A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, has called for the removal of the immunity clause embedded in Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, arguing that it has become a major stumbling block in the fight against corruption.
Agabi made the call on Friday while delivering a lecture at the 15th convocation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja.
The senior lawyer criticised Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, which shields the president, vice-president, governors, and their deputies from prosecution while in office. According to him, the provision, originally intended to protect the nation’s stability, has been grossly abused by political office holders.
He argued that, “under our constitution, the president and the governors are immune from prosecution while in office. It was not for the sake of the president or the governors that this provision was made in the Constitution.
“It was for the sake of the nation. Now that that provision has been exploited to the extent that it threatens the very foundation of the nation, it is time to remove it.
“If the removal of that provision will do any harm at all, it will do far less harm than retaining it in the Constitution. No one should appear to be above the law.
“Not even for a while. We have to choose between the distress to the nation caused by the exploitation of the immunity clause by the president and the governors, and whatever distress may be caused to the president and the governors by their unjust prosecution once the immunity clause is removed.
“The inclusion in the constitution of the immunity clause was not based on any local experience.”
The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) further stressed the need for leaders to take a firm stand against corruption, lamenting what he described as a misplaced priority in governance.
As he puts it, “Proceeding further, can we say that we have done all that is required of us to rid the nation of corruption when at every level, our leaders are not speaking?”
“Our leaders must speak. Speak against corruption. Today, the emphasis is on infrastructure. Stomach infrastructures. As important as infrastructures are, the word of the leader is far more important.”
Agabi also linked Nigeria’s corruption challenges to flaws in the electoral process, insisting that credible elections are critical to national reform.
“So far, our elections have been far from free or fair. If a president, a governor, a legislator, or a councillor sees nothing wrong with employing the most inferior methods to acquire office, he or she should not be surprised if other citizens employ unethical methods to achieve their own aims.
“A leader who has acquired power by such means should expect that his bad example will be followed.
“Until we conduct free and fair elections, the people are never going to take the government seriously when it condemns corruption,” he said.
