The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • The second defendant

    The last two men to get in the dock were dangerous people.One of them had killed their fellow worker, beating him to death with his fists.

    Together, both men hid the body, the prosecution told the judge.

    The incident happened in March 2016, in Ojokoro, a Lagos suburb.

    When they and other prisoners marched into the Lagos Island courtroom that Tuesday morning, there were two armed prison wardens in tow.

    Soon after, the registrar – a tall, slim, well-dressed man with a greying beard – summoned the duo into the dock.

    Now both defendants stood in that special small box on the left of the gallery, where all suspects in Her Lordship’s court stay.

    You could not look either man in the eye: they kept their heads bowed, chin on the chest. One barely made out their solemn facial expressions.

    The features of the defendant on the right did not fit the crime – fair-skinned, healthy-looking and pleasant-faced – he looked more like his name: Emmanuel, or ‘God with us.’

    It was the second defendant on the left – dark and rugged – that caused the court some problems.

    Mohammed – Arabic for ‘Praiseworthy’ – that was his first name.

    Mo had superpowers.

    Last February 20, both men stood in the same dock, charged with the same offences.

    But while Emmanuel pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge, Mo stopped the court from taking his own plea.

    The judge, a no-nonsense arbiter, could do nothing. Her Lordship adjourned for a week.

    But this time, the court was prepared.

    As both men stood, waiting in their corner, the judge gave an order.

    At once, the registrar stood, searched for a face in the gallery and spoke a name.

    The man who rose from the long bench, two rows in front of me, walked quickly to the space between the Bar and the Bench. He bowed before the judge and turned in the defendants’ direction.

    His neat silver-grey suit was cut to size; had he not left the buttons undone, his slightly chubby frame would have seemed slimmer.

    If Mo was Superman, this man was kryptonite.

    Mo was not literate in English, the language of the court. He understood only Hausa.

    This was the reason for the adjournment.

    The new man was an interpreter.

    His blue tie swayed in the breeze of the big fan by the corner as the registrar swore him to an oath of truth.

    He took his place in front of Mo.

    But, for some strange reason, everyone seemed to be getting their lines mixed up. Perhaps it was Mo’s power again.

    The registrar read the first count on the charge in English. The interpreter interpreted to Mo.

    Registrar: “Are you guilty or not guilty?”

    Interpreter: “Ka a mince da zargan da a ke maka ko aa?

    But Mo didn’t take his plea. Instead he began a monologue.

    When he was done, the interpreter turned to the judge.

    “He said he did some of it but not all.”

    Her Lordship would have none of it.

    “Ask him to take his plea,” the judge told the registrar who conveyed the message to the interpreter.

    But Mo appeared flustered. Again, his response was the same.

    That was when it was observed that they had read mo the wrong charge: it was Emmanuel that was standing trial on the first count of murder – not Mo.

    Again, Mo waited as the registrar read and the interpreter translated count two to him.

    He was accused of aiding Emmanuel’s escape by helping to dispose the body of the man Emmanuel allegedly beat to death.

    It carried a two-year jail term.

    But Mo still didn’t take his plea.

    He conversed with the interpreter who translated to the judge.

    “I didn’t help to hide the body, but I was aware the first defendant murdered someone.”

    When the court insisted he take his plea, Mo pleaded guilty.

    But the judge was not satisfied.

    She said: “By pleading guilty, does he understand the meaning? Read it to him again.”

    When the charge was re-read to him, Mo still seemed to be confused.

    Nevertheless, he said: “I did.”

    Interpreter: Ka yi? (Did you?)

    Mo: “Na yi” (I did)

    Interpreter: Ka yi? (Did you?)

    Mo: “Na yi” (I did)

    Interpreter: Ka yi? (Did you?)

    Mo: “Na yi” (I did).

    Satisfied, the judge said: “The court finds the second defendant guilty as charged.”

    A woman sighed. A voice behind me murmured.

    When the judge called for an allocutus, Mo’s lawyer, a man in his 20s or early 30s, got up from a bench on the second row.

    He gave a long-winded monologue on why the court ought to tamper justice with mercy.

    I was bored.

    So was everyone else, or so I imagined. Her Lordship didn’t dally when the lawyer resumed his seat.

    But Mo could not have imagined what happened next.

    The judge said: “The offence the second defendant is charged with, according to the law, carries a maximum punishment of two years imprisonment.

    “The information before the court shows that the defendant has been in custody since March 2016.

    “The defendant has therefore duly served his punishment. He is hereby discharged.”

    But the interpreter must not have done a good job, or so it appeared, because Mo did not understand.

    He remained in the dock, looking from the interpreter to the registrar to the judge, confused.

