The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • Olanipekun urges lawyers to embrace ICT

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Olabode  Olanipekun, has said lawyers risk becoming redundant if they do not embrace advancements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

    He spoke  on the topic: “The indispensable young professional,”at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch Annual Law Week in Lagos. The theme of the lecture was “Building and sustaining a vibrant law practice: Prospects and challenges”.

    He noted that contemporary legal profession is driven by technology and innovation. Quoting from the works of Alvin Toffler, he said: “To survive, to avert what we have  termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.

    “He must search out new ways to anchor himself, for all the old roots – religion, nation, community, family, or profession – are shaking under the impact of the hurricane with its accelerative thrust.”

    He noted that several artificial intelligence software have been designed to help lawyers in their practice, including those that engage in legal reasoning and emulate the decision-making process of humans.

    Olanipekun, who recalled that Brian Solis had termed this age of digital transformation as “Digital Darwinism”, also observed: “in minimising costs and maximising efficiency for instance, lawyers and law firms around the world are doing well to tap into the expansive resource of social media, adopt virtual work places and enhance the use of online platforms”.

    According to Olanipekun, with the advent of technology, clients have become more discerning and impatient, adding that “the average 21st Century client is not willing to wait for many things.

    “This is clearly why Arbitration and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution have come to the fore in extant times. Clients want documents critiqued, opinions rendered or contracts prepared in record time, yet, same must be accurate,”he said.

    Olanipekun noted that age is no barrier to attainment in law, “neither is your pedigree and background”.

    “While becoming a silk might be ‘1000 miles away,’ it actually begins with the first minutes of meetings or court proceedings taken, the first motion prepared, the first client interviewed, the first brief written, the first application moved, the first deal closed for a client, the first trial handled and the first victory or loss suffered,” he said.

    The Law Week attracted the cream of the profession, including renowned corporate lawyer and boardroom  guru, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode.

    Fuji music exponent, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1) performed at the black-tie dinner in honour of the retiring Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade.

  • Chevron’s appeal against Brittania-U for hearing Sept 12

    The Court of Appeal in Lagos will on September 12 hear an appeal filed by Chevron USA Inc and others against Brittania-U Nigeria Limited.

    The other appellants are BNP Paribas Securities Corporation, Mr Hermant Patel and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited.

    Chevron, in the appeal filed two-and-a-half years ago, is challenging a Federal High Court May 13, 2014 ruling assuming jurisdiction in a suit on the divestment of Chevron’s interest in Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) 52, 53 and 55.

    Brittania-U Nigeria sought an order of specific performance against the defendants (appellants) to effect the transfer of Chevron’s 40 per cent interest in the OMLs to the plaintiff.

    The plaintiff said despite the pendency of the action, Chevron allegedly divested some of the interests to Seplat.

    The appellate court granted Seplat and Chevron USA’s motions for extension of time to file their separate briefs of argument in their appeals, which will also be heard September 12.

    Brittania-U sued the defendants (appellants) over the OMLs sold by Chevron.

    It also took the matter to the Supreme Court following the Appeal Court ruling which vacated an order of interlocutory injunction by a High Court restraining Chevron and Seplat from concluding any deal on the oil leases.

    Chevron had offered the OMLs for sale and invited bids from interested firms, but allegedly failed to make a public announcement of a winner, a reserve bidder and unsuccessful bids.

    It then allegedly began to deal with Seplat behind the scene despite Brittania-U being the highest bidder.

    Brittania-U went to court to contest Chevron’s action of not declaring it winner after it posted a $1.67 billion bid for the three assets, an amount later revised to $1.015 billion after both companies’ officials met in Houston, United States.

    Seplat was said to have posted a bid of $630 million for the same assets.

  • Lalong faults Arewa youths on Igbo

    Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has condemned the quit notice issued the Igbo by Northern youth groups.

    In a statement by his Press and Public Affairs Director, Emmanuel Nanle, the governor described the ultimatum as ill-conceived.

    “The Order is not only ill-conceived and low in public morality,  but also an open exhibition of the total departure from the virtues and values of communality, accommodation and peaceful coexistence that characterises the true Northern spirit,” he said.

    The governor regretted that a highly volatile issue could be made an agenda for grand standing by a group of “so called” Northern youth groups.

    He said it was coming at a time when there were efforts to douse the secessionist agitation of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB).

    He urged Southeast governors to resist any attempt, however remotely motivated, to create value for the position of the Northern Youth by making it an agenda for any discussion.

    According to him, it is of no essence and does not represent the position of the Youth of Northern Nigeria, much less the North.

    Lalong further assured the citizens of Plateau that the State is a miniature Nigeria and will continue to respect the rights of all Nigerians.

    The governor added that at this time that all compatriots were working hard to solidify the bounds of national integration and unity, retrogressive contributions to national discourse by the likes of Arewa youth and IPOB should be censored.

  • Odemo stool: ‘Sponsor withdrew support for me’

    A CONTESTANT for the Odemo Isara stool in Ogun State, Albert Mayungbe, has told a Sagamu  High Court that  his sponsor  dropped him at a meeting of Erinsiba Ayoledoye ruling house.

