DSVA Executive Secretary, Mrs. Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, who stated this while commemorating the International Day of the Girl-Child, said the aim was to celebrate the incredible potential, strength, and resilience embodied in the girls.
The event held at Ikeja Senior Grammar School Hall, Oyetayo Street, Bolade, Oshodi. The theme was: “Digital Generation: Our Generation”
While reaffirming the agency’s dedication to ensuring that the digital world remains a safe, empowering, and inclusive space for the girls, Mrs. Vivour-Adeniyi urged all the stakeholders to create a world where every girl can thrive, both online and offline.
The Executive Secretary noted that Lagos State Government has taken a firm stance against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence crimes in the state by providing a strong culture, policy and procedures for prevention, education, training and support to victims of these crimes.
”Their power to shape the future is unparalleled, and it is our privilege to stand beside them on this transformative journey’ and our girls are at the forefront of innovation, creativity, and progress” she added.
“Let us stand united in breaking down the digital divide and ensure that technology becomes a force for good in their lives” she stated.
Mrs Vivour-Adeniyi said the event provided an opportunity for everyone to take stock of empowerment of the girl-child.
“It is also an opportunity for us to engage girls on this critical issue, the digital generation. We know that the digital space has a lot of positives, a lot of empowerment, knowledge sharing that could be acquired through the digital space.
“We also know that our girls can be vulnerable, they can be abused digitally. So, it is important for us to continue to engage them on these issues, heighten awareness about their lives and let them know how they can be protected and be safe on the digital space”, she said.
Mrs Vivour-Adeniyi said the girl child are the pioneers of the “Digital Generation,” that effortlessly navigates through the digital landscape, harnessing technology as a tool for empowerment and change.
She, therefore, urged all stakeholders to celebrate the “Digital Generation: Our Generation” with hope, determination, and unwavering commitment to change the world for the better.
The lawmaker representing Lagos Island Constituency 1, in the House of Assembly, Princess Omolara Oyekan- Olumegbon, in a keynote address, stressed that the girl-child needs to be encouraged and helped in achieveing their goals.
The lawmaker who is also the Chairman House Committee on Women Affairs, Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation, stressed the importance of leveraging on the digital space as a useful tool in accessing information which is critical for harnessing their different potentials.
She emphasised the concept of digital footprint and the need to let the girls know that they should be wary of what they post on line.
Hon. Oyekan- Olumegbon encouraged the girls to make use of the digital space as individuals , stressing that the females have the potential thrive even in the digital space.
A Social Justice Advocate, GBV Consultant and one of the Speakers for the day, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, advised teenage girls to make positive resolution to protect themselves against any form of discrimination.
She said every girl child have special rights like their male counterpart, adding, “we need to develop the male child and the girl child equally. Discrimination against the girl child must stop, it is an offence in Lagos state.”
Mrs Rotimi said section 9 of the Child Rights Law frowned at any form of discrimination against the girl child.
“Genital mutilation on a girl is a violation to right to life, dignity and security. No one has the right to take your dignity away from you. It is an offence under section 6 of the Violence Against Person Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act 2015 and it attracts a term of imprisonment of four years.”
“It is an offence to forcefully marry off a girl under the age of 18 in Lagos. Anybody who betrothed an under aged girl would go to prison.
She said the girl child needs to be continuously informed about negative and positive effect of digital space in ensuring that technology becomes a force for good in their lives.
Rotimi, who spoke on “My Rights as a Girl Child”, said she was happy that the children were well informed about digital space, stressing that they know how to use the digital information, in terms of their homework and searches on expanding proficiency.
“All the Rights we are talking about is online,so they can go online to read it, because it gives them the power to be able to speak for themselves, to guide themselves against being bullied, abused and violated at anytime” She said.
Meanwhile, a participant, Fatimoh Shiro, said Gender inequality is one of the biggest challenges girls encounter in the online world, every year, girls miss out on the opportunity to thrive as a result of the gender gap and imbalance.
She highlighted some of the challenges girls encounter which include economic deprivation, female Genital Mutilation , early marraige,child abuse and gender inequality.
Also, A student from Eva Adelaja Girls Senior Secondary School, Bariga, Abolaji Adeshina, said she has the power to be whoever she sets out to be. In her words , “I am who I am, I can be who I want to be if God is helping me, I am a Girl Child and no one can take my right away from me” Adeshina added.
Laying credence to their knowledgeable insights, the Girls showcased Peer learning, in-depth analysis on topical debates, spoken words, poems, dances and drama in their various presentations which were centered around the theme.
Justice Tijjani Ringim of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has ordered the Lagos State Attorney-General, Commissioner for Transport and the Head of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to appear before his court over alleged continuous disobedience to two orders of the court.
Also ordered to appear before the court on the alleged contempt, is one Mr. I. A. James, a LASTMA official.
Justice Ringim compelled the appearance of the alleged contemnors after taking submissions from a lawyer, Adeniyi Komolafe, who moved an application to commit them to prison, for willfully disobeying two orders of the court in two suits numbered FHC/L/CS/653/2011 and FHC/L/CS/83/12, made by Justice Okon E. Abang and Justice John T. Tsoho, respectively.
The suit was filed against the alleged contemnors by Mr. Jonathan Ademola Odutola, whose two vehicles were illegally confiscated.
The judgment creditor, Odutola, through his lawyer, Komolafe, had filed Form 49 because of the alleged contemnors willful disobedience to the two court orders, the judgment creditor.
Komolafe, while moving the Form 49, told the court that the application to commit the alleged contemnors to prison, was pursuant to Section 72 of The Sheriffs And Civil Process Act Cap. S6 Laws Of the Federation of Nigeria, Order 9 Rule 13 of the Judgment Enforcement Rules and Under the Court’s Inherent Jurisdiction.
The judgment creditor in affidavit in support of the contempt application deposed to by Azeez Badru, a Chief Litigation Officer in the law firm of Kehinde Osibona & Co., Solicitors to the Plaintiff, stated that the court in a judgment delivered on September 16, 2011, restrained all the respondents whether by themselves,their servants, agents or otherwise howsoever called from continuing arrest and detention of the plaintiffs vehicles and further violation on the plaintiffs right to own properties.
The deponent stated that all the respondents participated fully during the proceedings of the court and were aware of the said orders of the Court.
He said that the respondents had deliberately and arrogantly refused to obey the said orders of the court and are still continuing to violate the right of the plaintiff and to release the detained vehicles as ordered by the court.
The deponent stated that despite the fact of the respondents’ awareness of the said orders, the plaintiff caused to be served on them Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of the Court) on the first and second contemnors on February 14, 2022 while the third contemnor was served on the February 10, 2022.
He stated that the alleged contemnors still refused to comply with the said orders and had continued to disobey the subsisting orders of this Honourable Court thereby rendering them nugatory.
He informed the court that the office of the fourth respondent blocked all the access possible for the plaintiff to reap the dividend of the judgments refusing to release two of the vehicles apprehended.
He, therefore, urged the court to grant the prayers sought on the motion paper and to commit the respondent to prison for wilfully disobeying orders of the court.
Justice Ringim after listening to the judgment creditor’s lawyer, ordered all the alleged contemnors to appear before the court on November 15, 2023, and that hearing notice be issued and served on each of the alleged contemnors.
By appointing Olanipekun Olukoyede as the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), President Bola Tinubu has given the country its first Christian and Southern head of the anti-graft agency. But Olukoyede’s résumé shows that much should be expected of the 54-year-old fraud advisory law expert in the expected anti-graft war than just his faith and region, ROBERT EGBE reports.
President Bola Tinubu made perhaps his second most important appointment in his government’s expected crusade against corruption last Thursday when he named a Christian cleric, Mr. Olanipekun, as the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s foremost anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The first was the appointment in August of a highly respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, as Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice. Together, both men are expected to lead the Tinubu administration’s quest to tame the country’s embarrassing, age-long hydra-headed corruption monster.
Olukoyede’s appointment, pending confirmation by the Senate, was announced in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ajuri Ngelale.
He will step into the shoes of his predecessor, Abdulrasheed Bawa, for four years, not as a novice, but as a former top brass of the agency, having served as the commission’s secretary between 2018 and 2020.
President Tinubu, in June this year, suspended Bawa as EFCC chair, and in his place, appointed Abdulkarim Chukkol, then Director of Operations, in an acting capacity.
Bawa’s suspension, anchored on “weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him” followed a pattern of unceremonious removal of past EFCC bosses.
Olukoyede also served as Chief of Staff to an ex-EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, between 2016 and 2018.
The man Olukoyede
Born in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State, on October 14, 1969, Olukoyede is a lawyer with over 22 years of experience as a regulatory compliance consultant and specialist in fraud management and corporate intelligence.
He had his university education at the Lagos State University; University of Lagos; Institute of Arbitration ICC – Paris, France and the University of Harvard (Kennedy School of Executive Education).
In 2008, he established his law firm, Ola Olukoyede & Co.
The same year, he established Global Compliance GRC, a governance, risk and legal consulting outfit, where he served as an attorney for investigation and civil litigations of fraud and corruption in international aid projects.
Olukoyede worked at Ecodev Investment, a finance and investment company, for about five years before moving to Legal Research and Corporate Development Projects (LRCDP Consulting).
He was a member of the Fraud Advisory Panel, in the United Kingdom, and also a member of the Federal Government technical committee on the repositioning of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The 54-year-old is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
All EFCC chairpersons before Olukoyede — Nuhu Ribadu, Farida Waziri, Ibrahim Lamorde, and Abdulrasheed Bawa — were Northern Muslims, which makes him the first Southerner and Christian as well as a pastor, to lead the agency.
Magu, Abdulkarim Chukkol, and Mohammed Umar, who served in acting capacities, were northerners and Muslims.
Opposition to Olukoyede’s appointment
But the appointment stirred controversy in some circles over his qualifications for the job.
