The Socio-economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the leadership of the National Assembly to withdraw its directives to some banks to unfreeze bank accounts belonging to the former wife of President, Patience Jonathan.
The group in a statement on Sunday said the directives amount to the mingling of the executive and judicial powers in the National Assembly which might lead to a branch of government growing too strong.
“The directives to banks to unfreeze Mrs Jonathan’s accounts amount to the mingling of the executive and judicial powers in the National Assembly. Checks and balances should ideally help contribute to the rule of law and strengthening our democratic dispensation but if one branch of government grows too strong and overreaching the country might be in trouble.”
The statement which was signed by the organisation’s Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale says further that, “It’s an affront to our constitutional democracy for the National Assembly to turn itself into a tool for checkmating the country’s justice system, especially the prosecution of grand corruption.
“Rather than helping Mrs Jonathan’s desire to achieve justice for what she may consider being violations of her human rights, such directives are doing exactly the opposite and politicising the criminal justice process.”
The Senate had last week ordered that Mrs Jonathan’s accounts should be unfrozen, saying some of the accounts including in eight banks were frozen based on some administrative lapses.
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