    Alhaji Al-Hassan Awoyade, he said, withdrew his endorsement at a meeting to select the candidate for the throne.

    Mayungbe was being cross-examined by Mr Muyiwa Obanewa, counsel to the claimant, Prince Adetayo Odunsi, at the resumed hearing of the case.

    Odunsi is challenging Mayungbe’s selection by kingmakers before Justice A. A. Babawale.

    Mayungbe, however, said Awoyade did not write to him about his decision, claiming that he knew about it on receiving the claimant’s processes. His admission corroborated the lead defence witness evidence.

    Alhaji Sansaliyu Tiamiyu, who is the lead defence witness in his evidence-in-chief during the previous proceedings, had told the court through an interpreter that Awoyade withdrew his sponsorship for the first defendant, Albert Mayungbe in a letter to Erinsiba Ayoledoye  family through the head of the ruling house at the family meeting on February 21, 2011.

    Tiamiyi also agreed with claimant’s counsel that “the reason Alhaji Awoyade gave in his letter withdrawing his sponsorship was because Albert is from ‘Odi’ lineage”.

    Mayungbe told the court that his father, Oyekunle Mayungbe, during his life time, was the ‘Ekeji Ogbeni Odi of Isara-Remo’ and that he is his direct son.

    When claimant’s counsel referred to  Odemo Chieftaincy Declaration, marked exhibit DE 11 and paragraph 17 of evidence in-chief that one Towolani Kalejaiye is an ‘Odi’ and ‘Olotu Asipa’, the witness insisted that he was a kingmaker.

    He disagreed with the counsel to claimant that the ‘Odis’ are  servants to kings and maintained that they are kingmakers.

    He also disagreed that Odis have no royal blood in them and contended that they are appointed from royal families.

    The witness also said he knew the late Prince Obafemi Awoyade as the Secretary of Erinsiba Ayoledoye ruling house for over 40 years before becoming its head.

    The witness, who claimed to be Odemo-elect, said the kingmakers did not give him any letter confirming his selection as the Odemo since 2011 nor any letter appointing him to such position from Ogun State government.

    He admitted contesting the Odemo chieftaincy of Isara from  his mother’s linage, Iganlafiya ruling house in 1986 and lost then.

    While admitting Akarigbo as the paramount ruler of Remoland, he contended that he is not the head of the 33 Remo towns and communities, adding that the Akarigbo is not to approve but be informed of the selection of an Odemo.

    Contrary to his claim that he contributed to the “goodwill and well being of  individual members of Erinsiba Arolejoye ruling house while being cross examined by counsel to the state government, Mrs. O.O. Adejumo, the witness clarified that he did not send the claimant to school, loaned or give  him money at any time.

    He, however, agreed that his grandfather, Ogunsakin, was born in Akure and that his mother, Arobo, was also an indigene of the town,  adding that he is competent and qualified to contest and occupy the stool of Odemo of Isara.

    The second defence witness, Chief Victor Awolusi, while being cross examined by Mrs Adejumo,  told the court that the Akarigbo of Remoland is only the head of Sagamu and not of Remo towns and communities.

    The defence witness, who is also a President of the customary court in Remo Local Government,  contended that the Akarigbo is not to approve, but only to be informed of the selection of a new Odemo of Isara.

    When reminded that he is expected to tell the truth “as an officer in the temple of justice “, he maintained that it was not to his knowledge that an objection was raised against the candidature of the first defendant“ during the family meeting of February 21, 2011.

    While the defence witnesses agreed under cross examination by Obanewa that the late Chief Olaniwun Ajayi was a prominent son of Isara, the first defendant disagreed that he was the leading light of the town. He also disagreed that the late politician brought a lot of development to the community.

    All the defence witnesses who were led in evidence by the lead  counsel, Dr Victor Odunaiya, urged the court to admit their respective statements on oath as evidences in the suit.

    Justice Babawale later adjourned the matter to

    July 12 for the defence to lead his fourth and last witness in evidence.

  • ‘Give states more powers to make centre less attractive’

    ‘Give states more powers to make centre less attractive’

    Mohammed Abubakar is the Governor of Bauchi State. He was Chairman of Arewa Lawyers Forum and a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) before his election. In this interview with Legal Editor John Austin Unachukwu, he speaks on constitution amendment, administration of criminal justice, democracy and sundry issues.

    Some states have adopted the Administration of Criminal Justice Law. What is the position of Bauchi State?

    We have done a lot of work in that respect at the level of the Northern Governors Forum.  At inception,  we set up a  committee of Attorneys- General headed by the Attorney-General of Kaduna State, to look into the domestication of that act and then amend the Penal Code and bring it in line with the realities of modern times. They are doing a great work in that respect now.

    How has your experience as a lawyer affected your performance as  a governor?

    Of course it has helped me a lot.  I was a member of the National Judicial Council (NJC) before I was elected governor. So, I attended my last meeting of the NJC on May 22, 2015.  It was a valedictory session for me. Speeches were made by revered jurists who were in the NJC with the then Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed in attendance. In his speech, he made a very particular point that made an impression on me.