    He had pleaded guilty. He must have been wondering if it was a joke.

    But the registrar and interpreter motioned for him to exit the dock.

    Slowly, Mo walked to the long bench in the left back corner of the gallery and took a seat near the other suspects, who looked at him in wonder.

  • Tasks before new Industrial Court chief registrar

    Olurotimi Williams Daudu has assumed duties as Chief Registrar (CR) of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) following his confirmation by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). Eric Ikhilae writes on the tasks before him.

    Until his confirmation by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) on March 8, Olurotimi Williams Daudu acted as Chief Registrar (CR) of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), following the exit of John Iyorngee Targema last July.

    Since his confirmation, members of the legal community have continued to eulogise him, with many arguing that his appointment conformed with Section 37 (1) of the NIC Act, which stipulates, among others, that the FJSC “may from time to time, appoint a fit and proper person to be the Chief Registrar of the court …”

    A former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), said Daudu’s appointment was well-deserved.

    Kayode, President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), was optimistic that, with his track record, Daudu would surpass expectations.

    He said: “As a chartered mediator, who has undergone several capacity building trainings, locally and globally, on courses relating to court administration, case management, labour and industrial relations law, practice and procedure, Alternative Dispute Resolution, (ADR), who is equally adequately equipped with high level of proficiency in the use of modern day technology, his wealth of knowledge is of great essence to NICN.”

    The ex-AGF was further quoted in a congratulatory message issued by ACCI’s Media and Protocol Officer, Lubem Gena, as saying: “It is therefore, with great joy that I received the appointment of Dauda Esq. as the substantive Chief Registrar of the NICN. I view this appointment and a well-deserved and also a timely one.

    “With the track record of achievements and the niche he has carved for himself, I have no doubt that he will perfectly perform the duties and responsibilities of his office consequent upon which justice administration in this critical area will be positively affected.”

    Others have also observed that his law background and training as a consummate court administrator would be of great benefit to the court, because Daudu mounted the saddle at a time the NICN was beginning to attract enhanced attention in view of the 2017 decision of the Supreme Court, which cleared the air on the earlier assumption that there was restriction on the right of appeal in relation to the court’s decisions.

    Before the judgment, the general impression had been that Section 9(1) & (2) of the NIC Act and Section 243(2) and (3) of the Constitution (Third Alteration) Act 2010 limited instances of right of appeal from decisions of the NIC.

    But, a five-man panel of the Supreme Court, in the judgment delivered last June 30, in a majority decision of four against one, held that the Court of Appeal was with exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all decisions of the NIC.

    The apex court held among others, that the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal to hear and determine all civil appeals on decisions of the NIC was not limited to only fundamental human rights.

    Justice Centus Nweze, who read the lead (majority) judgment, identified the key issue to be determined as, “Whether the Court of Appeal, as an appellate court created by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has the jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other court of law in Nigeria, to hear and determine appeals arising from decisions of the NIC.”

    Justice Nweze held: “The lower court, that is, the Court of Appeal, has the jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other court in Nigeria, to hear and determine all appeals arising from the decisions of the trial court. No constitutional provision expressly divested the said Court of Appeal of its appellate jurisdiction over all decisions on civil matters emanating from the trial court.

    “And, as a corollary, the jurisdiction of the court to hear and determine all civil appeal on decisions of the National Industrial Court is not limited to only fundamental human rights.These shall be the opinions of this court and shall be transmitted to the Lagos division of the Court of Appeal for its guidance in determining the appeal before it.”

    Justice Kumai Akaahs, however, gave a minority judgment disagreeing with the majority opinion. He believed that leave of the Court of Appeal was required to hear an appeal against NIC’s decisions on strictly civil matters.

    Justice Akaahs said beside criminal and fundamental rights decisions, there was need for leave of the Court of Appeal to appeal purely civil cases.

    The judgment of the apex court was on an appeal marked SC/885/2014, filed by Skye Bank Plc, with Victor Anaemem Iwu as respondent, as a referral from the Court of Appeal, Lagos on constitutional questions.

    Being NICN’s CR

    A Chief Registrar of the NICN is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating the activities of the court’s five core departments, namely Personnel, Litigation, Finance & Accounts, Procurement & Stores and Library.

    He works closely with the court’s President and must ensure the court’s seamless functioning.

    The CR’s functions is further spelt out in Section 37 (1) of the NIC Act.

    He is seized of custody of the court’s records and “shall perform such duties in execution of the powers and authorities of the court as may, from time to time, be assigned to him by Rules of Court and, subject thereto, by any special order of the President of the court.”

