The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • Firm seeks N1.3m from Nigeria-British Chamber chairman

    A travel agency, Travelright Limited, has asked an Igbosere High Court, Lagos to compel the President and Chairman of Council, Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Adedapo Adelegan, to pay it an alleged N1.3million debt.

    The firm claimed that the money represented the cost of unpaid air tickets purchased from it by Adelegan and 25 percent interest from last August 10, until final liquidation.

    In a statement of claim filed by its lawyer, Hammed Oyekunle, in Suit No: MCL/92/2017, the firm is also claiming the sum of N200,000 as costs.

    The statement, deposed to by the firm’s secretary Tolani Sarumi on January 31, stated that the defendant refused and neglected to pay the debt despite repeated demands for same.

    It said the firm approached the Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was entered between it and the defendant who was represented by one Miss Aruwajoye Simisola.

    An agreement, it said, was reached last October 18, through the MoU whereby the defendant was required to pay N207,000 monthly within seven months starting from the date of agreement.

    The defendant, it claimed, only paid N100,000 of the amount which fell due last November 30,  but “neglected, failed and refused to honour the terms of the MoU.”

    On January 26, the court, in line with Order 3 Rule 1 of the Magistrate Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009, issued a summary summons on the defendant.

  • CJN: Waiting on Buhari

    CJN: Waiting on Buhari

    The three-month tenure of Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen expires on Friday. Will President Muhammadu Buhari confirm him or appoint another person to the top job? The issue has virtually divided the country, with some playing the ethnic card. Onnoghen, they say, is the first to become CJN from the Southsouth in 30 years and so should not be passed over since he is the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC). The National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended him for appointment. Where will the pendulum swing? ROBERT EGBE sought lawyers’ views on the matter. 

    Last November 10, President Muhammadu Buhari named Justice Walter Onnoghen as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

    Being the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC), he was next in line of the hierarchy to occupy the exalted seat. The National Judicial Council (NJC), in line with tradition, recommended him for the job.

    NJC recommended Onnoghen, 67, for the post in accordance with Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) following the retirement of CJN Mahmoud Mohammed at the statutory age of 70.

    Three days to the expiration of his acting appointment, the President has not sent Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for confirmation, provoking heated debate on his fate.

     

    What the law says

     

    The constitution is unambigous on the appointment of the CJN.

    Section 231(1): “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

    (2) “The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

    (3) “A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria or a Justice of the Supreme Court, unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than 15 years.

    (4) “If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.

    (5) Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, an appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not re-appoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.

    The case for Onnoghen’s confirmation

     

    Some lawyers have argued that Onnoghen should be confirmed.

     

    ‘Constitution silent on acting CJN’

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), argued that the Constitution does not provide for acting CJN, thus, President Buhari should have forwarded Onnoghen’s name to the Senate.

    He added: “With very much respect, it is submitted that in the face of a definitive recommendation by the NJC to Mr. President for the appointment of a particular Justice as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. President cannot fall back on the provision of Section 231(4) to appoint that same Justice as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

    “With every sense of responsibility, Section 231(4) will come into play if, for example, after the receipt of the NJC’s recommendation, the President has forwarded the name of the Hon. Justice Onnoghen to the Senate, and as at November 10, 2016, when the last holder of the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria retired, the Senate had not reverted to the President, confirming the appointment or deciding otherwise. Then, there would have been an interregnum.”

    Olanipekun submitted further that if the nominee of the NJC was considered “not fit and proper” to be appointed as CJN under Section 231(1), it raises the question why he was appointed as an acting CJN under 231(4).

    He said: “This leads us to the inevitable consideration of Section 231(5) of the Constitution. By virtue of Section 231(5), appointment made under Section 231(4) shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, except on the recommendation of the NJC.

    “It has earlier been submitted that having made its recommendation under Section 231(1) and forwarded same to Mr. President, the NJC has become constitutionally functus officio.”

    Olanipekun noted that the President has not given the NJC “any scintilla of reason or excuse as to why the name of the person recommended by it under Section 231(1) has not been forwarded for confirmation.

    “To the best of my knowledge as well, Mr. President has not expressed any reservation or communicated such to the NJC about the recommended candidate. Why then the suspense?”