Some critics argued that Olukoyede was not qualified to be EFCC chairman under the law establishing the anti-corruption agency.
Section 2 of the EFCC Act stipulates that a chairman of the commission “must be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent; and possess not less than 15 years experience.”
In their view, Olukoyede does not meet the criterion, because his experience in any security or law enforcement agency began with his appointment as the chief of staff to the EFCC chairman in 2016.
However, in 2018, he was appointed the Commission’s secretary, a position most likely higher than the equivalent of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.
One of those that faulted his appointment was Mr. Daniel Bwala, a spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate in the last election.
Bwala argued that the appointment ran a foul of Section 2 of the EFCC Act.
An activist-lawyer, Abdul Mahmud, said Olukoyede was not qualified to be appointed chairman of the anti-fraud commission.
“He’s not qualified. His years as Chief of Staff to Magu or as Secretary of EFCC don’t come near the 15 years of cognate experience required by law,” he said.
On the claim by the Presidency that Bawa resigned, Mahmud said, “Then, again, how could anybody claim that Bawa, who is currently in detention, resigned his position as Chairman?”
Also, a group, The Alliance for Good Governance and Due Process, faulted the government’s decision.
The group, in a statement by its National Coordinator, Mr. Ayelabola Hussain, said the nomination violated the EFCC Act which, in its view, was specific about the qualities and qualifications of persons that should be the Chairman of such an important commission.
“In what way is Olukoyede qualified to be so nominated if true? What happens to the pending cases against him even as Secretary of the EFCC under the leadership of Ibrahim Magu? Was Olukoyede exonerated by the Justice Ayo Salami Investigative Panel of the EFCC? If so, where is the report of that panel?
“By the way, it is public knowledge that Olukoyede’s account is still under investigation and frozen. So why is he in a hurry to go back to the EFCC? Is there something we don’t know? Does a man with such a huge baggage deserve to be rewarded with the chairman of the EFCC?” Hussain said.
Opposition baseless, says lawyer
But his lawyer, Mr. Tony Idoko, explained that Olukoyede was suspended merely as part of administrative protocol and not because of any wrongdoing, thus his eligibility was not affected.
Idoko accused Hussain of, among others, erroneously “claiming that Mr Olukoyede’s bank account was under investigation and frozen and also made allusions to the fact that this was public knowledge.
“It is completely false. He is still operating his bank accounts without let or hindrance. I await Mr Ayelabola Hussain to prove otherwise.
“Let it also be put on record that Mr. Olukoyede was not suspended because of any wrongdoing or crime he committed. Note also that he was not suspended on the recommendation of the Justice Isa Ayo Salami Panel of Inquiry. Rather, he was amongst other staff of the EFCC who were suspended as administrative protocol demanded because the Panel claimed that it wanted unhindered access to documents in the offices of the affected officers. It is also very instructive to state that the Presidency lifted the suspension after he was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Panel. He was also further issued with a clearance letter to that effect.”
Idoko also addressed other concerns about the candidate’s qualifications for the office.
He argued that Olukoyede’s credentials surpass the “15 years cognate experience” needed to qualify for the commission’s chairmanship position.
Why Olukoyede is qualified to head EFCC, by Presidency
The Presidency also faulted the opposition to Olukoyede’s appointment, saying he was eminently qualified under the law for the office.
Relying on Section 2(3) of the EFCC Act, the government, in a post by a Senior Special Assistant to the President for Public Engagement, Fredrick Nwabufo, on the social media platform X, listed eight grounds for the legality of his appointment. They are:
Olukoyede was the Chief of Staff to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC (2016-2018) and Secretary to the Commission (2018-2020). He was a member of a law enforcement organisation as Secretary, in this case, the EFCC, as stipulated in the EFCC Act, and as such, satisfied every legal detail to be appointed as Chairman.
Section 2(1)(p) of the EFCC Act plainly, ordinarily, and unambiguously established the Secretary to the Commission (i.e., EFCC) as its member and head of its administration.
The Supreme Court determined in the case of Ejuetami v. Olaiya & Anor (2001) LPELR-1072 (SC) at Pg.23-24, that: The words used are to be given their ‘ordinary and natural sense’. Therefore the clear, explicit and unambiguous words used in sections 2(1)(a)(i)-(iii), (p), 2(2), 3(1)-(3) and 8(5) of the EFCC Act must be given their ordinary and natural sense in line with the guidelines set by the Supreme Court in its long line of undisturbed judicial precedents.
The provision of Section 2(1) sub-paragraph (iii) of the EFCC Act did not state the nature of the experience which a person is required to possess its similar or alike for fifteen (15) years. This implies that such cognate experience is presumed to be that of the work or functions of the EFCC acquired anywhere since the EFCC Act did not state the specific place where it must be acquired. It is also unambiguous by the provisions of sub-paragraph (iii) that once a person possessed fifteen (15) years of such cognate (i.e., similar or alike) experience, then he has satisfied the provisions of sub-paragraph (iii) of section 2(1)(a) of the EFCC Act.
It is clear from provisions of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, that any member of the Commission whether serving or retired who has 15 years’ cognate experience in their chosen career are eligible to be appointed as the Chairman of the Commission.
Prior to this time, the convention and precedence, is that to be qualified for appointment as the Executive Chairman of the Commission, the nominee must be a Police Officer or someone with a law enforcement background, particularly in the area of investigation. This has not only exposed the commission to all manner of vices but has brewed internal wrangling, discontent, and hatred among the members of staff of the commission.
It is nonjusticiable to elevate convention above statutory provision. It is time to move away from fiction to fact and from convention to strict adherence to the statutory provisions of the enabling Act of the Commission in our constitutional democracy.
According to the government, Mr Olukoyede thus satisfies every legal requirement to be appointed as EFCC Chairman.
Falana: Olukoyede qualified
Activist-lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) weighed in on the matter, saying Olukoyede is qualified to lead the anti-graft commission having previously served in a high capacity in the agency.
His grouse, however, was that the President appointed the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) chairmen from the same geopolitical zone.
Both Mr Olukoyede and ICPC Chairman, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye (SAN), who has been in office since February 2019, are from the South-West geopolitical zone.
According to Falana, who spoke during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Monday, this was unlawful and against the Federal Character Principle.
Falana said: “There is no issue (with Olukoyede’s qualifications); the only issue that has been raised (and) has to be considered by the government is that we have in this country, the Federal Character Commission Act and also by the virtue of Section 14 of the constitution, appointments must reflect Federal Character,” he said.
“If you are going to have the EFCC and the ICPC, the heads cannot come from same zone. If there are two positions in the public service, one must go to the North, one must go to the South. If there are four, two must go to the South, two must go to the North. If there are six, one must go to each geopolitical zone. That is the law in Nigeria today.
“So, I am not comfortable with the fact that the heads of the EFCC and the ICPC are from the same zone.
“Apart from that, Mr Ola Olukoyede, is eminently qualified to head the EFCC. My colleagues who have criticised the appointment have not looked at the relevant provisions of the EFCC which is Section 2.”
Tasks before Olukoyede
Criminal law expert Mr. Olalekan Ojo (SAN) congratulated Olukoyede for his appointment, saying he was confident the new chairman’s law experience would be invaluable in the performance of his duties.
Nevertheless, the senior lawyer warned that much was expected of Olukoyede if he is to succeed in his mission of taming corruption through the EFCC.
Ojo said: “The appointment carries with it enormous challenges. The highly exalted office of the Chairman of the EFCC is not for timorous souls. He should be prepared to pursue the anti-corruption crusade of the EFCC without fear or favour. There should not be selective prosecution, selective arrest of persons who are suspected to have committed or been involved in one form of financial crime or another. In the past, the EFCC was justifiably accused of doing ‘selective prosecution’.
“Secondly, the fight against economic crimes must be carried out within the rule of law. You cannot jettison the rule of law under the guise of fighting corruption. As someone who has been at the criminal Bar for many years, I know as a fact that the pretrial right of many suspects in the EFCC’s custody are not protected. Most of the operatives of the EFCC do not give or accord sufficient respect to the rights of suspects. This is from my experience. Especially in the case of the so-called suspected internet fraudsters. Most of them are coerced into entering into plea bargain. That is not fighting corruption within the rule of law.
“Thirdly, the idea of obtaining detention order, called remand order, most times that order is abused. Even when investigation is no longer ongoing, they’ll still procure that order to keep them there for 30 days or longer. The whole essence is to psychologically traumatise the suspect. This must stop.
“Fourthly, the way and manner persons charged to court are prosecuted must also be revisited. Everybody is learning, but so many cases have been lost by the EFCC due to either lack of thorough investigation or what in my view is shoddy investigation and prosecution. When this happens the EFCC is in the habit of saying the courts are relying on technicalities. When EFCC secures a conviction, the court is not accused of reliance on technicalities, it’s only when EFCC loses a case, whether at trial stage or on appeal. In my view, what they call technicalities is in most cases the failure to have done the right thing.”
The Nation reports that the EFCC has consistently maintained that it carries out its duties fairly and in accordance with the rule of law, that it does not engage in selective prosecution, that it respects the rights of suspects and does not engage in any form of torture whether psychological or otherwise.
For the Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development (CODE) Hamzat Lawal, Mr. Olukoyede must ensure EFCC’s independence, be transparent and carry the public along.
Lawal said the new EFCC chairman should engage the youth and the public in the agency’s anti-corruption efforts through awareness campaigns.
“More importantly, he needs to uphold the independence of the EFCC in its operations, ensuring that it remains free from undue political influence,” he said in a Friday statement.
“My advice to him is to provide solid and principled leadership to guide the EFCC in fulfilling its mandate and promote professionalism and ethical conduct within the organisation.
“As the world continues to evolve, I will advise the new EFCC boss to encourage a culture of continuous learning and adaptation to address evolving forms of corruption in the country.
“He should also focus on a multi-faceted approach that combines effective law enforcement, prevention, and recovery efforts.