    What did he say?

    He said: ‘Look, don’t forget the fact that even if people in your state do not hold you accountable, we in the legal profession are looking out and will hold you accountable.’ For that reason, there is no way I will let my profession down. I love my profession so much that I look  forward to the timeline by which I will finish my tenure as governor and come back to my practice.

    Which areas of our laws do you think need tinkering?

    First and foremost, we need to tinker with our constitution to make the federal level less attractive. The states are the centre of population in the country. That is where all the actions should take place. Federal Government should be a policy making  authority to regulate vital aspects of our national life like  defence,  foreign affairs and security at national  level. Federal Government has no business in some sectors like agriculture; the Federal Government has no land, all the lands are in the states. So, it should restrict itself to policies and relationship with all the international agricultural organisations. But the bulk of the work should be centred in the states.

    Also in education, the Federal Government should restrict itself to policies and allow the states and the private sector to drive education. We need to tinker with the Constitution with a view to reducing the rancour that surrounds our elections, particularly elections into the office of the President.

    You have been Bauchi State governor for two years. What are the challenges?

    In a very short and precise manner, let me say, being in government and in politics has afforded me the opportunity of knowing the animal called man. I have met the good, the bad and the ugly. It has made a more mature person out of me. Being at the head of government has tampered my very hot temper. I have this very hot temper that I am not proud of, but the way I operate is that when I see something that is wrong, I am hardly able to control myself and I will say it in a vey hot manner.  And that is the end of the matter. If we meet tomorrow, I might not even remember that something has happened. But I thank God for being in politics and among all sorts of people, that has sincerely reduced this very hot temper

    How true are claims that you have not delivered on your electoral promises?

    Let me say that anybody who tells you that, is either as a result of ignorance or that person has lost touch with the grassroots. Because,  it is a fact that I inherited whooping four months unpaid salaries. I paid the four months. For that reason, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) sent me a letter of commendation, I have  a copy of that letter. My own Bauchi State chapter of NLC sent me another letter of commendation. Today, as I am talking to you, Bauchi State does not owe a single month salary either at the state or  local government level despite the fact that we have an unusually very large civil service workforce.

    What do you mean by this?

    This is so because if you do your  comparisms, for example with Kano State, which is the most populous state in Nigeria, it has 44 local government areas but small Bauchi has 20 local government areas. But Kano has only 92,000  civil service staff, as against Bauchi’s 105,000. So, my salary bill today is N5.1bn despite all these, we have been able to pay salaries as and  when due. In addition to this, we have been able to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.

    What successes have you recorded?

    The first major job I awarded was a 117-kilometer road started from Misau to a place called Udubu. I later increased it to Gamawa because I noticed that even though Udubu-Gamawa is a federal road, it starts from Udubu and goes into Jigawa State. But the portion between Udubu and Gamawa is in Bauchi State and it will be foolhardy to build a 100 kilometer road, rehabilitate it and then leave 17 kilometers in bad shape. So, I asked the contractors to include Gamawa. Today that road is progressing.  Since they started work, they have not stopped and I have given a reputable international company called SGC, a Chinese company that is doing work here in Abuja. They have built two standard bridges on that road and the asphalt is two-third completed.

    In Bauchi, I started a road that has been bedeviling road users in that place starting from the state secretariat to Federal Low Cost Housing Estate, and from Federal Low Cost to Railway Road. From state Secretariat roundabout  to Federal Low Cost is a dualised portion, it is a small portion of about a kilometer or kilometer and half at most.  That is a very troublesome area, I have rehabilitated it and I am dualising from the Federal low cost to   Railway Road. I have paid compensation to every person whose property was demolished on that road. I have completed three roads in a place called Fadaman Mada in Bauchi. Mr. President would have commissioned those roads. You know he planned to come to Bauchi that time and then because of the weather at that time, he was not able to make it. I am dualising every entrance into Bauchi right now-five kilometer to town is dualised with street lights. I am not only doing that for Bauchi, I am doing them in Azare, the second town. I am dualising the Kano road and  I am putting street light. I am rehabilitating Sule Katagum Road. I am rehabilitating nine roads inside Misau. Because they are short roads, so I have picked nine of them. Right now as we are talking, work is going on, rehabilitating those roads.

    Are the rural areas part of these achievements?

    I have not left the rural areas. I am building a  road from a place called Itas to Atafowa and Magariya. This is a road that was first commissioned in  the Second Republic and abandoned. From that time till now, nobody touched it until  the advent of our government. In AJamaari  Local Government Area, another road that was begun  in the Second Republic Hanafari-Garin Babani-Dogon Jeji, I am building it now. In Toro Local Government Area, I am building a road from a place called Mararaba Ganye to Gulfa and other places. In Darazo Local Government, I am building a road from Darazo to Gapchari.

    Today, I have built 19 brand new primary health centres along with their staff quarters and borehole in each of the locations. I have built 34 brand new solar-powered boreholes in different locations in Bauchi State. If you  travel the length and breadth of Bauchi, either sides of the road, if there is a village and there is a primary school, you will notice that it is either we are repairing and rehabilitating the existing  classroom blocks, or we are building additional classroom blocks. These contracts are 1700 different contracts for primary schools and junior secondary schools.

