Naira Crisis: Malami, Emefiele, must be punished – Group tells President Buhari

Naira Crisis: Malami, Emefiele, must be punished – Group tells President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to sanction the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for failing to obey the orders of the Supreme Court.

The Rule of Law Advocacy and Accountability Centre made the call in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Okechukwu Nwanguma, on Tuesday.

The group said it isn’t enough for the president to claim in a recent statement that he never asked both the AGF and CBN governor to disobey the apex court verdicts on the naira swap policy as such an excuse is an indication of leadership failure.

The group argued that the president’s previous failure to obey court orders regarding the release of Omoyele Sowore, El-Zakzaky, and Nnamdi Kanu was what emboldened Malami and Emefiele to act in similar manner.

The group’s statement reads in part: “It does not make sense for President Buhari’s spokesperson to make excuses for the President, saying he did not direct the Central Bank Governor or the Attorney General of the Federation to disobey Court Orders.

“Ultimately, the buck stops on the President’s table and what Nigerians want to hear, is what the President has done to call to order, lawless officials of his government under his supervision when they act wrongfully. This is the only way to demonstrate that he does not endorse lawlessness.

“Above all, the President needs to lead by example by demonstrating that he has respect for, and is subject to the rule of law, and that he stands against disobedience to court orders. We didn’t see the President demonstrate this when the courts gave repeated orders for the release of Omoyele Sowore, Dasuki, El Zak-zakay, and Nnamdi Kanu.

“In the case of Nnamdi Kanu who remains in illegal detention in contemptuous disregard of the multiple orders of the Appeal Court, the orders of international courts have also been ignored.

“Let Buhari demonstrate to Nigerians that he stands against disobedience to court orders and that he respects the rule of law by taking actions against the Attorney-General and the CBN governor and by complying with subsisting court orders to release Nnamdi Kanu.”