“Combating financial crimes is a complex task, and success will depend on adapting to new challenges and maintaining a strong commitment to the rule of law and justice.”
The founder of the Social Accountability Initiative Follow The Money, urged Olukoyede to enhance the protection of whistleblowers who play a critical role in exposing financial crimes.
According to him, the efficient recovery and forfeiture of assets gained through corruption are pivotal just as he called for the anti-corruption agency to streamline the processes.
Immediate-past Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, is still in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), otherwise known as the Department of State Services (DSS), 124 days after he was arrested.
Bawa was arrested June 14 but he is yet to be arraigned before any court.
There have been calls on the Federal Government to charge him as required by the Constitution or free him.
All eyes are on the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to match his words with action regarding Bawa.
During the AGF’s screening, he spoke against the practice of arresting and detaining suspects indefinitely without charge.
For him, investigations ought to be concluded before arrests are made, to prevent the violation of rights, as appears to be the case with Bawa.
Fagbemi also vowed to uphold the rule of law and protect rights, and with Bawa still in detention 56 days after the AGF was sworn in, observers will be keen to see whether the new administration will operate by those tenets.
Activists have urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in Bawa’s case.
A human rights expert and professor of law, Chidi Odinkalu, stressed that the 1999 Constitution prohibits administrative detention, “which is exactly what has become Mr Bawa’s fate”.
In an article entitled: The disappearance of Abdulrasheed Bawa, Odinkalu writes: “A government that claims democratic legitimacy should not be in the business of disappearing citizens, irrespective of what they are accused of.
“Whatever allegations against Mr Bawa are, they cannot justify putting him beneath the constitution…
“An administration led by those who claim to have resisted the abuses of military rule should not be caught now replaying the playbook that they reviled.
“If there are serious allegations against Mr Bawa, he deserves to be brought to account administratively in line with the service regulations of his employers or before a court of law.
“Neither option warrants his indefinite disappearance.”
Human rights lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), urged the SSS to charge Bawa or free him.
He said: “I thought Section 35 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, provides for only one day (24 hours) of incarceration when there is a court of competent jurisdiction within a radius of 40 kilometres from the police station; and where there is no court within a 40-kilometer radius of the station, 48 hours; or any longer period which the court considers reasonable given the particular circumstances of the case.
“The DSS, through its Director of Information, Willie Bassey, cited ‘weighty allegations of abuse of office levelled against him’, as the reason for Bawa’s continued captivity.
“This continued detention without trial is barbaric, atrocious and unconscionable, to say the least. Are we still living in the early caveman Australopithecus era? I do not know. Or, do you?
“Till date, the DSS has not told Nigerians what Bawa’s specific offences are (if any), or the level of ‘investigation’.
“Even if he committed some infractions of the law, can illegality beget legality? Can two wrongs make a right? Can the DSS continue to be the accuser, arrester, detainer, investigator, prosecutor and judge? What is going on here?
“The last time I checked, even amongst mad people, there was orderliness. DSS, for God’s sake, and the sake of decency and our constitutional democracy, release Bawa immediately and forthwith.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dayo Akinlaja, noted that Bawa may have been detained pursuant to ex-parte court orders obtained on the basis that investigation is ongoing, but he believes his indefinite detention goes against the spirit Constitution.
“There is no disputing the fact that any long detention without arraignment in court is against the spirit of the constitution,” a report quotes him as saying.
Observers have also wondered whether some of those Bawa investigated, among whom are those now in government, are behind his travails.
There is the fear that the war against corruption will fail if those leading it are victimised for stepping on powerful toes.
‘Constitution amendment needed to limit cases that go on appeal’
Justice Amina Augie vacated the Supreme Court Bench on September 3 on attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70. The valedictory court session was held in her honour on September 21. Justice Augie spoke about her ancestry, school days, life as a teacher, legal career and experience on the Bench. She added that one of the measures to be adopted to ease the workload of the Supreme Court Justices is to ensure that not all cases make their way there. ERIC IKHILAE was at the event.
I was called to the Nigerian Bar in July 1978, and the turning point in my life was when I reported for National Youths Service (NYSC) in Sokoto State.
We were the fifth set of graduates to serve, and the Military Governor of Sokoto State hosted a reception to welcome us to Sokoto for our service year.
When some friends heard that my late classmate, Funke John, and I were posted to Sokoto State, we were pressured to change our posting because it was said that there were no cars in Sokoto, and riding donkeys was the only form of transportation in town.
When we narrated what we were told to my late husband, whom I met in Sokoto during NYSC, I remember him saying that it was stupid to think we would land at the airport, disembark from an aircraft, and jump on donkeys from the airport to town.
There were misapprehensions about the NYSC scheme itself,particularly the idea of postings to unknown parts of Nigeria. But we learnt to value and appreciate what makes us Nigerians.
As it turned out, Funke stayed in the Ministry of Justice, Sokoto, for five more years after NYSC, before she went back to Lagos, and I took up appointment with the Legal Aid Council, Sokoto, after NYSC, before my stint in the academic world as a lecturer.
So, my reporting for NYSC in Sokoto, despite calls to change it, was the best step I took on my way to becoming what I am today.
Even so, I almost derailed my legal career when I left Zaria to follow my husband, who had been transferred from NTA Sokoto to NTA Headquarters in Lagos, and for a very flimsy reason too.
I was his second wife, and one day in Lagos, a friend of his, who did not know he had ventured into polygamy came visiting, and asked for madam. I came out, and he looked at me in shock, as if my husband had smuggled a girlfriend into his home.
It was when my little daughter ran out of the kitchen that he explained that he was not aware that his friend had taken on another wife.
So, to show people that I was, indeed, his wife, I abandoned my job and post-graduate studies in Zaria, and relocated to Lagos.
Of course, as anyone in a polygamous set-up would tell you, living with another wife in the same house is not a walk in a park and before long, I was desperate to get a job, any kind of a job. But no one would listen.
They could not fathom how, with all that I had going for me, I left my job as a lecturer in the first place.
Auspiciously, I had the chance to talk to my husband’s friend, who was at the Cabinet Office, and who had not heard my story.
Justice Amina Augie (rtd)
He had just come out of a cabinet meeting where it was agreed that the Office of Chief Counsel to President Shagari should be beefed up after the Shugaba case, handled by Federal Ministry of Justice ended the way it did.
So, my next job was Senior State Counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel to the President.
Teaching at Law School
The soldiers struck in December 1983, and in February 1984, we were informed that our services were no longer required, and I was jobless again. But, as God would have it, our former Lecturer at the Law School, Mr. Folagbade Olateru-Olagbegi III, the late Olowo of Owo, who had been the Chief Counsel to the Vice-President, Chief Alex Ekwueme, went back to Law School.
The students, who studied abroad, resume at the Law School a month before the others, and that year 1984, the Law School was short of lecturers. When the Director-General, late Mr. Ibironke, was looking around for lecturers, Mr. Olateru-Olagbegi told him they could ask me since I was no longer in the President’s office.
It was Thursday, and the foreign students, as we called them, were to resume on Monday when I was asked to start teaching at the Nigerian Law School, and the formalities of employment would follow later.
My journey on the Bench
My life took another turn when my husband decided to go into politics in Sokoto State, which had not yet been split into three, and to satisfy the requirement that he must be resident or have his family in his state, I moved to the state as a Chief Magistrate.
The Chief Judge posted me to my husband’s village, Argungu.
When he came back nine months later to decongest the prison, he was shocked to hear from prison officials that there were no accused persons awaiting trial, as I had cleared all their cases.
Thereafter, I was never tested again. I moved back to Sokoto to head the Magistracy, and later appointed a High Court Judge.
The late Hon. Justice Jean Omokri, who was my colleague, and who was Director of Public Prosecutions, when I came for NYSC, used to say that my Argungu posting was like asking me ‘to go and do a solo dance,’ which showed the stuff I was made of.
The lessons I had learnt on my way up the ladder to this point, allowed me to gain a better understanding of what worked well, what didn’t work, and what can be done differently in the future.
And so, by the time I was elevated to the Court of Appeal in 2002, I was well-equipped to cope with postings from one division of the court to another, and to work as a team with other Justices, because Justices of the Court of Appeal get moved around a lot.
I served in Benin, Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu, and Lagos divisions and from 2008, I was posted five times in five years: Ibadan to Kaduna in 2008, Kaduna to Benin in 2009, Benin to Enugu in 2010, Enugu back to Kaduna in 2011, and then Kaduna to Lagos in 2012.
The beauty of it all is that I had classmates everywhere I went since I schooled in Ibadan, Calabar, Enugu, Kaduna, lle-Ife, and Lagos.
I met students I taught at the Law School and university, and I was warmly welcomed and treated as a son of the soil.
Being consistent all my life also helped. I was not one thing here, and another thing there, therefore, everywhere I went, I received the same treatment from all and sundry as if I lived in one place.
Elevation to Supreme Court
On November 7, 2016, I attained the pinnacle of my legal career when I was elevated to the esteemed position of a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
I was only the sixth woman to attain this distinction in over 50 years of its existence; walking in the footsteps of Hon. Justice Maryam Aloma Mukhtar, who first shattered the glass ceiling, and later became the first female Chief Justice of Nigeria, and others who followed her. Initially, the shoes felt oversized, but I slowly grew into them.
I have served Nigeria with all my strength for 45 straight years, and in all those years through thick and thin, and ups and downs, all I had was my faith in God and a strong desire to do something with all that He blessed me with in His Service and for mankind.
So, I left the choice to Him. He guided my steps up to this court (Supreme Court) but I was a pencil in His hands and He made the very best of me.
What it means to be a judge
As much as I hope that all I said so far will motivate and inspire young lawyers, who aspire to reach this height, to walk the walk and talk the talk on their journey to this court, I must add that getting here is one thing, but what you do here is another thing.