    What of the area of  water resources?

    We have rehabilitated many  boreholes some were built as far back as Second Republic and have not been working, 1740 of them in every nook and cranny of the state. Despite the crunching financial difficulties, we have remained  true to all projects that are supported by donor agencies. For example, the Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation and Dangote Foundation are in league with Bauchi in order to support routine immunisation against polio.

    When I took over, Dangote had  stopped funding because, he said that  Bauchi State was not doing her own funding. From the time I took over till date, we have been contributing our funding  as and when due. As I am talking to you now, I have already paid into that basket a 100 million Naira for the 2017 version of this project. The remaining is about 60 million Naira. I have received two commendations from Bill Gates over this issue. The same for all other projects that are supported by international donor agencies and development partners, all these, despite the crunching financial challenges in the state. Those are a few of the things that we are doing.

    There seems to be a face-off between you and some legislators in the National Assembly from Bauchi State?

    The cause of the problem, to my mind, is ambition, ambition on  the part of some of the legislators. Ambition in itself, is not a crime. But you see, there is a time for everything. We contested election in 2015, and we have a four-year tenure. Commonsense demands that the period of three years at least, should be devoted to delivering the promises we made  to the people. Thereafter, you can do all the politicking you want to do. So, everybody has a right under the constitution to contest for any office that he feels fit to aspire to, they should wait for the time

    How would you assess your achievements so far?

    I will say I give thanks to the Almighty  Allah  for what he has enabled me to do. But it is important to understand how, when and where I started.  I took over a government in which there was no single kobo in the treasury, and inherited a total of N125billion debts, including four months outstanding salaries, including N14.5billion workers’ gratuity unpaid. This was what I took over. And I took over at a time when things were very difficult in the country. Bauchi State is a predominantly Moslem state and when I took over in May.  We were expecting the Ramadan to start in June. Four months salaries have not been paid. The state was sitting on a keg of gunpowder, ready to explode at anytime. Secondly, everybody knows that by June in Nigeria, we should be expecting rains. No single bag of fertiliser was bought by the last government, knowing full well that the rainy season will not wait for anybody.  I took over at a time when preparations for pilgrimage had commenced and time is always of essence in the preparation for the pilgrimage. So, at a given time you are expected to pay a certain amount  to  people and if you don’t do that, they will lose out. So, these three major things were staring me in the face.

    How did you manage that?

    I  managed that by obtaining a N4b loan and this loan later became a matter of controversy because of the lack of education and understanding of some people. I was accused of taking that loan without obtaining a resolution of the House of Assembly.

    Why did you not obtain the resolution of the House of Assembly before taking the loan?

    The reason  for that is that people thought because we had been elected along with members of the House of Assembly, that after my inauguration on May 29, it was automatic for the whole House of Assembly to come on board,  but the constitution says that the House of Assembly has a four-year tenure. The last House of Assembly of Bauchi State was inaugurated on June 15, 2011. Therefore, they needed to spend their four years and their four years was to end on June 14.  For that reason, I had to function for one month with that House of Assembly in place. So, when the need arose for me to obtain a loan, I invited the speaker to my office, I told him as the son of this state, these issues were very germane, those issues I had mentioned. We needed to intervene and the only thing I could do because there was no kobo in the treasury, was to obtain a loan from the bank, so I need a resolution from you. He said okay, that we were lucky that he had invited his colleagues to his house that evening, so he was going to throw the question to them, and then he would tell me their reaction. I now instructed the only high ranking official of government at that time,  the Head of Service, Mr Abdungin  whom I inherited, because  I had not appointed anybody by that time.  He is alive, but has retired.  I instructed him to write formerly to the House of Assembly requesting for that resolution. Less than a week after, the Clerk of the house wrote to us conveying a resolution by the House. So, this what people did not know and they kept on ranting about it.

    The second thing that they said was that I had taken a loan without a resolution of the exco. I tell people that the Constitution confers execute power on me, the governor. The constitution said I should appoint commissioners, but my duty after appointing them is to confer with them from time to time  to determine the policies and programmes of government. There is nowhere in the constitution that says I should mortgage my powers to the commissioners after appointing them. In addition, we have domesticated the physical responsibility  Law  in Bauchi State. I read through the physical responsibilities law, there is no where it stated that governor has no power to approve. The only thing is that for transparency, if a contract is for a certain amount, it has to go through the executive council, after going through due process.

    So, as a lawyer and somebody who rose through the ranks, when I was approving those things, I was saying that anticipatory approval is hereby given that note, please initiate a memo the moment the exco is constituted for the ratification of this approval. Today, all those actions have been ratified by the executive council of Bauchi State.

    It was also alleged that you  truncated President Buhari’s  efforts to reconcile you and some National Assembly members from Bauchi. Is that true?

