Determining the Termination of a Non-International Armed Conflict:

An Analysis of the Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria

ARTICLE 43 OF THE HAGUE REGULATIONS OF 1907 REVISITED:

THE PAST AND THE FUTURE OF BELLIGERENT OCCUPATION IN INTERNATIONAL LAW

THE QUINTESSENTIAL PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL: BEN NWABUEZE, 1931-2023

Solomon Ukhuegbe Toronto, Canada But above all, believe it, the sweetest Canticle is, Nunc dimittis, when a man hath obtained worthy ends and expectations. Francis Bacon, Of Death On July 18, 2013, at 82, he publicly asked God to spare his life for five or possibly more years to complete the tasks he set for […]

OF COURSE, OSIBANJO CAN SUE – WITHOUT WAIVING SECTION 308 IMMUNITY

Vice President Osibanjo’s threat recently to sue for defamation and his offer to waive his section 308 immunity for that purpose have elicited considerable comments. Broadly, two claims are discernible from these comments. First, that section 308 immunity cannot be waived by a person (President, Governor, Vice President, and Deputy Governor) protected by it and […]

IS INDIA A FEDERATION?

In this short essay, I briefly review the constitutional, political and historical background to and effect of the crisis that followed the abrogation of Article 370 of India’s constitution that safeguarded for the past seven decades the special autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, which until its legal status was downgraded last month, was India’s only Muslim-majority state. India’s control of the territory was always disputed by Pakistan, a dispute that immediately attracted intervention of the United Nations Security Council. Section I of the essay summarizes the legal developments last month that created the present crisis. Section II highlights, as background, India’s centralized federalism. Sections III and IV, respectively, consider the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India and Article 370, the constitutional safeguard of the Instrument of Accession. Section V identifies some constitutional and diplomatic consequences of the revocation of Article 370, including the fate of UN Security Council resolution 47 (1948) [The India-Pakistan Question], 21 April 1948, S/RES/47 (1948). In conclusion, I suggest that the unceremonious scrapping of Article 370 confirms that adoption of the resurgent Hindu nationalist ideology Hindutva in political party platforms by Hindu nationalist parties, in particular Prime Minister Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is a clear and present danger to the communal harmony carefully balanced by the founding fathers of modern India. Constitutional protection of non-Hindu minorities, and even Hindu caste minorities, is increasingly tenuous.
The question of the constitutionality of the revocation, the crux of the legal dispute, is currently before the Supreme Court of India. If this unilateral abrogation by the centre of the legal status of a state in the Indian union is sustained by the court, then it is open to doubt whether India’s credentials as a federation will bear scrutiny. Arguments are scheduled for next week, September 30. This is only the fourth time the court will be deciding the legal status of Article 370 and it may be the last. Because its very existence (or demise) will now be pronounced by the court. One consequence, in theory at least, is that revocation of Article 370 also implicitly revokes the Instrument of Accession of October 26, 1947 and therefore restores Jammu and Kashmir’s status ante.

ON PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 6

ON PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 6 The declared purpose of the Presidential Executive Order No. 6 of 2018 is to restrict dealings in suspicious assets connected with “corruption” (broadly defined to incorporate several unrelated offences) in order to preserve same until final determination by a court of competent jurisdiction of any corruption-related matter against an […]

Martins Alo v. Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly & Auditor General

Court of Appeal (Akure Division), 27 March 2018 Appeal No. CA/AK/4/2017 Freedom of Information Act, 2011 is applicable to both the Federal and State governments. https://www.dropbox.com/s/d8zzu85j54lknj9/ONDO%20STATE%20COURT%20OF%20APPEAL%20JUDGEMENT%20ON%20FOI%202018.pdf?dl=0

FACTS AND FALLACIES IN THE ‘RESTRUCTIONING’ CONVERSATION, OR HOW NOT TO APPROACH FEDERALISM LIKE SCRIPTURE

FACTS AND FALLACIES IN THE ‘RESTRUCTIONING’ CONVERSATION, OR HOW NOT TO APPROACH FEDERALISM LIKE SCRIPTURE Solomon Ukhuegbe I. INTRODUCTION It seems our national “restructuring” conversation is gaining speed without traction. Apparently everyone is talking, and everywhere. Even abroad. At Chatham House, London the week before last, Governor El Rufai gave a lecture on the “essence […]

PROHIBITION POWER AND IPOB

I should add a disclaimer from the outset that I do not necessarily support the government decision to approach the Federal High Court for the order. I believe the move is premature and unnecessary at this time. However, I have no doubt that the order issued is fully compliant with applicable law. The suggestion that […]

OPERATION PYTHON DANCE II

OPERATION PYTHON DANCE II Our national conversations are impoverished at once by stubborn prejudices and imperfect information. And neither of these is easily overcome. For example, ‘Fulani’ has gained currency as a metaphor of supposed Northern domination or the “marginalization’ of the South or the Southeast or other parts of our country. The metamorphosis of […]