Lawyer Seeks Review Of Security Chiefs’ Appointments

A lawyer, Francis Moneke has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to order President Muhammadu Buhari to review the alleged lopsided appointment of security chiefs in the country.
Through the Human Rights and Empowerment Project (HERP), he accused the President of not complying with the Federal Character Principle in the appointment of heads of strategic security, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
The plaintiff is praying the court to hold that the pattern of appointments do not reflect the country’s diversity.
He urged the court to declare that in making appointments into key security and law enforcement positions, the President is obliged to comply with the constitution by ensuring that as far as possible, all geo-political zones are represented and that no region is patently discriminated against.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) is the other defendant.
The plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. Ikenna Okoli alleged that Buhari appointments “clearly show favouristism and nepotism on the part of the first respondent in favour of the people from Northern part of the country where he comes from”.
The plaintiff is seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining President Buhari or his agents from further acts of discrimination against the entire South East geo-political zone in subsequent appointments into security and law enforcement offices and positions.
He sought another compelling the President to forthwith change the current skewed structure of top federal security and law enforcement appointees by appointing some candidates from the South East into such positions.
It urged the court to hold that Buhari “has consistently appointed almost entirely only persons from the northern part of the country into key and top security intelligence and law enforcement offices and positions in Nigeria and systematically excluded the applicant and other qualified persons from the Southern part.”
Moneke said that the situation showed that anyone from the south including him, was at a disadvantage with regard to getting top appointment in any security agency simply for not being a northerner.