kenneth okonkwo, a prominent figure in the african democratic congress, adc, has stated that the primary function of a court of law is to interpret the law and, by doing so, establish order within society.
speaking during an interview on the channels television program ‘sunrise daily’ which was monitored by a news outlet this tuesday, okonkwo emphasized that any such interpretation of the law should always foster order and should never lead to chaos or anarchy in the community.
his comments were made in response to a recent supreme court judgment that reaffirmed the president’s constitutional authority to declare a state of emergency in any state if circumstances pose a threat to public safety or sound governance.
okonkwo argued that “the job of the court is to interpret the law, not to make it, not to amend it, and their interpretation should be such that it brings order in society, and not chaos and anarchy.”
he pointed out that the court’s position on this matter is at odds with what the attorney-general of the federation, agf, has previously stated, and is even different from the views of president tinubu’s own associates who had criticized the declaration of a state of emergency in the past.
okonkwo asserted that the ruling demonstrated a lack of understanding regarding federalism, the rule of law, and basic common sense, given that the country operates a democracy where power belongs to the people.
he questioned how a court could issue a ruling, and cite a constitutional section he could not recall, that ultimately grants the president the authority to unilaterally decide who the leaders of the people are.
the politician and lawyer then cited professor a.v. dicey, whom he identified as the originator of the first authoritative statement on the rule of law, stating that dicey defined the rule of law as “the absolute predominance of the regular law as opposed to arbitrary power and excludes the present or the existence of arbitrariness or prerogative or wide discretionary powers on the path of government.”
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