The former attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had, on Friday, defended the continued incarceration of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Mr. Ibraheem el-Zakzaky and the former national security officer, Col. Sambo Dasuki saying it is in public interest.
Malami who stated this in Abuja while being screened by the Senate as a ministerial nominee was responding to a question posed by the senate minority leader, Dr. Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Abaribe had asked Malami to explain why the rights of those granted bail by the court were still being violated by keeping them in custody.
Responding, Malami who quoting Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), noted that his responsibility was also to protect public interest.
“Abaribe asked his question relying on Section 36, 37 and 38 of the Constitution as they relate to the rights of the individual. I concede that I have had the responsibility to protect the rights of every Nigerian.
“The office of the attorney general of the federation is made to protect the rights of individuals and the corporate rights of the nation. Section 174 of the Constitution is explicit that where the individual interest conflicts with public interest, public interest prevails.
“I concede that I have had a responsibility as the attorney general of the federation to protect individual rights. But looking at the provisions of section 174 of the constitution of Nigeria, I want to reiterate and state further that the office of the attorney general is meant to protect public interest. And where the individual interest conflicts with public interest, the interest of 180 million Nigerians that are interested in having this country integrated must naturally prevail,” he said.
He explained further by citing the ruling of Supreme Court in Federal Government vs. Asari Dokubo where on the grounds of public interest, the court refused him bail.
While Dasuki has been in perpetual detention at the instance of the federal government since December 2015 on alleged corrupt practices, El- Zakyzaky has also been incarcerated along with his wife about the same time on alleged treasonable felony charges.
Malami told the lawmakers that there should be deep-rooted collaboration between the executive and the legislature for bills passed by the latter to enjoy the assent of the executive.
“The absence of collaboration and cooperation between the legislature and the executive accounted for high rate of bills rejection by the Presidency from the last (National) Assembly. For such not to repeat itself during the current ninth National Assembly, the culture of deep-rooted collaboration between the two arms of government has to be put in place.
“The culture of collaboration between the two arms has to be demonstrated right from the stage of conception or formulation of a bill to the level of public hearing and eventual passage.”
He pointed out that the rejection of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the President in the Eighth Assembly was because of some self-serving provisions that would empower individuals and compromise the interest of the host communities.
“The public interest element of the role of the President requires that the public interest should be factored more than individual interest; that was fundamentally the reason among others it was not assented to by the President at the time it was transmitted.”
Malami, while addressing the Senate at the committee of the whole, chaired by the senate president, Mr. Ahmed Lawan, enjoined the ninth Assembly to involve all parties to a bill from its conception till it’s transmitted to the president for assent.
Expressing his reservation about the volume of rejected bills by the executive, Lawan said it cost the nation and the legislature huge resources to pass a bill and transmit same to the president for assent.
He, however, urged senators who are joining the executive to canvass more support for presidential assent to the bills from the national assembly.
