The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • Junior lawyers disagree over NBA Conference fees hike

    Junior lawyers have expressed divergent views about registration fees for the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)’s Annual General Conference (AGC), Lagos 2017.

    Some have called for the fee to be reduced, while others said it was reasonable.

    The NBA National Executive Council (NEC), at a meeting, which ended last Thursday in Lokoja, Kogi State, approved separate fees for different categories of participants.

    Lawyers not above five years post call are to pay N20,000 as regular registration fee or N40,000 and N80,000 for those who register late or at the venue.

    Fees for other levels of participants vary between N30,000 for six years’ post call lawyers and N500,000 for SANs, Attorneys-General and Benchers.

    Participants will also get computer tablets said to be valued at N250,000, among others.

    But some young lawyers started an online petition last Friday, demanding that the fees be reverted to what they paid for last year’s event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The petition, hosted on www.ipetitions.com with a target of 1,000 supporters, had garnered 275 signatures by Sunday evening.

    The petitioners said the fees were not affordable because “most young lawyers are paid little or paltry salaries”.

    Those from outside Lagos, they said, would be unable to bear the “high cost of transportation and living” in the city.

    They also stated that the tablet should be made optional as “it is not the most pressing needs of young lawyers.”

    Paulson Michael, who signed the petition, said: “How much is the average young lawyer earning? It is peanuts.” He urged the NBA to “think outside the box to protect our interest as young lawyers”.

    Yakubu Galadima said: “I thought the executives will consider the recession and perhaps reduce it to what we paid at the last AGC.”

    Another signee, Stanislaus Nwadike, said: “I passionately urge the leadership of the NBA to reverse the Conference fee for the NBA for 2017 in the interest of fairness and greater attendance and participation.”

    But others said the benefits of the conference far outweigh the fees.

    One of them, who spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said the fees were reasonable because the tablet would “be loaded” with conference materials and an e-library of law reports free for one year.

    He said: “Everyone will get free breakfast and lunch while the conference will also probably be televised live on satellite TV. I know that times are hard for us young lawyers, especially those who will come in from outside Lagos, but I think it’s worth sacrificing for.”

  • Alleged trespass: Oniba family seeks Ambode’s intervention

    •Matter has been settled, claims Elete family

    The Iba community has urged Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to ensure compliance with a Supreme Court judgment on the ownership of its land at Ilemba Awori and Ilemba Hausa communities in Ojo town.

    The Oniba of Iba, Oba Yushau Goriola Oseni, and the Oniba Chieftaincy family, accused the Elete family of trespass.

    But the Eletes denied the allegation, saying the matter has been settled.

    Elete is a neighbouring riverine community to Iba.

    In an April 18 petition to Lagos State government through their counsel Adetunji Orisalade, they urged government not allow the conversion of their land by the Elete family.

    The Lagos State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was a defendant in the suit, which was decided in Oniba’s favour by the Supreme Court in 1984.

    Orisalade said Iba town received the information that government had granted Elete family an approval for the installation of Elete as an Oba.

    The petitioners said the communities traditionally belong to the Oniba of Iba in which he has always installed a traditional ruler (bale) in pursuance of the Oniba’s family ownership right over it.

    Orisalade said the Elete family once sued the Oniba of Iba over communities’ ownership, but that the case was stuck out at the Supreme Court in February 27, 1984.

    The petition reads in part:”That a family adjudged not to own Ilemba Awori and Ilemba Hausa by the highest court of the land cannot be granted same or made a chief or Oba over same by any executive fiat.

    “It is instructive to note also that by virtue of the said judgment supra, the issue of the ownership of Ilemba Awori community and right over the chieftaincy threat have been permanently sealed and same found to reside in our clients

    “It is equally instructive to note that by virtue of the said judgment, the legally sanctioned authority to create chieftaincies within Ilemba Awori and rule over same is the Oniba of Iba.

    “However, it is sad that in spite of their active participation in the above cases which were even instituted by them, and the knowledge of the verdicts therein, the Elete family have been indulging in some unwholesome and unlawful act with a view to forcefully take over as one of the communities under the Elete family and rule their riverine communities therefrom.

    “This is untenable in law, clearly wrong and most unacceptable to our client who shall equally and forcefully resist same.”

    Orisalade said while the Oniba of Iba is not opposed to the creation of a monarch for Elete, it should restrict its reach to their traditional riverine areas and not encroach on the disputed communities.

    But, the Elete of Ete Kingdom, Oba Nafiu Daoda Oduowo Iya, declined to comment on the Supreme Court judgment. He absolved himself and his subjects of any wrongdoing.

    One of the monarch’s aides, Abdulahi Adeyinka, who spoke to The Nation at his palace in Ajangbadi, said the monarch of Iba had settled the matter with the police.

    “This same petition was taken to Police Command at Area K Police along Lagos/Badagry expressway, where the Assistant Area Commander of the place invited the both of us.

    “Police said they could not intervene on matters bordering on boundary adjustment, more so when the two parties are within the same Iba Local Government Area

    “The police has, therefore, advised that both parties should write to the Lagos State Ministry of Survey which is capable of producing boundary adjustment for both parties,” he said.

  • Church asks court to keep govt off its property

    The Incorporated Trustees of Word of Life Bible Church has asked a Lagos High Court to restrain the state government from dispossessing it of its land on Victoria Island.

    In a suit marked LD/3040/14 before Justice Christopher Balogun, the church is claiming that it is the owner of Block 1, Plot 21E, Victoria Island Annex Residential Scheme in Eti Osa Local Government Area.

    Joined as defendants are Lagos State Governor, Attorney-General, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State Building Control Agency, Physical Planning Permit Authority and Task Force on Environmental Sanitation.

    In a March 16, 2015 Statement of Claim, the claimant, through its lawyer, Kayode Bankole, averred that it acquired the property in 2003 with Certificate of Occupancy No. 68/68.199AR from Habib Nigeria Bank Ltd.

    It said it secured “an approval for change of use of the land from residential to institutional (place of worship)” via a September 7, 2004 letter and that its application for a building plan approval was “received, processed and assessed for payment of various sums of money which the claimant paid.

    “The claimant applied for and secured land clearance from the defendants, by which the claimant was confirmed as the assignee of the land.”

    The defendants, the claimant said, demanded and received a total of N4,590,132.99 as Land Use Charge and other payments so as to allow it “continue with its church building, when suddenly the defendant posted a contravention notice, dated January 2014 on its fence, alleging absence of development permit as ground of seeking removal of the building on the land within two days.”

    The defendant allegedly posted another two-day notice on January 21 and “demolished part of the fence without any lawful justification and in bad faith.”

