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Why The Attorney-general Of The Federation,
Mr. Michael Aondoakaa
Should Be Removed From Office
Gani
Although I am in pain of medical
treatment here in London, nevertheless, I am appalled
and disturbed by the negative and unconstitutional role
being played by the Attorney-General of the Federation,
Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, with regards to the
anti-corruption war embarked upon by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Since his assumption of office on Thursday, 26th July,
2007, the Chief Law Officer of the Federation and
Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN has been
giving the unmistakable impression that the crusade
against corruption in Nigeria is not in his agenda and
that the activities of the institutions engaged in the
war against corruption do not have his support.
In this regard, the actions and utterances of the
Attorney-General of the Federation are not in consonance
with the avowed pronouncements and promises of the
President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to combat corruption in all its
ramifications.
The Attorney-General of the Federation has predicated
his queer position on his powers under Section 174 of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
1999, and his distorted understanding of the Rule of
Law. On the contrary, he is acting against the
fundamentals of his powers under Section 174 of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999
and in violation of the rule of law for the following
reasons:
* Under Section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999, in exercising his powers to
institute and undertake or to take over and continue or
to discontinue any criminal proceeding in respect of
federal offences under an Act of the National Assembly,
the Attorney-General of the Federation must have regard
to:-
o the public interest
o the interest of justice; and
o the need to prevent abuse of legal process.
SECTION 15(5) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, 1999
2. Let me remind the Attorney-General that it is in the
public interest commanded by the Constitution of Nigeria
that the country must abolish all corrupt practices as
enjoined by Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that:
"The state shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse
of power."
The decision of the Court of Appeal on what an
Attorney-General should not do in the case of Anyabe v.
Adesiyan (1997) 5 NWLR (Pt.505) 403 at 432, para. A, Per
Oguntade, JCA (as he then was) is very instructive:
"he is expected to have regard to the public interest,
the interests of justice and the need to prevent abuse
of legal process. It must be said here in parenthesis
that the Attorney-General, either of the Federation or a
State cannot use his powers under the Constitution to
subvert the other provisions of the Constitution."
This means that the Attorney-General of the Federation
has no power to turn himself or his office into a
stumbling block to the war against corruption as
commanded by Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
CORRUPTION - BANE OF THE COUNTRY
3. Corruption is the bane of our development. It is the
fundamental cause of our poverty in the midst of plenty.
It has prevented the country from making political,
social and economic progress. It has brought about high
level of unemployment in the country. It has denied
millions of Nigerians access to education, housing,
health, food and infrastructures etc, etc.
Whilst the masses of our people wallow in poverty, their
political leaders at all levels of governance are
suffused in ill-gotten wealth by sheer stealing of the
resources of the nation. Yet, we have an
Attorney-General who has not shown the conscience,
determination and commitment to deal with corrupt
politicians.
Mr. Aondoakaa, SAN has never condemned corruption. He
has never initiated any criminal prosecution of any
public officer. He has never caused to be investigated
any corrupt politician past or present.
Our Attorney-General pretends that he hears no
corruption, sees no corruption in a country littered
with corruption by public officers past and present. He
must be living in a world of self-delusion and
self-deception.
SUPREME COURT DECISION DELIVERED ON FRIDAY, 7TH JUNE,
2002
IN THE CASE OF ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF ONDO STATE V.
ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION
4. It is ironic that the Chief Law Officer of the
federation the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr.
Aondoakaa can pretend through his actions and utterances
not to be aware of the landmark judgment of the Supreme
Court delivered on Friday, 7th June, 2002, in
Attorney-General of Ondo State v. Attorney-General of
the Federation (2002) 9 Nigerian Weekly Law Reports
(Pt.772) 222 where the Supreme Court interpreted the
powers of the State and the powers of the Federal
Government in relation to the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 under the Exclusive
Legislative List empowering the National Assembly to
make laws to give effect to Section 15(5) of the
Constitution.
In that judgment, the Supreme Court at Page 388,
Paragraph E, per Uwaifo, JSC said as follows:-
"... only a centrally co-ordinated approach to the fight
against Corruption in view of the shape it has taken and
the international pressure for meaningful action can
have the desired result."