    Anybody who tells you that is being economical with truth. I have the greatest respect for The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I have a very warm and cordial relationship with him. There is no way I can snub the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and at no time did any person and myself go to meet the President and the President instructed that peace must reign and I snubbed Mr. President . Those people who are alleging this are not sincere.  It was a matter of common knowledge, it was also  in the news everywhere when they were led to go and see Mr. President with series of allegations against me. At that time, I  was not even in this country. I had travelled to Hong Kong and China along with my colleagues of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. I was on my way back in Dubai when I learnt that they have gone to visit Mr. President. What Mr. President did was to tell them to take their matter to the headquarters of the party. They did that openly and it was reported, their pictures were shown in the media and everything .

     What did you do on your return?

    On my return, I now wrote my own and I took it to Mr. President alone, and this thing was reported and taken on national televisions even when I was walking along corridor from Mr. President’s office, I was televised and I was alone. I told the world what Mr. President told me.

    And what did he tell you?

    He told me to close my eyes to all the noise  that they were making and continue working for the good people of Bauchi State. This is the true state of affairs.

  • Way out of judicial corruption, by group

    A group, the Rule of Law and Empowerment Initiative (RLEI), has suggested measures to be adopted to enhance the effectiveness of the court process and curb judicial corruption.

    RLEI, also known as Partners West Africa – Nigeria (PWA-N), said judicial accountability could only be enhanced where judges’ punctuality and court attendance were monitored; technologies adopted to record court proceedings; constant exposure of judges/ magistrates/ khadis to case management techniques, among others.

    These recommendations are contained in a report of the group’s eight-month long monitoring and observation of courts in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and Kano State, under a programme tagged: The Judicial Integrity Project.

    Speaking at the report’s presentation in Abuja on May 25 this year, the group’s Programme Manager, Barbara Maigari said the project was aimed at promoting accountability in the judicial sector.

    She said: “The major objective of this project is to increase civil society’s access to government’s information as a tool to fight judicial corruption, increase access to justice and expand citizens’ engagement with the government.

    “We realise that this can only be achieved by increasing the capacity of civil society to access information on judicial process,” Maigari said.

    She said, as ways of addressing the challenges identified during the court observation and monitoring exercise, her group has come up with some useful recommendations.

    One of such recommendations, Maigari said, is that requiring the National Judicial Council (NJI) or Judicial Service Commission of the state concerned to devise an objective means of monitoring the punctuality and attendance rates of all judges and magistrates.

    She said the recommendation was informed by the realisation that most judges and magistrates do not always attend court or resume late, practice that contributes to delay in justice dispensation.

    The group, while faulting the continued recording of court proceedings by hand despite advancement in information and communication technologies, urged immediate investment in ICTs to aid court process.

    It urged the NJC to institutionlise case management training for judges and magistrates to enable them attend to more cases on their cause lists rather than wasting time on few case.

    While noting the parties’ absence at proceedings also delay the hearing of cases in court, Partners West Africa – Nigeria suggested the introduction of “significant monetary costs against erring parties for deterrence purposes.”

    Retired Justice of the Supreme Court and Chair, Board of RLEI, Justice Olufunlola Adekeye said the various reform measures initiated and implemented in the judicial sector since 1999 should be sustained.

    She however noted that the sustainability and success of such reforms require holistic execution, with the involvement of “all relevant stakeholders, an approach which you all have adopted in Access to Nigeria Project.”

    Justice Adekeye said although the nation has effectively restored democracy, there was need for adequate funding of the security and justice sectors.

    “The contemporary forms of violence such as insurgency, armed banditry and cybercrimes are ongoing challenges to be tackled by security and intelligence agencies.

    “Again, the process of civil and criminal justice administration demands urgent implementable actions.

    “Judges, magistrates/khadis are insufficient compared with the workload of cases and administrative responsibilities.

    “Our courts still write with long hand, therefore delaying the process of justice. Delays from the point of arrest to delivery of judgment are contributory factors to challenges still faced in the justice sector,” Justice Adekeye said.

  • My sponsor withdrew support for Odemo of Isara stool, aspirant tells court

    A CONTESTANT for the Odemo Isara stool in Ogun State, Albert Mayungbe, has told a Sagamu  High Court   that   his sponsor              dropped him at a meeting of Erinsiba Ayoledoye ruling house.

    Alhaji Al- Hassan Awoyade, he said, withdrew his endorsement at a meeting to select the candidate for the throne.

    Mayungbe, was being cross-examined by claimant’s counsel, Muyiwa Obanewa at the resumed hearing of the case.

    The claimant, Prince Adetayo Odunsi, is challenging Mayungbe’s selection by kingmakers before Justice A.A. Babawale.

    Mayungbe, however, said Awoyade did not write to him about his decision, claiming that he knew about it on receiving the claimant’s processes. His admission corroborated the lead defence witness evidence.

    Alhaji Sansaliyu Tiamiyu, who is the lead defence witness in his evidence-in-chief during the previous proceedings, had told the court through an interpreter that Awoyade withdrew his sponsorship for the first defendant, Albert Mayungbe in a letter to Erinsiba Ayoledoye  family through the head of the ruling house at the family meeting on February 21, 2011.

