A history of abuse of prosecutorial powers against political opponents

Right from the beginning of our republic, the ruling party has used the power of prosecution to oppress the minority. The first case was Awolowo. Even President Shagari deported a Nigerian citizen who opposed him. The man was Alhaji Shugaba. Shagari claimed that Shugaba was no longer a Nigerian, but that he was from Niger instead. So, Shugaba was taken from his house and dumped across the Nigerien border.

Nigerian government abused prosecutorial powers the most under Obasanjo. Obasanjo alone did more than all other Presidents put together. All those impeachments of Governors were all in violation of the constitution. EFCC was massively used as an instrument of political control by Obasanjo. Jonathan made the least use of abusive prosecutorial powers. Apart from James Ibori case, Jonathan did not use this kind of power against political opponents. This shows that of all Nigerian leaders since independence, Jonathan was the least ambitious and the least desperate for power.

Buhari has turned out to exploit this power increasingly. Though he still has nearly 4 years in office, his record of abusive use of prosecutorial power is already high. He has been planning how to use this power against Atiku. DPA Rambo has done significant research which shows that Buhari is going to find an excuse to arrest Atiku and accuse him of a crime. One opportunity that has presented itself is the Revolution-Now issue. This government may soon claim that Atiku sponsored it. It is just a pretext to apply political control over a political opponent. This plan will become necessary if Atiku continues to do well at the election tribunal. If, for instance, Atiku wins at the tribunal, and a new election is called for, Atiku will contest from prison. The recent arrest by the EFCC of Atiku’s lawyer and son-in-law has some strategic relevance for that ultimate move.

For a more detailed analysis of the history of abusive prosecutorial power, read full report next week on DPA Rambo.