The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • NBA branch partners Prisons Service to lift Ikoyi Prison

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Epe branch and the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) have agreed to collaborate for solutions to challenges faced by officials and inmates at the Ikoyi Prison, Lagos.

    The association’s Vice chairman, Ademola Koko and the Assistant Controller-General of Ikoyi Prison, Akeem Saliu, stated last Friday during the branch’s Human Rights Committee’s visit to the prison.

    The visit was part of activities marking the association’s inaugural Annual Law Week programme, themed Access to Justice.

    The one-week event will feature a lecture by, among others, Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC) G. A. Oguntade (Retd) in whose honour the event was organised.

    Koko, who is also the chairman of the Human Rights Committee, said the visit would familiarise the association with problems confronting the prison system and would shape its recommendation to Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

    He and the committee’s vice chairperson, FunmiAdeogun, offered the association’s legal assistance for indigent awaiting trial inmates.

    They promised to seek government support for the funding of inmates’ education through full scholarships and enrollment in West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE), Universities and Tertiary institutions Matriculation Exam (UTME) among others.

    The five-man delegation also made donations of antiseptic soaps, washing liquids and toiletries to the Ikoyi Prison.

    Saliu, who hailed the visitors’ gesture, bemoaned the problems of electricity, funding to purchase drugs, transportation and over population of awaiting trial inmates among others.

    He said that some of the inmates sometimes went without a bath when there was no electricity to pump water, particularly because there was inadequate funds to fuel the generator.

    Saliu noted that the prison population consisted of 478 convicts and 2076 awaiting trial inmates sharing facilities meant for less than 1,000 persons and that “more might still be sent here before the end of the day.”

    Highlighting the problem of underage inmates, he said courts sometimes mistakenly send juveniles to the prison rather than a borstal home and that this was unhealthy for their reformation and development.

    He urged the NBA to seek government’s intervention in replacing or repairing a bus used for transporting inmates which was damaged in an accident during a trip from the Epe High Court.

    Justice Oguntade’s media consultant, Ranti Thomas, who accompanied the delegation, said the Jurist had paid his dues in service to the nation and that holding the Law Week in his honour was a worthy act.

    Other speakers at the Law Week will also examine topics including Legalising professional surety in Nigeria, Legality or otherwise of remand in prison pending perfection of bail or trial, Appraising the Land grabbers Law of Lagos State and the use of NBA stamp or seal.

  • Law firm urges law students to develop basic skills early

    A  leading commercial law firm in the country, Sterling Partnership Legal Practitioners, has advised law students to develop basic skills within five years of their call to the Bar.

    The firm urged them to not shy away from opportunities to become grounded in the profession, whether they intend to practise  at the Bar, Bench or serve as in-house counsel in multinational organisations.

    Former president of the Common wealth Lawyers Association (CLA)  and a partner in Sterling Partnership, Boma Ozobia stated this last Wednesday in Lagos.

    She was addressing students of the Nigerian Law School, Lagos campus at the seventh edition of the firm’s annual  mentoring programme for law students.

    Boma said: “The ethical conducts expected of a lawyer as a necessary ingredient for successful practice include  good research skills and good communication skills as well,  because if you don’t communicate well, you cannot have a good expression and practice.

    “Successful law practice demands not only your academic qualification, but  you must also be a fit and proper person to be in the profession.”

    “You must develop those skills in your first five years after your Call to Bar no matter which area of law you want to practice.”

    Speaking on: A day in the life of a judge,’ Justice Folashade Bankole-Oki said: “The duties and responsibilities of a judge commences from when he arrives at the court in the morning at about 8.30 am, when he looks at new processes  at the court, sits at 9am and rises at about 1pm to work in the chambers till he closes at 4pm.”

    She stated that a judge must read constantly, carry out thorough research daily otherwise he could be overwhelmed by lawyers.

    On judges’ skills, she said: “A judge must be computer literate to enable him type his judgments and other sensitive materials because secretaries may leak out judgments or inadvertently destroy very good judgments through typographical errors.”

    Justice Bankole-Oki added: “A judge must be above board and must be seen as that, he must have good temperance and have self control even in the presence of lawyers.  Above all, a judge must be able to know when a witness is telling the truth and when the reverse is the case. The judge should listen more than he talks, must learn how to listen more and talk less, he should be able to learn even from the lawyers and then go and research it. Judges are very fast both in reasoning and in writing.”

    On how to become a judge, she  said: “You must  first of all be called to the  Bar, first become a lawyer and then you begin the journey to becoming a judge. After this you either join the Ministry of Justice where you become either a State Counsel, a Magistrate, a lower Bench.”

    Discussing a day in the life of an in-house counsel, lead counsel GGO-Africa, Afoma Ofodile, said: “The job of an in-house counsel in a multinational conglomerate with over 200 members of staff is not an easy one,  but at the same time, you don’t need to be a superstar to do the job.

    “In such a situation, you need to think globally and act locally for the best interest of your company. You have to be broad minded, multi-lingual and able to navigate around every challenging situation in the course of doing your job.

    “You are not just an in-house counsel, you are also a risk manager, above all, you need to understand the market your company is engaged in, you, must understand the concept of corporate governance and make sure that you comply with its guiding principles.

    “You manage your company, your Managing Director to make sure that the company complies with the legal regimes regulating your business.”

    You need to interface between your organisation and all other stakeholders to make sure that everybody is on the same page. Apart from ensuring regulatory compliance, you must make sure that your company policies are complied with, you make sure that  your company complies with the rule of law  and regulatory guidelines applicable to companies no matter how small. You must make sure that all agents, suppliers and so on do not engage in acts injurious to the company. You must be a good lawyer and a problem solver, being able to communicate meaningfully and intelligently in very short and direct sentences. Being able to state in clear terms that this is the law and this is how  it is applied.

