The Police And Political Gatherings

Recently, a Kaduna State High Court issued a decisive ruling, declaring the police’s attempt to suspend political meetings and gatherings in the state as null, void, and unconstitutional, and a clear gross abuse of power.

The court, in its ruling, delivered on a suit filed by the Commissioner of Police against the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), ordered the police to pay N15m for violating the defendants’ fundamental human rights.

Justice Murtala Zubairu held that ‘the notion that the police can indefinitely suspend the fundamental rights of association and assembly of every political party in a state is an overreach and constitutes an abuse of statutory powers’

We recall that the circumstances leading to the suit, which, in our opinion, informed this decisive judgement, occurred when suspected hoodlums disrupted a political meeting organised by the Kaduna state chapters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna metropolis.

The meeting, convened by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some ADC members, was violently disrupted by youths who stormed the venue, smashing vehicle windscreens, windows, and injuring participants.

Curiously, the video of the Kaduna incident showed police personnel, supposedly deployed to provide security at the meeting, watching idly as able-bodied youths wreak terror on those attending the meeting.

By not stemming the supposed thuggery that took place in Kaduna during those meetings by ADC and the SDP, the police, in our opinion, failed in the discharge of their constitutionally guaranteed responsibility of protecting lives and property.

As should be expected, shortly after the incident, allegations were rife, especially among members of SDP, ADC and other opposition political parties, that the police were partisan and merely doing the bidding of the ruling All Progressives Congress (ADC) in the state.

While we are not in a position to lend credence to this allegation, and knowing the character and disposition of the Nigerian police, we doubt if their personnel would have watched idly as thugs indulged in that unruly conduct had the meeting been convened by the ruling party.

It is strange, in our opinion, that shortly after the incident, the Police command, whose actions showed an apparent abdication of duty, approached a court seeking an order to halt political gatherings in the state pending what it claimed were investigations into the alleged threats of violence.

We are concerned that, under a democratic Nigeria, the Police were persuaded to approach the court seeking to suspend political gatherings. It may be that the Police acted in error. Or perhaps they were carrying out misdirected orders. Whichever is the case, it is worrisome that it happened at all. It may not be out of place to conjecture that acts like what happened in Kaduna are part of the reasons the Police have continued to lose the confidence and sympathy of the Nigerian public.

Perhaps the Police need to be reminded that Nigeria remains a constitutional democracy that upholds, rather than curtails, the fundamental rights of its citizens. There is, therefore, no justification whatsoever for the security outfit to seek the sort of relief it sought from the Kaduna court.

A Police force that is battling many challenges, ranging from inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, insufficient equipment, corruption and a poor public image occasioned largely by its conduct in the public sphere, should not increase its woes by trying to stand in the way of an enduring democracy.

Fundamentally, this act by the police is a danger signal that all Nigerians of good conscience must condemn. To that extent, we applaud the Kaduna High Court for that very decisive verdict. Judgements like this help rekindle Nigerians’ hope in the country’s judiciary.

Justice Zubairu’s verdict is a victory not just for the members of the opposition SDP and ADC in Kaduna State, but for all Nigerians, regardless of their political party affiliation, as it will send a clear message to overzealous security operatives that some rights are inalienable.

As a newspaper, we believe the court was lenient enough to have slammed a paltry N15m fine. The fine should have been higher to serve as a deterrent. Beyond the verdict, concerted efforts must be made, subject to the police command appealing the ruling, to ensure it pays the N15m fine.

By and large, one fact that cannot be disputed is that the verdict, which has effectively criticised the Police for their failed attempt to halt political meetings, has sent a strong message to whoever cares to listen that the police or any security agency, for that matter, cannot silence politics.