    It said the defendants, by two letters of July 27, 2010 and June 25, 2011 admitted it “the loss of all documents submitted by the claimant and demanded another set of documents and fees, which the claimant obliged.”

    It is seeking, among others, a declaration that the defendants acts on or about January 21, 2014, amounted to trespass, was illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to Section 43 of the 1999 Constitution.

    A declaration that defendants negligently lost its documents and an order compelling them to refund the sum of N3,057,056.36 “unjustly demanded and received” twice for building permit processing.

    It also wants a declaration that “the sealing of the claimant’s property since April 2014 by the fourth defendant is wrong, illegal and unlawful and an order directing it to unseal the property.

    At the last mention of the suit on May 25, the defendants were yet to file their defence.  Justice Balogun adjourned till July 6.

  • Osinbajo, Onnoghen for IIPELP/NIJ workshop

    Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) is expected to declare open a two-day International Institute for Petroleum, Energy Law and Policy (IIPELP) workshop scheduled for Abuja on June 19 and 20.

    The event, organised in collabo-ration with National Judicial Institute (NJI) third annual Judges’ Workshop on Petroleum, Gas and Power Sectors, will be chaired by Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen.

    The theme is Law and the changing face of petroleum, gas and power sectors inNigeria.

    It will hold at Andrews Otutu Obaseki Auditorium, NJI, from 10am,  IIPELP founder/president Prof Niyi Ayoola- Daniels stated this during a courtesy visit on Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) by IIPELP advisory board members.

    Malami, according to Ayoola- Daniels, confirmed his attendance and will also deliver a speech at the workshop.

    Also at the weekend NJI’s management board led by its administrator Justice Roseline Bozimo visited IIPELP and “paid huge encomiums” on Ayoola-Daniels and his team for “the great vision of organising the workshop”.

    Ayoola-Daniels said the workshop would “equip judicial  officers and judges with appropriate legal, fiscal, and regulatory skills”.

    Apart from the Minister of State for Petroleum Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who will deliver Osinbajo’s speech, other expected guests include Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, Speaker House of Representatives Rt Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Former CJN Justice Alfa Modibbo Belgore, who is IIPELP’s Advisory Board chairman, Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN).

    Others are the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Director-General NIMASA Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Executive Secretary/CEO Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Mr Hassan Bello, MD/CEO NPA Hadiza Bala Usman and Executive Chairman, FIRS Babatunde Fowler.

    Prof Barth Nnaji, Dr Timothy Okon, Dr David Ige, Prof. Ibironke Odumosu-Ayamu, Prof Omowunmi Iledare, Ernest Nwapa and Immediate Past National Publicity Secretary of NBA Gbolahan Gbadamosi are also expected.

  • Strengthening legislative drafting practice

    There can hardly be a reasoned, rational legislative output in terms of enactments, without a competent knowledgeable and clearheaded team or office of legislative drafters.

    It is to be understood that so much go into the making of legislation. The unseen hands of the legislative drafters, most arduously, chisel out statutes from a bush of proposals. This, by any means, is not a child’s play, as any piece of intelligible, compact codes of law would have cost some pounds of brains.

    What then is legislative drafting? Legislative drafting is often used interchangeably with such general terms as legal drafting or legal writing. Much as this may not be entirely incorrect, Legal drafting or Legal writing refer, generically, to all aspects of the Solicitor’s job, whilst legislative drafting as a kernel of the nut, specifically, has to do with those aspects of legal drafting or writing, involved in the preparation of a proposed legislation, whether principal or subsidiary.

    It has to be noted that though the Black’s Law Dictionary defines the term ‘drafting’ as ‘the practice, technique, or skill involved in preparing legal documents (Bryan A Garner, Blacks Law Dictionary, Thompson West, US (Eight Edition) 2004, page 531),that dictionary, has no definition for legislative drafting. The term legislative drafting has been taken to be about composing proposed legislation.

    1. N. Onwe, in Groundwork of Legislative Drafting ( SNAAP Press Limited, Enugu, 2009, Page 1, defines legislative drafting as: “The art of writing legislation, which includes subsidiary or secondary legislation; administrative orders, notices, rules, warrants and similar instruments’’.

    Legislative drafting is both an art and a science. The legislative drafter, more like a design architect, has to sketch out a plan for the proposed legislation carefully, to enable a formidable structure that can stand in the legal environment. The drafter should have a good working knowledge of the gamut of laws in the legal system. Good legislative drafting identifies the legal objectives of a proposed legislation and meets them fully.

    This is achievable by expressing the necessary legal rights and obligations in an accurate clear manner, while ensuring that the draft complies with acceptable norms and relates harmoniously to the legal order.

    Legislative drafting is not an entirely academic affair neither is it entirely a ‘chisel and hammer’ business. It is an enterprise that requires both good academic standing and some creative ingenuity.

    Legislative drafting, as any other design effort, has some inspirational basis. Any great legislative drafter, as a musical artist or composer, would affirm that inspiration for naughty drafting solutions, come either in dreams or relaxed moods during leisure activities.

    The quality of legislative instruments in a jurisdiction is only a reflection of the quality of legislative drafters available in that jurisdiction. When for instance, we hear of harmony and concord in the workings and application of statutes in the United Kingdom, it is only a reflection of an efficient, inspired, well trained Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, properly trained, insulated from partisan politics,which is focused on nothing but legislative clarity. In the United States and Canada, the story is not different, there is clarity and harmony in the regime of statutes, owing to well laid out drafting offices with experienced, knowledgeable and motivated legislative drafters.Can we say the same for Nigeria? Your guess is as good as mine. With the wobbly staccato of legislation, swimming in conflicts, each pleading not to be mowed down by the courts; with the lacunas in our laws, even in the Constitution, which is the grund norm, leaves us at the mercy of the ‘doctrine of necessity’, from time to time; with the jungle of regulations, notices, orders, etc; in the gazettes, is it yet time to talk of clarity, concord and harmony in the Nigerian Corpus of Laws? If we desire a change in the status quo, we must cast some attention on the infrastructures, personnel and rewards for legislative drafting at the different levels of government. If we desire that the quality of enactments churned out by our Legislative authorities must improve, we have to make visible commitments towards improving the practice of legislative drafting.The question may be, how do we go about this?

    First, Nigeria has to get down to the basics by establishing a Central Legislative Drafting Office. This office shall be administered by a seasoned, highly exposed, resourceful legislative drafter.

    Specifically, the candidate for the leadership of the office should be well at home with the comparative drafting styles and approaches of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the European Union and the United States of America. Such office should coordinate drafting of principal and subordinate legislation at the Federal Level of Government, using approved, uniform templates. This will cure the present malaise in maintaining scattered drafting pools at the ministries, in the different chambers of the National Assembly, which is only a precursor of chaos. Same should go for the states, although, ought to be a miniature of the federal office.