    As  an in house counsel, you must  possess high emotional intelligence and always adopt a collaborative approach to resolving issues and relating with your colleagues. To achieve the best result for the company, protect the brand  while complying with the rules and regulations. Be always ready to learn new things, and to change for the better” Ofodile stated

    Speaking to the students on transitioning from in house counsel to general practice, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze  said: “ Law School courses prepare you for law firm practice of law.  And the law firm provides you  training  for in house job. In the law firm, you are required to use your technical knowledge of the law  but when you work in house, you need to be a business man. In in house practice, you take over the ownership of the business and own it, whereas in the law firm, you make your clients happy.  In the law firm, nobody is interested in your efforts , they are interested in your results.

    Law firm will train  you in many things you need to do in life, in house offers you a better life balance. In house, you are tied to the business but in the law firm, if you perform more than others, you are promoted. Don’t loose your contacts when you transition from the law firm to in house because you may need them . Wherever you find yourself,  work  hard because there is no short cut in the profession. If you do these, sky will not be your limit in the profession” Eze stated

    Speaking on transitioning from in house to practice, Mr. Amaka Udoka of Sterling  partnership Legal practitioners stated that for a lawyer to be able to manage this change, the lawyer must understand that he is moving to a competitive market place where clients demand more control in legal service delivery  from their lawyers,  so the lawyer must a little flexible in his dealings.

  • Firm seeks N2b from bank for ‘contract breach’

    A Lagos State High Court, has adjourned till June 5, a suit by Infinity Snacks and Beverages Ltd, seeking N2,076,801,430.42 from Stanbic IBTC Bank as damages for alleged breach of contract.

    In a suit filed by its counsel Olumide Sofowora (SAN) before Justice A. M. Lawal, the firm said it suffered economic misfortune from the breach.

    According to a December 23, 2016 Statement of Claim, it said it received approval for a N934,029,835 loan for factory expansion from the Bank of Industry (BoI) Ltd on August 19, 2014.

    BoI required a bank guarantee as one of the conditions for the loan and the firm sought this from Stanbic IBTC Bank, “which was not issued until December 22, 2015.”

    BOI disbursed N864,420,000 into the bank’s account in the firm’s name on May 9, 2016, but, according to the firm,  Stanbic IBTC did not inform it until May 17, 2016.”

    The firm said it immediately mandated the bank to bid for foreign exchange for the purchase of the machinery for its expansion.

    It claimed that the bank put “stumbling blocks” along the way by tying the BoI loan to its own loan portfolio granted to the firm.

    Infinity Snacks and Beverages claimed further that when the bank agreed to bid for the needed foreign exchange, it said there was no foreign exchange supply in the market.

    According to the Statement of Claim, the firm alleged that it “discovered” that the bank’s promises to secure foreign exchange for the firm “were all ploys to frustrate it from benefiting from the BoI facility of N864.420 million.”

    The firm is contending that the bank’s delay in providing the bank guarantee caused it “severe loss as the rate of foreign exchange to the Nigerian currency rose drastically during the period due to the Federal Government’s deregulation of forex market.”

    It also claimed that the bank unilaterally increased the bid rate from N280 to $1 to N288 to $1.

    In one instance, it alleged that Stanbic IBTC breached its duty of care “by its refusal to carry out the firm’s instructions and by its decision to place a lien on the firm’s funds which amounts to an unauthorized freezing of the firm’s account without lawful authorization.”

    In another instance, it alleged that the bank traded “with the N864.420.000 meant for expansion of the firm’s business for several months without payment of any interest whatsoever.”

    It said after a meeting with the bank “with a view to placing the N864.420m in an interest yielding account,” the bank promised to revert to the company on the issue “but it never did.”

    The defendant is yet to file its defence.

  • Long road to loot recovery

    Long road to loot recovery

    In the past few days, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been hauling in cash upon cash. The latest were the $43.4million, 27,000 pounds and N23million recovered from House 6, Apartment 7B in Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos. The recoveries were aided by whistle-blowers. But to some critics, the anti-coruption war is not on course because the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies have lost some court cases. Is that a yardstick for measuring the success or otherwise of the anti-graft war? ROBERT EGBE examines the issues.

    Man alone by himself cannot get rid of corruption from the world, he needs the assistance of God – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

     

    To many, Obasanjo’s remark at the 2017 Convention Lecture of the Victory Life Bible Church International was an admission that no headway is being made in the anti-corruption crusade. Without mincing words, he sought divine intervention in what is clearly a problem. But no matter, the war is going on. Will it ever end? This is the question many Nigerians are asking. Two contrasting  events in the last two weeks brought about the poser.

    The first is the success of the Federal Government’s whistle-blower programme. The second, the government’s losses in high-profile criminal matters.

     

    Loot recovery

     

    Early this month, the Federal Government recovered huge sums in various currencies, following tip-off from whistle-blowers.

    On April 7, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) found N448,850,000 in a shop at LEGICO Shopping Plaza, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    On April 10, it intercepted 547,730 euro, £21,090 and N5,648,500 at the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island.

    Two days later, it uncovered its greatest find yet, $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 at No. 16, Osborne Road (Osborne Towers) in Ikoyi.

    These boost the N57.9 billion and $666.68 million that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr. Abubakar Malami said the government had recovered through its anti-corruption war, as at last February 24.

