ivil Society Organisations in Nigeria on Tuesday kicked against immunity for the President, Governors and other occupants of executive offices, saying the immunity should be removed in line with the wishes of citizens.
They called for the alteration of Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution as amended and stripped off immunity of occupants of executive offices at all levels of government.
The CSOs, which are 71 in number, in a signed statement on Tuesday, argued that immunity of executives has shielded them from the culpability of their crime in offices, adding that the Constitution Review was an opportunity for the anomalies to be corrected.
They said: “As civil society organisations working to institutionalise transparency and accountability in Nigeria, we strongly condemn and reject the proposal to grant immunity to Legislators and Judicial Officers through the alteration of section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.
“We equally demand the discontinuation of the immunity currently enjoyed by the Executives.
“One of the greatest weaknesses of the Fourth Republic is the immunity clause that protects the President, the Vice President, the Governors and Deputy Governors from prosecution while in office.
“While the original intention of the Constitution was to protect such officers from frivolous suits, in practice, many such officeholders have abused the immunity they enjoy by recklessly engaging in criminal activities including corruption and other forms of abuse of office.
“It is for this reason that there have been persistent calls by proponents of good governance to eliminate the clause altogether.
“It is also for this reason that the undersigned organisations and individuals are alarmed by the surreptitious attempt by the National Assembly to expand the immunity clause to cover the legislative and judicial arms of government at both the State and National levels.
“The proposed constitutional amendment has the dangerous potential to widen the non-accountability circle for more public officials and create conditions for the escalation of criminal acts of corruption, abuse of office and breaches of the rule of law as public officials would be emboldened to think they are above the law.”
The group noted that demand for amendment of Constitution has never been about continuity of immunity, insisting that it should be deleted completely from the Constitution, so the errants in executive offices can be made accountable.
Meanwhile, the Senate has started voting on the Constitution Review.