    The second step should be to embark onaccelerated capacity building of the available legislative drafters.Most of the Legal or Legislative drafters in the Ministries and Legislative Houses are evidently poorly trained, miserably equipped and ill motivated. This explains the apparent lack of zeal and non commitment to effective drafting by the Legislative drafters. The picture will be clearer for anyone who had had to observe our publicly employed legislative drafters alongside legislative drafters from even other African countries, such as Ghana, South Africa or Gabon, not to talk of the United Kingdom, USA or Canada, at international conferences. Legislative drafters are usually well composed, highflying legal professionals, remunerated almost at the bench mark of high Court Judges.

    tion lawyer and legislative drafter. The very senior practitioners, some of whom have made fame in the profession; Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Professors of law, etc., are usually favored in legislative drafting assignments. Most times, they know next to nothing in legislative drafting. They pick the briefs and give to their juniors, who copy precedent books and lift foreign statutes without adaptations to make up drafts. This in my estimation, is a profound tragedy to the Nigerian Legal System. This is frequently the reason forsome bizarre provisions in our statute books.A situation where foreign provisions are transposed without modifications into our statutes, can only explain the mix ups and non practicable provisions that occupy spaces in our body of laws.

    The National Assembly,State Legislative Assemblies, Federal and State Ministries of Justice, Nigerian Institute of Legislative Studies and other relevant government agencies,are advised, as a matter of necessity to seek out and identify trained, experienced and exposed legislative drafters, for national patronage.Admittedly, indigenous experts in this field are few and most time silent in our midst, they are nevertheless available.

    Lawyers who are trained, experienced and internationally exposed in legislative drafting are highly treasured assets anywhere in the world, and are indeed in short supply. It is easily recognized, that it is a higher and harder task to prepare a piece of legislation which provisions are clear, precise, unambiguous and sitting in harmony with any other provisions in any other legislation in the jurisdiction, than the interpretation and application of provisions in statutes to given set of facts, which judges do. No wonder, good legislative drafters are high standing national personalities, and often, recipients of national awards, in civilized jurisdictions. Nigeria should seek outthese ‘treasures’, engage and motivate them to assist in preparing our laws, this is the panacea for improved quality in legislative instruments in Nigeria.

     

     

     

    *Hilary N. Onwe, the author of ‘Groundwork of Legislative Drafting’ is a UK trained Legislative drafter, works as Head at TAT, South West Zone, Ibadan.

     

     

     

  • Politics, leadership and accountability: The people’s role

    Being the address delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at the 50th anniversary summit by Movement of Genuine Change in Ilorin to mark the creation Kwara State

    Introduction

    I congratulate the members of the Movement for Genuine Change on the occasion of the 50th year anniversary of the creation of the Kwara state. I am delighted to participate in the historic celebration by the government and people of Kwara state. Although like other states in the country Kwara state was established for the purpose of bringing the government closer to the people. But it is regrettable to note that over the years the government has been taken away from the people as a few powerful individuals have privatized the state and cornered its resources to the detriment of the people.  It is hoped that this movement will align with other progressive organisations to embark on the mobilization of the people to take their political destiny in their own hands.

     

    Political participation in politics

     

    By virtue of section 14 of the Constitution, sovereignty is said to belong to the people from whom the government shall derive its authority and legitimacy. The welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of the government while the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution. Section 16 thereof stipulates that the national economy shall be managed in such a manner that the happiness and prosperity of the people will be guaranteed. But popular participation in politics has been hijacked by a few god fathers and money bags. Candidates are imposed on political parties while elections are manipulated by the ruling political parties.

    To ensure internal democracy in the political parties the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended has provided for the election of candidates through direct and transparent party primaries which shall be monitored by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission. But the provisions of the Constitution, Electoral Act and Guidelines as well as the rules of political parties are breached with impunity by party leaders because politics has been left in the hands of  a few professional politicians. It is high time the situation was changed in the overall interest of the society. The task of changing the course of history has to be taken up by the labour movement and other progressive organisations in the country. But the required mobilisation must include the struggle for popular control and management of the national economy.

     

    The political economy of

    underdevelopment

     

    In April 2014, the Federal Government celebrated the rebasing of the Nigerian economy as the largest in Africa. As the rebasing was largely artificial the economic status of Nigeria has since been reduced due to the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market and the devaluation of the national currency. Although the Federal government was forced to admit that Nigeria was in economic recession last year the masses have always been in recession since the Structural Adjustment Programme was imposed on the nation about three decades ago.

    While the government has predicted that the economic recession would end this year the United Nations has confirmed that 20 million people in 4 countries namely Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen are at the risk of starving to death. Nigeria is also far behind many poor nations in several areas of the human development index. In the midst of excruciating poverty confronting the people the government has no concrete empowerment programme that will lead to self reliance for the masses of our people. The paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty requires and understanding of the root cause of our crisis of underdevelopment.

    The Nigerian economy is controlled by market forces in line with the dictates of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It is an economic programme which has destroyed the middle class and reduced the quality of the life of the masses. Since the Nigerian people are opposed to the devaluation of the national currency the dangerous policy has been carried out through the dubious dollarization of the economy. The dollar which exchanged for 60 kobo before the introduction of SAP in 1986 was recently sold for over N500. In spite of the forex scarcity the government has continued to promote capital flight through the importation of goods which can be produced locally.

    With the fall in the price of crude oil the government has engaged in wasting the nation’s reserves on the consumption of foreign goods by the parasitic and corrupt ruling class. As the poor are asked to tighten their belts the system has continued to bail out the rich. The over reliance on the private sector for the development of the country has ruined the economy. Indeed, the private sector is pampered by the system with loans and intervention funds, duty waivers and tax incentives running to hundreds of billions of Naira.

     

     

     

     

    When the huge loans taken from the commercial banks threatened to collapse the economy the federal government set up the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to buy them. The AMCON has found it difficult to recover loans of about N5.4 trillion owed by 50 companies in the private sector.

    Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Bank set up by the federal government in 1989 to provide loans without collaterals to indigent citizens was scrapped in 1992. The judgment of the Federal High Court that the Bank be restored has been ignored by the Federal Government 1. The APC-led government has promised to give N5,000 monthly stipend to 25 million poorest citizens. It has also embarked on a feeding programme for primary school pupils. No doubt, the school feeding programme will increase school enrolment and improve the nutrition of school kids.  If it is properly implemented these tokenistic measures will go a long way to alleviate poverty among the masses.