    The man Daudu

    Daudu obtained his first degree in Law from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife in 1997. He was called to the Bar in 1999.

    In 2000, he obtained his first Master’s Degree in Law (LLM) from OAU, and another LLM from the University of Calgary, Canada (2008) under the Government of Canada funded research programme.

    Daudu, a certified Mediator by the Henning Mediation Centre, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A, is a Fellow of the Weinstein International Fellowship in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

    He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Bar Association (IBA), the IBA Committee on Academic & Professional Development Associate, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – UK & North America, among others.

    Daudu was an active student unionist in his undergraduate days. He represented the faculty of law at the Students’ Representatives Council (SRC) between 1993 and 994; was the Chairman of the old Ondo State Students’ Union, OAU in 1994 and served as the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Great Ife Students Union’s Caretaker Committee in 1995.

    His career path

    Daudu began his career in private practice at Chief Adeniyi & Co between 1999 and 2000 when he joined the Ondo State Ministry of Justice as a State Counsel. He rose to the position of Assistant Chief Legal Officer. After obtaining his second LLM, he worked in the capacity of Legal Support at the Calgary Prosecutors Office, Alberta, Canada.

    On his return to Nigeria in 2010, Daudu joined the NICN as the Special Assistant to the Court’s President. He held this position until his appointment in 2017 as the Acting Chief Registrar.

    He ensured, for the first time in the court’s history, the organisation of an end-of-year party and award night to appreciate members of staff.

    Bula Shuaibu Gajere (from Gombe State) of the Accounts Department, was honoured as the staff of the year at the well-attended event, which held last December 19.

    Daudu’s speech at the event gave staffers a peep into his mind. He did not only appreciate them for their dedication and sacrifice to work, Daudu promised that the court would continue to provide them with a conducive work environment.

    He assured them that their welfare would to be of top priority to management and urged them to improve on their commitment to duty.

    Daudu further assured them that the end-of-year award night had come to stay.

    This, among others, perhaps, accounted for the enthusiasm with which the court’s staffers received Daudu’s confirmation as the substantive Chief Registrar.

  • Court delivers judgment tomorrow on Isara Remo stool

    Justice A.A. Babawale of a Sagamu High Court in Ogun State will tomorrow deliver judgment in a suit filed by Prince Adetayo Odunsi challenging the nomination of Albert Mayungbe to the stool of Odemo of Isara-Remo.

    Co-defendants in the suit are Chief Wasiu Ekundayo who replaced the deceased head of the family, Prince Obafemi Awoyade, Secretary, Remo North Local Government; Oliwo of Isara, Chief Ajibowu Ogunfowodu; Apena of Isara, Chief Jimoh Soyombo; Chief Ladipo Ogunyemi; Ogbeni Odi of Isara, Chief Olajubu Osibote; Ekeji Asipa Odi, Chief Tunde Kalejaiye and Asipa Odi of Isara, Chief Owuye Logba.

    Others are Ekeji Asipa Odi of Isara, Chief Efuwape Sotikare; Olori Emo of Isara, Chief Bashiru Awoniyi; Ekeji Olori Emo of Isara, Chief Korede Ogunwole; Asipa Emo of Isara, Chief Nosiru Sodipe; Ekeji Asipa Emo, Chief Adewole Sopitan; Governor of Ogun State; Executive Council of Ogun State; Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Local Government and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice as second to 18th defendants respectively.

    At the last hearing, the parties adopted their final written addresses.

    The claimant was represented  by Mr Muyiwa Obanewa,  the first, sixth to tenth and fourteenth defendants were represented by Dr Victor Odunaiya while Principal State Counsel, Mrs O.O. Adejumo represented the fifteenth to eighteenth defendants.

    In the suit, Prince Odunsi , who claimed to be a direct descendant of the late Oba Oyemade Mayungbe and progenitor of Erinsiba-Ayoledoye Ruling House, averred that he is the one entitled to the stool of Odemo of Isara-Remo.

    Odunsi sought seven prayers and orders against the defendants including: “A declaration that the first defendant is not a member of the Erinsiba-Adyoledoye Ruling House and therefore, not qualified to contest for the stool;

    “That under native law and custom applicable in Isara and Remoland generally, an Odi (servant of the king) or any of his descendants is not qualified to contest for the stool of Odemo of Isara;

    “That the first defendant’s late grandfather and father, late Ogunsakin and Oyekunle Mayungbe were Odi to the late Oba Samuel Akinsanya and late Oba Adeboboye Osideinde, therefore, not qualified to aspire or to be considered for nomination to the stool”.

    He also sought an order of the court setting aside the February 21, 2011 nomination exercise of the Ruling House during which the first defendant emerged as one of the candidates for the Odemo of Isara chieftaincy, among others.