    Tiamiyi also agreed with claimant’s counsel that “the reason Alhaji Awoyade gave in his letter withdrawing his sponsorship was because Albert is from ‘Odi’ lineage”.

    Mayungbe told the court that his father, Oyekunle Mayungbe, during his life time, was the ‘Ekeji Ogbeni Odi of Isara-Remo’ and that he is his direct son.

    When claimant’s counsel referred to  Odemo Chieftaincy Declaration, marked exhibit DE 11 and paragraph 17 of evidence in-chief that one Towolani Kalejaiye is an ‘Odi’ and ‘Olotu Asipa’, the witness insisted that he was a kingmaker.

    He disagreed with the counsel to claimant that the ‘Odis’ are  servants to kings and maintained that they are kingmakers.

    He also disagreed that Odis have no royal blood in them and contended that they are appointed from royal families.

    The witness also said he knew the late Prince Obafemi Awoyade as the Secretary of Erinsiba Ayoledoye ruling house for over 40 years before becoming its head.

    The witness, who claimed to be Odemo-elect, said the kingmakers did not give him any letter confirming his selection as the Odemo since 2011 nor any letter appointing him to such position from Ogun State government.

    He admitted contesting the Odemo chieftaincy of Isara from  his mother’s linage, Iganlafiya ruling house in 1986 and lost then.

    While admitting Akarigbo as the paramount ruler of Remoland, he contended that he is not the head of the 33 Remo towns and communities, adding that the Akarigbo is not to approve but be informed of the selection of an Odemo.

    Contrary to his claim that he contributed to the “goodwill and well being of  individual members of Erinsiba Arolejoye ruling house while being cross examined by counsel to the state government, Mrs. O.O. Adejumo, the witness clarified that he did not send the claimant to school, loaned or give  him money at any time.

    He, however, agreed that his grandfather, Ogunsakin, was born in Akure and that his mother, Arobo, was also an indigene of the town,  adding that he is competent and qualified to contest and occupy the stool of Odemo of Isara.

    The second defence witness, Chief Victor Awolusi, while being cross examined by Mrs Adejumo,  told the court that the Akarigbo of Remoland is only the head of Sagamu and not of Remo towns and communities.

    The defence witness, who is also a President of the customary court in Remo Local Government,  contended that the Akarigbo is not to approve, but only to be informed of the selection of a new Odemo of Isara.

    When reminded that he is expected to tell the truth “as an officer in the temple of justice “, he maintained that it was not to his knowledge that an objection was raised against the candidature of the first defendant“ during the family meeting of February 21, 2011.

    While the defence witnesses agreed under cross examination by Obanewa that the late Chief Olaniwun Ajayi was a prominent son of Isara, the first defendant disagreed that he was the leading light of the town. He also disagreed that the late politician brought a lot of development to the community.

    All the defence witnesses who were led in evidence by the lead  counsel, Dr Victor Odunaiya, urged the court to admit their respective statements on oath as evidences in the suit.

    Justice Babawale later adjourned the matter to

    July 12 for the defence to lead his fourth and last witness in evidence.

  • Olanipekun urges lawyers to embrace innovations

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Olabode Olanipekun, has said lawyers risk becoming redundant if they do not embrace advancements in information and communication technology (ICT).

    Olanipekun spoke  on the topic: “The indispensable young professional,”at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch Annual Law Week in Lagos. The theme of the lecture was “Building and sustaining a vibrant law practice: Prospects and challenges”.

    He noted that contemporary legal profession is driven by technology and innovation. Quoting from the works of Alvin Toffler, he said: “To survive, to avert what we have  termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.

    “He must search out totally new ways to anchor himself, for all the old roots – religion, nation, community, family, or profession – are now shaking under the impact of the hurricane with its accelerative thrust.”

    He noted that several artificial intelligence software have been designed to help lawyers in their practice, including those that engage in legal reasoning and emulate the decision-making process of humans.

    Olanipekun, who recalled that Brian Solis had termed this age of digital transformation as “Digital Darwinism”, also observed: “in minimizing costs and maximizing efficiency for instance, lawyers and law firms around the world are doing well to tap into the expansive resource of social media, adopt virtual work places and enhance the use of online platforms”.

    According to Olanipekun, with the advent of technology, clients have become more discerning and impatient, adding that “the average 21st Century client is not willing to wait for many things. “This is clearly why Arbitration and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution have come to the fore in extant times. Clients now want documents critiqued, opinions rendered or contracts prepared in record time, yet, same must be accurate,”he said.

    Olanipekun noted that age is no barrier to attainment in law, “neither is your pedigree and background”.

    “While becoming a silk might be ‘1000 miles away,’ it actually begins with the first minutes of meetings or court proceedings taken, the first motion prepared, the first client interviewed, the first brief written, the first application moved, the first deal closed for a client, the first trial handled and the first victory or loss suffered,” he said.

    The Law Week attracted the cream of the legal profession, including renowned corporate lawyer and boardroom  guru, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode.

    Fuji music exponent, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KWAM 1) performed at the black-tie dinner in honour of the retiring Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade.

     

  • Lalong to engage youths in policy making

    Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has vowed to engage the youth in policy formulation and legislation in line with United Nations requirements.

