LAW-ABIDING PUBLIC SERVANTS NEED NO IMMUNITY CLAUSE
Removal of Executive and Legislative Immunity Constitutionally Legit
--Attorney Patryk Utulu

I read to see why, as Leadership Newspapers headlines said "Lawyers Fault House Reps Removal of Immunity Clause." Barrister Tunji Abayomi (described as a renowned constitutional lawyer) said Nigerian House of Reps' removal of Immunity Clause from the Constitution "lacked common sense." He said that without immunity top public servants would be distracted and inconvenienced.

What a disappointment. That justification is both comical and legally silly.

Immunity is a legal tool and must be selective. BLANKET immunity of top public officials leads to IMPUNITY. That president, vice-president, governors and their deputies may be "inconvenienced" is NOT a valid reason to grant them blanket immunity. Nations democratically governed rely on accountability. They do NOT grant immunity to to all top Executive/Legislative officials. SUCH IMMUNITY can put top officials ABOVE THE LAW. Whether de jure (written into law) or not ALL top public officials have de facto (actual) qualified immunity to protect them from being frivolously targeted personally with lawsuits for official duties they lawfully performed. SO, DO YOUR JOB LAWFULLY AND THE LAW WILL PROTECT YOU. Attorney General of the Federation defends the President against those types of law suits. State Attorneys-General do the same for Governors. Senate President, Senators, Reps, Police/Army Chiefs, etc have QUALIFIED immunity.

Qualified immunity means that SUBJECT TO whether or not you acted lawfully while performing official duty the law will protect you from personally liability. If the Fire Brigade puts out fire in your house you can't sue the depart or officers to replace your water-damaged sofa. A Senator has immunity from arrest for anything he says on the floor of the Senate no matter how horrible. But that Senator has NO immunity from paternity suit for impregnating the Janitor who cleans Senate offices. You would think lawyers would know these basic rules.

If House of Reps acted lawfully (quorum, rules, etc) in removing the immunity from the Nigerian Constitution it is irrelevant that top public officials would be inconvenienced. IMMUNITY IS A SHIELD to protect officials from suits against their person for lawful official conducts. As it stands now Nigerian officials are using IMMUNITY AS A SWORD to forestall citizens from seeking accountability for whatever mischief those officials might choose to do in office in our name.

Attorney Patryk A. Utulu
U.S.-based Attorney & Strategic Communications Specialist
Global Defense Analyst and Global Events Commentator
Executive Vice President, Nigerian Diaspora-North America
Executive Director, The Center for Community Empowerment & Lifeskills, Inc
[Rights Rsvd. 10172014. Copyrights Strictly Enforced. Fair Use Permitted]

Join us on Facebook: “The Nigerian Presidency Project HQ