     

    Fed Govt ‘recovering’ its own money?

     

    The circumstances surrounding some of the recoveries have raised a few eyebrows, prompting suggestions from critics that the finds could have been staged.

    Last March 14, the EFCC said it impounded N49million abandoned in five sacks at the Kaduna International Airport.

    Head of its Kaduna Zonal Office, Mr. Ibrahim Bappah, told reporters that the owner could not authenticate the amount in the sacks and disappeared before EFCC officials arrived at the scene.

    “His inability to give any concrete explanation made him become uncomfortable and he disappeared into thin air before the arrival of EFCC operatives,” he said.

    The commission has not revealed the name of the mystery owner.

    Specifically, last Wednesday’s recovery of $43,449,947, £27,800 and N23,218,000 and the controversy over its ownership have generated conspiracy theories.

    The money, which have been temporarily forfeited to the government, following a Federal High Court order, has reportedly been claimed by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has also claimed that the money belong to his state, being proceeds from the sale of gas turbines by the immediate past administration of Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi.

    Amaechi has described Wike’s allegation as the latest in the long list of “blatant lies with no proof, same old concocted stories of corruption allegations against Amaechi told with different flavours.”

    According to a constitutional lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), some of the recoveries were simulated by the commission.

    He said: “Here in Nigeria, the EFCC engages in grotesque media trial, highfalutin and shocking disclosures of orphaned money whose destinations after the media hype are never known.”

    Ozekhome, against whom the EFCC is in the Court of Appeal over the lifting of a forfeiture order on a disputed N75 million paid him by Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, likened the finds to a red herring.

    He said: “The truth is that all these simulated ‘arrangee’ discoveries can only temporarily divert attention from the hunger, squalor, fear, disease, not performance and cluelessness of this government.

    “But, unfortunately, even lies have their expiry date. Truth is inexorable, immutable and eternal. The chicken will finally come home to roost.”

    Not everyone shares Ozekhome’s views.

    Malachy Ugwummadu, National President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), believes the policy has made notable achievements.

    He said: “The whistle-blower policy is paying off and, if on an almost daily basis, as it has turned out to be, recoveries are made, which recoveries were literally almost impossible in the past except through a tortuous legal process that most often end up in an acquittal or discharge verdict, then it would mean that a humongous amount of money recovered from private homes and havens are already worthy of note.”

     

    Court losses

     

    Perhaps the most important battle-front of the anti-corruption war could also be its Achilles heel.

    While the government is making unprecedented progress in loot recovery, it is getting its nose bloodied in the courts.

    In the first week of this month alone, three government agencies lost four major criminal matters.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lost two, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) lost one, while the Department of State Security (DSS) also lost one.

    The EFCC lost the first case when on April 3, Justice Abdulaziz Anka of the Federal High Court, Lagos lifted the temporary forfeiture of N75 million in the account of Chief Ozekhome (SAN).

    A day later, it was the ICPC’s turn, when former Minister of Niger Delta Godsday Orubebe was discharged and acquitted by Justice Olukayode Adeniyi of an Abuja High Court over alleged complicity in a N1.97 billion contract fraud.

    On April 5, an Abuja High Court dismissed the 18-count corruption charge filed by the DSS against Justice Adeniyi Ademola, his wife Olubowale and Joe Agi (SAN).

    The last of the cases was that of former first lady Patience Jonathan whose $5 million in a Skye Bank account was unfrozen by the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    Following these loses, concerns have mounted over whether the war is retrogressing.

    Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) urged President Muhammadu Buhari to adopt a ‘revolutionary approach’ by referring high-level official corruption cases to the International Criminal Court for investigation and possible prosecution.

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo suggested that the government needed to hire the services of ‘Ogbologbo’ (highly experienced) lawyers and stop the practice of farming out corruption cases to external lawyers.

     

    No setback

     

    Are four unfavourable rulings and judgments enough to say that anti-graft war has suffered a setback?

    The records, particularly for the EFCC, show otherwise. Last year alone, the commission, according to a report on its website, secured 125 convictions.

    This included the May 20 five years’ imprisonment handed a former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Temisan Raymond Omatseye, over a N1.5 billion contract scam.

    Also, last March 6, a Yola High Court sentenced a former Governor of Adamawa State, Mr James Bala Ngilari, to five years in prison. It was the first time since 1999 that a former civilian governor was sent to prison without fine.

    Lawyer-activist Chief Femi Falana (SAN) does not believe that the four losses have knocked the war off track or that they are examples of corruption fighting back.

    Nevertheless, he has predicted that more corruption cases will be lost unless the anti-graft agencies are re-organised and the anti-corruption policy is reviewed in line with the proposals of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).

    Speaking at a train-the-trainer programme organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Human and Environmental Development Agenda, HEDA, in Lagos, he explained why the cases were lost.

    He said: “As far as I am concerned, the cases were lost due to official negligence and lack of inter-agency cooperation by the Federal Ministry of Justice, the anti-graft agencies and the DSS.’’

     

    PACAC’s proposal

     

    Among the many proposals made by PACAC to the government, the one for the establishment of the Special Crimes Court stands out.

    The objective of the Special Crimes Court Bill 2016 is stated in its title as follows: “An Act to provide for the establishment of a Special Crimes Court as a superior court of record to allow for speedy  trials of certain offences, including economic and financial crimes, terrorism, money laundering and corruption offences and for related matters.”

    Passage of this bill would ensure speedy completion of, among others, strategic financial cases such as those involving funds seized from looters.

    This could be a boon to the whistle-blowing policy where ownership of such funds are being contested and cannot be spent until the cases are concluded.

