Prominent campaigner Aisha Yesufu has voiced strong disapproval of President Bola Tinubu for sending Nigerian soldiers to the Benin Republic, characterizing the decision as a breach of the constitution and a danger to Nigeria’s democratic system.
In a public statement released on Monday, Yesufu asserted that the deployment disregarded Section 5(4)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that the President must secure Senate authorization before dispatching the armed forces beyond Nigeria’s borders. She views this action as evidence of a “troubling pattern” of executive branch overreach.
Yesufu also brought up the recent declaration of an emergency state in Rivers State, suggesting it raised comparable questions regarding adherence to constitutional mandates.
In her view, circumventing the National Assembly and diminishing established checks and balances could lead to governance based on sole authority.
She cautioned that sending troops overseas without parliamentary consent could establish a dangerous precedent for using the military against domestic opposition, involve Nigeria in international disputes without a popular mandate, and subject service personnel to avoidable danger.
Yesufu maintained that the Nigerian armed forces are “not a personal force to be deployed arbitrarily,” stressing that the funds allocated to foreign operations are critically needed to tackle internal security challenges.
She contended that circumventing the legislative body erodes democratic values and conveys a message that those in power may choose to ignore the rule of law.
The activist implored the National Assembly to “exercise its constitutional power” to protect Nigeria’s democracy, urging them to resist what she perceives as a move toward autocracy under the pretext of supporting regional security.
Yesufu concluded, “Mr Tinubu is progressively undermining the National Assembly’s constitutional role, which is to curb excessive executive power, thereby weakening democracy. This independent decision by Mr Tinubu to send the military out of Nigeria without the National Assembly’s assent and without any clear threat to national security negatively affects Nigeria.”
She further posed the question, “If Mr Tinubu is able to deploy troops abroad without the National Assembly’s approval, what mechanism will prevent him from using the military against domestic opposition without oversight, leading us toward a militarized democracy.”
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