Daudu said though Babangida had signified his intention to contest the 2011 presidential election, it was left to the electorate to decide who to vote for during the poll.
Daudu spoke at the inauguration of a book titled, Fundamental Rights Enforcement in Nigeria, written by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana.
He added that though Babangida rode on the crest of human rights into office, he insisted that “his regime surpassed other regimes in human rights violation.”
The NBA president also faulted the conduct of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, for his continuous flouting of a court order over the detention of two police officers, Corporal Onyebuchi Eze and Kenneth Chinkwe.
He said, “Onovo is not above the law. If he thinks that no police officer can arrest him, then he does not know the law.
“If Tafa Balogun can be arrested by policemen, Onovo should also know that he too can be arrested because no man is greater than the law.”
“We must condemn any attempt by any public officer to place himself above the law.”
Daudu noted that Falana was a jewel of the NBA saying that nothing less was expected of him than a quintessential book.
Falana noted that the book inauguration was one of the activities lined up to mark the first anniversary of the death of a legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN).
According to Falana, the greatest battle Gani won in death is the abolition of the doctrine of locus standi in fundamental human rights procedure.
“It is time to compel government to deliver and guarantee minimum standard of living. We must challenge the authority, this is the time to mind the business of everybody,” he added.
Falana also disclosed that he had already instituted a public interest suit for reversal and interpretation of the dangers caused by government’s non- maintenance of major highways, including the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
The chairman of the occasion, Prof. Akin Oyebode, said with the immortalisation of Fawehinmi by the Lagos State Government, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) had shown that the struggle of those who fought for the enforcement of human rights like the late lawyer were not in vain.
Extolling Falana’s virtues, the governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria in the April 2007 election in Ekiti State, Mr. Kayode Fayemi, said the author was a genuine activist who, “personalises the use of law to fight for social justice. He has never collected money from me since he got involved in my legal battles.”
The book reviewer, Mr. Wahab Shittu, noted that it was thoughtful of the author to have dedicated the book to the memory of Fawehinmi.
“Gani died fighting for mankind; his life was literally sacrificed on the battlefield of freedom. Today, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want and freedom from fear are further from reality than at any time during peace,” he added
Shittu said an essential feature of the book was its detailed and informative treatment of the contents and implications of the new fundamental rights enforcement rules 2009.
But the Nigeria Police on Monday rose to the defence of Onovo, claiming that he was ready to obey any order directing him to appear before an Abuja High Court when he receives it.
The police stated that the IG had absolute and unreserved respect for the judiciary and was willing to obey court orders as a law-abiding citizen.
The judge had ruled that “Onovo is to be committed to prison, until he purges himself of the contempt.”
But in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu in Abuja, the police said that at no time was the IG served with summons to appear in court in person or in a representative capacity over any matter pending before the court.
By Kemi Obasola and Adelani Adepegba
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