Our Leaders Must Know That The Rule Of Law Is Not Optional – Muhammad Dele Belgore

Popular lawyer, Muhammad Dele Belgore (SAN) has come out to say that progress in the justice sector in Nigeria depends on the law applying to everyone in the country.

Muhammad Dele Belgore revealed this during a Channels TV programme to commemorate the 21st anniversary of Nigeria’s Democracy Day.

According to him, the law applying to just some segment of the society will never be regarded as complete justice so the highest person in government has to be a subject of the law as your ordinary person.

He added that the rule of law is not optional and it is no tool of convenience, so our leaders must learn to run the society in an orderly fashion based on this sacred law.

His words, “The rule of law is not optional, it is not a tool of convenience, you are talking about progress, and what is the rule of law in this instance? It is running the society in an orderly fashion based on the law,”

“What that means is that everybody is subject to the law. The highest person in government is just a subject of the law as your ordinary person. But when it suits the powers that be, they obey court orders, when it doesn’t suit them, they do not obey court orders. That, for me, is the biggest obstacle and the biggest drawback to the rule of law.”

“Delay is a function of a number of things; one, it is a function of the law, it is a function of the judges, and it is a function of the rules in which they operate.

“The Administration of Criminal Justice Act has attempted to cut the delays, but you have got to change people’s attitude. If you don’t change their attitudes, if you have new laws but people are still operating with the same attitude, you are not going to get much in terms of progress. Also, we have to bear in mind the fact that justice must not be rushed. In an attempt to cure delay, you might cause injustice.”