    The first defendant, Albert Mayungbe, insisted on being a “bonafide member and descendant of the Erinsiba/Ayoledoye Ruling House.

  • Disrupting the law

    Candice Pillay is a Partner at Hogan Lovells, a Johannesburg law firm. She coordinates the firm’s citizenship and pro bono activities and heads its enterprise development and social entrepreneurship practice. The firm’s lawyers provide pro bono legal assistance and access to justice. In this article, Pillay writes on how to bring innovations to law.

    As developing countries continue to gain access to technology and begin to innovate existing systems, it has become clear that technology has stopped being an end in itself but an instrumental tool and means to accelerate growth and development.

    For more than a decade, African economies have exceeded the global average for growth and this acceleration has been mirrored by the advancement of innovation on the continent. But what has been particularly interesting about these technological advancements is that they exemplify a rejection of “growth for growth’s sake” – innovators in Africa have been developing systems that talk specifically to African particularities and key challenges.

    The internet has played a major role in the democratisation of technology and knowledge. If the cultural impact of this has been the challenging of conceptions of expertise, what implications does this have for the legal industry? At Hogan Lovells, a firm that prides itself in its dedication to promoting access to legal services for all, we believe that technology can be instrumental in improving systems to ensure that justice is accessible to everyone.

     The Hackathon

    This is why we partnered with The Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law (HiiL) that brought its prestigious event for legal and justice innovators, Global Legal Hackathon (globallegalhackathon.com), to South Africa for the first time this February. The event will see local innovators compete for a place at a New York showcase of the best law-tech innovations in the world. Global Legal Hackathon took place over three days, from 23-25 February at the Tshimologong Precinct in Johannesburg, South Africa, and teams developed technology-led solutions to pressing justice problems. Whether it’s improving the business and practice of law with blockchain and AI, or helping with good government, legal systems and access to justice, this is an opportunity for justice entrepreneurs to build on existing ideas, or to create a team around an entirely new concept for justice innovation.

     Innovating the law

    Innovations can range from improvements to contracting and supply chains, to solutions to social justice issues. Two South African entrepreneurs took top honours in the 2017 Innovating Justice Challenge (IJC), impressing a 300-strong crowd of lawyers, politicians and activists at the Innovating Justice Forum at Peace Palace in The Hague last December. With new initiatives such as Global Legal Hackathon, HiiL Southern Africa, in association with Hogan Lovells, plans to help even more start-ups in the justice sector to achieve success.

    According to Connor Sattely, Business Accelerator Agent at HiiL, “having quantifiable, measurable, and verifiable data about justice needs and the challenges in a justice system is essential for the legal profession to move into the 21st century.

    ”Justice systems and legal services have been accused of being regressive, hierarchical and elitist. Billions of people risk becoming powerless when faced with land disputes, crime, divorce, consumer problems, unfair dismissal, disagreements with a neighbour or landlord, grievance with a public authority, or a business/contractual conflict.” (http://www.hiil.org/about-us).

    Even when people can afford legal services, their issues may be left unresolved for a multitude of reasons including a lack of responsiveness of legal providers to the ever-changing environments in which legal systems exist.

     Access to justice for all

    In South Africa alone, nearly a million people access legal services through legal aid, a number which excludes the pro bono efforts of the countries law firms. “It’s simply not enough to have protective laws, functional institutions or progressive constitutions. Accessing justice is fundamental to enacting the rule of law and legal aid is a precondition for effecting it, by providing assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation,” says Justice Mlambo, Chairperson of Legal Aid South Africa.

    Legal issues are seldom isolated, and are often informed by or resultant of various other factors ranging from socio-economic constraints to mental-health concerns. It is vital that justice systems, the legal industry and its providers be committed to mitigating these challenges through innovative thinking. But limiting this innovation to those already with the industry would be tantamount to the elitism the field has been charged with. That is why initiatives like Global Legal Hackathon are so important. Justice systems are there to serve and protect the citizens of the world – who better to navigate its innovation than the ordinary people that are its main constituents?

  • Lawyer hails NBA section’s revival

    Former Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) president Mrs. F. Boma Ayomide Alabi has described the revival of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Legal Practice (SLP) as timely. The section was inactive for sometime.

    Following its revival under Mrs. Miannaya Essien’s (SAN) chairmanship, it plans to hold a conference in Port Harcourt on April 13. The theme is: Re-thinking and re-tooling legal practice for the challenges of our time.

    According to Mrs Alabi, the conference, which is designed for all lawyers irrespective of area of practice, could not have come at a better time.