    Speaking at the inauguration of elected executive committee of the Plateau Youth Council, the governor urged the youth to contribute to the state’s development.

    The Commission for Social Development of the United Nations, Lalong said, had outlined different initiatives based on input from member states for mainstreaming youth participation into policy and legislative formulation.

    “ These practices will guarantee robust and consistent cross sectoral efforts that will make for the right focus on gender equality and empowerment for the girl-child and young women, marginalised groups and make for inclusive participation on all programme of Action for the Youth.

    “Our several interventions and the various programmes of actions and structure as put in place, have shown that we are well on course,” he said.

    Lalong said his administration established the Micro Finance and Small, Medium Enterprises Agency (PLASMEDAN) to promote  financial literacy, entrepreneurship, vocational and skills acquisition, youth and women empowerment programmes.

    “Already through this agency we have provided training to over 3,000 youths and women in the state. Out of this, 48 people are living with disability.

    “I have also flagged off phase two  of the programme for which 200 participants are to be drawn from each local government area across the 17 local government areas.

    “A total of 3,400 participants will be receiving training in different entrepreneurship areas, and would be supported at the end of the skills acquisition with start-ups.

    “The PYC will need to in her areas of needs  assessment, liaise with the various Local Government Social Welfare Departments for the various youth to be captured.

    “Worthy of mention is the fact that in order to guarantee access to a revolving low interest facility for business start-up funds, we have almost completed documentation with the Bank of Industry to access N2billion fund.

    “As we access this fund for which we have also captured our counterpart contribution in the budget, it will also open access to funds for the development of our creative and entertainment industry on the Plateau, which in itself is an employment provider.

    ”Our three E-Dimensional Approach of Empowerment, Employment and Engagement of Talents, will see us exploring and expanding on the viability of the Agricultural Value Chains, to provide employment and economic empowerment to our teeming youth while also guaranteeing food security.

    “The opportunities in integrated animal farming, the agricultural process and packaging industries, crop and vegetable production should be areas of interest for our youth,” Lalong said.

    The governor urged the youth to work hard as there is no short cut to success.

    “The road to success is passed to a desired destination only through hard work, determination and the wise application of knowledge. Experience, Education and Exposure must combine to bring you to a desired end,” he said.

  • Is execution unconstitutional? (part 2)

    Constitutional lawyer and activist Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) argues that executing condemned criminals is legal in Nigeria.

    When the apex court speaks, lower courts, especially the Lagos State Court, must blow muted trumpets and surrender to superior authority. This is not because the apex court is infallible. No. it is because it is the final court.

    Indeed, the apex court once beat its chest imperiously in the case of Adegoke Motor Ltd Vs. Adesanya (1998) 13 NWLR (pt. 109) 250, 274 – 275, in the following flowery prose: “We are final not because we are infallible, rather we are infallible because we are final. Justices of this court are human beings capable of erring. It will be short sighted arrogance not to accept this obvious truth.”

     

    Antiquated modes of execution

    Other forms of capital punishment which have since become obsolete and hardly used in modern times, include: crucifixion (Lord, thank you for paying the supreme price for my sins); suffocation, smothering, starvation, poisoning, falling, Gibbeting (death inside a cage); poena cullei (Roman empire, when a prisoner was stuffed into a sack with animals and thrown into water); dismemberment, disembowelment (sepukka – hara-kiri); decapitation, cooking, crushing, burying alive, burning, boiling to death; blowing from the mouth of a canon, tearing apart by animals, back –breaking, crushing or devouring by animals, etc.

     

    Are hanging or firing squad

    ‘inhuman and degrading

    treatment’?

    In Nigeria, the death penalty is legal and constitutional. This has been so since the 1960 Independence Constitution and 1963 Republican Constitutions. Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution legalises it as follows:

    “(1) Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence at which he has been found guilty in …”

    Consequently, the death penalty is legalised, if: (a) it is in execution of a sentence of court; (b) for the defence of any person from unlawful violence, or for the defence of property; (c) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; and (d) for the suppression of a riot, insurrection or mutiny.

    In Onuoha Kalu V. State (1998), 13 NWLR (part 583) 531, the apex court considered the appellant’s argument that not only was the sentence of death passed on him under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code of Lagos State inconsistent with section 30 subsection (1) of the 1979 Constitution, (ipssisima verbis section 33(1) 1999 Constitution), but was also inconsistent with the provisions of section 31subsection (1)(a), which states: “31 – (1), Every individual is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person, and accordingly –  (a) No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment”

    The Supreme Court rejected this argument thus: “The question is: can the passing of a sentence of death recognised by the Constitution in section 30 subsection (1) thereof be equated to torture and degrading treatment? The contention of the appellant is that a sentence of death is degrading and inhuman and therefore it is inconsistent with the provisions of Section 31 subsection (1) (a) of the Constitution, In his effort to substantiate the contention, learned counsel for the appellant cited a number of cases decided in other jurisdictions of the world. Useful as those decisions might be passive authorities, with respect, I do not find them applicable to the present case.’’