     

    ‘President can’t alter NJC’s CJN recommendation’

    Asiwaju Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) in a January 24 letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), anchored his argument for Onnoghen’s confirmation on a tripod of constitutional history, case law and common sense.

    He stated that unlike Section 211 of the 1979 Constitution which gives the President discretion over who to appoint as CJN, Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution, read together with paragraph 21(1) of its First Schedule, tied the President’s power of appointment to the NJC’s choice.

    Awomolo said: “The makers of the (1999) Constitution were not comfortable with the power and discretion conferred on the President, suspecting possibility of abuse and political consideration hence the provision of the 1999 Constitution created NJC as the technical institution responsible for appointment and discipline of Judicial officers.

    “The President, with respect, after recommendation of the NJC, has no executive function in the determination of who to appoint as the Chief Justice outside the recommendation of the National Judicial Council. He is not to screen, interview, subject to administrative or executive scrutiny. The President is ceremonially required to pass the recommendation of the National Judicial Council for confirmation by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria any person recommended to him.”

    “The Supreme Court in the case of Elelu Habeeb vs A. G. Federation and others held that the Chief Executive Officer of the State or the Federation has no absolute powers in the appointment of a Judicial Officer. The decision emphasised the word “recommendation” as opposed to “discretion and advice.”

    He said this had removed doubts as to the “non existence of executive function in the determination of the eligibility for appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.”

    Awomolo argued further that the NJC and not the President is equipped with personnel, resources and power to assess the health, qualification and suitability of a candidate to be recommended to occupy the office of the CJN.

    He said: “The Constitution does not allocate any executive functions to the President and the President cannot appropriate or share the Constitutional function of the NJC. With respect, the President cannot substitute his opinion for the NJC or the Senate. He performs, from the history of the Judiciary, a ceremonial role of appointing authority subject to the confirmation of the Senate.”

     

    The ethnic/regional argument

    Second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr. Monday Ubani observed that since Sir Adetokunbo Ademola became the first indigenous CJN in 1958, the northern region of the country had enjoyed more appointments into the office.

    Although Ubani conceded that the appointments had been made on merit, he argued that confirming Onnoghen as CJN would give the South, particularly the South- south region, a sense of belonging.

    The records show that from 1958 to 1987, the southern region, produced five CJNs who were in office for 25 years consecutively, while the North for 29 years, from 1987 to 2016, produced eight occupants of the office.

    Onnoghen is from the Southsouth sub region and the next in rank to him is Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad from Bauchi State.

    Ubani observed that if Onnoghen is not confirmed and the President appoints another CJN in accordance with the NJC’s established procedure of appointing the next most senior JSC to the office, it might be a while before a southerner could occupy that office.

    He said: “For 29 years, the CJN emerged from a particular region. It was all on merit, nobody had an issue with it. It eventually came to the point of a southerner producing the CJN and for the first time you now put him in an incapacity that raises eyebrows. Why? After the National Judicial Council has even gone ahead and cleared him and all that.

    “Onnoghen met all the criteria, in fact, he passed a rigorous process more than any other CJN.”

    He stated that no matter how altruistic the President’s intentions are, meanings would be read if he failed to confirm Onnoghen.

     

    The legal challenge

    Rights activist Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, on January 31, filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos challenging the President’s non-confirmation of Onnoghen.

    He argued, among others, that it amounted to a compulsory retirement of Justice Onnoghen “in a manner that is inconsistent with the due process of law and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.”

    Adegboruwa asked the court to declare that since the 1999 Constitution came into force, the President has no discretion in the choice of candidates to occupy the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, other than the person selected and recommended to him by the NJC.

    He also asked the court, among others, to declare that the President and the Senate are not entitled in law to appoint any other person as CJN other than Justice Onnoghen and that the refusal to do so “is unlawful, invalid, illegal and improper.”

     

    Alternative views

     

    Not everyone believes President Buhari is bound to accept the NJC’s recommendation or that the position of acting CJN is unconstitutional.

     

    ‘President, Senate not bound by NJC’s choice’

    Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof Itse (SAN), believes the President can pass on the name of the NJC’s CJN nominee to the Senate for confirmation, if he is satisfied with the nomination.