    “I am particularly pleased that it is taking place in Port Harcourt as it brings the training closer home for our colleagues in the Southsouth and Southeast.

    “Lawyers from Bayelsa, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Anambra, Abia and even Delta are all within a fairly short driving distance of Port Harcourt and so, hopefully will take advantage of the SLP conference being effectively in their neck of the woods to attend,”she said.

    On her expectations, she said: “The theme of the conference says it all. We have to continuously examine our processes and how we serve our clients to ensure that we deliver best practice in all areas, and benchmark against our colleagues and competitors in other jurisdictions.”

    On the international content of the conference, Mrs Alabi said: “The Chairperson of the NBA-SLP  is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association.

    “So, an invitation was extended to the President, Santhan  Krishan, who has graciously accepted to come all the way from New Delhi, India.

    “He will be accompanied by the Council Member for West Africa, Nene Amegatcher, who incidentally is the former President of the Ghana Bar Association.

    “Some excellent speakers on topics that will enhance every lawyer’s practice, especially those in private practice, have been lined up.

    “But then, the taste of the pudding as they say, is in the eating. So, I would encourage everyone to attend. Places are going so fast and early bird is almost over.”

  • Lagos partners police on training

    Lagos State is committed to building the capacity of policemen to fight crime, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Adeniji Kazeem has said.

    He spoke when Yetunde Longe, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in charge of State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, led a team of senior officers to visit him in Ikeja.

    Kazeem urged them not to hesitate to seek his support and the collaboration of his ministry in the fight against crime.

    He expressed his appreciation to the team for the visit and used the opportunity to explain in detail areas of training which the Ministry of Justice is sponsoring to build Police capacity. According to him, they include forensic,  crime investigation and criminal prosecution processes.

    The Attorney-General promised to continue to work with the Police as worthy partners to ensure a crime free state and facilitate speedy justice delivery for residents.

    Longe, on behalf of her team, thanked Kazeem for the cordial relationship between the ministry and her department.

    She pledged to enhance the areas of cooperation with a view to ensuring the efficient discharge of their mandate.

    Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms. Titilayo Shitta-Bey assured Longe and her team of the ministry’s support in dealing timely with matters that will be brought to her office by the Police, particularly those needing DPP’s advice.

    The visiting team included officer in charge of Legal section, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Effiong Asuguo; officer in charge of Homicide section, CSP  Rasaq Oseni and Superintendent of Police (SP) Taiwo Kasumu.

  • Dapchi abduction: Matters arising

    The national and international media may erroneously be attributing the kidnap of 110 girls from Dapchi Secondary School in Yobe on February 19 to Boko Haram. This error is a result of the Nigerian government’s deliberate attempt to conflate the actions of two competing extremist groups, and play down the presence, strength, sophistication and influence of the Islamic State in the West African Province (ISWA). Admitting the extent of the Islamic State’s influence would amount to admission of having lost control of a significant portion of the country.

    In this case, the government’s strategy is backfiring. Previously, by conflating the two groups and finally diverting the resources to the cause of “crushing” Boko Haram (BH) in Sambisa (as it claims to have done three times previously), the government could show in advance of the 2019 elections that they are “winning”. Credit is due to the brave soldiers fighting this fight. However, the government has occluded the fact that ISWA is separate, growing in strength and influence, and that vast swathes of the ungoverned North are being taken over by the black-flag carriers with only minimal effort. On this front they are losing, because the problem is not a military one.

    A smash, grab and kidnap are not the tactics of ISWA. We have observed them acting in a much more sophisticated manner: perpetuating prescription drug abuse, manipulating markets for fish and charcoal and offering basic healthcare services. Dapchi is, however, within ISWA’s territory. ISWA appears to have learned from the multi-million cash euro ransom paid for the Chibok girls’ release in May and December 2017, that girl-snatching is good business.

    I have been working in Northeast Nigeria for two years along with a team of Nigerians working fearlessly in these communities, from Chibok to Dapchi and beyond. I am aware of the intricate dynamics by which extremist groups are acting, by which Nigeria’s institutions continue to fail, and by which the Nigerian people continue to suffer. In Dapchi, aside from the argument that continues between Police, State Security, Military and the State Governor’s office that allowed for the incident to happen, I attribute the event to two categories of failure:

    Failings of the Government

    Large swathes of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa remain ungoverned and unserved. They are remote and hard to reach. They have insufficient water, schools, transport, power, cell phone coverage and healthcare. With an estimated population of over 20 million, the scope and scale of need is immense. All this in a country which has disbursed only 47 per cent of its 2017 budget, that claims to be the largest economy in Africa, and that also has (according to Oxfam’s May 2017 report) the largest inequality in the world.

