Nigeria, Sept. 22 -- When a public officer dismisses calls for accountability as "a fool's errand," it is not just flippant; it is insulting to the very people in whose name governance is carried out. That was the response of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), who only last week bowed out as Rivers State Administrator, following the lifting of emergency rule by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Rather than treat the probe of his six-month tenure with the seriousness it deserves, Ibas chose mockery, arrogantly dismissing the Rivers State House of Assembly's decision as a fruitless venture.

Let us call things by their right names: such a remark is a direct assault on democracy. Accountability is not a favour granted by those in power. It is a du...