By Editor
A spirited discussion on Indigenous Rights and Self-determination is sparked by allegations of fraud around the 1999 Constitution.
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian Indigenous Nationalities Alliance for Self-determination (NINAS), in a stunning admission, has strongly warned the National Assembly not to tolerate the treason and fraud that it claims the 1999 Constitution has enabled. With this audacious claim, NINAS—a well-known alliance of indigenous nationality organizations and advocates of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Self-determination—reveals a long-standing dispute that calls into doubt the validity of Nigeria’s current constitutional order.
The National Assembly’s purported plan to draft a new constitution by 2026—a step that NINAS has fiercely opposed—is what started this dispute. The National Assembly of Nigeria is supposed to produce a new constitution in less than 24 months, according to a news story attributed to the Deputy Speaker. This news item has caused a lot of doubt and questions.
NINAS presents a comprehensive response in which it raises a number of serious issues in an attempt to reveal what it considers to be the 1999 Constitution’s false foundations. The organization asserts that the 1999 Constitution, imposed via military decree, falsely claims that the constituent peoples of Nigeria firmly and solemnly agreed to be in one indivisible and indissoluble political union. This, according to NINAS, forms the basis of the constitution’s delegitimization.
The heart of NINAS’ argument lies in the rejection of the 1999 Constitution by the very people it purportedly represents. NINAS claims that, under its aegis, the indigenous peoples of Nigeria formally repudiated and rejected the 1999 Constitution as the basis of union. This rejection was formalized on December 16, 2020, through a Constitutional Force Majeure, asserting the right to self-determination.
The NINAS Secretariat vehemently challenges the National Assembly’s authority to create a new constitution, emphasizing the lack of constituent powers vested in the assembly. The 9th National Assembly’s admission that it lacks the power to make a constitution further adds weight to NINAS’ argument, creating a complex legal and constitutional conundrum.
In response to what it deems as weird and untenable suggestions from legal luminary Olisa Agbakoba(SAN), who proposed drawing powers from Section 4(1) of the 1999 Constitution, NINAS issued a rebuke on December 19, 2023. The organization categorically states that no element from the fraudulent 1999 Constitution, including any new constitution or constitutional instrument derived from it, will be accepted as the basis for the Nigerian Union.
The assertion of treasonous acts in the imposition of the 1999 Constitution by General Abdusalam Abubakar’s Decree No.24 of 1999 adds a grave dimension to the allegations made by NINAS. The retention of this constitution as the basis of the Nigerian Federation since 1999, according to NINAS, compounds the initial treasonous act and fraud committed by Gen. Abubakar.
NINAS warns of severe consequences for any participation in what it describes as the ongoing hijack and confiscation of the sovereignty of the constituent peoples of Nigeria. The rejection of any constitutional instrument by the National Assembly, derived from the 1999 Constitution, is declared unequivocally.
The organization concludes by inviting the government, people of Nigeria, members of the National Assembly, political parties, and the general public to consider NINAS’s 5-point proposition for the immediate constitutional reconstruction of Nigeria.
This proposition aims to navigate the nation away from what NINAS describes as an endless voyage in the ocean of affliction caused by the unitary system.
As allegations of fraud and illegitimacy surround the 1999 Constitution, and with NINAS taking a steadfast stance against any attempt by the National Assembly to create a new constitution, Nigeria finds itself at a crossroads. The implications of this constitutional quandary extend beyond legalities, delving into the realms of self-determination, indigenous rights, and the very foundations on which the nation was purportedly built. As the debate intensifies, the nation watches with bated breath, anticipating the unfolding chapters in this gripping constitutional drama.
