Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, has described writing a secret memo to President Muhammadu Buhari, and asking him to suspend the country’s 1999 Constitution and declare martial law in the country.
Martial law would result in the temporary imposition of military regime in the country and suspension of democratic process.
Malami denied the allegation on Thursday in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Dr. Umar Gwandu. He denied ever giving such legal advice to the President.
The allegation was made by an online newspaper on Wednesday, which also gave details of the alleged plan to declare martial law in the country. It alleged that the secret memo was dated May 4.
The online newspaper declared that it had exclusively obtained a copy of the secret memo which allegedly contained Malami’ legal advice to Buhari, in which Malami asked Buhari to promptly suspend Chapter IV of the Constitution which guaranteed the fundamental rights of all Nigerian citizens.
It also declared that Malami had told President Buhari that insecurity across the country has reached a level that could no longer be checked by existing democratic techniques, arguing that only a state of emergency promulgated by the President could return the country to tranquility.
The online media also quoted Malami as explaining to the President that “the essence of the declaration is to allow for suspension of constitutional and legal bureaucratic bottlenecks pertaining to matters of National Security with particular regards to fundamental rights guaranteed under Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution and processes and procedures relating to procurements, among others”.
According to the online newspaper, Malami allegedly mentioned current leaders of separatist movements in the county, such as Sunday Igboho and Nnamdi Kanu. According to him, these are the persons driving the insurrection in different parts of the country. He allegedly advised that the best way to handle them was to declare martial law in the country.
Below is Malami’s statement:
“The attention of the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN has been drawn to a false and fictitious report alleging that there was a secret memo emanating from the Office to the Presidency.
“General publics are hereby asked to disregard the media report as fabrications of anti-constitutional democratic stability in Nigeria.
“Malami remains a true democrat who believes in rules of law and tenant of democracy and Constitutional order.
“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is a constitutionally recognised one with its role and responsibilities embedded in the constitution.
“It is antithetical to common sense to think that the holder of such coveted Office as the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice will stoop to what was printed by the media.
“The Government does not operate in secrecy as it is not a clandestine operation. Hence, Malami discharges his constitutionally recognized mandates in compliance with principles of transparency, openness and accountability”