    It is however my submission that widows, youths and other vulnerable segments of the society cannot be self sufficient during economic recession because of the crisis of capitalism. The crisis is manifested in unemployment, poverty, infrastructural decay and insecurity of life and property. The control of the economy has been left in the invisible hands of market forces. With respect, the control of the economy by market forces is illegal as it violates section 16 of the Constitution which has imposed a duty on the government to plan the economy and take control of the commanding height of the economy.

    As a matter of fact the management of the economy by market forces is fraudulent. How can the State preach the gospel of free market and then turn round to consolidate banks? Does free market allow the State to set up AMCON to take over private companies and manage them due to the failure to pay loans? Does free market authorize the Central Bank to sell dollars to Banks and Bureau De Change operators on a weekly basis? Is it part of free market policy to sell public assets to private investors and then provide them with intervention funds to run them? Or does free market support the granting of duty waivers to the private sector? The grand mismanagement of the economy under the pretext of promoting free market should stop.

    On his arrival from his medical vacation in the United Kingdom during the first week of March this year, President Buhari confirmed that he received the best medical treatment and therefore urged Nigerians to invest in education. The federal government has to lead the way by voting substantial fund to infrastructural development as well as improved funding of health and education with emphasis on science and technology. However, the education of our children should incorporate the teaching of core values of industry, national morality and integrity in line with the provisions of section 19 of the Constitution. In view of the overbearing influence of religion on the masses the leaders of all faith based institutions should stop the practice of celebrating criminality in any manner whatsoever.

     

    Recovery of looted wealth

     

    The ongoing recovery of the nation’s looted wealth should be supported by the masses on the condition that the proceeds of the crime committed against the people by the ruling class will be channeled toward job creation and infrastructural development. However, I am not unaware that sections 20 and 21 of the EFCC Act provide that funds realized from the sale of properties of persons convicted abroad shall be paid to the coffers of the federal government and section 30 of thereof which provides that other recovered loot be paid into the federation account.

    In the first place, the recovered funds have not been traced to the Federation Account. Secondly, section 162 of the Constitution provides that the Federation shall maintain a special account called “the Federation Account” to which shall be paid all revenues collected by the Government of the Federation. It is our submission that recovered loot does not form part of the revenue collected by the Government. To that extent, it cannot be paid to the Federation Account. The recovered loot should therefore be transparently managed and spent on socioeconomic projects by the federal government.

    The Federal Government should stop releasing funds to state governments which are unable to account for the bailout fund and London/Paris club loan refund made available to them to fund the payment of salaries of workers and other development projects. The anti graft agencies have a duty to investigate and bring to book the criminal elements who are alleged to have cornered and diverted the public fund. I call on the labour unions to ensure that the fund is fully accounted for as it was meant to alleviate the suffering of the working people.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hypocrisy over Islamic banks

     

    The move to licence Islamic banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria has generated negative reactions from a number of Christian leaders. It ought to be pointed out that the establishment of banks by religious bodies is not illegal in so far as they are not run with public funds. In fact, Christian leaders have a duty to support the establishment of free interest banks and other financial institutions. After all, it is clearly stated in Exodus 22:25 that “If you lend money to any of my people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.”

    In tackling poverty among Christians it is also decreed that “if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Take no usury or interest from him: but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. You shall not lend him your money for usury nor lend him your food for profit 2”.

    In a country where religious institutions are allowed to invest in commercial ventures there is no justifiable reason for mounting opposition to the establishment of Islamic banks which are not going to charge interests. Therefore, apart from stopping the opposition to the establishment of Islamic banks, Christian leaders should set up welfare schemes to encourage the establishment of banks that will make loans available to the poor without charging them interests. This will go a long to alleviate poverty among the poor in the congregation.

     

    Ethno-religious Violence

     

    In December 2015, 347 Shiites were massacred when armed troops opened fire on them in Zaria for allegedly causing a traffic jam which interrupted the movement of the convoy of the Chief of Army Staff.  Instead of calling the murderers to order the Kaduna state government aided and abetted them in the secret burial of the bodies of the slain Shiites in a mass grave in Mango village, near Kaduna.  As if those atrocities were not enough, the Kaduna state government proceeded to demolish the houses of the Shiites leader, Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky. Apart from witnessing the gruesome murder of three of their children , Elzakzaky and his wife who were subjected to horrendous brutalisation from the troops have been detained without trial since December 14, 2015. The directive of President Buhari that the criminal elements who perpetrated the orgy of violence be fished out and prosecuted is likely to be sacrificed on the alter of “peace”.

    Having lost his right eye Elzakzaky has applied to seek medical treatment abroad. But the request has been rejected by the State Security Service. In a grand display of impunity the order of the Federal High Court that the couple be released from detention and be provided with accommodation by the government which has rendered them homeless has been treated with disdain. Governor El-Rufai should be advised to direct the Attorney-General of Kaduna State to set the engine in motion for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the well known criminal elements who massacred 347 Shiites and the 204 people in Southern Kaduna. In any country which operates under the rule of law the perpetrators of violence are not treated like sacred cows.

    With respect to the incessant killing of farmers by armed herdsmen in the various parts of the country the federal government should collaborate with state governments to embark on the establishment of ranches and abattoirs in all the states of the federation. Our political class ought to learn from Botswana which is an arid land as the Kalahari desert has extended to the western part. Yet that country which is the largest producer and exporter of meat and meat products in Africa has successfully eliminated clashes between cattle rearers and farmers by establishing ranches and abattoirs.

     

    Redirecting of the Wheel of Statecraft

     

    The level of poverty in Nigeria provides a fertile ground for the recruitment of the economically ‘un-captured’ to perpetuate wanton ethno-religious violence. The National Bureau for Statistics has stated that about 70 percent of all Nigerians are poor. The solution to this is to massively invest the material resources of the country on development and employment creation. This would mean that the economy is restructured and diversified, corruption is seriously engaged, and the commitment to development is true and central. Second, there will always be individuals that would benefit from divisions and national discord or secession of the country. In this regard the security system of the State must be ready to arrest and punish this group of individuals.

    There is also the need to empower institutions. The problem with Nigeria is not the lack of institutions but the challenge has always been that the existing institutions have under-performed or have been hijacked, domesticated and used for certain group interests. Such institutions include the electoral body, police, media, judiciary, religious and ethnic based-bodies. The more these institutions are divorced from ethno-religious interests the more they champion the quest for nation building. Fourth, there is the need for rule of law. Ethnic tensions and resentments would reduce when it is collectively accepted that politics and governance would be guided by the rule of law. Some individuals should not be above the law while others are subjected to the law. The Fourth Republic has been rightly described By Mr. Tony Momoh as de-democratisation rather than democracy.