When I was appointed a High Court Judge of Sokoto State, a mix of emotions overcame me. It was the culmination of years of nurturing a dream, a validation of my worthiness to serve in the temple of justice.
The dream had transformed into a reality. But, as any judge would tell you, the honour of being one, carries with it immense intellectual and emotional challenges.
We grapple with intricate legal questions, which often strain the delicate balance between our objective interpretation of the law, and personal convictions. In this role, the imperative is clear, personal beliefs must yield to the dictates of the law.
While there are instances where personal beliefs align with legal principles, each day on the judicial pedestal presents a new chapter in the internal struggle between our private convictions and the law.
However, in no time, we learn to set aside personal beliefs, as objectivity and impartiality are the bedrock of our profession.
Yet, this does not lessen the weight of our responsibility as the judge’s career is marked by moments of deep introspection,where we face the mental anguish stemming from awareness that our pronouncements can deeply alter another person’s life.
As a Judge, I witnessed a spectrum of emotions in court, especially in criminal trials; anxious uncertainty of the accused, transformation of hope into dismay, the elation of acquittal, and the sad tears of families upon the conviction of their loved ones.
It becomes, even more challenging when we realise that our rulings can shape governance and impact the lives of millions.
But, as Thomas Hobbes aptly noted, a good judge must ‘divest himself of all fear, anger, hatred, love, and compassion.’
It is a job that demands perfection from imperfect individuals, an arduous endeavour that we must undertake daily. It is a calling to serve, to rise above personal quirks and predispositions.
Service entails pain, but it is pain I would willingly endure again.
Role of Supreme Court Justices
A Justice of the Supreme Court everywhere, not just in Nigeria, holds a pivotal position within the judicial system, tasked with upholding the rule of law, justice, and democracy.
Their duties include interpreting the Constitution, setting legal precedent, and safeguarding individual rights, while also maintaining the separation of powers among the three branches of government.
The Supreme Court is the final appellate authority, serving as the court of last resort. This role, therefore, involves making decisions that profoundly impact the liberty, lives, and property of individuals, and even change the course of the entire nation.
The legal issues presented to the Supreme Court are often highly intricate and nuanced. Justices of the court must grapple with these complexities to reach sound and fair decisions, and these decisions often involve complex legal, moral, and societal issues, making the burden of responsibility considerably heavy.
Supreme Court decisions are collaborative efforts among a panel of Justices, which may lead to internal disagreements, requiring the reconciliation of personal beliefs with consensus.
Upholding ethical standards, particularly in a politically charged environment, presents challenges but integrity is paramount.
The Supreme Court decisions are subject to intense public scrutiny and analysis.
The Justices must navigate intricate legal issues, striving for fair and accurate decisions. They must also withstand public criticism, political pressure, and intense media attention while upholding their independence and impartiality.
Upholding ethical standards and avoiding conflicts of interest can be challenging in such highly visible and politically charged environment.
However, the Justices of the Supreme Court must navigate these ethical dilemmas with unwavering integrity.
In essence, being a Supreme Court Judge entails the weighty responsibility of safeguarding the Constitution, ensuring legal accuracy, and protecting individual rights.
Despite that and the challenges and intense scrutiny they face, their commitment to upholding the rule of law remains paramount and unwavering.
Supreme Court is overburdened
Now, as I bid farewell, my hope is that those that come after me will not face the same challenging situations, which made it so difficult for those of us before them to fully rise to the occasion.
When it comes to the Supreme Court, the age-old saying that the ‘higher you go, the cooler it becomes,’ is turned on its head.
I have had the privilege of serving as a Chief Magistrate, High Court Judge, and Justice of the Court of Appeal. Yet, I can confidently say that nowhere in these three lower courts did I encounter the level of heat I have experienced in this court.
The heat is not about the weather, but the sheer magnitude of the workload. I even turned to an online thesaurus for words to capture the essence of this workload: ‘burdensome, difficult grievous, harsh, intolerable, laborious, onerous, oppressive, hard, severe, tedious, vexatious, wearisome.’
Each of these words accurately encapsulates the demands we face daily.
Day we heard an appeal on burnt goats
Sometimes, we sit all day and have to deal with appeals that do not align with the court’s role as a policy-making court.
Allow me to share a perplexing example. One remarkable day, we found ourselves entertaining an appeal in an unusual criminal case. Surprisingly, it was not the accused or convict who had filed the appeal; it was the state.
The case involved an incident of arson where 12 goats were set ablaze. As we grappled with the load of pending judgments and the stack of files awaiting review for our upcoming conference – a sacred ritual in this court – I could not help but voice my astonishment. I leaned over to my brother Justice, and whispered: ‘With all that is on our plate, why would such a case come before us? Our primary role here is to be a policy-making court.’
Something must change. This court is the apex court, and its final decisions shape society’s social order. Justices should be able to focus on what truly matters. They could issue directives for formulating specific policies or amend existing ones to better serve their intended purposes. But how can they do that when they are drowning in an overwhelming caseload?
The only way forward, as highlighted by the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, during the special court session marking the commencement of the 2022/2023 Legal Year, is to amend the Constitution to restrict the circumstances under which appeals can reach this court.
Tasks before National Assembly
This marks the final instance where my voice will be heard in any court, and I wish to use this opportunity to directly address the 10th National Assembly, through the Distinguished Senate President, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, who was once my student at the Law School.
I had the privilege of teaching him Evidence, and I trust that he learned it well. Hence, it should be evident to him that swift action is needed from the 10th National Assembly to accomplish what others could not – amending the Constitution to enhance the functioning of our courts in Nigeria.
It is said that a teacher’s reward is in heaven, I cannot wait to reach heaven to receive my reward for teaching him because it is my sincere wish that the Justices coming behind me do not go through what those before them went through.
Thus, I implore the National Assembly to undertake the necessary constitutional amendments. By doing so, this court and its Justices can be freed from the constraints that impede their ability to fulfill their mandate of upholding the rule of law, justice, and democracy.
My ancestry
My ancestral heritage is a tapestry woven from various threads that span across Nigeria’s diverse regions. On my paternal side, my grandfather, Dr. Ernest William Graham, a missionary doctor from the Cumberland Graham Clan of Scotland, served in the West African Medical Service in then Niger Coast Protectorate and the Gold Coast from 1899 until his passing in Nigeria in 1920.
His dedication to healthcare took him to various parts of the country, including Calabar, where he died on duty in the hospital.
He attended to a patient and died before the next one came in.
His final resting place is not in Scotland, but in Calabar, and his grave is identifiable alongside Mary Slessor’s grave in Calabar. My paternal grandmother, Aishetu Elizabeth, hailed from the Nupe ethnic group, specifically from the present day Katcha in Niger State.
She and members of her family were traveling from Katcha to Lokoja along the River Niger when the canoe capsised after Baro. She was rescued by white traders, and ended on the other side of the river, which is how she crossed paths with my Scottish grandfather, and my father, Patrick Graham was born.
My father grew up in Onitsha, in present-day Anambra State, and he was warmly embraced as an Onitsha native by his peers.
My maternal grandfather, Robert Ashley, an English engineer, married my grandmother, Comfort Ojukwu, who was from Uturu in present day Abia State.
My mother, who is here with us, was raised by her grandmother in Kwale, in present day Delta State, and she, therefore, calls Kwale home. So, my family’s roots are deeply embedded across Nigeria, and we proudly carry this diversity with us.
Why I adopted my late husband’s hometown
From our early years, we embodied the spirit of a detribalised Nigeria. Our father often referred to himself as ‘a citizen of the world,’ when asked about his state of origin.
While that approach may have been suitable in the early days of Nigeria, it no longer aligns with modern-day requirements.
As I grew older and recognised the importance of a clear State of Origin in our country, I made a vow that when I had my own children, they would have solid roots in their father’s hometown, thereby, eliminating any ambiguity about their state of origin.
So, when I married my late husband, Senator Adamu Augie, in October 1979, I embraced his hometown of Argungu as mine, and his people became my people.
Yet, I was stunned when the Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Mohammed Mera, announced at my 70th birthday party in Abuja that I have been honoured with the traditional title of Jarumar Kabi (Star of the Kebbi Kingdom), the first time in the centuries-old history of the kingdom that a traditional title has been bestowed on a woman.
I pray that this also inspires a young girl, whose dream is to make a difference.
My journey through schools
My father, Patrick Graham MFR, the first Chief Scout of Nigeria, was a Chief Social Welfare Officer in the then Western Region, when I was born at the Creek Hospital, Ikoyi, Lagos, in 1953, and after a few years in London, I started School at Ibadan in 1958.
He became Chief Social Welfare Officer in the Eastern Region, and we moved to Calabar, and then to Enugu, where I completed my primary education. In 1965, I started secondary school at the Queens School, Enugu, but the civil war disrupted my schooling.
Seeking refuge in Uturu, my grandmother’s hometown in the ‘Biafran territory’ during the war, my journey took a divine turn. When ‘Federal troops’ came in, we went into hiding in the bush.
They were told that my father was a foreign mercenary, who was training guerilla fighters, and we were asked to come out and report to their Commanding Officer at the Mission House, Uturu.
They were suspicious, until my four-year-old brother innocently expressed his wish to go home. My mother told him, ‘ask Daddy’ and their doubts about him being a mercenary were dispelled, when my brother ran to him and said, ‘Daddy, I want to go home.’
The Commanding Officer took us to the Brigade Commander, the late Lt. Col. Abdul D. S. Wya, who was married to an Irish woman.
He noted our resemblance to his children and when he was told children were not schooling in Biafra, he pointed to an officer, and said, ‘Captain Halad, you are going to Kaduna tomorrow, take the first two children with you and put them in schools.’
‘Captain Halad, ‘ the late General Mohammed Balarabe Haladu, obeyed the order, and took us with him to Kaduna the next day.
This is how I got to Queen of Apostles College, Kakuri, Kaduna (now Queen Amina College), where I finished Secondary School.