    However, the bill has not been passed into law by the National Assembly.

    PACAC’s Special Crimes Court will be the first to be established by a democratic government in the country.

     

    Falana’s solution

     

    Falana believes several reforms need to be implemented before the government can begin to secure more convictions.

    Chief among these is that the manpower and funding capacity of the anti-graft agencies be improved.

    He said: “It is doubtful if the Federal Government is aware of the limited capacity of the anti-graft agencies. For instance, the ICPC receives an average of 100 petitions daily. The EFCC receives many more petitions from members of the public. Yet, the EFCC leadership inherited a staff strength of 2,173.

    “Even with the plan to engage 750 more staff, the EFCC will still have less than 3000 staff. The implication is that with such a few investigators and prosecutors the success rate of the agency is bound to be extremely limited.”

    The rights campaigner also noted certain cases where the government appears to have given its critics reason to accuse it of a one-sided anti-graft war.

    He accused the Presidency of “casually dismissing serious allegations of corruption and abuse of office by certain public officers”.

    Falana said: “When a top army officer was accused of buying properties beyond his legitimate income, did the Code of Conduct Bureau not absolve him without conducting any investigation?

    “When the Senate indicted the Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr. Babachir David Lawal, for his involvement in the criminal diversion of about N200 million set aside to cut grass in the camps of internally displaced persons in the northeast region, did the Federal Government not say that he was not given fair hearing?

    “Over six months ago, seven judges were arrested after the raid of their official quarters by operatives of the DSS. Only two of the judges have been charged to court, even though the nation was informed by the DSS that the government had watertight evidence of corruption against them.

    “It was announced last year that the National Judicial Council had dismissed a judge of the high court of Kano State for allegedly receiving a bribe of N197 million from a litigant and retired a Justice of the Court of Appeal for demanding a bribe of N200 million in an election petition. Why have both of them not been arraigned in court by the Attorney-General of the Federation?”

    He urged the government to ensure that there are no sacred cows.

     

    Lessons from Georgia

     

    The success story of former Soviet Republic, Georgia in its anti-corruption war makes it worthy of emulation by Nigeria.

    According to a 2012 World Bank publication entitled: Fighting corruption in public services: chronicling Georgia’s reforms, corruption permeated nearly every aspect of life in the Eurasian country before its 2003 Rose Revolution.

    Virtually any government transaction required some amount of bribe for ‘processing’.

    Government officials who earned $100 (about N31,568) monthly or less and were banned from holding a second job, found corrupt ways of owning large houses.

    Bribes were required to get an international passport, register property, start a business, or build a home. Students were usually required to bribe their way through state university entrance exams, secure good grades and sometimes even degrees.

    Only a few paid taxes, their utility bills, with many risking their lives to establish illegal power connections.

    The level of corruption abated dramatically, however, after Mikheil Saakashvili became president in 2004.

    He instituted drastic anti-corruption reforms, including firing 16,000 traffic police officers and the entire Ministry of Education staff.

    Films showing the arrests of senior government officials on corruption charges were broadcast to the public to make clear the seriousness of the effort.

    By 2010, Transparency International (TI) had rated Georgia as “the best corruption-buster in the world.”

    In January 2012, the World Bank called Georgia a “unique success” of the world in fighting corruption.

    On the 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, Georgia was ranked the 44th least corrupt nation among 175 countries. In 2006, it was 79th.

     

    How Georgia did it

     

    The World Bank attributed Georgia’s success at fighting corruption to the following factors: “Exercising strong political will; establishing credibility early; launching a frontal assault; attracting new staff; limiting the state’s role; adopting unconventional methods; coordinating closely; tailoring international experience to local conditions; harnessing technology; and using communications strategically.”

    Specifically, it notes the importance of a variety of reforms, including the dissolution of the traffic police and the establishment of the Interagency Council for Combating Corruption in 2008.

    The council consists of members of various government agencies, civil society groups, and business associations, and is responsible for coordinating, strategising, and monitoring the fight against corruption.

     

  • Judges, others make case for children’s rights

    Judges, others make case for children’s rights

    The role of the family in protecting the child was the focus of the first national conference of family court judges and magistrates held in Lagos last week, ADEBISI ONANUGA reports

    Judges, magistrates and other stakeholders  involved in the administration of child justice in the               country converged on Lagos last week to consider the protection of children through the application of the Child Rights Law, the challenges confronting practitioners and the implementation of the law as domesticated in each state

    It was at the first national conference of family court judges and magistrates hosted by the Lagos State Judiciary at the Golden Tulip Hotel, FESTAC Town, Lagos.

    The theme of the conference was “A critical appraisal of the impact and role of family and juvenile courts in the administration of justice in Nigeria”.

    The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, described the family as crucial and fundamental to the survival of any society, noting that it is “the fulcrum of human and social development”.

    Atilade said the concern of the judiciary for the sanctity of the family institution was “informed by the need to further preserve and ensure the protection of its members, especially women and children through appropriate legal framework and incisive judicial process at high courts and magisterial levels.”

    She stressed the need for the conference participants to jointly undertake a review of the extant rules, legislations and judicial processes, “with a view to proffering practical solutions and chart a new course for family matters in line with global best practices.”

    She advised magistrates and judges of family courts to work out effective strategies, a course of action to address the obvious limitations, weaknesses, challenges and imperfections inherent in the existing laws, regulations and practices as they relate to the various laws on the rights of the child.

