COVID-19 AND THE LAW

RESTRICTION ORDERS ON PERSONAL LIBERTY BECAUSE OF COVID-19 IS JUSTIFIED BY DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY

There have been arguments on the media following the question raised as to the legality of the Government restriction orders, sequel to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) without an official declaration of state of emergency as provided for by the 1999 Constitution.

Agreeably, Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution provides for the legal regime of state of emergency. Therefore, upon declaration of same, restrictions on the citizens personal liberty or freedom at any point is justified . Also, Section 45 provides for a derogatory circumstances under which fundamental rights can be curtailed.

Be that as it may, I am of the strong view that notwithstanding a formal declaration of state of emergency by the President as required by section 305(3) or State Governors as in subsection (4) thereof, the fundamental freedom of the citizens can still be lawfully curtailed in view of the Doctrine of Necessity in the present COVID-19 pandemic.

It is to be noted that the Doctrine of Necessity does not work with the bare letters of the Law but with the spirit of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan alluding to the operation of Doctrine of Necessity in the REFERENCE BY GOVERNOR GENERAL, P.L.D (1955) F.C 435 held that:

“{S}ubject to the condition of absoluteness, extremeness and imminence, an act which would otherwise be illegal becomes legal if it is done bona fide under the stress of necessity...necessity knows no law and...necessity makes lawful [that] which otherwise is not lawful.”

In the light of the above, it is my strong conviction that since the social distancing order on COVID-19 is meant to preserve the health & wellbeing of the citizens cohabitating in the nation, I am inclined to submit with the accepted maxims of Law that say:

• Salus populi suprema lex : safety of the people is the supreme law,

• Salus reipublicae est suprema lex: safety of the State is the supreme law.

Hence, should we invalidate the Orders_ we are practically exposing the country to a state of imminent danger which the spirit of the Constitution itself did not envisage.

Mr. Cromwell summarised the effect centuries ago as follows:

“If nothing should be done but what is according to law, the throat of the nation might be cut while we send for someone to make a law”.

Finally , President is urged to officially declare a state of emergency but should he fail to so declare, the COVID-19 pandemic is automatically taken care of by doctrine of necessity.

May the Almighty Lord protect us, our families and loved ones from this deadly virus. Stay Safe and Take precautions.

BALOGUN SOFIYULLAHI.
ABU, ZARIA
25/3/2020.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Supreme Court Was Right On Bayelsa Judgment

    Just yesterday, the Supreme Court of Nigeria upturned the victory of the Governor-elect of Bayelsa State, David Lyon, on the ground that that Deputy Governor-elect presented  fake certificates to contest the election. This Judgment of the Supreme Court has generated a maniacal frenzy in the polity, with avalanche of mixed comments flowing from the media. Some sections of the media saw the judgment as a travesty of justice while some saw it as substantial justice flavoured with sound reasoning and jurisprudence. It is on this pedestal that I would be appraising the positions of the law to examine the correctness of such judgment on the face of substantial jurisprudence.     It is trite law and knowledge that the Electoral Act is the principal law that guides and regulates the conducts of elections in Nigeria. Close to it is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that establishes the arms of the government and confers their respective powers on them. However for this p
Read more

THE FAR-FLUNG COVID 19 COULD IT SERVE AS A JUSTIFIABLE CONDITION TO SET PRISONERS FREE?

All countries under this sun set have been taken a reasonable measurement to attack the pandemic disease, if Nigeria's government duly taking a precarious mode to alleviate the virus, in order to safe the freest lives and hopeless lives who are in prisons (prisoners) they should find ways to behooves the prisoners because the virus is easiest to contract like the spread of airborne that everybody is perceived its breeze. On this broad of spectrum thinking, I thought our government should look straightforward to other countries on how they are being managed their prisoners in this dying period and consider the rate that the disease is taking to strike. Without wasting more ado on this, let us look upon the beautiful and brilliant decision upheld,#perjusticeNaomiLong said: "Has there been any solution to this virus as inmates are concerned? If not at all but Iran whose have temporarily freed 54,000 prisoners to combat the spread of this disease.The early release of prisoners
Read more

"LAWSAN AWARDS 2020 NOMINATIONS"

Hello Sir/Ma'am With kind and humility, support me on this award contest by correctly filling this nomination form with my information below.👇🏼 Click on this link for the form https://cutt.ly/mostpromisinglawsaniteoftheyear After while you fill the name as * Muhammad Musa * The name of school as * Bayero university kano * Level * 200 * Reasons for nomination should be copied from here and paste in the blank. The reasons are: 6. Description/Reason/Profile:* * a. * Muhammad Musa is among the Best Students in his class, maintaining an outstanding 4 point+ CGPA * b. * Mr. Muhammad possesses great leadership skills and has attended all conventions and conferences organised by LAWSAN and related student bodies nationwide from his Level 100 till date. * c. * Muhammad has served severally, as a member of local organising committees in conferences organised by the LAWSAN and other related student bodies. * d. * Muhammad has contributed immensely to the development o
Read more