By Innocent Anaba, Olasunkanmi Akoni, & Monsur Olowoopejo

The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, has threatened to drag  the Federal Government to court if the decision to shut  secondary and primary schools in the country to enable Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conduct a fresh voter’s registration  scheduled to start on January 15 to 29, 2011, was not reversed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters under the aegis of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools NAPPS, Lagos State chapter, have protested the closure of private schools for the voters registration exercise.

NBA President, Joseph Daudu, SAN, in a statement said “the association believe that  the decision of the Federal Government was not fully thought through and  negates all known principle  of federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law.”

The NBA maintained  that the closure of the schools will not confer any strategic advantage on the voter registration process as the process can go on while the students are in school, even if their schools will eventually be needed  Daudu noted  the Federal Government’s failure to carry the states and local government areas along in the decision making process as they have responsibility over the schools, adding that in a federal structure, the states and local councilc  ought to have been part of the decision making process of such magnitude as they( states and local councils) have constitutional responsibility for secondary and primary school education respectively.

He said  “an unlawful decision such as this has raised fears that could tarnish the credibility of the voter registration exercise” and that the inclusion of private schools in the shut down was an affront to the property right of the school.

“The only way to enthrone lasting democracy is to build upon the rule of law and observance of due process. This unlawful decision purportedly made in the interest of the enhancement of the democracy can never lend any credibility to voter registration exercise. The decision to subject private schools to shut down interferes with the property right of school proprietors with neither justification nor compensation contrary to Section 24 of the 1999 constitution,” he noted.   Describing the decision as a military style, the NBA said  the   disruption to the educational sector is without basis in law, lacks precedent and arbitrary statement like ‘compliance will be total’, and negates the principles of the rule of law and observance of due process.

“Twelve years after military rule, we should by now have dropped all vestiges of militarism and dictatorial tendencies from our political culture. It is a sad reminder of the Jack Boot era for elected leaders to treat Nigerians in such a manner as if their views did not matter.”

“We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to immediately rescind this shut down decision in the interest of our children and our society so that the children will avail themselves of every opportunity to attain their full potential in life without disruptions,” he added.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters under the aegis of National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools NAPPS, Lagos State chapter, during the week, stormed the office of Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, of Lagos State, over the closure of public and private secondary schools.