    “Where the law appears to be silent, docile or ineffective, it behoves on us as judicial officers, legal practitioners and stakeholders to make appropriate suggestions for a purpose driven action. Not only must we be committed to ensure the protection of our children, we must also be decisive in our determination to ensure that violators of these rights are no longer allowed to walk freely on the streets”, she said.

    The Chief Judge decried the “increasing spate of child molestation, juvenile delinquency, paedophilia, rape and domestic violence in the Nigerian society in spite of sustained advocacy and relevant legislations that are aimed at curtailing the occurrence of the vice and related crimes.

    Head of the Family Court, Justice Yetunde Idowu, in a keynote address at the occasion, lamented that in midst of the achievement recorded in the state on child rights and protection of family values, there are still cases of children hawking and begging on the streets of major cities when they should be in schools.

    Justice Idowu said the state government has set up special courts, policies and programmes to cater for and protect children in need of care and protection adding that judges and magistrates who handle matters involving juvenile have been given specialized training and continuous education through various seminars, workshops and other trainings organised by the government, judiciary and private organisation to equip them with knowledge and skills needed to protect the child.

    “It is now a crime in our state to abuse and violently punish children. Laws have been created to address domestic violence, child labour, mental and sexual abuse, child abduction and trafficking, betrothals and marriage of children and calling and labeling a child a witch or wizard,” she added.

    She listed such areas of training to include the provisions for adoption, fostering, guardianship and wardship in the Family Court of Lagos state (Civil Procedure) Rule 2012.

    Justice Idowu, however, identified inadequacy of personnel  as a major challenge in the administration of juvenile justice system. She said more hands would be needed to be empowered to contribute to the effective running of the system.

    She identified lack of effective partnership with the media to ensure that serious violations of child rights are brought to the public domain and to the attention of state and private officials.

    The Chief Field Officer of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Mr Manuel Rosini, said the violence against children survey conducted by the National Population Commission with the support of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF in 2014 documented high prevalence of violence against children in the country.

    Rosini, quoting from the report of the survey, said six out of every 10 children suffer one or more forms of violence including physical, sexual, emotional while less than five per cent of those who report receive help.

    He said it was the need to mobilize Nigeria to respond to the findings of the survey that made President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2015 launched the Year of Action to End Violence Against Children. The states, according to him, were to launch their own End Violence against Children (VAC) and develop their own priorities. He commended Lagos for being the first to heed the call when it launchedits VAC in February last year.

    While declaring open the conference, Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State had advised magistrates and judges of Family courts to decide divorce cases and judicial separation of couples in favour of the children.

    He charged magistrates and judges to look at the provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act and align it with that of the Child Rights Law while adjudicating on cases bordering on divorce and judicial separation emphasising that unless the trend is curtailed, it might hinder effective development of the children in the society.

    The governor who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Idiat Adebule said the present administration strongly believes in the Child Rights Law and its provisions because as parents and custodians, we have inalienable responsibility to ensure that no child is unduly deprived of the basic necessities of life, including the right to a family name, love, education, shelter and healthcare”, he said.

    Ambode decried the rise in domestic and sexual violence against children of recent and urged the conference to examine the trend with provisions of the law and proffer solution that would ameliorate the situation.

    Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology/Director Women’s Law Clinic, Faculty of Law, Oluyemisi Bamgbose in her paper titled. “The role of government in the family system: the future and challenges confronting the system in Nigeria” argued that the government has a role in protecting the right of a child under the CRA or CRL.

    According to her, under Section 155 of the Child’s Rights Act, a child has a right to be represented by a legal practitioner and to free legal aid in any matter or hearing before the family court.

    “The representation by a counsel is mandatory.  It is the therefore the duty of the government through the legal aid council to ensure that this legal provision is complied with if the child does not have one. The government must therefore ensure that counsel provided for a child under this provision is knowledgeable in the law and issues relating to children.”

    She said while the three tiers of government are distinct and separate, there are areas of cooperation between them for the progress of the country. In relation to the child, the Federal, state and local governments require information from one another for the development of the justice system. It is in line with this that section 198 (5) of the Child’s Rights Act, the Federal Government, through the Minister charged with matters relating to children, may require the State Government to furnish him or her with information on certain matters relating to a child in the state.

    Mrs Maryam Uwais, in her paper titled, “Early Marriage and how to curb it “ noted that poor countries and families often have few resources to support healthy alternatives for girls, such as schooling. In such families with limited resources, child marriage is often seen as a way to provide for their daughter’s future.

    Mrs Uwais pointed out that child marriage is now widely recognized as a violation of children’s rights, a direct form of discrimination against the girl child who as a result of the practice is often deprived of her basic rights to health, education, development, equality and in some cases even survival.

  • Supreme Court upholds death sentence for killer

    Supreme Court upholds death sentence for killer

    The Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence passed on a man, Asuquo Okon Asuquo, for killing a neighbour, Andong Bassey Andong, over a boundary dispute in their compound.

    Asuquo was charged before the Cross River State High Court in Calabar with the offence of killing Andong on August 21, 2006.

    The deceased’s wife gave an eyewitness account of how Asuquo, armed with a machete, inflicted wounds on Andong, who died while she was taking him to the hospital.

    The prosecution said the deceased tried to escape, but fell in front of the Presbyterian Church near his house, where Asuquo caught up with and attacked him.

    The state, through its counsel Ade Oyebanji, called four witnesses, including a neighbour, who saw Asuquo running away with the machete in his hand after the attack.

    Asuquo denied the offence, saying he was not at the crime scene, but the High Court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to death by hanging.

    The Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence, following which the convict appealed to the Supreme Court.

