That President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new service chiefs is an established fact.
That the president has received commendations from Nigerians for summoning up the courage to sack the former service chiefs who many Nigerians believed had lost the ideas to tackle the incessant insecurity in the country is also an established fact.
Be that as it may, popular human right lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has described Buhari’s appointment of the new service chiefs as illegal and unconstitutional.
He said; “Yesterday, President Buhari was reported to have appointed new service chiefs for the armed forces.”
“Upon a critical review of the law on the subject matter the members of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAP) have found that the appointments remain inchoate as President Muhammadu Buhari has not forwarded the names of the proposed service chiefs to the National Assembly for approval in strict compliance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Armed Forces Act.”
“The appointments of service chiefs without the concurrence of the National Assembly which had been the practice since 1999 was challenged in the Federal High Court sometime in 2008 by Mr. Festus Keyamo SAN in the case of Keyamo v President Goodluck Jonathan (unreported Suit No FHC/ABJ/ CS/611/2008).”
“In his landmark judgment delivered on July 2, 2013, Adamu Bello J. (as he then was) held that it was illegal and unconstitutional, null and void for the President to single-handedly appoint Service Chiefs without the approval of the National Assembly having regards to the combined effect of Section 218 of the Constitution and section 18 (1) & (3) of the Armed Forces Act.”
“The Federal Government did not challenge any aspect of the judgment at the Court of Appeal having acknowledged it as sound and unimpeachable.”
“The judgment is binding on all authorities and persons in Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of section 287 of the Constitution.”
“President Buhari should send the names he had selected to both chambers of the National Assembly for confirmation.”
For those who don’t know, the new service chiefs are; Major-General Leo Irabor – Chief of Defence Staff; Air Vice Marshal Isiaka Oladayo Amao – Chief of Air Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo – Chief of Naval Staff and General Ibrahim Attahiru – Chief of Army Staff.