    The government has a duty to educate and mobilise the people against centrifugal forces. The proponents of dividing Nigeria have always found it easy to list the challenges facing Nigeria such as corruption, poverty, exploitation, marginalisation and infrastructure among others. Yet they have often failed to state how these realities would be engaged in the new states that they advocate. For instance, is there any critical reason to assume that there would not be exploitation and minorities in a Niger Delta state or in a Biafra? If it is true that some of the unscrupulous politicians that had benefited from the divide-and-rule politics in Nigeria, what is the certainty that they would not do the same in the new states? The ordinary Nigerians must be educated in this regard.

    Nigerians should also be mobilised against centripetal forces in a systematic way. The public must be sensitized to the dangers and consequences of balkanising the Nigerian State. What happens to federal institutions in each state? Where do the non-citizens of the new states go? How will they be catered for in their new states upon return? If they are not catered for, will it not generate another round of neo-secessionist plots in the new states? The answers to these questions should help government in its national mobilisation strategy which should state from primary to tertiary level and must permeate the informal sector. Indeed, the government and its agencies are equally guilty of sabotaging nation building through the implementation of dangerous and ill digested neo-liberal policies and programmes.

    A dangerous suggestion on nation building was made by the late strong man of Libya, Colonel Maumar Ghadaffi had advised that for there to be lasting peace in Nigeria, the country must be balkanised along ethnic and religious lines. His thinking, largely based on the Huntingtonian clash of civilisation thesis 3 that forecloses any possibility of building a collective national sentiment in a context where there is an on-going warfare and/or violence along the country’s fault lines that divides Nigeria’s Muslims and their Christian counterparts. Simply put: Ghadaffi believed that stability could only be achieved in Nigeria if the country is divided along religious line.  Although Gaddafi got it totally wrong, the task of nation building remains a challenge in Nigeria just as it was in the immediate years of independence.

     

    On the plan to sack the civilian government

     

    A few days ago, the Chief of Army Staff, General Buratai alerted the Nigerian people of the nefarious plans of a bunch desperate politicians to invite some members of the armed forces to terminate the democratic process. Although various civil society groups have warned against the dangerous plot, the media and officials of the federal government should stop playing into the hands of anti-democratic elements by giving the false impression that there is political instability in the country.  The enemies of democracy must not be allowed to exploit President Buhari’s ill health to truncate the democratic dispensation. In view of the ruination of our economy, the bastardization of our politics and the devaluation of our national morality by previous military dictators the Nigerian people must be prepared to reject the coming into power of another fake Salvation Army.

    Notwithstanding the glaring shortcomings of the fragile democratic process the people should be allowed to take advantage of the democratic structures to effect change. Our bitter experience has shown that Nigerians have opted for political change through the ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun. On their own part the political class should put their house in order and stop inciting  potential coup plotters. While the decision of the Army Chief to alert the nation of the devilish plot is appreciated the authorities should proceed to fish out the coup plotters and their civilian collaborators with a view to trying them for treasonable felony.

    In his last letter addressed to both chambers of the National Assembly, President Buhari disclosed that he was proceeding on medical vacation and that the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN would coordinate the affairs of the State pursuant to section 145 of the Constitution. When a senator questioned the letter for not expressly stating that power had been transferred to the Vice President as Acting President he was called to order by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki who promptly directed attention to section 145 of the Constitution. Notwithstanding the timely clarification made by the senate leadership a section of the media alleged that there was a deliberate plan by a cabal to prevent the Acting President Osinbajo from standing proxy for President Buhari.

     

    However, in line with the letter transmitted to the National Assembly by President the Acting President has continued to exercise the powers of the President. It was therefore embarrassing when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was reported to have said that the government was not sure who would sign the 2017 Appropriation Bill into law. A presidential aide categorical stated that the budget would be signed by President Buhari. Once again, the attention of the Nigerian people has been diverted from the contents of the budget. The debate is whether the signing of the budget would be carried out by the Acting President or the President whenever he returns to the country. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the President may sign the bill in his hospital bed!

     

    Having regard to our recent experience when the budget of the federal government was forged by a cabal the legal status of the 2017 Appropriation Bill ought to be clarified. I wish to state, without any fear of contradiction, that once the President has transmitted a letter to the National Assembly that he is proceeding on vacation all presidential powers are automatically transferred to the Vice President who shall be the Acting President. Therefore, until the President writes another letter to the National Assembly at the end of the vacation he cannot exercise the powers of his office. In other words, the President is not competent to sign any bill into law while he is on vacation. The Constitution did not envisage that a President who is on vacation and an Acting President who is standing proxy for him will be exercising presidential powers simultaneously. To that extent, pending the resumption of duties by President Buhari the Acting President, Professor Osinbajo is competent to sign all bills validly passed by the National Assembly.

     

    In view of the way and manner President Buhari has invoked section 145 of the Constitution no aide should embarrass him by causing unnecessary distraction over his medical vacation. Whereas the Constitution allows the President to send a letter within 21 days before sending a letter to the National Assembly he has always transmitted a letter before leaving the country. It would be recalled that when President Buhari returned to the country on February 3, 2017 he directed the Acting President to continue to rule the country as he would not resume duties until 3 days later when he would inform transmit a letter to the National Assembly. If President Buhari did not exercise powers during his vacation even though he was in the country why would he want to do so while he is on medical vacation abroad? Henceforth, the debate over the President’s medical vacation should centre on the urgent need by the federal government to equip some of our hospitals to avoid the disgraceful practice of sending the nation’s leaders abroad for medical attention.

     

    And instead of dissipating energies over the competence of an appropriation bill signed into law by the Acting President the Nigerian people should subject the 2017 budget to scrutiny. Analysis of the budget should not be limited to the national assembly as the executive branch has equally made budgetary provisions for items that cannot be justified under economic recession. In spite of the nation’s economic recession the national assembly decided to increase its 2017 budget by N149 billion. The national assembly jerked up its own budget from N115 billion to N125 billion. Out of the budget the sum of N13 billion has been earmarked for entertainment, travels and transportation by the federal legislators. Other details include do not reflect the economic reality of the country.

     

    However, the national assembly deserves commendation for publishing the details of its budget. But the resolution passed to increase the budget is illegal and unconstitutional as the exclusive power of the President to prepare and lay the budget was usurped by the national assembly. In other words, the legislators illegally prepared some aspects of the budget, laid them before themselves and passed them without any reference to the President. In order to fund the scandalous budget the federal government is shopping for a loan of $3.5 billion! I am compelled to call on the Acting President to refrain from signing the bill into law if the strange items are not expunged and removed by the national assembly.