    In its verdict delivered by Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs, the apex court upheld the decisions of the High Court and Court of Appeal.

    The Supreme Court dismissed the appellant’s arguments that there were inconsistencies and contradictions in the evidence against him.

    “There is nothing in this appeal that was not adequately addressed in the court below. The appeal lacks any redeeming features for it to succeed.

    “This is a murder that was dastardly executed by the appellant against the deceased who did not bargain for what befell him.

    “The appellant was rightly convicted of the murder of Andong Bassey Andong and appropriately sentenced to death. I find no merit in the appeal and it is hereby dismissed.

    “The conviction and sentence of the appellant by the High Court of Cross River State, Calabar, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Calabar, is further affirmed by this court. Appeal (is) dismissed,” the Supreme Court held.

  • Imported goods: Are vehicle owners liable to pay duties?

    Imported goods: Are vehicle owners liable to pay duties?

    • Continued last week

    Who has the responsibility to pay custom duty on imported goods?

    By Section 37 (1) of the CEMA the obligation to pay custom duty is expressly provided. It states that:

    Except as permitted by or under the customs laws no imported goods shall be delivered or removed on importation until the IMPORTER has paid to the proper officer any duty chargeable thereon, and that duty shall, in the case of goods of which entry is made, be paid on delivery of the entry to the proper officer”. (Emphasis underlined)

    Suffices to say that, any person who is directly involved in the importation of goods (whether for business or personal use) or clears the goods from the port of importation is an importer and liable to pay custom duty on the goods so imported and cleared. It does not include those persons who purchase imported goods in the market.

    This class of persons are neither involved in the importation nor clearance of the goods so imported. Consequently, the directive of the Comptroller-General of the NCS to the owners of private vehicle who bought from the dealers or the private person that imported for private use is untenable by Law since such persons, not being importers as defined by Law, have no obligation to pay and or ensure payment of custom duty on such vehicles. Interpreting Section 167 clause 81 of the Indian Sea Custom Act which provision is pari materia with Sections 47 and 160 of the CEMA, the Indian Supreme Court held in The State Of Mysore vs Padmanabhacharya Etc.(1966) SCR (1) 994 and succinctly puts the law thus:

    The importer who smuggles the goods is certainly guilty under the -clause, because he imports them in derogation of the prohibition -or restriction. Any person who deals with the goods in the context of the import as explained above in any one of the connected ways -with the requisite knowledge and intention would equally be guilty of the offence. But the subsequent transactions in regard to the said goods are outside the process of the enlarged definition of the expression, “import”. It would be incongruous to hold that a purchaser from the importer or a purchaser from the said purchaser, and so on, has an intention to evade the prohibition or restriction, though he may have the intention to receive the smuggled goods. How does such a purchaser evade the prohibition against import which has already been affected? The contrary construction will lead to the anomaly of a purchaser

    The implication of the directive and or policy is that it is invalid and ultra vires of the NCS to the extent that it compels persons who are not importers to pay custom duty on their vehicle.

     

    Limits to the Powers of the

    Nigerian Customs Service

     

    It must be noted that the position expressed above should not be construed to mean that Nigerian Custom Service does not have power to deal with evasion of custom duty, smuggling and or other nefarious activities relating to importation. It is worthy to note that the non-payment of custom duty on dutiable goods is an act of smuggling. Although, neither the CEMA nor Customs and Excise (Special Penal and Other provisions) Act define the word “smuggling”, it however describes what amounts to smuggling. The Customs and Excise (Special Penal and Other provisions) Act in Section 3 captioned “possession of smuggled goods”, classifies certain conducts as an offence of smuggling. Specifically, Section 3(1) of the Act provides thus:

    (1) If any person is found anywhere in Nigeria in possession of any goods to which this section applies, he shall be guilty of an offence unless he proves-

    (a)   that the goods were lawfully imported into Nigeria or as the case may be, that the duty chargeable thereon has been paid; or

    (b)  in the case of any person other than a seller of those goods, that he had no reason to believe that the goods were unlawfully imported or that the duty chargeable thereon had not been paid.

    (2)  This section applies, to any goods, not being goods manufactured or otherwise produced in Nigeria-

    (a) the importation of which is prohibited under the Customs and Excise Management Act  or any   other enactment; or

    (b)  which have been imported into Nigeria without the duty chargeable thereon having  been paid.

    (3)  A person guilty of an offence under this section shall on conviction be sentenced to imprisonment for one year without the option of a fine.

    The Supreme Court of India, considering similar circumstance in the case of N.K. Bapna vs Union of India & Ors (1992) SCR (3) 267 identified the two basic elements of smuggling as follows:

    Even the general concept of smuggling contains two elements: one, the bringing into India of goods, the import of which is prohibited; and two, the bringing into country’s trade stream, of goods the import of which is permitted without paying the customs duties with which they are chargeable.

    Since the act of non-payment of relevant custom duties on imported goods constitutes smuggling, the appropriate authority to deal with it is the NCS. More importantly, there is no express provision of the law stating that the NCS cannot stop a private vehicle owner from enquiring for compliance with the payment of custom duty. The officers of NCS may so do in the circumstance as prescribed in Section 3 of the Custom and Excise (Special Penal & Provision) Act: i.e. where any person is found anywhere in Nigeria in possession of “smuggled goods”.

    This power again can only be exercised where the appropriate officer is satisfied that the person found with the imported goods is the importer; and that he believes that the goods were unlawfully imported or that the duty chargeable thereon had not been paid. In reality, most of the private vehicle owners have papers duly signed by the motor dealers confirming that the relevant custom duty had been paid.

