Recently, an airline brought a heavily contaminated human cargo in the name of one Mr. Patrick Sawyer from Liberia to Nigeria on a purely commercial/profit motive to our airport managed by NCAA/NAMA, and also having on ground all manner of security agents ranging from Police, NDLEA, quarantine officers, NAFDAC, etc.
Before the said arrival of the Liberian, Patrick Sawyer to Lagos State/Nigeria, Nigeria has had an Ebola-free environment. Since the passage of the aforesaid “contaminated human cargo (Patrick Sawyer)” our health profile in Lagos State and Nigeria at large has nose-dived leading to the death of innocent workers of an hospital in Lagos State just because some Nigerian Security Officers at the Lagos Airports, Management of NAMA and NCAA chose to look elsewhere while the contaminated human cargo found its way into Lagos State and ultimately in Nigeria because our government agents are more interested in financially harassing innocent travellers at the airport (inward and outwards) for material gratification. These officials negligently or maliciously refused to do their work hence the present human casualty on our hand in the country.
Constitutionally speaking, right to life of every Nigerian is not only fundamentally and constitutionally sacrosanct; that right, of all other rights protected by the constitution, is number one. This clearly shows the importance of right to life of every person in this country.
To enjoy this inalienable right, Section 20 of Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (“CFRN 1999”) enjoins the Government to ensure the safety of the environment. Flowing from this constitutional provision, the Constitution behoves on the Government in Section 14 to ensure that security and welfare of life of the citizen are given paramount priority by all arms of government. The security referred to in Section 14 of the CFRN 1999 is not a technical or whimsical phrase that can be circumscribed in scope; hence that security must include good health and environmental security for the citizenry. Security as used in the constitution is not limited to life and properties of the citizens but also extends to the security of the Nigerian Citizens’ Health and clinical environment/social security.
Even though some people will argue that provisions of Chapter 2 of the CFRN 1999 are not justiciable, which argument to us begs the question in the face of Section 13 of same constitution which enjoins all arms of government in their functional responsibility to the nation, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of said Chapter 2 of the constitution. Furthermore, if the said watery argument of non-justiciability still holds any constitutional relevance, which to us does not in view of mandatory provision of Section 13 of Constitution, what of the right to life which stands above all other right in the Constitution? Is the said right to life not also justiciable? The threshold on which democracy stands is about good governance which has as its adjunct the principles of the rule of law which enjoins everything to be done in accordance with the law.
The summary of our findings in respect of the death of innocent citizens in a hospital in Lagos is purely attributable to the contaminated human cargo from Liberia called Patrick Sawyer which death would have been avoidable if there had been good governance which would have made the Government (Lagos State and Federal) more proactive and diligent in ensuring that the lives of law abiding and innocent Nigerians are protected from the likes of Patrick Sawyer. In other words, the Airline, Lagos State Government and Federal Government’s agent at the ports are jointly and severally liable and criminally negligent for the untimely death of innocent citizens that came into contact with the said Patrick Sawyer, the merchant of death.
If the Lagos State Government and Federal Government had been alive to their Constitutional responsibility as earlier enumerated, there is no way the likes of Patrick Sawyer (who had been quarantined even by the Liberian authorities) would escape the eagle-eyes of our security and health personnel at the airport since the so-called Patrick Sawyer, the contaminated cargo from Liberia, came in a commercial flight (after paying the airline in question money as part of his contractual relationship with the airline; and various security agents at the airport who jointly helped in letting him loose on innocent Nigerians must be ready for the legal consequences of their action.
The principle in Ryland v. Fletcher (1868) L.R. 3 H.L. 330 is no longer limited to unnatural users of things but also cover situation as we have on our hands. Allowing a human cargo and highly risky person like the “contaminated” Sawyer escape and “contaminate” the innocent and law abiding citizens of Lagos/Nigeria as a result of the Criminal Negligence of both the Lagos State Government officials and Federal Government agents amounts to (a) a violation of the Rights to Life of those deceased Lagosians/Nigerians who came in contact with Mr. Sawyer; (b) a crime under of our penal laws; (c) tortuous act in every material particular as decided in the time-tested judicial authority of Ryland v. Fletcher (Supra) from the airline that brought the heavily contaminated human cargo known as Sawyer to Nigeria on purely commercial/profit motives to the Managers of our Airports (i.e. NCAA and NAMA); the bribe-taken-security-officers or the airports Managers must be called upon to account.
Remedy
To us we are not convinced of the cosmetic measure hastily put in place by both LASG and FG in the fight against the menace of Ebola because such measures are not only cosmetic but mere afterthought. Hence what permanent measures have LASG and FG put in place? None.
Both Lagos State Government and Federal Government being vicariously liable for the acts of their agents must accept to pay substantial damages to the relatives of the deceased family as well as public apology to them. This must be done within next five (5) working days upon receipt of this letter or else we shall be compelled to go to court for interpretation of relevant provisions of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 vis-a-vis criminal negligence that has arisen in this case.
If Supreme Court has held in Bello v. A.G. Oyo State (1986) 5 NWLR (Pt. 45) 828 that even a convicted criminal still has a right to life while his appeal is pending and went ahead to hold the Oyo State Government liable for wanton killing of the said accused persons, we wonder how it won’t apply to innocent citizens doing their legitimate daily work. They must enjoy greater constitutional protection.
If the Federal Government and Lagos State Government had been proactive and diligent enough in securing the lives of the law abiding and innocent Nigerians, those dead in Lagos due to their contact with Sawyer would have been alive today.
• Agbaje wrote this letter to the Minister for Health, and the Lagos State Commissioner for Health.