BEFORE THEY COME FOR YOU

Silence must be resisted in the face of abuse of force against citizens' rights particularly,  in the case of past public servants. What is wrong is wrong irrespective of who is wronged.
As an ordinary citizen of Nigeria, whose tenure as National Security Adviser (NSA), despite the monumental security challenges,  recorded a smooth process of political transition against all odds, Col. Sambo Dasuki deserved a better treatment from the present authorities. To lay siege on his house by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) is most undeserving to him, two days after he was removed from office by the President who had thanked him for his service to Nigeria while he served as NSA.
Courts have often warned security agents against the unprofessional practice of derogation of citizens' rights before fishing for evidence to justify such violation of the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy.
While we accept that the DSS by a valid search warrant is authorised to search the house of the former NSA under our criminal procedure, a search warrant does in any way confer grounds to put the former NSA under any form of arrest. In fact, the NSA had the right to leave the house while the search was being conducted. He also had the right to be present during the search or to appoint two persons as witnesses while the search was being conducted. To have subjected him to questioning and the restriction of his movement even when he wanted to observe sacred moslem prayers are clear violations of his fundamental rights.
The DSS had the right to invite the former NSA for questioning or even, out rightly sought an arrest warrant to remove him from his house or restrict him to his house. For the DSS to have carried out all that has been reported in the media, to have been done against the former NSA, just on the authority of a search warrant issued by a magistrate,  is highly unjustified and sets a very bad tone for a new administration that has a lot to prove wrong in the area of human rights.
As a citizens rights group, we do not have any connections with the former NSA who was one of the highest government officials of the last administration of former President Jonathan. However, it is easy to be tempted to stand aloof while a citizen's rights are being violated just because he was such a hi ghly placed government official who is either being shown to be paying for his past sins or well considered to be strong enough to fight for himself.
We at Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) are very familiar with how the norm of citizens' rights violations are established. It starts with a simple playing to the gallery, by violating the rights of prominent persons who would not likely get public sympathy. Emboldened by either the apathy or tacit approval of the public when such citizens' rights are violated, authorities become unbridled in wielding the power of the State in further violation of the rights of ordinary citizens. Thus, before it becomes a norm, we must speak against the incipient establishment of such a norm.
Therefore, CASER condemns as unlawful, if true, the questioning and house arrest of the former NSA in his house. This new administration of President Buhari must desist from jettisoning the level of refinement attained in our criminal justice system. Particularly,  the DSS which has in recent time in the preceding administration, been quite cautious on citizens' rights and had established an interface with the public which sought to represent it as an agency for the maintenance and preservation of Nigerian State.
CASER therefore, urges the NSA to take immediate steps in enforcing his fundamental rights as an ordinary citizens.
Frank Tietie
Executive Director,  Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights ( CASER )
Abuja