    The position is Nigeria is very clear. Death sentence is a reality. It is provided for by our criminal laws including section 319 subsection (1) of the Criminal Code of Lagos State. Our Constitution also recognises the death sentence – see in particular sections 31, 213(1)(c) and 220(1)(e) thereof. Therefore, the sentence of death in itself cannot be degrading and inhuman as envisaged by section 31 subsection (1)(a).

    There is nothing in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1979 that renders the death penalty under section 319(1) of the Criminal Code of Lagos State unconstitutional. On the contrary, there are sections of the Constitution, such as sections 30(1), 213(2)(d) and 220(1)(e) which in no mistake terms recognize the death penalty”

    In Joshua Vs. State (2009) All EWLP (pt. 975) 1020 (CA), the Court of Appeal, relied on Kalu Vs. State (supra) and held that though abolished in other jurisdictions, the Constitution of Nigeria still recognizes the death penalty. In GABRIEL VS. STATE (2010 6 NWLR (pt. 1190), the intermediate court rejected foreign decisions and held that the death penalty is constitutional in Nigeria; just as the apex court did in AMOSHIMA VS. STATE (2011) All FWLR (part 597) 601 (SC), where it held that the death sentence is not unconstitutional and did not derogate from the hallowed doctrine of separation of powers.

     

    Do death row inmates have rights?

    Yes. The legality of the death penalty should not be confused with the illegality exhibited in the infamous case of Aliu Bello Vs A- General, Oyo State (1986) 5 NWLR (part 45) 828, where one Nosiru Bello who had been convicted of armed robbery by the High Court of Oyo State and was sentenced to death, had filed an appeal against this conviction. Surprisingly, while his appeal was still pending before the Court of Appeal, the A-G of Oyo State recommended his execution.  He was promptly executed. The execution was declared illegal by the trial court and this was upheld by the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. The apex court also held that the premature execution constituted a blatant infringement of the deceased’s fundamental right to life. Thus, a person condemned to death is still entitled to his fundamental rights pending his execution.

    In Nemi V. Attorney-General Of Lagos State (1996) 6 NWLR 42 at 55, the Court of Appeal held that “a convict on death row is entitled to challenge torture, inhuman or degrading treatment arising from a prolonged delay in executing him”. In Ogugu V. The State (1994) 9 NWLR (pt. 366) 1 at 47, the Supreme Court dilated that, “the executive and judicial authorities must accept responsibility of ensuring that execution follows as swiftly as practicable after sentence, allowing reasonable time to appeal and consideration or reprieve”.

    A similar decision was arrived at in Dominic VS. AIG (2008) All FWLR (pt. 420) 775. This point was also emphasized by Belgore, JSC (as he then was), in Onouha Kalu VS. STATE (supra).

    “At any rate, if after death sentence has been passed and the accused is in prison custody, if anything arises outside the normal custody that amounts to “torture or inhuman or degrading treatment”, that will be cause of action under fundamental rights but not militating against the sentence of death. In such a case the death sentence stands.

    “Inhuman and degrading treatment” outside the inevitable confinement in death row will not make illegal the death sentence, rather it only gives ground for an enforcement right under the Constitution.”

    This case puts to rest a decision such as the Ugandan case of Kigula & Ors. V. The Attorney-General (2015) AHRLR 197 (up cc 2005) page 197 at 221, where the Ugandan Supreme Court ordered the state to commute death sentences passed on the appellants to life imprisonment on the ground that “the inordinate delay in carrying the death sentence after it had been confirmed by the highest appellate court was inconsistent with article 24 and 44(1) of the Constitution”. This decision is absolutely not binding on any Nigerian court. It can, at best, be of persuasion.

    However, in SOERING V. UK (1989) 11 EHRR, 439, the European Court held that the death penalty did not breach Article 2 of the European Convention, (equivalent of section 33 1999 Constitution); but that it violated Article 3 (inhuman and degrading treatment), because of the exposure of the victim on the death row to unacceptable level of stress and anxiety while awaiting his sentence and subsequent appeals; and especially considering the convict’s age and mental stability.

     

    What next?

     

    I wish Rev King well. I appeal to the Lagos State Government to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment, strictly on compassionate ground only. But, most people who argue for Rev King and others, are merely swayed by sheer sentiments and emotion, not law and justice. They easily forget that innocent lives were prematurely exterminated. The real victims remain forgotten in cold, deserted lonely graves, without anyone thinking of restitution for them and their bereaved families and friends. Only the survival of the convict becomes increasingly prioritised. Where is the justice or restitution for the humanity, dignity and memory of the deceased, who were gruesomely murdered? What has happened to our sense of justice and fairness? Said Socratic Justice Oputa, in Josiah V. State (1995) 1 NWLR (pt. 1) 125:

    Justice is not a one-way traffic. It is not justice for the appellant only. Justice is not even only a two – way traffic. It is really a three-way traffic – justice for the appellant, accused of a heinous crime of murder; justice for the victim, the murdered man, the deceased, whose blood is crying out to heaven for vengeance and finally, justice for the society at large – the society whose social norms and values had been desecrated and broken by the criminal act complained of.