    A group proposing a governance model based on faith and piousness is not new to Nigeria: churches in the south have enough territory and population to be considered cities and govern their own schooling, security and power generation. But the extent and severity of the poverty in the Northeast is unmatched and presents fertile territory for violent extremist’s state-building.

    Over successive regimes the Nigerian government has failed to keep the political and economic elite separate, such that political actors make economic decisions to disempower competition to their enterprises and their families. The perverseness of this situation is that the “competition” is the population those elite are supposed to serve.

    The government has also failed to identify that 20 million people in such a circumstance can easily be persuaded by a group offering something so marginally better, but better nonetheless. This is how Islamic State has established itself in Nigeria, to the degree that it has communities under its control (ambivalent but active Nigerians, not foreigners), and systems of taxation, production, and domestic and international export.

    “Government failure,” however, is an easy and too-often-used excuse, and one with which we have become entirely too comfortable. The core issue is much more cutting to Nigeria as a whole:

    The failings of Nigeria

    First are the foundational issues, to which most Nigerians are accustomed: it is commonly accepted that holders of public office serve primarily themselves in a pattern that is considered fair because after a designated term limit it will be someone else’s chance. Even for those who do serve the public, too much responsibility, credit and criticism is placed on these individuals; a habit undermining the immense human capital that is Nigeria’s greatest resource. In this way, individuals are not valued and many are openly despised by society: workers, cleaners, farmers, drivers and youth.

    These individuals may unionise to vie for recognition, but there exists a pervasive lack of faith in Nigeria’s systems because there is proportionally no accountability in plurality. Multiple unions, groups, agencies, committees compete for the same resources in a manner reminiscent of colonial powers’ “divide and rule” tactics. Fundamentally, the democratic process has failed: while leadership may change, institutions do not, and they continue to fail to serve the people.

    The final two issues are the crux of the matter. There exists a pervasive lack of national unity, to the degree that “Nigerian” is a foreign concept, as is Maiduguri, Madagali or Dapchi. Other than a single, gated, and generally inaccessible square on Lagos Island, there are no national monuments in the country’s 36 states and 923,000 sqKm that say “we are proudly Nigeria.” Maiduguri is more foreign than Dubai or London.

    It is possible to build a sense of national unity: Ghana, South Korea and Israel achieved this post-independence, and before you respond that none has the population, diversity of geographic challenge: so did Indonesia (independent in 1945, 261 million people, 1.9m sqKm, 13,000 separate islands, 300 distinct ethno-linguistic groups). Lack of national unity prevents us from cohering around this issue and seeing it as our own to solve.

    Nigeria deals with its problems in one of three ways: (a) to dismiss it, (b) to attribute it to someone else or (c) to consider it a military issue to be “crushed”. All three strategies have been applied to “the Boko Haram problem”, and Islamic State is the result. If anything can be salvaged from the kidnap of the Dapchi girls, it is to confirm the flaw in this logic, to learn from it, and to acknowledge the Nigerian malignancy that it is.

    Until we accept the severity and the reality of the problem that Islamic State is establishing a nation in Nigeria’s territory, that with a single action in Dapchi they can send us back to 2014, and that Nigeria’s issues have got us to this point, we will continue to move backwards.

     

    • Baba-Buba writes from Yobe.

     

  • ‘I wept through my Call to Bar’

    Oluwaseun Tijani’s eyes were set on Law. According to him, it would, among others, help keep poverty at bay. But he lost his dad; his surviving parent. The 2014 Lagos State University (LASU)  alumnus shares his story with ROBERT EGBE. 

    Family

    My name is Oluwaseun Timothy Tijani. I am a Legal Practitioner with two years post-qualification experience. I am from Lagos State. I am the first of two children. I have an adorable sister in whom I am well pleased (smiles). My parents are dead though.

    Parents’ death

    Mummy was a seamstress before she passed away and my daddy was a police officer. He later resigned and incorporated his company, which was basically into the supply of industrial equipment to companies in Lagos and Ogun states. He was a disciplinarian. I got his full support to study law. He was really proud of me. He passed away when I was in my fourth year at the university. So, I was left to fend for myself for the rest of my stay there.

    Lagos State scholarship helped, but…

    Thankfully, I was a beneficiary of the Lagos State Scholarship for Outstanding Academic Performance. So, I used my scholarship fund to cater for my university education and for the upkeep of my sister and I. However, the scholarship fund was not able to cover my law school tuition and my upkeep during my stay at the Law School, but according to God’s plan, He used an Alhaji whom I got to know through a friend to sponsor me throughout Law School.