    Of course, where the person so accosted is a private vehicle owner, he must show the receipt of purchase from the dealer/importer which would enable the NCS to trace up for payment. This is the limit to which a private vehicle owner can be made to go. This position is supported by the provision of Section 71 (1) of CEMA when it provides that:

    An officer may require any person concerned in the importation or exportation of goods, or in the carriage, unloading, landing or loading of goods which are being or have been imported or exported, at any time within three years of the date of delivery to the proper officer of the entry thereof or, where no such entry was delivered, the date of importation or exportation thereof, to furnish in such form as the officer may require any information relating to the goods and to produce and allow the officer to inspect and take extracts from or make copies of any invoice, bill of lading or other book or document relating to the goods. If any such person fails to comply with any such requirement, he shall be liable to a fine of two hundred naira.  (Emphasis underlined)

    The private vehicle owners are not concerned with the importation of the goods imported. Section 160 of the CEMA further states to the effect that “if any customs and excise duty is not paid at the time when it becomes payable under any enactment by any person from whom it is due, whether or not payment of that duty has been secured by bond or otherwise, it shall be paid on demand made by the Board either on that person personally or by delivering the demand in writing to his place of abode or business, and if it is not so paid on demand, he shall, in addition to the amount of customs and excise duty be liable to a fine equal to twice the amount thereof or six hundred naira whichever is the greater.  The liability is therefore on the person involved in importation and clearance of the goods and not the purchaser in the market when all the processes of clearance had been concluded.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Asking every person concerned with importation of goods to pay relevant custom duty which ought to have been paid at the relevant material time is permissible under our law. This is known as “back duty”. The authority of the NCS is well protected in this regard too. However, the emphasis is on any person concerned with importation “at any time between their importation and the time when they are cleared” and not all categories of persons such as vehicle owners who merely bought vehicles in the open market and who could not have been reasonably expected to be privy to the knowledge of whether the importer fulfilled its duty payment obligations or not.

    It is not out of place to appreciate the aggressive drive of the Nigerian Customs Service to generate revenue to the purse of the government of the federation for disbursement amongst the federating states in Nigeria to enable government meets its finances. NCS must however exercise caution in ensuring that this policy is implemented in the manner prescribed by the law. Suffice to say that there is no basis for the NCS to have suspended the policy of “back duty” on the non-payment of evaded custom duties on imported goods. Rather, the policy should be retained in accordance with the Law provided the NCS works out a practical system that applies the Law against the actual importers of the goods (vehicle in the instance circumstance) and certainly not against the private vehicle owners who purchased in the regular open market as this class of persons/consumers are not obligated by Law to verify compliance with payment of custom duty.

     

    • Ramoni, a lawyer and Tax Consultant, member of the Indirect Tax Faculty of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, writes from Lagos
    • Concluded

  • ‘More judicial reforms coming’

    Lagos State Attorney-General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Kazeem Adeniji has promised that the impact of the government’s policy implementation on justice delivery will soon be felt by residents of the state.

    He said the government of Governor Akinwumi Ambode will fully implement the recommendations of the just-concluded two-day stakeholders summit on administration of criminal justice in the state.

    He stated this while receiving the report of a 10-man committee led by former Solicitor-General, Mr Fola Arthur-Worrey inaugurated three weeks  ago.

    The committee reviewed the communique of a two-day summit organised early this year by the Ministry of Justice to profer suggestions on how to improve justice delivery.

    Its members are Mrs Busola Okunuga of the state judiciary, Mrs Kehinde Taiwo, Mr Rotimi Seriki, Mr Gbenga Olatunji, Mr Supo Olayibi, Mr Yomi Okunu, Dotun Ibiyomi, Mrs Joyce Oluwa and Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Effiong Asuquo.

    Kazeem said the implementation of the recommendations would guarantee effectiveness, efficiency and transparency in justice administration in the state.

    “ I am so happy to receive the report within the stipulated time of three weeks. Ambode, is operating so fast as if he is running out of time to implement his good policies.

    “ We are at the implementation stage now having submitted your report, and I believe the governor will not hesitate to see to the implementation of the recommendations as soon as possible.”

    He promised to share the policies recommended to the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, (AGF), and the National Judicial Commission (NJC) for input and successful implementation.

    Adeniji thanked the entire committee members for the job, while urging them to expect more tasks ahead in an effort to improve the state of the justice delivery system.

    Arthur-Worrey said drastic steps needed to be taken to bring the state judiciary out of the woods.

    According to him, a lot had to be done to improve the administrative mechanism of the state judiciary, to safeguard the system as well as reform systemic failures.

    Arthur-Worrey noted that reform process is gradual in nature, but that the government must be firm enough to implement the recommendations and get the system running efficiently.

    “Reforming any system is an engineering process. If you don’t disrupt, you don’t reform. The judiciary is not efficienct enough in mechanism, but we are not talking of the individual judges, but the entire system. So, the government must implement the recommendations fast to make the system work,” he added.

  • Mahmoud: NBA leadership not in contempt of court

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) leadership is not in contempt of court by refusing to vacate office following a Federal High Court’s judgment nullifying its constitution, its President, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), has said.

    Justice John Tsoho declared the association’s 2015 amended constitution illegal for non-compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and for not being registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    The judge granted the plaintiff’s reliefs, including an injunction restraining NBA and its officers from conducting the association’s affairs on the basis of the constitution.

    Mahmoud said the leadership was aware of the judgment which nullified all NBA constitutions since 2001.

