SOYINKA AND FALANA TACKLE BUHARI ON LOCKDOWN ORDER

We Are Not at War- Soyinka

Following President Buhari's speech that announced lockdown of Lagos, Ogun States, and the FCT; Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, have tackled the President's restriction of movement order saying Nigeria is not at war.

Prof Soyinka described the order as “unconstitutional and a political virus for the future”, and Falana said the order cannot be enforced without legal backing.

President Buhari on Sunday directed the restriction of all movements in Lagos, Ogun States, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, for an initial period of 14 days with effect from 11 pm on Monday, March 30, 2020.

READ ALSO, NERC TO INCREASE ELECTRICITY TARIFF FROM WEDNESDAY

However, Soyinka, in a statement entitled: ‘Between COVID-19 and constitutional encroachment’, called on legal practitioners to educate Nigerians on the restriction order.

The statement, which he signed off as “Wole Soyinka from Self-Quarantine, “ read: “Constitutional lawyers and our elected representatives should kindly step into this and educate us, mere lay minds. The worst development I can conceive of us is to have a situation where rational measures for the containment of the Corona pandemic are rejected on account of their questionable genesis.

“This is a time for unity of purpose, not nitpicking dissensions. So, before this becomes a habit, a question: does President Buhari have the powers to close down state borders? We want clear answers.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE, BUHARI LOCKS DOWN ABUJA, LAGOS, OGUN, AS CORONAVIRUS CASES HIT 111

“We are not in a war emergency. Appropriately focused on measures for the saving lives, and committed to making sacrifices for the preservation of our communities, we should nonetheless remain alert to any encroachment on constitutionally demarcated powers.

“We need to exercise collective vigilance, and not compromise the future by submitting to interventions that are not backed by law and constitution.

“A President, who has been conspicuously AWOL, the Rip van Winkle of Nigerian history, is now alleged to have woken up after a prolonged siesta, and begun to issue orders.

“Who instigates these orders anyway? From where do they emerge? What happens when the conflict of the orders with state measures, the product of a systematic containment strategy – including even trial-and-error and hiccups – undertaken without let or leave of the centre.

INTERESTED IN UP-TO-DATE CURRENCY CONVERSION RATES? VISIT ABOKIFXRATE

“So far, the anti-COVID19 measures have proceeded along the rails of decentralised thinking, multilateral collaboration and technical exchanges between states.

“The Centre is part of the entire process, and one expects this to be the norm, even without the epidemic’s frontal assault on the Presidency itself.

“Indeed, the Centre is expected to drive the overall effort, but in collaboration, with extraordinary budgeting and refurbishing of facilities. The universal imperative and urgency of this affliction should not become an opportunistic launch pad for a sneak recentralisation no matter how seemingly insignificant its appearance.

FOR LIVE RATES OF DOLLAR TO NAIRA, ASK ABOKIFXRATE

“I urge governors and legislators to be especially watchful. No epidemic is ever cured with constitutional piracy. It only lays down new political viruses for the future.”

Mr Falana, on the other hand, said: “Following the national broadcast of President Buhari on the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday, some lawyers have questioned the constitutional validity of the restriction of locomotion of people in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states. No doubt, the President is empowered to adopt any measures deemed fit to combat the dangerous disease but such measures have to be spelled out in a regulation made according to section 305 of the Constitution or under the Quarantine Act. Otherwise, the presidential order on the restriction of movement in the affected areas cannot be enforced by the police.

“Even though the civil rule was restored in the country 21 years ago the psyche of the political class has not been demilitarised. Hence, decisions taken by rulers are required to be obeyed “with immediate effect” without any legal backing.

FOR FINANCIAL NEWS AND UPDATES, CLICK HERE