    Education 

    I  obtained my Bachelor of  Law (LL.B) degree from Lagos State University (LASU) in 2014, graduating with a Second Class Honours (Upper Division). I also made a Second Class Honours (Upper Division) from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja. I was called to the Bar on November 30, 2016.

    Resolved to never be poor

    On a lighter note, my resolve never to be poor motivated me to study law (Laughs). The profession has always been portrayed to be a wealthy profession. Aside this, while growing up, I admired lawyers, especially their eloquence in speech, charisma and smart way of dressing. Lawyers are problem solvers and they are instrumental to the progressive development of any society.

    How I overcame Law School stress

    Law school was highly regimented. It was really stressful, but my university experience had prepared me for the demands of law school both mentally and physically. In retrospect, I am glad I gave it my best shot. The reward of hard work is fulfilment.

    Law school grading system, unfair

    As opposed to the Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) grading system adopted by most of our universities, Law School assesses a student’s overall performance according to his lowest grade. In essence, if you desire a First Class, you must have straight As in your courses. For me, the grading system is unfair and does not absolutely reflect the true potential of a student. However, having straight As is not an impossible feat to attain.

    Why I wept during Call to Bar

    Call to the Bar ceremony is an event every successful aspirant to the Bar usually anticipates with great excitement. I always had a mental picture of my Call to the Bar celebration right from when I was in the university, but, in reality, it grossly fell short of what I had imagined. For me, the most depressing moment of my life was the day of my call. The hall was filled to the brim with parents, guardians, friends and well-wishers, who had come to celebrate with their own. During the call, I was literally crying and very depressed. I sincerely wished my father, who had laboured so hard for my upbringing and education could come back to life for the purpose of sharing the moment with me. For some reasons, my sister could not also make it to the ceremony. I am, however, grateful to my wonderful friends turned family and particularly, Mr. Olujide Iyanda, who had to wait for my call a day after his daughter’s call. They all celebrated me in their own way.

    Most memorable day in court

    It was on April 27, 2017 during my National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) programme. I appeared before a judge of the High Court of Bayelsa State. It was a criminal matter, slated for adoption of final addresses. I appeared for the prosecution as I was a pupil State Counsel. Counsel for one of the defendants, who apparently, was my senior, cockily urged the court to foreclose the prosecution’s right to file its reply. In response, I confidently stood up and opposed the prayer. I submitted that because there were three defendants in the matter, two of which had not filed their final addresses, which they were within time to so do, the prosecution could not be said to have waived its right of reply which would necessitate a foreclosure. The court agreed with my position and consequently adjourned the matter. I felt really good and was in high spirits for the rest of the day.

    My principal and I

    I have no reason to complain about my principal. Your disposition to work, effectiveness and ability to meet deadlines should ordinarily put you in the good books of your boss. I am privileged to work with one of the best brains in the legal profession, Mr Olatunde Adejuyigbe SAN. The magnanimity of his wealth of his experience cannot be quantified in words. As most of his protegees will say, he is an inspiration.

    Annoying things clients do

    It is really annoying when some clients feel they know more than their lawyers. I had my fair share of this when a client whom myself and a colleague were representing during our service year without our knowledge met with the magistrate and sought for the magistrates’ intervention to resolve the matter between the parties. To our greatest dismay, the magistrate intervened without inviting us as counsel to participate in the process. I was exasperated and resolved that I would not appear in the matter any longer.

    What I would change about Law

    Law is dynamic and as such it should reflect and be in tandem with the evolving nature of the society. Most of our laws are old. Of particular interest is the need to reorganise and harmonise our laws on intellectual property (IP) rights considering the present level of technological advancement.

    Young lawyers and poor work conditions

    Well, I am coping just fine for now (smiles). On the other hand, the remuneration of young lawyers in Nigeria by most law firms is nothing to write home about. The pay can hardly sustain someone for two weeks. It is really an unfortunate and a pitiable situation which is currently gaining the attention and intervention of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

    Marrying a lawyer

    Why not? I have always maintained that the choice of whom to marry should not be based on the profession the person is affiliated with, rather it should be based on God’s will and the particular personality type and traits you look out for in your prospective partner. I can marry a lawyer so long as we are compatible alongside other considerations.

    The future

    Presently, I work in a core litigation and insolvency law firm in Lagos. I intend to hone my skills in the area of litigation and insolvency practice for some years more, thereafter I will pursue an LLM in Tax Law or International Intellectual Property Law. I also intend to give back to the society through charitable means. The future is bright.

  • Lawyers, activists unite for Pa Gomez

    Lawyers and civil society activists gathered in Lagos to honour one of Nigeria’s oldest and most vibrant lawyers, Pa Olatunji Gomez, who marked his 90th birthday.

