CIVILIAN PRESIDENT CAN RULE LIKE A DICTATOR – FALANA
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ByTajudeen Aminat
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that a civilian president can still act like a dictator if he disregards the rule of law and suppresses the media.
Falana made the statement on Wednesday while criticising the Nigerian Bar Association for inviting former Liberian President, George Weah, to its 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In his keynote address at the conference, Weah had said that “a tyrant with a certificate of return is still a tyrant.”
However, Falana faulted Weah’s participation at the event, recalling alleged instances where the former Liberian leader disregarded court judgments and subjected the media to harassment during his tenure.
Speaking to the media, Falana said the NBA could not fault his criticism because he personally handled two of the cases he cited.
According to him, about four judgments of the ECOWAS Court were disregarded under Weah’s administration, including two cases in which he was directly involved.
Falana said the situation demonstrated that holding office through a democratic election does not automatically make a leader a true democrat.
He explained that a civilian president who refuses to respect the rule of law or harasses journalists could exhibit characteristics associated with dictatorship.
Falana further alleged that media organisations faced intimidation during Weah’s administration despite the decriminalisation of freedom of expression.
He claimed that some radio stations were shut down, journalists were harassed and a BBC journalist was forced to leave Liberia.
The lawyer said the situation led citizens who had lost confidence in Liberia’s judiciary to seek justice at the ECOWAS Court.
He added that the issue of non-compliance with court judgments remained undisputed, noting that Liberia’s current president had established a committee to implement some of the ECOWAS Court judgments he referenced.
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