From Democacy to Autocracy: Judiciary Under Threat – Ekweremadu

Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said that no democracy could survive without strict adherence to the rule of law.
He made this known yesterday in Abuja at a dinner organized by the International Law Institute, ILI, Washington DC, for the alumni of the Institute in Nigeria.
According to Ekweremadu, who himself is an alumnus of the institute, there cannot be any meaningful development without the rule of law.

While commending the Institute for impacting the nation’s democracy positively, Ekweremadu declared: “If the judiciary is the last hope of the common man, democracy becomes gravely imperiled, if the power of the judiciary to enforce compliance with the rule of law is subjected to legal, extra-legal, and sociological limitations and non-compliance with judicial orders becomes a norm. This, we must always watch closely, because the flipside of rule of law is anarchy.”

He added: “Our tasks as an emerging democracy and beneficiary of the ideals and knowledge espoused by the ILI, therefore, are to continue to build a society where government agencies as well as individuals and private entities must be subjected to and accountable under the law. We must ensure that the process by which laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient. And we must ensure that justice is delivered according to established laws, competently, ethically, and independently”.

Ekweremadu assured that the National Assembly would continue to partner with the Institute towards capacity building of its members and parliamentary staff.

He also called on other arms of government as well as individuals and corporate agencies to key into the capacity building efforts of the 60-year Institute.
Earlier in her address, the Executive Director of ILI, Kim Phan, expressed happiness with the growth of democracy in Nigeria and the opportunity the ILI has had to be part of the success story.
She pledged that the Institute was ever committed to democracy and development in Nigeria.