    It was an occasion for soul-searching and the need for lawyers to act as the society’s conscience dominated discussions.

    A lecture was organised by a group, the Legal Torchbearers, as part of events by the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to celebrate Pa Gomez, popularly known as “It is a matter of conscience”.

    The theme was: ”Bar Activism in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future.” 

    Alhaji Olufemi Okunnu (SAN),  a longtime close associate of Pa Gomez,  lamented what he described  as the slow, but sure extinction of firebrand activism among current members of the Bar.

    He said things have changed from the fervour of the 1960s, 70s and 80s as witnessed  during the eventful tenure of Alao Aka-Bashorun as NBA President.

    Okunnu said the dampening of revolutionary fire and collusion with public office holders was  to the public’s detriment. “Are the days of legal activism behind us?” he asked.

    He urged lawyers to gird their loins and play the leading role in the fight for true federalism.

    He said: “The legislature now plays the role of the judiciary and executive arms of government and there is confusion in the land.

    “From this day forward, celebrating a rebel from his school days, all of us should wear the garb of activism.  Our federation died in 1978, we started a unitary type of government in 1979,” Okunnu said.

    NBA Criminal Justice Reform Committee Chairman, Chief Arthur-Obi Okafor (SAN), urged lawyers to always stand for the rule of law.

    According to him, it was the only  way to fight injustice and promote equity and fairness  in the society.

    He praised the Legal Torchbearers for their social contributions.

    Okafor urged lawyers to register for and attend the Administration of Criminal Justice Conference holding in Asaba.

    Former Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) Chair, Ms. Ayo  Obe, urged the  Bar to  embrace activism to save Nigeria.

    “There are good lawyers and there are bad lawyers. The lawyers’  main tool is the law and there are more than one way to be an activist.

    “A lawyer must always be ready to test every bad action or policy in the court of law.  We cannot all be activists, but what we cannot do is to throw away activism,” Obe  said.

    Lagos lawyer Mr Ebun-Olu  Adegboruwa and the branch’s former chairman Mr. Alex Muoka said lawyers have critical roles to play in a society’s survival.

    The keynote speaker, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, who is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics (LSE), spoke on the evolution of legal activism.

    He laid emphasis on the ‘Dohertys’ and the ‘Gomezes’, who were  at the vanguard of Lagosians’ fight for property rights during colonial times.

    He connected the activism of the first indigenous Nigerian lawyer, Christopher Sapara Williams, to the present and ongoing clamour for the restructuring of the Nigerian polity.

    Odinkalu situated Pa Gomez’s central role as the living conscience of that activist heritage from his student days at King’s College.

    “It was a role,” Odinkalu said, “which came at a steep price  which Pa Gomez was nevertheless willing to pay, comforted as he was by the armour of his social conscience, in accordance with his personal credo: It’s a Matter of Conscience.”

    The man Gomez

    Born on March 15, 1928, the young Gomez enrolled at the King’s College in 1944, where he soon acquired a reputation for his independent-mindedness, fearlessness and leadership ability.

    He qualified as a lawyer in 1961, after training in England.

    In over half of a century of professional practice, Pa Gomez has come to symbolise the social conscience of the legal profession in Nigeria.

    Pa Gomez’s ideological consistency through the decades of transition from white colonialism to the rule by black politicians and soldiers was in line with his belief that a lawyer’s first duty was the wellbeing of his fellow citizens and the good ordering of society, whatever the clime or dispensation.

  • NBA election: I’ve no preferred candidate, says Mahmoud

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) has said he has no preferred candidates for the association’s elective positions.

    Speaking at a meeting of the Arewa Lawyers Forum (ALF), he said all the candidates would get equal treatment.

    Mahmoud said ALF was key to the welfare of lawyers of Northern extraction, and can only achieve its objectives if there is peace among members.

    He urged members to avoid issues that tend to cause division but to come together as brothers because unity is the key to prosperity.

    Mahmoud, whose tenure ends in August, informed the ALF that he has no preferred candidates in the forthcoming NBA election.

    He said he had directed NBA Electoral Committee to disqualify any candidate who runs foul of the rules.

    Mahmoud frowned at a situation where some go about dropping his name and claiming that he is supporting their ambition.

    He stated that his ultimate goal was to deliver a credible, free and fair election for the association.

    ALF, at the meeting held in Kaduna, elected a caretaker committee to manage its affairs in the interim.

    Members are Mr. Elisha Kurah (SAN), Liman Salihu, Fatima Mohammed, Rabiatu Musa and Mohammed Mongonu.

    The committee is to manage the affairs of the association until it conducts its election immediately after the NBA  election in July.