Buhari’s systemic decimation of judicial supremacy in Nigeria scaring away foreign investors – Ekpo, registrar IIHEL
Ben Eguzozie is business a.m. regional lead based in Port Harcourt, providing regional and national coverage for economy, business and finance
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Cyprian Edward-Ekpo is the registrar of International Institute for Humanitarian and Environmental Law, Nigeria. He took a critical examination of all the non-adherence by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to court orders and rulings in his now vilified corruption fight, and came up with the conclusion that this decimation of the judiciary is largely contributory to Nigeria’s dwindling of foreign direct investment (FDI).
He has chronicled his conclusion in a book titled: Law in Tears: Lego-Nihilism and the Systemic Decimation of Judicial Supremacy in Nigeria.
At the last count, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Foreign Direct Investment into Nigeria fell by 48 percent, quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of 2018 (Q3 2018) to $2.9 billion. This was prompted by increasing apathy of foreign portfolio investors to the nation’s financial markets due to political uncertainty and rising interest rate in the United States of America.
The report showed that while FDI rose by 103 percent, Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and “other investments” dropped by 58.17 percent and 46.9 percent respectively. “The total value of capital importation into Nigeria stood at $2.855 billion in the third quarter of 2018. This was a decrease of 48.21 percent compared to Q2 2018 and a 31.12 percent decrease compared to the third quarter of 2017,” the NBS had said.
“The impact of Federal Government suppression of judicial integrity and judicial powers; and destruction of the Rule of Law has affected the development of the nation; and places Nigeria as a subject of mockery in the comity of nations, as well as scaring away foreign direct investments (FDI),” Edward-Ekpo said.
He said that his book, Law in Tears: Lego-Nihilism and the Systemic Decimation of Judicial Supremacy in Nigeria addresses the issues of treatment of court judgments and orders highly disparagingly since President Buhari became president of Nigeria, and the impact of same in the economy of Nigeria and human rights value.
“The Government of Nigeria in the current political dispensation has destroyed the independence and supremacy of the judiciary through blackmail and harassment of judges, for their political gains, same having been accentuated by the eccentricity of the president.
“The effect of this destabilization of judiciary supremacy has terrible negative impacts on the citizenry, the economy of the nation and human rights values,” the lawyer said in Port Harcourt.
He listed out a number of court judgments that have been ridiculed by the federal government and its agencies, how lawyers who have no industry of law have embarked upon using blackmail on judges to stall courts proceedings against the tenet of justice, because they feel that is what the current dispensation promotes and wants. How the NJC and judges have become intimidated as a result of incessant blackmail by agents of the federal government.
Edward-Ekpo with a Ph.D in Law, said, by his book, he seeks the international community and citizenry awareness of the impact of the federal government’s suppression of judicial integrity and judicial powers; and destruction of the rule of law as it affects the development of the nation; and places Nigeria a subject of mockery in the comity of nations, as well as scaring away foreign direct investments.
He likened the current situation in Nigeria to the 1930s emergence of Adolf Hitler Nazism in Germany, which started with blackmail and intimidation of the judiciary officers through the mantra of anti-corruption war, while the sole aim was to destabilize the judiciary, force judges of integrity to resign, then install kangaroo courts that executed political enemies.