Why I chose to read Law
Even as a young child, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, which was a male-dominated field then. I remember telling ‘Capt. Halad’ that when he asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up and his response was ‘so you want me to stand up for you one day.’
This only made me more determined to pursue a fulfilling career in the field of Law, and I embarked on a journey that would not only define my life, be a more just society.
It started at the University of Ife (Obafemi Awolowo University), where I went to study law and developed a thirst for knowledge.
I graduated at the top of my class, winning ‘the Faculty Prize for Best Overall Student,’ ‘Phoebe Chiadikobi Ajayi’s Prize for the Best Female Student with Second Class Upper and above,’ and the ‘Amicable Assurance Prize for the Best Student,’ which paved the path for me to pass through academia and the Bench.
My rewarding life as a teacher
I am first and foremost, a teacher. To me, teaching is a calling; it comes naturally to me in that everything I am, everything I do, is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and enthusiasm to impart knowledge, which is contagious, because knowledge grows more knowledge when it is learned and shared to others.
In those days, once you did well in school, it is assumed that you would go into academics.
My first job as a law teacher was at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where I was an Assistant Lecturer while pursuing my Master’s Degree from 1980 to 1982.
My next teaching job was at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, where I taught the Law of vidence from 1984 to 1988.
Even as a Chief Magistrate in Sokoto State, I was a part-time lecturer at the University of Sokoto, now Uthman Dan Fodio University.
Despite being a High Court judge, I went back to the classroom to teach, sometimes four core subjects, at the same university.
It meant that after I finished in court, I would be at the university from 4pm until 10pm at night sometimes. But the joy I get when I see students from those days come up to me is unquantifiable, as their paths crossed with mine on their way to being lawyers.
It provides the opportunity for each state to declare actions taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations.
Stakeholder consultations continued last week across the six geo-political zones to collate information for the UN fourth cycle UPR.
Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, while addressing delegates at the Southwest engagement session in Lagos, called on stakeholders in the justice and human rights sector to help generate accurate and up-to-date information for the review.
Represented by the Secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC), Princess F. Frank-Chukwuani, she said: “This stakeholders’ engagement is part of the work plan for collating information and useful data from various stakeholders in the Southwestern geo-political zone of the country.
“This is in line with the UN guidelines on national reporting, which stipulates that a country’s national report should be independent, objective, transparent, and inclusive…
“The IMC is tasked with the mandate of overseeing the preparation of Nigeria’s national report to the UNHRC and has set in place modalities in the preparation of Nigeria’s report among which are stakeholders’ engagement throughout the six geo-political zones of the country.
“The consultations were convened by the government for purposes of collating information which will be used in the preparation of our national report.”
At the event were stakeholders from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, among others.
The fourth review process began in September 2022, and in line with its workplan, Nigeria is expected to prepare and submit the report to the UNHRC in October 2023 for its review during the 45th Session of the UPR Working Group Session in Geneva scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2024.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation inaugurated the IMC, which is co-chaired by the Solicitor General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice (FMoJ), Mrs Beatrice Jeddy-Agba, and the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa; with Princess F. Frank-Chukwuani as the Secretary.
The objectives of the UPR are to review the fulfilment of the human rights commitments and obligations of all UN member states (as set out in the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all Human Rights Instruments to which the state is a party); and to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur, amongst others.
Nigeria has been involved in the past UPR process and was reviewed in the first cycle which was held in 2009.
The second and third review cycles were in 2013 and 2018.
What sort of reforms do the police need in today’s Nigeria. Why are those reforms essential? How should it be done? Ogbonna Chukwumerije and Emmanuel Olukanni point the way in this letter to the Minister of Police Affairs and the Acting Inspector General of Police
Introduction
The effect of insecurity and the overt highhandedness of security agencies on the citizens of a country and her economic development cannot be overemphasised. Apart from creating a hostile environment for business development, it creates uncertainty in the minds of prospective investors about investing in businesses operating within the country. This discourages domestic and foreign direct investments, reducing competitiveness between business organisations, and occasions a decline, or at best, static in the employment rate among the citizens which eventually leads to stunted economic growth.
Naturally, investing in policy reforms to tackle this issue should be of utmost concern to the government of any country. The International Peace Academy (IPA), in its policy report titled “Challenges in Police Reform: Promoting Effectiveness and Accountability”, interestingly said that: “Some development agencies and international financial institutions have recently overcome longstanding resistance to involvement with armed institutions and have supported… police-reform projects. Under the rubric of ‘security-sector reform’, these projects reflect interest in enhancing the environment for economic development, removing impediments to foreign investment, and reducing the costs of crime and violence…”
Nigeria as a country, is bedevilled with an avalanche of security issues. Since the emergence of democratic governance in 1999, the Federal Government has made little effort to improve human rights protection and secure the lives and properties of its citizens. Ranging from sectarian clashes, which continue to claim hundreds of lives within the country, to terrorism, electoral violence, and corruption among others, the government has demonstrated a lack of political will or interest in investigating the cause(s) of these incidences or better still, making necessary reforms, especially within the various security agencies to address the issue. Members of the security forces have on numerous occasions, been implicated in incidences of extrajudicial killings, torture of suspects, and widespread extortion and corruption without being investigated or held accountable.
The wide acceptability of the rule of law as a pivotal tool in aiding the growth of an economy is critical to every nation’s development. This is because, fundamentals, which are crucial to the development of any business, like owning land and property, transportation, and importing raw materials, among others will not be possible without proper enforcement of laws regulating these areas. Ignoring corrupt practices by top officials in security agencies, turning a blind eye to the collection of bribes, extortion and neglecting to address the overriding issue of insecurity within the country are contributory factors to the downward spiral currently being experienced by Nigeria’s economy.
In this article, we will be discussing the incidences of corruption within security agencies, police highhandedness and its impact on the country’s economic growth, and the lack of an enabling environment for successful functional reforms. We will also suggest workable reforms the Nigerian Government can immediately implement geared towards promoting economic development.
The Police and Economic Development: The Impact
It is evidential knowledge that security is essential in the economic development of any democratic country. A secure environment is conducive for investment, trade and innovation. What is more, it allows businesses to operate without fear of theft, violence, extortion by security forces, violation of fundamental rights and policies and disruption of business activities. Also, it promotes social cohesion and stability.
Of significant importance is the role of security agencies like The Police, in securing the environment for both local and foreign businesses to thrive. They work to prevent crime, protect people and their properties, uphold the rule of law and respond to emergencies when required. Gathering intelligence on threats to the sovereign integrity of the country, terrorist activities and suspicion of crime are all part of what security agencies in various countries do to make such countries fertile for foreign direct investment and create a breathing room for local businesses to operate without disruption.
One study conducted by the World Bank in 2016, found in its report, that countries with better-functioning police forces experience a reduction in crime and criminal activities, which inevitably creates a more secure environment for businesses to operate. Another study by the National Bureau of Economics Research, titled: “Police Force Size and Civilian Race”, reported that police reforms that reduce racial bias can lead to increased economic growth. The study found specifically, that its finding above was because racial bias in policing can discourage investment in minority communities, which can lead to lower economic growth.
Furthermore, there is proof that countries that tend to invest in security agencies and policy reforms in that respect usually witness more domestic investment because such reforms lead to ease of doing business within the country. Such countries also attract more foreign investors than their counterparts.
Policing Reality in Nigeria: Economic Chokehold
The existence of a large functioning police force in a country should ordinarily connote that the cost of doing business will be reduced, and properly regulated.However, the case is reversed in Nigeria. It is common knowledge that the police in Nigeria significantly undermine the rule of law. Studies have shown that 36 per cent of police bribes are paid to circumvent and speed up usual procedures, 29 percent to avoid fines and 10 per cent for no specific purpose than to “cut corners” and avoid paying the expected taxes and dues that might have otherwise generated revenue for the government. For example, because of how easy it is to bribe securities agencies in Nigeria, investors and manufacturers sometimes find it easier to avoid paying taxes and tariffs on imports and exports which might have otherwise generated revenues for the government to invest in public infrastructure capable of boosting the Nigerian economy.
Similarly, there are various instances where even if these investors and business owners are willing to pay the necessary dues, the police officers will prefer bribes. It will be almost impossible for businesses to transport goods within the country, especially from the various ports across Nigeria without setting aside some amount of money for bribes at police checkpoints in addition to paying the necessary dues.
The agricultural sector is not left out of this conundrum. A large percentage of trucks/lorries transporting agricultural produce across the country are forced to pay bribes to transport the goods across state borders. Nigerian police officers are known for demanding unmerited compensation at every roadblock, checkpoints and intersections. In utmost absurdity, the rise in food prices currently being experienced within the country has been partly attributed to the Nigerian Police. Evidence abound of Police officers demanding levies for food produce transported by road by farmers and food importers. Logistic businesses that operate large and medium-scale food deliveries are not left out. Their drivers have reportedly complained of having to go along with large sums of money in bribes whenever they are transporting food products from large-scale farmers and ports to bribe police officers at checkpoints. It is the view of the authors that these acts of bribery not only affect the price of foodstuffs but will also negatively affect the logistics companies that will be forced to charge humongous amounts to transport agricultural products. This may lead to a loss or reduction in demand for services for the logistics companies.
The ongoing racket going on at Apapa and Tin Can Port in Lagos is such example of bribery and corruption among security agencies and government officers. A cankerworm which has eaten deep into the fabrics of morality among the Nigerian police officers. The process known as ‘fast track’ witnesses truck drivers parting with between N250,000 to 500,000 per delivery, depending on the value of the products being cleared and transported to avoid their trucks being delayed.
Drivers who are unable to pay might have to watch their produce, (especially where such products are perishable) get rotten and spoilt to the point that by the time they come to claim their trucks, there is usually little to nothing left of the imported food products.
