The Police And Political Gatherings

Recently, a Kaduna State High Court issued a decisive ruling, declaring the police’s effort to suspend governmental meetings and gatherings successful the authorities arsenic null, void, and unconstitutional, and a wide gross maltreatment of power.

The court, successful its ruling, delivered connected a suit filed by the Commissioner of Police against the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), ordered the constabulary to wage N15m for violating the defendants’ cardinal quality rights.

Justice Murtala Zubairu held that ‘the conception that the constabulary tin indefinitely suspend the cardinal rights of relation and assembly of each governmental enactment successful a authorities is an overreach and constitutes an maltreatment of statutory powers’

We callback that the circumstances starring to the suit, which, successful our opinion, informed this decisive judgement, occurred erstwhile suspected hoodlums disrupted a governmental gathering organised by the Kaduna authorities chapters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) successful Kaduna metropolis.

The meeting, convened by erstwhile Governor Nasir El-Rufai and immoderate ADC members, was violently disrupted by youths who stormed the venue, smashing conveyance windscreens, windows, and injuring participants.

Curiously, the video of the Kaduna incidental showed constabulary personnel, supposedly deployed to supply information astatine the meeting, watching idly arsenic able-bodied youths wreak panic connected those attending the meeting.

By not stemming the expected thuggery that took spot successful Kaduna during those meetings by ADC and the SDP, the police, successful our opinion, failed successful the discharge of their constitutionally guaranteed work of protecting lives and property.

As should beryllium expected, soon aft the incident, allegations were rife, particularly among members of SDP, ADC and different absorption governmental parties, that the constabulary were partisan and simply doing the bidding of the ruling All Progressives Congress (ADC) successful the state.

While we are not successful a presumption to lend credence to this allegation, and knowing the quality and disposition of the Nigerian police, we uncertainty if their unit would person watched idly arsenic thugs indulged successful that unruly behaviour had the gathering been convened by the ruling party.

It is strange, successful our opinion, that soon aft the incident, the Police command, whose actions showed an evident abdication of duty, approached a tribunal seeking an bid to halt governmental gatherings successful the authorities pending what it claimed were investigations into the alleged threats of violence.

We are acrophobic that, nether a antiauthoritarian Nigeria, the Police were persuaded to attack the tribunal seeking to suspend governmental gatherings. It whitethorn beryllium that the Police acted successful error. Or possibly they were carrying retired misdirected orders. Whichever is the case, it is worrisome that it happened astatine all. It whitethorn not beryllium retired of spot to conjecture that acts similar what happened successful Kaduna are portion of the reasons the Police person continued to suffer the assurance and sympathy of the Nigerian public.

Perhaps the Police request to beryllium reminded that Nigeria remains a law ideology that upholds, alternatively than curtails, the cardinal rights of its citizens. There is, therefore, nary justification whatsoever for the information outfit to question the benignant of alleviation it sought from the Kaduna court.

A Police unit that is battling galore challenges, ranging from inadequate funding, mediocre infrastructure, insufficient equipment, corruption and a mediocre nationalist representation occasioned mostly by its behaviour successful the nationalist sphere, should not summation its woes by trying to basal successful the mode of an enduring democracy.

Fundamentally, this enactment by the constabulary is simply a information awesome that each Nigerians of bully conscience indispensable condemn. To that extent, we applaud the Kaduna High Court for that precise decisive verdict. Judgements similar this assistance rekindle Nigerians’ anticipation successful the country’s judiciary.

Justice Zubairu’s verdict is simply a triumph not conscionable for the members of the absorption SDP and ADC successful Kaduna State, but for each Nigerians, careless of their governmental enactment affiliation, arsenic it volition nonstop a wide connection to overzealous information operatives that immoderate rights are inalienable.

As a newspaper, we judge the tribunal was lenient capable to person slammed a paltry N15m fine. The good should person been higher to service arsenic a deterrent. Beyond the verdict, concerted efforts indispensable beryllium made, taxable to the constabulary bid appealing the ruling, to guarantee it pays the N15m fine.

By and large, 1 information that cannot beryllium disputed is that the verdict, which has efficaciously criticised the Police for their failed effort to halt governmental meetings, has sent a beardown connection to whoever cares to perceive that the constabulary oregon immoderate information agency, for that matter, cannot soundlessness politics.