Buhari Set to Defy ECOWAS Court Order to Release Dasuki on Constitutional Grounds

Sambo Dasuki

 

The Nigerian government is not obligated to obey a ruling of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Court that a former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, be released from the custody of the State Security Service, a presidential aide has said.

The ECOWAS Court, on October 4, had declared the continued detention of Mr. Dasuki unlawful, arbitrary and a violation of his right to liberty.

The former NSA is accused of misspending billions of dollars meant for procurement of arms for fight against Boko Haram. The government also accuses him of illegal possession of firearms.

Mr. Dasuki was arrested in December 2015, and has been in detention since then.

“It is advisory opinion,” President Muhammadu Buhari’s adviser on prosecution, Okoi Obla, said of the ECOWAS’ court ruling, in an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

“The ECOWAS Court cannot enforce opinion. The government is not obligated to obey the ruling of the ECOWAS Court.”

The ECOWAS Court was created pursuant to the Article 6 and Article 15 of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS, the political-economic bloc of the West African countries.

Nigeria is a signatory to the Treaty which is “binding on the member states, the institutions of the community, individuals and corporate bodies,”as its Article 15(4) provides.

But Section 12(1) of the Nigerian Constitution says“No treaty between the Federation (Nigeria) and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted by the National Assembly”.
The National Assembly has not domesticated the Revised Treaty and the Supplementary Protocol regarding the ECOWAS Court.

Regardless, analysts expect Nigeria to obey the ruling as an exemplary demonstration of its leadership position in the West African sub-region.