Now the effect of the expose above is that retail sellers, restaurant owners, farmers and traders who deal in food products to compensate for the huge sum of money they pay in bribes will ordinarily pass on the cost to customers. This extortive practice fans the embers of the economic hardship currently permeating the country. Farmers who operate on a large scale which arguably contribute immensely to the country’s economy, are met daily with more reasons to look for a more conducive market for their products or to think twice about their profit margins and decide whether to continue with the business or fold it up and invest in some other ventures.
Little wonder why The Guardian (a Nigerian Daily Newspaper) in an article titled “Nigerian Police, Roadblocks and the Ease of Doing Business” by Senator Sam Ohuabunwa, published on March 12, 2018, stated that if there is one place, we as a country need urgent and revolutionary change, it is the Nigeria Police (Force or Service). This is because the Nigerian Police is fully symptomatic of what is troubling Nigeria and her economy. According to the write-up, our perennial low position on Transparency International’s global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is strongly influenced by the pathetic picture of our Policemen extorting money from drivers in the full glare of the public. The good Senator also pondered how “…this practice of our Police on our roads improve our ease of doing business rating or global competitiveness?
What does this mean for Nigerian companies and investors who wish to do business in Nigeria? It means higher costs in time and money for companies carrying on businesses within the country, low or zero inflow of direct investment as the economy becomes less attractive to foreign investors, and an alarming rise in the price of commodities. Apart from corruption and bribes, a general lack of security in itself is a chokehold on the economy.
Studies have found that the most important determinant in attracting foreign investment is “trade openness”. For a country that is not an open economy, it then makes sense that investment by foreign investors will be near impossible. Likewise, for middle-income countries like Nigeria, one most important contributor to economic growth is safety and security. Where such a country suffers from insecurities, then it becomes less attractive to investors, leading to a vast reduction in foreign exchange inflow, a massive blow to the country’s economy.
In addition, it has been the experience of the authors that more often than not, expatriate clients have complained about police officers coming up with scrupulous and scandalous petitions with the singular aim of extorting money from them. Expatriates who own and carry on major business enterprises within the country are invited by agencies on baseless petitions only to be asked to pay huge sums of money in bribes on getting to the office on threat of arrest or disruption of business operations. This, in our opinion, will only operate to discourage other expatriates who may otherwise be willing to carry on businesses in Nigeria from doing so.
The Tech Ecosystem: The “Young Money Syndrome”
The infamous act of the police officers in targeting young individuals in the tech industry, under the false claim and assumptions that they are involved in illegal activities as a result of their earnings or because they carry their laptops around have had a somewhat disproportionate effect on the tech ecosystem. This is not to deny the ever-present evidence of internet fraud orchestrated by a minuscule number of Nigerian youths both within and outside the country. What is evident from a proper observance of the activities of these security agencies is that because of the bribes they might have otherwise obtained from these internet fraudsters, they tend to go after those who are making honest living in the tech industry, forcing them to pay huge sums in bribes. Anyone who witnessed the harrowing experiences of influential startup founders, Yele Badamosi and Adegoke Olubusi at the hands of the now-disbanded SARS, will think twice about investing in the tech industry or starting up a tech company in Nigeria.
This highhandedness of the police in harassing and victimising young-bright minds, arguably responsible for one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing industries is part of the major contributory factor to the brain drain currently being experienced in major sectors of the country’s economy. An effect which is not only limited to the tech sector but also the education, health and medicine, oil and gas and renewable energy, among others.
The Oil Sector
As earlier mentioned, the oil sector is not left out of the overbearing effects the actions and inactions of security agencies have on the country’s economy. Kidnapping, oil thefts, vandalism, and police corruption are recurring themes in this sector. This has occasioned some International Oil Companies to divest from onshore activities and focus more on challenging onshore ventures because of the level of corruption and insecurity being experienced.
According to the Guardian Newspaper, in 2012 in a leaked international financial data, nearly 40 per cent of Shell’s total security expenditure over the three years totalling the sum of $383m (244m euros), was spent on protecting its staff and installations in Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta region. In 2009, $ 65 million was spent on Nigerian Government forces and $75 million on “other” security costs, believed to be a mixture of private security firms and payments to individuals. According to Ben Amunwa of London-based Oil Watchdog Platform, “It is staggering that Shell transferred $65 million of company funds and resources into the hands of soldiers and police…” You will agree with me here that, no company or individual will be happy to invest in an economy where the bulk of the profits and proceeds from such investment will be spent on security and bribes for government agencies.
Need for Reforms
According to Marenin O. in a specially issued article on Public Administration and Development titled: “Style of Policing and Economic Development in African States” published on the Wiley Online Library;
“Economic development, at the minimum, requires threshold conditions of social order, political stability and governmental performance. Economic development will not occur without a societal environment that is able to provide minimal security to all, inspires confidence that the political system (the overall decision-making processes that distribute powers, resources and rights) will follow basic rules and norms with integrity, and provide the belief that the routines of life are protected and predictable to some degree.
What this means in practice is that the general populace and salient groups have confidence that the system will not be undermined by private self-interests, fraud, crime, corruption, the use of force or the general mismanagement of the economy by government and private companies. That confidence is reinforced if the public believes that there exist, and will be brought to bear, effective accountability and control mechanisms to limit the inevitable temptations experienced by people inside the political and economic systems to exploit their positions and powers for private gains.”
From the panoply of discussions as presented above, it is quite evident that at this juncture in our country’s economic journey to unobstructed development, there is a need for a clarion call for reforms, especially within the police force. This is not only necessary to address the prevalent issue of insecurity and corruption pervading the country, but also, to prevent the country’s economy from being further cauterised by the continued highhandedness of security agencies and their officials.
Investing in security infrastructures and implementing functional reforms have proved to be an effective tool of economic development in both developed countries like the United States, and Post-Conflict Countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Liberia, among others.
Partially Successful Police Reforms in Africa and Beyond; Case Study
In the United States, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks witnessed the United States Government, investing heavily in security through policy reforms and infrastructural upgrades, among others. This in retrospect, helped to create jobs and boost the country’s economy.
A study by the Brennan Centre for Justice found that states that implemented police reforms saw a decrease in crime rates and an increase in economic growth. The report concludes that considering the immense social, fiscal, and economic costs of mass incarceration, programs that improve economic opportunities, modernize policing practices, and expand treatment and rehabilitation programs, all could be a better public safety investment.
Similarly, investors became more amenable to investing in a country like Mexico, one of the high-ranking countries in notorious drug-related violence, because the government worked relentlessly to improve security, by developing security frameworks to address specifically, drug-related crimes and implementing policy reforms among its security agencies. This enabled the country to attract more foreign investment, thereby boosting her overall economic development.
In the same vein, there have been notable attempts at reforming the police in some African Countries in recent years. In countries like Kenya, the government has invested in security to protect tourists. This helped in reviving the tourism industry, a major source of revenue for the country.
“Kenya’s economy achieved broad-based growth averaging 4.8% per year between 2015-2019, significantly reducing poverty (from 36.5% in 2005 to 27.2% in 2019 ($2.15/day poverty line).”
According to Mr. James Kamula, a regional coordinator of Coastal and Marine Projects in Nairobi;
“The environment is under increasing stress due to continued overexploitation of resources. This threatens ecosystem productivity in the coastal area, and therefore economic growth. COSMAR is helping countries to include environment concerns in all development policies and actions,”
Also, according to a UN report analysing sustainable tourism in the country. The tourism sector creates jobs for 11 per cent of Kenya’s workforce. It diversifies the economy and boosts other sectors such as transport, food and beverages, entertainment and textiles. Investing in policing reforms to address security threats to tourists and those who might be interested in carrying out coastal projects within the country has contributed to Kenya’s economic growth.
Also, in South Africa, the South African Police Service (SAPS) witnessed a post-apartheid transformation which focused on three main issues, first, a change in the personnel composition and management of the SAPS; second, a shift in the underlying ideology of policing from protecting white rule to a community policing approach through the creation of community-based forums to partner with the police and to increase the flow of resources provided to black communities; what then followed is an institutional change, which witnessed the centralisation of control over the newly formed police in the post-apartheid government. The government made successful reformative policies due to the implementation of four factors as identified by Bayley (2008) , to wit; a political settlement, shared values of governance, administrative capacity and a vibrant civil society.
The South African Government enjoyed much external support due to these changes. Foreign Governments, private consultants, investors and NGOs eagerly sought to show that they were on the right side of history by carrying out aid projects and investments which inevitably led to the enormous growth of the South African economy.
Effective Police Reforms in Nigeria
Over the years, most international reformative efforts by the Nigerian Government have focused on selected aspects of policing such as improving control of transnational crimes, control of fraud, community policing reforms, and on developing professional skills in management. However, research by academics and local NGOs suggest that the performance and image of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have witnessed little change since the country’s independence in 1960, despite the focus on the above-mentioned reforms. This is as a result of a couple of factors. For one, politics still dominates the strategic and operational priorities of the NPF, especially in response to communal violence. The wishes of the political leadership, whether that leadership is the military or an elected civilian regime, still dominate. There is very little external capacity for oversight of the police, by civil society or established government oversight institutions, and the police enjoy widespread impunity.
Also, the fact that Nigeria, a country operating a Federal System of Government, composed of 36 states has one National police force centrally controlled creates numerous potentials for conflicts between the centre and the states, especially where the political parties in power at the federal and state levels differ. The sheer size of the country’s police force numbering about 340,000 also creates management and oversight problems, thereby vitiating well-intended reforms.
Take Away
The takeaway here is that changes in organizational arrangements and priorities are not likely to have an impact on street-level policing, in the absence of a clearly expressed and continuously enforced policy by effective central and local reward and sanctioning management policies, oversight and anti-corruption efforts. Second, as elsewhere, police reforms have to be supported by political will, in a political environment that grants the police some operational autonomy.
What then can be done to create a conducive environment for functional police reforms to be effective?