     

    Conclusion

     

    In order to cushion the effect of the economic recession the federal government should restore the Peoples’ Bank to give loans to indigent citizens who cannot access loans in commercial banks. The Islamic Bank and others which are not going to charge interests should be established. In addition, the federal government should spend  the fund  recovered from corrupt public officers and their privies  on job creation and fixing of hospitals and schools as well as the funding of other social services.

     

    It has to be pointed out that the economy of the country cannot be transformed in favour of Nigeria on the basis of the dangerous prescriptions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Nigerians should therefore be prepared to challenge the recycled neo-liberal managers of the economy who continue to insist on the dominance of market forces which have been discredited by the crisis of global capitalism. The Nigerian people should be organized, empowered and mobilized through their unions, associations and collectives to rebuild the country.

     

     

     

    (Footnotes)

     

    1

     

    See Femi Falana v Attorney-General of the Federation (Unreported) Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1121/2001 delivered on June 20,, 2014.

     

    2

     

    Leviticus 25: 35-3

    7

     

    3

     

    Huntington, 1996, 1993a; 1993b

     

  • How lawyers can adapt to changes, by NBA section

    The legal profession is dynamic and only those willing to adapt to changes can survive, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Section on Business Law chair Mr. Olumide Apata has said.

    Such changes, he said, include innovative trends and the impact of disruptive technology on legal practice.

    Apata said such changes, global evolution of legal practice and the future of the profession will be examined during NBA-SBL’s 11th Annual Business Law Conference holding from June 18 to 20 at the Eko Hotel and  Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    At a briefing in Lagos, Apata said major highlight of the conference would be a session on globalisation and the prospect of open borders vis-à-vis the provision of legal services.

    Another session, he said, will highlight how the practice of law is changing at a rapid speed in other jurisdictions, examining how prepared Nigerian firms are to embrace this new facet of the profession.

    “There will also be a Corporate Counsels’ session, which will provide an opportunity for legal practitioners to network with General Counsel and other in-house counsel,” he said.

    Senate President Bukola Saraki will be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony.

    Day one of the conference will look at The future of legal practice, are you ready?

    Panelists include, Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman Financial Reporting Council Nigeria,  Dotun Sulaiman, Mia Essien (SAN), Kem Iheanacho and Moray Mclaren.

    Another session will discuss Developing skills and capacity in the profession, redefining the architecture.

    Other sub themes are: Is the current training regime fit for purpose? Should we evolve to training contracts? Best practices in CLE, Should the law school be privatised or decentralised? How do we build and improve capacity under the current architecture?

    The session will be Chaired by Professor Konyinsola Ajayi, (SAN), other  panelists include:  Professor Ernest Ojukwu (SAN), Olamide Oladosu,  Dr. Mirian Kene Kachikwu and  Kenneth Okwor.

    Other sessions will discuss issues like  creating an efficient system of justice delivery, urgent reforms that are required to create an efficient system of justice delivery, relying on comparative analysis of what obtains in jurisdictions where the justice delivery systems are perceived to be ‘more’ efficient.

    The panelists will examine what is required from the government, the judiciary, the legal profession and the end users, the litigating public, to make this happen.

    The session will be chaired by Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN). The main Speaker is Fola Arthur-Worrey or Prof. Fidelis Oditah, QC, (SAN), while panelists include Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany,  Ingo Herbert, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Attorney-General of Oyo State, Seun Abimbola and Igonikon and Malaysian nominee.

    Another session will examine Technology, Innovation and the Law Firm of the Future.

    This session is designed to address two major subthemes: technology in the changing face of law practice and professional development; and substantive law issues in the digital economy. Discussions will touch on leveraging technology to improve service delivery, law firm management and professional development; as well as online reputation, cryptocurrency, the malaise of fake news, over-the-top services, and new platforms threatening to disrupt legal education and legal services delivery in Nigeria as we know it.

    Session Chairman  is Mr. Kola Aina, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer  of  Emerging Platforms, the  Group Managing Director Zinox,   Leo Stan Ekeh. Speaker is the  Founding Principal and  Chairman, Edge International Gerry Riskin. Panelists are Yetunde Johnson, MacJohnson Odey II,  Enyiola Madubuike, John Edokpolo and  Rotimi, Ogunyemi.

    The highpoint of the conference is the debate session which is  the first of its kind at the NBA-SBL Conferences. This would be a light-hearted debate on key professional rules; with one moderator,  two teams of four debaters to be judged by live audience vote.

    The topic of the debate is ‘ Rules of professional conduct in the 21st century,: challenging the status quo’. In a bid to challenge the status quo, each debater will have a go at the Rules of Professional Conduct, arguing for or against its relevance in the 21st century.

  • How to stop military adventurers, by lawyers

    How to stop military adventurers, by lawyers

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai’s alarm that some soldiers were hobnobbing with politicians caused quite a stir. The army chief must have heard something to have spoken the way he did, some analysts reasoned.Was there a coup in the offing? they wondered, as they analysed Buratai’s statement, which has generated heat in the polity. ADEBISI ONANUGA reports.

    THE Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt.-Gen Tukur Buratai’s statement was loaded. Even though it was brief and concise, the message was clear: some officers and soldiers are involved in political adventure. In a statement by Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Brig.-Gen Sani Usman, the army chief warned that there was no room for adventurous soldiers in the military.

    “The Nigerian Army is a thorough professional, disciplined, loyal and apolitical institution that has clear constitutional roles and responsibilities… Any officer or soldier of the Nigerian Army found to be hobnobbing with such elements or engaging in unprofessional conduct, such as politicking, would have himself or herself to blame,” the army chief said.

    The warning is believed to have emanated from an intelligence report that some politicians who were not comfortable with President Muhammdu Buhari’s state of health, were making surreptitious moves to infiltrate.

    To some observers, the alarm is pre-emptive. Pointing to recent postings in the army, they said the re-assignment of some officers and placing of some politicians under surveillance were aimed at disorganising the plotters.

    Is the warning by the COAS enough to deter the military and their politician-collaborators? How should the government ensure that democracy is not truncated?

    To lawyers, Buratai’s warning should not be treated lightly.

     

    Name the adventurers

     

    Some constitutional lawyers and human rights activists, including Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Mr George Oguntade (SAN), Mr Wahab Shittu, Ike Ofuokwu and a former member of Ogun State Judiciary Commission, Mr Abayomi Omoyinmi, believe the matter should not be glossed over by the government.

    Ozekhome said the development was worrisome, disturbing and should be resisted.

    “It is not only the floundering All Progressives Congress (APC) that should condemn and resist such an ignoble misadventure as alleged, but the entire Nigerian citizenry should rise up and defend our hard-earned democracy by resisting any intrusive military  khakitocracy,” he said.

