- Mike Ozekhome (SAN) has condemned President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive for the full execution of Executive Order 6 (EO6)
- The legal luminary said the order is highhanded, obnoxious, barbaric, arbitrary; and that it violates the rule of law and all tenets of constitutional democracy
- Ozekhome insisted that executive orders must conform with laid down procedure, due process, citizens’ rights and the rule of law
President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive for the full execution of Executive Order 6 (EO6), which bans 50 prominent Nigerians from travelling abroad and also seeks to confiscate their assets currently under investigation, has been condemned by human rights activist and constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN).
The legal luminary, reacting to the development, described the directive as an arbitrary and obnoxious act capable of undermining the fundamental rights of the affected persons, Vanguard reports.
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NAIJ.com gathers that he said: “EO6 violates the doctrine of separation of powers, the 1999 Constitution, the rule of law and all tenets of constitutional democracy.
“It is highhanded, obnoxious, barbaric and arbitrary. It violently erodes the hallowed fundamental rights that are inalienable and God-given. It seeks to strike terror and fear in the minds of Nigerians, especially the opposition and critical voices.”
He added that the EO6 seeks to “usurp the functions of a court of law and the National Assembly that has already promulgated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Related Commission, and the Money Laundering Acts; all of which allow for interim forfeiture and attachment of citizens’ money and properties, but with an order of a court of law.”
Ozekhome stated that the process of implementing the order violates the provision of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); even though he noted that the order may not in itself be wrong.
He said: “That was what Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu said in her judgment. She made it clear that although Executive Order 6 was not itself wrong, but that the attorney general of the federation must first obtain an order of court under section 174 of the Constitution, and that the enforcement of the order must never derogate from the rule of law or derogate from the doctrine of separation of powers or the fundamental rights of Nigerians.
“No one has ever doubted the legality of executive orders, which are regularly issued by American presidents, where from we borrowed our presidential system; but same must conform with laid down procedure, due process, citizens’ rights and the rule of law.”
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, condemned the Executive Order 06 signed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement released on Sunday, October 14, Comrade Frank stated that the order is aimed at stifling opposition party chieftains ahead of the 2019 general elections.
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Source: Naija.ng
