A SENIOR Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-olu Adegboruwa has slammed Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari over restriction order on Abuja, Lagos and Ogun States as illegal.
“We are running a constitutional democracy and it is illegal for the President to take over the affairs of any State of the Federation without the express consent of the people of that State through their elected representatives,” he said.
Adegboruwa said the president lacks the power to solely declare any state of emergency without approval from the National Assembly.
According to him, “the President has not invoked his powers under the Constitution to declare any state of emergency, which must be approved by the National Assembly”.
He maintained that Nigeria being a democratic nation should function under the provisions of the constitution.
“It is only the Governor of the State through the House of Assembly of the State that can make any declaration concerning the people of that State. Little wonder that the President could not cite any law that he relied upon for his declaration,” he noted.
Adegboruwa added that as much as he supports initiatives to curtail the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria, steps by the government must be in accordance with the Nigerian Law.
“I support every measure taken to contain the Coronavirus pandemic but such must be in accordance with law. If we allow this to stay, then tomorrow the President may just impose total restriction on all States of the Federation for whatever reason,” he noted.
Speaking on the pursuant effects of the ban, Adegboruwa urged the government to address the financial consequences of the lockdown most especially on small scale businesses and vulnerable members of the affected states.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via [email protected], on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94