Further at Pages 404-405, paragraphs H-A, Uwaifo, JSC
stated:
"... in our own situation, taking the issue of
corruption and abuse of power nationally will best serve
the interests of all and the general welfare of Nigeria,
both nationally and internationally. Corrupt practices
have become an overwhelming malaise for Nigeria. It
cannot be left totally to individual States."
ROLE OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF THE
WORLD
5. I want to demonstrate that our Attorney-General of
the Federation, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, is not
performing his duties the way other Attorneys-General
performed their duties in various countries of the
world.
Our Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael
Aondoakaa, SAN cannot find any comparable support
internationally in the fight against corruption by other
Attorneys-General in various countries of the world.
I will give few examples, which will shame the position
of our Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael
Aondoakaa, SAN:
o UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew
As a result of the Watergate scandal in 1973 in USA when
President Richard Nixon illegally authorized the
breaking into the meeting of the Democratic Party held
in Watergate Hotel and the matter became a serious
national crisis, the Attorney-General of the United
States, Mr. Elliot Richardson insisted that the tapes
which will show that Nixon authorized it, should be
surrendered by the President in the public interest of
America. President Nixon resisted, but the
Attorney-General insisted that nobody can break the law
of America and get away with it. Finally, the tapes were
released which confirmed that President Nixon has
tampered with the tapes. The crisis led to the
resignation of President Nixon as President of the
United States of America in 1974. During the said
Watergate crisis, the Vice President to President Nixon,
Mr. Spiro Agnew was found to have engaged in corrupt
practices while he was tax Governor of Maryland. The
Attorney-General of America insisted that he must step
down as Vice-President to enable him forfeit his
immunity. He complied. He was later arraigned before a
district court in America for corruption. He was tried,
found guilty, convicted and sentenced to three (3) years
imprisonment. That was the noble role an
Attorney-General should play in defending the
Constitution of a country and the public interest of the
people.
o PHILIPPINES - Joseph Estrada
On Wednesday, 12th September, 2007, Mr. Joseph Estrada,
former president of Philippines (1998 -2001) was jailed
for life for corruption, for embezzling the resources of
the people of Philippines while he was president from
1998 to 2001. It was the Attorney-General of that
country that ensured that a thorough investigation was
conducted and the past President brought to book and
charges brought against him. He was found guilty,
convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the
court for corruption. That was the noble role an
Attorney-General should play in defending the
Constitution of a country and the public interest of the
people.
o ZAMBIA - Frederick Chiluba
On 4th May, 2007, former President Frederick Chiluba of
Zambia (1991-2001) was found guilty of stealing $46
million dollars in a case by a United Kingdom court
(London High Court) Judge Peter Smith. On 7th June,
2007, the amount which Chiluba was ordered to repay was
increased to $58 million dollars accounting for interest
and legal costs. He was charged and given 168 counts of
theft totaling $40 million dollars with his Intelligence
Chief, Xavier Chungu. He appeared last in court on 14th
August, 2007.
The Attorney-General of Zambia played a noble role in
ensuring that the corrupt past president was made to
refund the ill-gotten money and he is currently facing
criminal charges for corruption in Zambian courts. That
was the noble role an Attorney-General should play in
defending the Constitution of a country and the public
interest of the people.
o INDONESIA - General Suharto
General Suharto was the President of Indonesia from 1967
to 1998, thirty-one (31) years during which time he was
found to have embezzled billions and billions of dollars
of the resources of his people. It was the
Attorney-General of Indonesia who ensured that Suharto
the former president, who ruled Indonesia from 1967 to
1998, a period of thirty-one (31) years, was
investigated and charged with embezzlement of public
fund. That was the noble role an Attorney-General should
play in defending the Constitution of a country and the
public interest of the people.
o ISRAEL - Moshe Katsav
The President of Israel Moshe Katsav (2000-2007) was
charged with sexual assault, rape, breach of trust and
fraud in a court of law.