    According to him, the worst form of democracy is better than and preferable to the most benevolent military dictatorship.

    He pointed out that recent revelations of “haemorrhaging pilfering, crass, barbaric and primitive acquisition of our national wealth and common patrimony, have shown the military to be even worse and more satanically luciferous than our thieving political kleptomaniacs”.

    To Ozekhome, the military has proven itself to be “a horrifically sad amalgam and complete negative approximation of the entire 1999 constitutional three arms of government joined together”.

    He believes there can hardly be any smoke without fire, adding that the military does not wait to be invited.

    “They watch the inclement season of anomie, the debilitating political and socio-economic environment of the particular time, the pervasive disillusionment, the haplessness and total hopelessness of the suffering hoi polloi, the smoldering flames of divisiveness and schism deliberately engendered and engineered by politicians in the polity, before striking,” Ozekhome said.

    He called for a thorough investigation of what he described as an “alarming scenario”, saying there was need for  a “proactive smoking out of all possible culprits”.

    “The panacea remains that politicians who find themselves in government must deliver to Nigerians the positive change and democracy dividends they were promised. After all, the maxim is pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be respected),” he said.

    Oguntade, who also described the development as disturbing, said it raised the issue of national security, adding that the COAS must share some of the blame.

    “This is because they are the one that deploy soldiers to politicians for all manner of reasons. How, then, can you complain that those you have voluntarily deployed to these politicians are now being ‘approached’ by the same politicians?,” he queried.

    According to Oguntade, those found culpable should be sanctioned.

    “If specific cases have been identified, then I think it will be a good idea to investigate this further to determine the reasons and objectives of the “approach” and where it is determined that this constitutes a criminal offence, appropriate action should be taken,” he said.

    Shittu said the alarm raised by the COAS is  patriotic.

    He said it would sensitise all, particularly the security agencies, on the need to be on red alert.

    “Beyond the warning, however, the COAS must  furnish particulars confidentially on the grounds for his suspicions,” he said.

    Shittu suggested that interrogation of suspects must commence immediately.

    To him, anyone trying to derail democracy is an enemy of the people who should be fished out and dealt with as such.

    “The only caveat is that due process and the rule of law must never be compromised. It should also not be exploited as basis for witch-hunt.

    “The worst form of civilian regime is still better than the most benevolent military regime,” he said.

    Omoyinmi said the statement credited to the COAS was unsettling and warned that it should not be treated with kids gloves.

    “It behoves every right-thinking Nigerian to ensure by words or actions that nothing inauspicious happens to our democracy in the light of the revelation coming from the COAS.

    “Military intervention in democracy is no more fashionable. The government has intervened in series of military takeover and attempted military take-over in the sub-West Africa region during the 18 years of our democratic dispensation.

    “Anyone who tries or attempts to topple and or truncate our democracy via any military take-over should be ready to face the consequences from the people of Nigeria,” he said.

    Omoyinmi said the officers as well as their politicians or civilians should be singled out without delay.

    “A thorough investigation should be carried out by a very highly special compartment to be set up by the authorities,” he said.

    Ofuokwu said it was not enough for the COAS to warn his men to desist from hobnobbing with politicians and the allegation swept under the carpet.

    “It will be the height of political insanity and insensitivity for the political class to repeat the mistakes that brought to an abrupt end the Second Republic in December 1983.

    “The military in itself, I believe, has enough capacity and intelligence apparatus to look inward and X-ray itself,” he said.

    Ofuokwu called for discreet investigation to uncover the reasons for “this unholy alliance so as to nip it in the bud if it is inimical to our national security or if it will result in a breach to our democratic dispensation”.

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Second Vice President Monday Ubani said it was very disturbing that when we thought that we were growing our democracy to an acceptable international standard,the country was being inundated with rumours of the military’s desire to truncate our hard-earned democracy.

    “The threat is not pleasant at all to the ears of any sane adult who is aware of the role the military has played in our national life from 1960 till date.

    “The strangulating federal structure we are gasping our breadth to free ourselves from was imposed by the military with the barrel of gun. To contemplate military incursion into our national life at this juncture is appalling, condemnable and unacceptable.”

    He said the warning of the Chief of Army Staff was timely, and unassailable. He said it would be pleasant to hear that those who were contemplating such a heinous crime were rounded up and prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others.

    “We must all try to ensure that we protect this democracy with the last strength in us all. We should use the crop of those contemplating coup  to set example that  coup is no longer fashionable and tolerable in our country. I am satisfied that all the ethnic groups in the country have spoken vehemently against the news that such thing is being contemplated,” he said.

    Ubani said the news should not be dismissed with a wave of hand by the authorities, noting that almost all the successful coups in the country started with a rumour like this and when not nipped in bud, the plotters were strengthened by the negligence of those in power and carried out their devastating enterprise.

    ‘’This time around, everyone concerned with the survival of this great nation should cry out, warn, advise, point out the suicidal mission these people would be engaging in plunging this nation into chaos and anarchy through any coup.

    He asked: “What cogent and plausible reason would they advance for any coup at this time in our national life? What is more troubling is the revelation that the civilians are actually the ones approaching the military officers to persuade them to truncate our democracy. We must resist them through warning, prosecution and punishment.

    “Agreed that our democracy is not performing to full expectation, it is still better than the most benevolent military dictatorship in Nigeria. We have had enough of them. Let us continue to make our mistakes and correct them under this dispensation, I believe that very soon a new crop of leadership will emerge in Nigeria that will direct our path of progress appropriately. That time is almost near, let the military maintain their peace and concentrate on their constitutional duty of protecting the territorial integrity of the country.”

     

     

  • Judges celebrate Lagos at 50

    Judges celebrate Lagos at 50

    A special session has been held by the Lagos State High Court as part of activities to mark Lagos at 50. ADEBISI ONANUGA reports

    JUDGES and other stakeholders converged on the high court premises at Igbosere to celebrate the judiciary’s successes as part of the activities marking Lagos at 50.

    The special court session was held at court’s foyer.

    Aside from the host and Chief Judge, Justice Olufunlayo Atilade and serving judges, others who attended included some former Chief Judges – Justices Samuel Ilori, Augustine Ade-Alabi and Ayotunde Phillips

    The state is the oldest judiciary in the country. Its existence, according to Justice Atilade, dates back to the cession of the British Government when it was known as Colony Province Judiciary.

    Justice Atilade said the Magistrates’ court was the first to be established. The High Courts, she said, was formally known as the Supreme Court, with its jurisdiction limited to Lagos.

    She said on attainment of self-government,  the Federal Territory of Lagos inherited the two court systems – the Magistrates’ and the Supreme Court.