Suggested Approach to Functional Police Reforms
The major preconditions for any successful reform are an overall political agreement and sustained political will. This applies majorly to functional policing as they majorly challenge the major power holders in the country.
1. Re-orientation and Effective Enforcement of Fundamental Rights and Riot Control
There is a specific need for awareness sensitisation among police officers as to the behemoth value technology holds in our modern-day economy. researchers estimate that the digital economy is worth $11.5 trillion globally, equivalent to 15.5% of the global GDP, and has grown two and half times faster than global GDP over the past 15 years. The Nigerian Police force needs to be made aware of the need to promote the development of digital technology as a springboard for the country’s economic growth and the important role the Nigerian youth has to play in this sector. The traditional mindset that a young vibrant youth cannot legally amass wealth should take a back seat in the enforcement of our security policies. Technology is highly rewarding, and the possibilities achievable through its utilisation are endless. Incessant clamping down on young entrepreneurs should be revisited. Proper investigations and findings should be made to ascertain incidences of financial fraud. This will ensure that more individuals are encouraged to invest in the technology sector.
Similarly, the tenets and core values of the police force and other security agencies should be re-engraved in the minds of every officer. Upholding the rights of every citizen and enforcing laws and statutes regulating the operations of both local and foreign businesses should not be left on the pages of the Constitution and other relevant regulations. Active steps should be taken towards ensuring that every officer plays by the book. All hands must be on deck to ensure that wherever riots break out within the country, security agencies and riot control units operate in a way that does not encourage further riots and destruction of properties as inept and brutal riot control tends to do.
2. Increase Salaries and Entitlements
There is no gain saying that the salary of an average police officer in Nigeria is nothing short of atrocious which leads to deflation in the morale of affected officers. A police officer below the rank of Inspector General of Police earns less than 80,000 naira per month. While this does not excuse the incessant bribes and corruption within the police force, an increase in remuneration and benefits will go a long way in easing the poverty rate among the officers, thereby eradicating the need to constantly demand bribes or extort businesses.
We also recommend that the Federal Government ensures beneficiaries of the Group Life Insurance Scheme provided for Police Personnel can claim same without the hassles of red tape/bureaucracy. This will go a long way in encouraging the police officers and men/women who have been working hard to ensure the security of lives and property across the country.
3. Investing in More Stringent Anti-Corruption Policies
Economic mismanagement, fraud and corruption are tightly linked to ineffective policy reforms. Addressing this will require strong investigative capabilities by the police and other security agencies as well as the political will to allow investigations into cases of corruption and mismanagement and the ensuing sanctions to run their course. This can be done by putting in place more stringent anti-corruption policies and backing them up with effective enforcement and sanctions. Also, the control of high-level corruption and organized transnational crime requires sophisticated investigative techniques, equipment and skills.
4. Border Controls and Improved Habour and Airport Security
Control of borders and improved harbour and airport security are essential to control smuggling and protect commercial import and export activities. Harbours are often controlled by armed gangs who loot ships and warehouses. At airports, gangs have been known to stop planes as they taxi and empty their cargo holds. Appropriate equipment and the use of specially trained units could assist in dealing with these sorts of specific security threats to international and local economic activities.
5. Rigid and More Rigorous Procedure for Selection of Members of the Police Force
The procedure for qualification and admission into the Police Academy for members of the police force is somewhat lax and too flexible in Nigeria. There is a need to make this procedure more rigid so that whoever is going to be admitted into the Nigeria Police Academy would have gone through some rigorous scrutinization process and background checks before being admitted into the academy. It will also help if the curriculum at the academy is revised to include more humanitarian and functional courses that will equip graduates from the Nigerian Police Academy with the necessary skillset to be able to address the security challenges within the country.
6. Encouraging Interests in Local Politics by Foreign Investors and International Reformers
The most essential element for functional policy reform to be effective in promoting economic development is the need for investors and international reformers to learn how to play local politics. For such players to be successful within the country, they cannot refuse to be drawn into local events. According to Donais T. (2008), Police reforms are political reforms for they alter the existing distribution of authority, powers, benefits and rights. Policing reforms will always be resisted by some and supported by other local stakeholders. There will be perceived losers and winners. Reformers and implementers need to play hardball with those who oppose reforms and not let them become “spoilers.” Reformers need to find or create supportive stakeholders and promote them as much as possible.
Policing reforms will only become effective in promoting economic growth in a country like Nigeria if the minimal threshold conditions for social order are achieved. A community implementation of all the above suggestions is subsumed into these threshold conditions, and it is only after this threshold has been crossed, that policing reforms will become functional, sustainable and legitimate.
7. Implementation of State Police/Policing
In order to complete law enforcement and policing triangle, it is suggested that state police be implemented. States already have divisions of High Courts, Magistrate Courts, and Customary Courts. The State is in a ready position to establish state policing in order to address the high incidences of insecurity in various states across the country. The clamour for state police is made more prominent in the various news reports periodically published by Nigerian Newspapers, one of which is a recent publication by Guardian Newspaper in what can be described as an open letter to the president, titled “Mr President, We Need State Police”. Establishing State Police as part of the country’s security architecture will go a long way in ensuring prompt response to issues of insecurity especially cases of emergencies. What is more, states can raise revenues and make local policies to regulate Police operations within the states.
8. Amendment of the Nigeria Police Act 2020 to include Independent Investigating Bodies
Nigeria can take a page out of the United Kingdom’s (UK) policing policies by amending the Nigeria Police Act to include the establishment of an independent investigating body or ombudsman infused with the powers to investigate allegations against erring police officers. For example, the UK’s Policing and Crime Act 2017 and Police Reforms Act 2002, grant separate powers to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a non-departmental public body, which succeeded the erstwhile Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), to oversee the police complaint’s system in England and Wales, investigate the most serious matters relating to police conduct, and improve police practices through shared learning.
Also, there are countries like Northern Ireland, among others who have established the Office of Police Ombudsman with the statutory duty of securing an efficient and effective independent complaint system, saddled with the responsibility of receiving and investigating complaints and allegations against conducts of police officers.
It is expedient that Nigeria amends her Police Act to include similar independent bodies to address issues of police highhandedness and conduct unworthy of the uniform, independent of the Nigeria Police Force as a body. The Nigerian Police Act 2020, only makes provisions in its Part XV, granting the Director General of Police the power to establish a Police Complaint Response Unit to be headed by an officer not below the rank of Chief Superintendent of Police. This, in essence implies that the receipt of complaint, investigation and recommendation as to disciplinary actions are all treated within the police force and supervised by police officers.
Establishing an independent body to investigate complaint’ and allegations against police officers will not only ensure that the investigations are carried out without prejudice, but will also replenish the already depleted trust and confidence in public policing, while ensuring that erring officers are adequately investigated and disciplined.
9. Discipline of erring officers
Increased disciplinary measures will also help in discouraging involvement in extortive practices. Disciplinary measures cannot be successfully implemented without focusing on eliminating external safe havens for large-scale corrupt gains. This will ensure that High-level politicians, the so-called big men and women and high-ranking police officials who are in the position to steal massive sums from public treasuries and take huge sums as bribes have no safe havens to spend their ill-gotten gains. Every bank account should be investigated upon such officials leaving office, and every property and asset should be audited.
Ogbonna Chukwumerije Esq., is a Team Lead at Pinheiro LP, his core areas of interest and practise are Intellectual Property Law, Technology Law and Environmental Law.
Emmanuel Oluwaseun Olukanni Esq , is an Associate at Pinheiro LP, his core area of interest and practice are Technology Law, International Trade and Investment Law, Litigation and ADR.
Legal and financial experts have called for an efficient legal and regulatory framework for business restructuring and insolvency.
They said there was a need for a special court to ease the resolution of insolvency cases, as well as more government support and financing for businesses.
They spoke in Lagos at the 2023 international conference of the Business Recovery & Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN).
It had the theme: “Insolvency and restructuring law and practice in Nigeria: Looking to the Future.”
Speakers examined how to restructure Nigeria’s rising debt burden, which hit N87.38trillion at the end of the second quarter.
They also explored how the country’s restructuring and insolvency framework can be optimally utilised as a tool for economic growth.
The two-day event opened with keynote speeches by former Attorney-General of the Federation Mr Kanu Agabi (SAN), and President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Ken Opara.
Agabi noted that some corporate entities become insolvent due to a lack of support from the government, and a weak regulatory framework.
“Wrong government policies are responsible for the collapse of businesses and the naira,” the former AGF said.
He urged the government to do more to help businesses survive, especially by cutting down on imports.
Agabi faulted the importation of over 70 per cent of the goods consumed, saying no economy can grow that way.
“The business environment is not conducive. The government must go out of its way to help businesses,” he said.
The former AGF slammed what he described as a patronage system in which merit does not count.
Dr Opara, represented by CIBN Director of Economics & Strategy, Dr Oreitan Adigun, said the existing legal framework for business recovery and insolvency practice is “stagnant”.
He stressed the need to continually enhance the capacity of insolvency practitioners.
To him, the finance industry is the economic lifeblood, while the legal sector is the backbone that provides its structure, stability and protection – both working together for a powerful economic system.
Dr Opara said: “In the ever-evolving landscape of finance and economics, the importance of insolvency and restructuring law cannot be overstated.
“These areas play a pivotal role in ensuring stability and resilience of our financial system, protecting investors and facilitating economic growth.”
Citing a World Bank report, he noted that Nigeria ranks 157 out of 190 economies in the world in terms of ease of resolving insolvency cases, with a total score of 28.6 out of 100, performing below the regional average of sub-Saharan Africa of about 35 points and the global average of 50.1.
He said despite the insolvency regulations introduced by the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), there are still challenges and gaps that need to be addressed.
These gaps, the CIBN President said, can be addressed by creating a comprehensive framework for cross-border insolvency recognition and enforcement, establishing a specialised court or tribunal for insolvency matters, and enhancing the capacity of practitioners.