The Attorney-General of Israel said that Katsav claim
that he had been made victim of a plot is "fairly slim"
given the long line of women who complained against him.
On 29th October, 2006, the Attorney-General advised
Katsav to step down. Mr. Moshe Katsav resigned as the
President of Israel on 29th June, 2007 after a plea
bargain on 28th June, 2007 for sexual harassment and
indecent acts. He received a suspended jail sentence and
to pay compensation to two of his victims.
It was the Attorney-General of Israel that ensured that
President Moshe Katsav did not escape justice for his
immoral corruption. That was the noble role an
Attorney-General should play in defending the
Constitution of a country and the public interest of the
people.
The above examples showed clearly the role a sincere,
constitutionally patriotic and public interest guided
Attorney-General should play. However, the dubious
subterfuges being displayed by Nigeria's
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael
Aondoakaa, SAN in trying to block the anti-corruption
war must be condemned and resisted by Nigerians who must
publicly call on the President of Nigeria to remove this
man from office.
CALL FOR REMOVAL OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE
FEDERATION
6. Since Mr. Aondoakaa, the Attorney-General of the
Federation is not serving the interest of the public and
the Constitution of Nigeria, I call on President Umaru
Yar Adua to sack him as quickly as possible.
In the words of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case
of State v. Ilori (1983) 1 SCNLR 94, Aniagolu, JSC at
116, paras. D-H said:
"No doubt, as the lead judgment rightly points out, an
Attorney-General who exercises his powers contrary to
the spirit of the . Constitution could easily fall out
of the favour of his appointor or the National or the
State Assembly, as the case may be, leading to a clamour
for his removal."
Per ESO, JSC at page 111:
"The only sanction against the Attorney-General where he
abuses his discretion to institute or discontinue
criminal proceedings is the reaction of his appointor or
adverse public opinion which may force him to resign."
7. In summary, the Office of the Attorney-General of the
Federation is gravely imperiled today by its present
holder, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN because:
+ Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, absolutely failed to
appreciate the dual nature of his office as both the
chief law officer of the federation and Minister of
Justice in the government of President Umaru Musa
Yar'Adua.
+ Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, does not know what the
public interest is with regards to the issue of
corruption in Nigeria. He has chosen to ignore the
fundamental problem of our country, which the
Constitution has addressed.
+ Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN is deliberately ignoring
the constitutional command in Section 15(5) of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999
which provides that the 'State shall abolish all corrupt
practices and abuse of power.'
+ Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN does not appreciate the
rule of law against corruption handed down by the
Supreme Court in the case of A.-G., Ondo State v. A.-G.,
Federation (2002) 9 NWLR (Pt.772) 222 which enjoined all
Nigerians to fight against corruption and to ensure that
institutions set up under the Act of the National
Assembly which gives effect to Section 15(5) of the
Constitution should be allowed to function and not
sabotaged.
+ By his pronouncements and attitude, the
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Michael
Aondoakaa, SAN, has been unduly castigating, humiliating
and vilifying public institutions and their officers
assigned to fight corruption by the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and the Act of the
National Assembly and confirmed by the decision of the
Supreme Court in A.-G., Ondo State v. A.-G., Federation
referred to above.
The behaviour of the Attorney-General of the Federation
unequivocally demonstrates his bias for past public
officers who are now accused of corruption by these
constitutionally and legally established institutions.
+ Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, SAN, since coming into office
as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation has not
displayed the decorum and respectability of his office
thereby eroding the public confidence the office should
attract or engender.
+ What the Nigeria's Attorney-General has been doing
since coming into office is diametrically against the
internationally accepted role of a nation's
Attorney-General.
CONCLUSION
The present Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr.
Michael Aondoakaa, SAN should be removed from office by
the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. As long as he remains in office,
Nigeria will continue to be a laughing stock in the
international community because the whole world is now
fighting corruption by political leaders who have bled
their people to socio-economic stupor and have made life
unbearable for them in the midst of plenty.
Let us rid Nigeria of this disgrace.
CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI LLD, SAN
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Hospitalised in London .
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