    “At the creation of the Federal Supreme Court, the Lagos Supreme Court became High Court of the Federal Territory Lagos and Justice J.I.C. Taylor (John Idowu Conrad Taylor) became Chief Justice of the court on July 22, 1964. But today, the title of that office is Chief Judge of Lagos state’, she stated.

    The chief judge also recalled that the Igbosere High Court building was the headquarters of the court and is the oldest and recognisable judicial building in Nigeria.

    She said the Lagos judiciary, being the foremost judiciary in the country, is renowned for excellence and numerous pace setting achievements. Justice Atilade said the state judiciary is fully aware of their constitutional role as the third arm of government.

    She pointed out that their  commitment to dispense justice as an independent and unbiased arbiter has been reinforced by their resolve to ensure justice to all who approach the temple of justice.

    She said the outstanding performance of the state judiciary have over the years have been compelled by their desire for excellence.

    She said this explained why the state judiciary has produced jurists of immense qualities most of whom are still serving the nation. The state judiciary, she further stated is the most vibrant  and the largest in the federation with 57 judges, 138 magistrates adding that the size is a reflection of the high volume of cases in the jurisdiction.

    Atilade promised that the judiciary would continue to invest in human resources to improve service delivery and statutory duties.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode commended the judges and magistrates in the state for building public confidence in the judiciary.

    The governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State government, Mr Tunji Bello, said he was “particularly happy with the quality of their judgments which most superior courts have upheld’’.

    “­On behalf of the good people of Lagos State, I say well done and more power to your elbow,’’ he said.

    Ambode said his administration would continue to support the state judiciary with necessary materials to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness.

    He however noted that the journey in the last 50 years has not been rosy for the judiciary.

    He said notwithstanding the achievements of the judiciary, more still needed to be done in view of the fact that Lagos, as the commercial nerve centre of West Africa presently cater for about 20 million people which continued to grow by the day.

    He said: “This means more work for the state government in the area of security, infrastructure, social welfare and for the judiciary, more and more litigation which would require the quickest dispensing of justice, more especially as it affects investor’s within the state, to continue to encourage them to invest in the Lagos dream and project “.

    Justice Ilori, who spoke briefly on the topic “Down memory lane”, recalled an event which captured how judges were revered and feared in the past, said no judiciary in Nigeria has a glowing edifice like the Igbosere High Court building. He thanked successive chief judges for keeping the building in good shape.

    Justice Ilori recalled that the state had always produced quality lawyers and that this had reflected in the quality of judges on the bench. His memory of the past as a practising lawyer elicited laughter from  the foyer.

    He said judges during his days were revered and feared. He recalled  an incident which he used to buttress this position.

    He said two men were about entering  Igbosere High Court when they saw a judge coming. He said of one them quickly told the other to remove his cap. He  asked why he should do so. He said the first now said, better remove it, you can’t wear your cap in front of a judge. You don’t know those judges, they can see through the walls and before you know it, you are in trouble. He said the man became so terrified of the judge that he quickly removed his cap.

    On the nature of the judges, Ilori said: “I think all the judges that have served and presently serving  in the Lagos judiciary were specially made for Lagos. They don’t dance, they don’t attend parties, they don’t visit friends. We need the courts to come back same way. Judges must know that the judiciary is embedded in their personality. This is why judges must not do anything that would tarnish that position. I pray God to uphold them in the delicate job they are doing”.

    He said the High Court, Ikeja was like a court in a foreign land and that lawyers who were not well-prepared dared not  go there. He said  Iya Oniyan’s bukateria was where the practising lawyers would gather at the end of various court session to analyse proceedings and the judges.

    “We know judges who know their onions, we know those to fear and the no nonsense ones. We know Lagos judiciary not only by the quality of lawyers but also by the quality of judges”.

    Pa Tunji Gomez, a member of the Body of Benchers, who spoke on behalf of the bar, commended the judges for their impartiality, boldness and courage.

    Mr Ebun Sofunde, who spoke for the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), praiseed the first Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Taylor, who he said, sat punctually at 9.00 a.m. He said Justice Taylor founded the Lagos judiciary on the rule of law. To buttress this, he recalled an incident when he handled a case of some robbers brought before him in shackles. He ordered the shackles removed.

    Sofunde urged judges and lawyers to stand up and emphasise those traits that Justice Taylor stood for as the foundation for Lagos judiciary.

     

     

  • Lawyer seeks more protection for kids

    activist lawyer Mr Taiwo Akinlami has said it is the responsibility of adults to protect children.

    Akinlami spoke on Child abuse, child trafficking and child rights at a seminar organised by the Human Rights Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch.

    The theme was: Protecting the rights of vulnerable citizens in our society.

    Akinlami, a child rights activist, said ‘child vulnerability’ was due to ‘adult irresponsibility’.

    According to him, a child can be abused physically, emotionally, sexually or through neglect.

    “In 2006, a United Nations report titled: “Report on Violence Against Children 2006’’, states that abuse occurred in all countries but is more rampant in developing countries.

    “The UN noted in the report that nearly all national and international laws created to protect the rights of children have flatly failed.

    “Though the report did not state why the laws flatly failed but the cause is a lack of enforcement of these laws,’’ Akinlami said.

    ‘According to him, the number one enforcer of the law is the human conscience which is awaken by enlightenment and enlightenment will address issues in our culture.

    “We focus a lot on physical discipline in Africa while neglecting to show discipline through example to the child,” he said.

    Another speaker, Mrs Ifeyinwa Awagu, Acting Director, Institute of Humanities, Pan Atlantic University, addressed issues of gender equality in her speech titled: “Domestic violence and female rights’’.

    Awagu said teaching children self-mastery would help curb sexual promiscuity.

    “In Africa, we live communal lives; the lifestyle of individualism was gotten from the west.

    “For sexual promiscuity to be curbed in children, especially the male ones, they need to teach our children self-mastery.

    “If we don’t teach our children self-mastery, monogamy will become an issue and sexual abuse will be rife,” she said.

    Earlier, in her welcome address, the Chairman of Human Rights Committee of the NBA, Mrs Caroline Ibharuneafe, spoke about the efforts the committee had made in protecting the rights of the vulnerable.

    She said that the aims and objectives of the Human Right Committee of the NBA is to offer of free legal services to the indigent of our society.

    “With the cooperation of the Deputy Comptroller of the Ikoyi Prisons, we have visited Ikoyi prisons, interviewed some of the inmates and presently offering free legal services to these indigent ones.

    “This is so because there are sections in the society who by virtue of birth, status and occupation are naturally vulnerable to abuses by the privileged in the society,” she said.