    He said the association had appealed the judgment and asked for a stay of execution, and that further meeting would be held with the trustees “to discuss the judgment and find a way around it”.

    The NBA president spoke in Lagos at a briefing on the inauguration of a Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) for the association’s Annual General Conference to be held from August 25 to 31 at Eko Hotel and Suites and at other venues in Lagos.

    Mahmoud said: “In the meantime, the Bar association has appealed that judgment and there is also an application to set it aside on the ground that the action was improperly constituted, the plaintiff having sued the wrong parties.

    “We think this is very disruptive and we shouldn’t allow it to distract us from what were doing.

    “We understand the need to respect court judgments, but we’ve been advised that once we have filed an application for stay, we’ll not be technically in contempt of that judgment.

    “There is also another judgment which was brought to my attention which says exactly the opposite about the NBA constitution. These are part of the challenges which I think we should be able to overcome.

    “Hopefully, we should build enough consensuses in the Bar to address these challenges,” Mahmoud said.

    The NBA president urged members not to create the impression that the association was in crisis.

    “We’re not in crisis. We’re trying to win the confidence of our colleagues so that we can continue to do what is right,” he said.

    Chairman of the Conference Planning Committee, Prof Koyinsola Ajayi (SAN), promised a “world-class” conference devoid of fisticuffs by lawyers in trying to obtain conference materials.

    “We intend to have a conference that rivals or better the International Bar Association (IBA) conference,” he said.

    He said the committee hoped to raise between N750 million and N800 million for the conference, adding that the event would be shown live to enable people participate from outside Lagos.

    Besides Eko Hotel, which has been fully booked, he said breakout sessions would be held at venues on Corporation Drive in Ikoyi, with shuttle buses provided.

    Ajayi said the association would subsidise the conference fee for lawyers who cannot afford to pay, such those in the Northest whose chambers were bombed.

    Speakers, he said, would be drawn from the corporate world.

    “We want to move away from a lawyer-centric system to meet with those who need us but did not know they need us. It’ll be a world-class conference,” he said.

    According to him, there will be an exhibition stand for “high paying enterprises” as against a mini-market as done in previous conference venues.

    NBA Second Vice-President Monday Ubani urged the committee to allow small scale traders to sell at the conference, rather than shutting them out.

    “It can be better managed. We should not shut out the small scale enterprises,” Ubani said.

  • Court decides N10m rights enforcement suit May 22

    The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has fixed May 22 for judgment in a N10 million suit  filed by a Lagos businessmen, Afolabi Akindele and four others,  against the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

    Other applicants are Alhaji Adio Kassim Lumosa, Safiu Kassim Lumosa, Yusuff Adegoke and Tunde Badmus.

    The applicants through their counsel, Mr. O. A. Fatoki,  are seeking the enforcement of their fundamental human rights to life, dignity of human person, liberty, fair hearing and movement.

    The other defendants include the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIGP), Zone 2, the state Commissioner of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Panti CID, Officer in-charge, A 22 Section, Zone 2, Abraham Okesola, Yussuf Okesola, Abubakar Aleogun, Abiodun Adesina a.k.a. Adawa, Tajudeen Ademoye Tinubu and Tajudeen Toriola.

    In the suit filed through an originating motion, the applicants are seeking a declaration that their arrest and detention by the respondents constitute a gross violation of their rights under the 1999 Constitution and African Charter on Human and People’s Right.

    They want an order of the court removing a purported investigation by the respondents, the arrest of the second to the fifth applicants and a threat to arrest the first applicant via an invitation letter dated June 30, 2016 “in spite of having not committed an offence.”

    They prayed the court for an order quashing an undertaking “they were committed into making by the respondents not to go into a parcel of land placed in their care by an order of court.”

    They also asked for an order directing the respondents to write an apology to them in two national dailies and for aggravated damages of N10 million for violation of their rights and for such award to be paid directly for infringing on their rights.

    In a 22-point affidavit of urgency deposed to by Bayo Opayola in support of the suit, they averred that the first applicant was detained for two weeks on the order of the Okesola family without being charged to court, but was only released on the instructions of the third and fourth respondents having found out that allegations against him and trustees of the Efunroye Tinubu Family were untrue.

    They averred that the Okesola family is “relentlessly threatening to arrest, detain and harrass” them.

    According to them, on June 27 and 30, the first applicant escaped arrest  by the police at the Igbosere Magistrates Court, Lagos while the second and fourth applicants were arrested.

    They contended that “unless the court intervened timeously,” they would have suffered without any remedy.

    But the ninth respondent in a notice of preliminary objection filed through his counsel, Mr Adebayo Bisuga, sought an order of the court striking out his name and declaring the suit incompetent on the basis that it discloses no reasonable cause of action against him.

    The first to fifth defendants in their 22-point counter affidavit, through their counsel, Mr Daniel Apochi, denied averments of the applicants and prayed the court to dismiss the originating motion as they contended that they did not breach or intend to breach their rights.

    The 10th and 11th respondents, in their counter affidavit, through their counsel, Mr Oluwaseun Oniyide, prayed the court to refuse the originating motion in the interest of justice.

    They stated that there was no ground for the suit and alleged that the applicants conspired on September 18, 2014 to sell a portion of land belonging to Eletu-Iwashe family in Mushin in the name of Iyalode Efunroye Tinubu and executed a deed of assignment in the name of one Waliat Gbadero Azeez among other activities purported to be criminal.

    The sixth to eighth respondents in their 29-point counter affidavit also contended through their counsel, Yomi Haroun, the attempt to arrest the applicants by the police was lawful and prayed the court to dismiss the suit of the applicants.