now?”
Officer: “Thank you sir. I am not here on my own order. I am too small to call them Your Excellency.”
Governor: “That is why I am here, telling you to inform them. If I make the call, you will suffer. You can call and tell them that the governor is here in front of you, what should I do?”
Officer: “It is not my duty to do that sir. I cannot call because I am too low to do that sir.”
Governor: “So, where are your men?
Officer: “My men are here. They are all over the estate.”
Governor: “How many of them?”
Officer: “We have several of them, but I cannot precisely tell you the number.”
Governor: “What is the number that you have here? You cannot give a head count of your men?”
Officer: “I know their number. I am sorry, Your Excellency, for security purposes, I cannot disclose the figure.”
South West Governors had described the defiance of the order by their Lagos Counterpart on the CSP as an unacceptable intrusion.
The CSP claimed that they were in the estate on the instruction of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Usman Baba Alkali, through the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and has not been directed to leave.
Governor Sanwo- Olu’s intervention came when he paid an unscheduled visit to the estate, following fresh protests by residents over the large presence of armed policemen in the estate.
Chairman of the South West Forum and Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, in a statement in Akure personally signed by him described the development as unacceptable to the governors.
Akeredolu who condemned the action called on the Inspector General of Police lG to explain the justification for the intrusion.
The statement reads: “We are in possession of a video which has gone viral on the social media concerning the disgraceful exchange between a police officer, a CSP, and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu, the supposed Chief Security Officer of the State, at the Magodo Residential Estate.
“The content of the video is very disconcerting, and this is being charitable. The utter disrespect, which underlines the response of the officer to the Governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened “Federalism”.
“An arrangement, which compels the Governor of a State to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons, is a sure recipe for anarchy.
“We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion.
“This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so-called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We condemn, in very clear terms, the role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami SAN in this act of gross moral turpitude.
“We, on our part, will continue to interrogate the current system, which treats elected representatives of the people as mere prefects, while appointed office holders ride roughshod over them as Lords of the Manor.
“If the purported Chief Security Officers of the States of the Federation require clearance from the office of the IG on matters within their areas of jurisdictions, only hypocrites will wonder why the current security crisis deepens and there appears to be no solution in the foreseeable future.
“We condemn very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IG to explain the justification for this intrusion.
” This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We stand by our brother, the Governor of Lagos State. We advise him to deploy the Regional security outfit in the State to protect the lives and property of the people.
“We call on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to rein in the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government.
” It is preposterous for political appointees to seek to undermine the very structure of service upon which their appointments rest.
Recall that on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, some persons described as miscreants, acting on the directive of judgment creditor, Adebayo Adeyiga, and court bailiffs, allegedly, invaded the estate, with the aim of taking over the land and property of residents, following purported court order ceding the land to Adeyiga.
The executives of the Magodo Residents Association, MRA, consequently ordered the two main gates leading into the estate shut in order to prevent any form of invasion.
After few hours of disturbance, residents and other people were allowed to go out of the estate but were prevented from reentering the estate.
Protesting residents displayed placards of various inscriptions to express their displeasure.
They queried the presence of the policemen who were said to have been in the estate since last month.
Some of the inscriptions read: ‘Lagos Attorney-General prosecute those involved in illegal invasion of Magodo Phase 2’, ‘ and Magodo Phase 2 has been under siege of the IGP’s anti-riot police squad for three weeks.
The residents subsequently called on the governor to intervene and Sanwo-Olu promptly visited the scene and told the leader of the police delegation that the land matter is a case between private individuals and the state government.
The reported exchange put the nation’s federalism on trial as it reinforced the argument that state governors, dubbed Chief Security Officers of their respective states, are mere paper tigers and are not really in charge of security in their various states.
The Guardian /The Nation /Vanguard
