Alhaji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since it ...

Abdurrahman Shugaba Darman (1920–2010) was a Nigerian politician from

Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon, its northern border ...

, and a contemporary of the late

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Ahmadu Bello Ahmadu Ibrahim Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto (12 June 1910–15 January 1966), knighted as Sir Ahmadu Bello, was a conservative Nigerian statesman who masterminded Northern Nigeria through the independence of Nigeria in 1960 and served as its first a ...

. Shugaba Darman was a founding member of the

Great Nigeria People's Party The Great Nigeria People's Party was one of the six major political parties that fielded candidates for elections in the Nigerian Second Republic. The party was formed by a splinter group from the Nigerian People's Party, the group was led by Wazi ...

and was elected as a member of the Borno State House of Assembly in 1979 where he also became the house

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

Deportation

On January 24, 1980, Immigration officers arrested Alhaji Darman on the strength of a deportation order signed by the Federal Minister of internal affairs Alhaji Bello Maitama. The deportation order entitled "Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman's Deportation Order 1980", stated amongst other things that "...Shugaba Abdurrahman Darman at present in Nigeria ought to be classified as a prohibited immigrant" and also that "Shugaba Abdurrahman be deported from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

by the first available means...." Shugaba Darman was promptly deported to a village in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. In response to the public outcry against the obviously politically motivated deportation, the government instituted a one-man tribunal of inquiry presided over by Justice P.C Okanbo. The NPN government and President

Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...

in particular were quite concerned about the negative press that the issue was generating and also about allusions in the press to the partiality of the tribunal. Shugaba Darman's troubles had allegedly started as a result of him being regarded as a threat by the ruling party of the time, the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN). Shugaba Darman was a charismatic politician who attracted large crowds at political rallies, the crowds were drawn to his speeches in which he criticized the ruling NPN government. He was also the

(GNPP) Majority Leader in the Borno State House of Assembly. GNPP had been increasing its influence in the North-East states, particularly in Borno and Gongola, and NPN, the ruling party, attempted to curb this growth by deporting the vocal and popular Shugaba. The government claimed that Shugaba's father was a Chadian hence he was from Chad. In a court case challenging the deportation order, Shugaba's lawyer, G.O.K. Ajayi SAN, obtained an order restraining the tribunal of inquiry from sitting and enforcing Shugaba's right to freedom of movement within Nigeria, a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979. During the hearing of the case, the government brought a Chadian woman who claimed that Shugaba was her biological son whom she wanted back; this while weeping profusely. Shugaba denied knowing the woman and claimed that his mother was alive and well known in

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

even though her sight was now poor. The Maiduguri high court ruled in Shugaba's favour in the case of "Shugaba Darman vs Federal Minister of Internal Affairs and Others", revoked the deportation order and awarded damages to the tune of 350,000 Naira to Shugaba. The government appealed the verdict at the

appeal court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...

and lost. The case was then taken to the Supreme Court and that court yet again ruled in Shugaba's favour in a unanimous judgement by the four justices led by Justice Coker. The case was overtaken by the subsequent military coup and no compensation was paid; Shugaba said he had forgiven the Shagari led government for his deportation.

Legacy

Alhaji Shugaba Darman died on Wednesday April 20, 2010 at the age of 80, he left behind three wives and 29 children. Alhaji Shugaba was a founding member of the

Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Shehu Musa Yar'Adua (5 March 1943 – 8 December 1997) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who was the ''de facto'' vice president of Nigeria as Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters when Nigeria was under military rule from 1976 to ...

led

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SDP), he was also a founding member of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP) in which he was active as a party elder till he died. Perhaps his greatest legacy has been his legal battle with the federal government challenging his deportation; the case has been used as relevant case law in numerous human rights trials in Nigeria ever since. The judgement in itself was ground-breaking and has set a precedent for subsequent cases of human rights violation against the government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darman, Abdurrahman Shugaba 1920 births 2010 deaths People from Borno State Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians 20th-century Nigerian politicians