Senior Partner at Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors, Dr Anthony Idigbe (SAN), who chaired the first session, stressed the need for an effective legal framework and strong supporting institutions for insolvency management.
He said: “For insolvency and restructuring to have the desired impact, there must be an effective legal framework, supporting government policies and competent institutions and professionals.
“Other requirements are adequate insolvency and bankruptcy laws, efficient judicial systems, access to financing for business restructuring, and professional expertise.”
Pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Business Law (SBL), George Etomi, spoke on the need to open up the legal service space through the AfCFTA.
Dismissing fears that opening up the borders to foreign lawyers could take jobs away, he said it was only a matter of time before cross-border legal service became the norm.
“If we don’t broaden our focus, we’ll be like big fishes in small ponds. We need to remove the mental block that we’re threatened.
“We should amend the Legal Practitioners Act and make allowance for others to come and practice here,” Etomi said.
Associate Professor at Singapore Management University, Dr Aurelie Gurrea-Martinez, called for a further amendment of laws “to make insolvency proceedings more efficient”.
He added: “We need to think about insolvency laws differently, and insolvency tools should be optimisable for growth and for maximising returns.”
Gurrea-Martinez urged the government to address issues around institutional weaknesses, weak rule of law and corruption, which he noted are “big problems” in most emerging economies, including Nigeria.
BRIPAN President, Mr Richard Akintunde, said the economic reforms of the Bola Tinubu Administration have resulted in the high cost of petrol, high exchange rate, rise in the cost of food, among others.
All of these, he noted, provide opportunities for insolvency practitioners.
Akintunde said: “Businesses are feeling the pinch of these economic reforms. According to the President of the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), 10 per cent of about 40 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have shut down their operations since the removal of the petrol subsidy.
“Some international companies have either scaled down their business operations or shut down completely. Rising public debt is also a matter of serious concern.
“These kinds of problems create opportunities for Insolvency practitioners.
“As leaders in the restructuring and insolvency space in Nigeria and with the network of practitioners we have all over the world, BRIPAN is poised to provide rescue solutions and other options for a prosperous and sustainable future for businesses and companies in Nigeria.”
Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Mr Albert Folorunsho, said in choosing the theme, BRIPAN took into cognisance the significant reforms in the insolvency and restructuring space in recent times.
“In the last three years, Nigeria’s 30-year-old CAMA, 21-year-old Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and 14-year-old Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation have been repealed and re-enacted,” he said.
According to him, the conference was designed to examine, forecast and chart a future course for insolvency and restructuring law and practice in Nigeria.
Other economists, legal and financial experts who spoke were Dr Chinyere Almona, Dr Olusegun Omisakin, Olawale Akoni (SAN), Justice Ebiowei Tobi of the Court of Appeal, Dr Olawakemi Pinheiro (SAN), Mr Kofo Salam-Alada and Henry Fomah.
Others were Ms Oluwaseun Mamoye, Richard Healey, Ms. Samira Musayeva, Amala Umeike, Rogers Turyasingura, Michael Out, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Oluwaseyi Fayemi, Bidemi Olumide, Ms. Jenifer Omonhe and David Ekanem.
The conference ended with a gala night, which had the theme: “Africa futurism”.
Benjamin Amede’s law student friends often described him as educated but not learned. Their words became a major motivation for his choice of Law as a second degree. Amede, a Delta State University (DELSU) graduate and the ninth child of his mum’s 10 children, shares his law journey story with Anne Agbi.
Introduction
My name is Benjamin Amede. I’m from Ughelli South, Delta State. I’m 38 years old and married. I was called to the Bar in 2021, so I have been practising for three years. I’m a legal practitioner at R. Akpohalino & CO, Oleh, Delta State. I attended Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka and the Nigerian Law School, Yola. I would describe myself as a smart and humble person. My hobbies are reading, singing, and adventuring.
Family
I am from a polygamous family. My mum is the first wife. I am number nine of 10 children from my mum. We are six males and four females. We are all married. My family is a combination of different professionals ranging from a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, and engineers. I’m the only lawyer. I have two kids a girl and a boy. My wife, who is also from Delta State, is an engineer, black and beautiful.
Choice of law
My law student friends usually told me I was educated but not learned. So I used to read their law textbooks when they were out. One day they were arguing as usual – two law students are not often on the same page – so I joined one of them to prove a point, and they were shocked. That was how they encouraged me to pick a form, saying I could be very good at law. Like a joke, that was how the journey began; I went to law school and became a lawyer. The only painful part is that one of my friends who encouraged me to study Law fell out and couldn’t complete the course. If I wasn’t a lawyer, I would have become a musician.
High, low moments
I don’t think I ever had high or low moments. Anything I do, I try to put in my best. For me, everything went well. Provided people are moving, I must move.
Overcoming challenges
One challenge I had then was getting threats from different angles when the Student Union Government (SUG) elections were to be conducted. I was told that the person I endorsed should step down because his rival was the son of the Dean. But I insisted they go to the field. To cut the story short, we won the election.
The second challenge was that I had adopted a classmate of mine as my assistant (a girl). After the exams, she got an F which was a fail grade. Meanwhile, the night before the exam,s she called me and we studied together and on exam day what we read came out. I took her and drove to the Vice Chancellor’s office at Abraka. There was no explanation, for her failure; the said lecturer was removed from his post of Head of Department (HOD) and she had to rewrite the exam. She lost one year due to the incident, but to God be the glory she has been called to Bar now.
Formula for scaling through Law School
Very simple, I attended classes, slept and ate well, participated in group reading, studied past questions, and was positive-minded.
Is Law boring?
For me, it was fun all through school; many people came around me and made me happy.
Call to Bar was not a big deal for me. I enjoyed with my friends. I was already married then but my wife had to work and could not follow me to Abuja. And again there were plenty of bills to pay for people, too many calls for wigs and gowns, and other many payments. When I got home, my wife and my two kids went for an outing.
Law School grading system
Yes, there is a problem with the Law School grading system; I think they should make it just like the university grading system.
Should wig/gown be scrapped?
No, the wig and gown are part of the profession, but in practice, I think we should move away from the complex regalia of dressing like Reverend Fathers. This is because our courtrooms are not air-conditioned; some do not even have fans.
SAN, Professor or Judge?
I would like to be a SAN and a professor. I do not want to be a judge.
Exodus of lawyers from the profession/country.
For lawyers, the exodus is even minimal; no doctors are remaining in Nigeria anymore. Even nurses are no longer here. We only have a few pharmacists remaining. If any lawyer wants to venture into other career opportunities, I will encourage him. If it’s to travel outside the country, I also will because there is no hope for this country called Nigeria, I plan to leave the country very soon.
Lessons from law practice
While I’m still learning, so far I have observed that senior lawyers do not pay well. I think young lawyers should find a hustle outside the job; the principal will not always pay well. Till date, I’m not being paid. They only give us appearance fees. The salary a young lawyer should earn is dependent on the office. You can’t give what you don’t have. Remember, most lawyers can’t even survive well, let alone, pay others. But for those that are doing well N150,000 (monthly) is okay to start with.
Advice to lawyers
My advice is that young lawyers should think outside the box. Lawyers should not be suffering because the law profession is dynamic. Lawyers can feature in different kinds of jobs. They should not limit themselves rather, they should be versatile.
Any other business aside from law
Yes, but I don’t want to speak about my first career and profession. Law is my second degree, so I get money through my first career. I think every lawyer out there should do the same, especially the young ones, they must look beyond appearance fees, drafting fees, and so on.
The future
I’m currently running my master’s programme.
Memorable law journey experience
The little I can remember is my giving back to society through assisting students. I was the chairman of the Elders Forum. We usually compiled a list of students who genuinely couldn’t pay their tuition and we contributed money to pay for them. The one that touched me most was when I was called out of the exam hall when a student was prevented from writing exams and a lecturer asked them to look for me. I told them to allow him to write that after the exams I would pay the said school fee. I also placed some students on very little stipends like N5,000 and N10,000 throughout their sessions at the law school. I contributed to many people’s law school fees because I know life is not easy. At Yola, a good friend I met, Mr. Kwajafa from Borno, and I usually deposited money at a restaurant for students to eat.
It is reportedly the first African country to do so.
The ISSB standards build significantly from existing reporting frameworks and standards.
Its four key objectives are to develop standards for a global baseline of sustainability disclosures; to meet the information needs of investors; to enable companies to provide comprehensive sustainability information to global capital markets; and to facilitate interoperability with disclosures that are jurisdiction-specific and/or aimed at broader stakeholder groups.
At their core, the ISSB standards will enable investors and other capital market participants to make informed investment decisions by providing information about companies’ sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
Sustainability factors are becoming a mainstream part of investment decision-making as there are increasing calls for companies to provide high-quality, globally comparable information on sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
These were disclosed by the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) Ambassador Shuaibu Ahmed at the 2023 Annual Corporate Governance Conference.
Speaking under the theme: “ESG and Corporate Governance: Aligning Strategies for Sustainable Success”, Ahmed, who was the guest speaker, said the world of corporate governance has undergone tremendous change due to the emergence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
He stresses that with the ESG, the corporate governance world has taken a more serious look at issues of the environment, labour and social responsibility.
He noted that a road map for the implementation of ESG in the Nigerian public sector will soon be launched.
The keynote speaker, Dr. Jackie Chimhanzi, noted that human rights, labour, environment, and corruption are problems associated with corporate governance, which ESG addresses.
President of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, Mr. Muhammed Ahmad, stated that issues around environmental responsibility are no longer a thing of choice for corporate organisations because they affect them.
Discussants at the event included Mark Hoffman, Mrs. Chioma Afe, Ngozi Edozien, as well as Adebayo Amzat.
Also present were the Director General/ Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Directors, Tijjani Borodo; Alhaji Garba Abubakar, Mr Ibrahim Dasok Arabi, amongst others.