    He argued that the President or Senate could turn down the NJC’s recommendation “and request that another name be recommended. The President is not a rubber stamp of the NJC recommendations, nor a robot for the conveyance of recommendations from the NJC to the Senate.

    “This is where the President’s power to appoint an acting CJN becomes important. By Section 231(4) of the Constitution, the president has the power to appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court in an acting capacity until a substantive Chief Justice is appointed.

    “But such an appointment lapses after three months and the president cannot re-appoint the same person as acting CJN unless he receives a recommendation to that effect from the NJC. Therefore, since at the time the acting appointment of Hon. Justice Onnoghen was made, the office of the then Chief Justice of Nigeria was vacant, that appointment was validly made.”

    Sagay also criticised the ‘turn by turn’ ‘inbreeding’ system of appointing the CJN “whereby a person is appointed judge of the High Court and after marking time as a good boy or girl, he is appointed to the Court of Appeal and after marking further time as a good boy or girl at the Court of Appeal, he is elevated to the Supreme Court.

    “So, it has been a turn-by-turn syndrome. Today, once you arrive at the Supreme Court, if there is no younger man amongst those already appointed before you, you can calculate to the exact second when you are going to be the CJN.”

    He said the current system was devoid of merit, achievement and quality of the character of the appointees and likened it  to an automated system of riding on the judicial escalator from High Court Judge to the Supreme Court and then to  CJN.

    “With the above background of in-breeding, absence of merit and later corruption, would it be responsible for the president to automatically, in a robot-like manner, transmit every name received from the NJC to the Senate? The answer is a solid No.

    “This is where appointment as acting Chief Justice is important. It gives the president the opportunity of studying the appointee for CJN for a period of three months in order to determine for himself whether the recommendation was justified.

    “This load has fallen on the President because of the failure of the NJC to exercise due diligence in the past when making recommendations to the President. From my own perspective, without any privileged information, I believe that this is the process ongoing right now,” Sagay added.

     

    ‘Acting CJN not unconstitutional’

    According to Chief Gani Adetola-Kaseem (SAN), the appointment of Walter Onnoghen as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) did not contravene the Constitution.

    He was of the view that under Section 231(4) and (5) of theConstitution, Onnoghen may legally carry out the functions of the CJN in an acting capacity until February 10, when his three-month stint would end.

    Adetola-Kaseem said: “To appoint somebody, the language in Sections 231(4) and (5) is very clear. Although the statute doesn’t use the word ‘acting’ appointment, it states that somebody is appointed to perform the duties of an office which he is not holding substantively. This means that he is to act in that office for three months. After three months, the president cannot reappoint him to perform the functions of that office unless with the approval of the National Judicial Council.

    “I know what is causing ripples in the system is that the gentleman who is performing the duties of the CJN has been doing so for over two months, and by February 10, he would have been there for three months, and unless and until somebody is appointed, there might be a vacuum at the end of the first three months.”

     

    Onnoghen calls for caution

     

    Last Friday, the man in the eye of the storm dissociated himself and his office from the ultimatum handed President Muhammadu Buhari to recommend him to the Senate for confirmation.

    Justice Onnoghen, in a statement titled: “Appointment of CJN: A plea for caution”, called on all to allow the President a free hand to do his job.

    He said: “Honourable Justice Onnoghen believes the President does not need any threat or ultimatum to perform his constitutional duties and therefore dissociates himself from those individuals and groups making such demands on the President.

    “The Acting Chief Justice therefore appeals for caution on the issue of the appointment of Chief Justice of Nigeria as Mr President goes about his constitutional duties, especially considering the fact that the given time for him to act as Chief Justice of Nigeria has not expired.”

     

    Long-term solution

     

    Professor Sagay suggested several recommendations to the NJC which he said could improve the quality of appointments to the Supreme Court.

    He urged it to “inject fresh blood into our judicial system by appointing qualified lawyers from outside the Bench straight to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

    “In this regard, senior law academics in our universities and senior renowned legal practitioners of integrity and acclaimed knowledge and skill in law should be an additional source to the appointment of appellate Judges, even as CJN, directly.

    “An appointee to the position of Chief Justice need not be the most Senior Justices of the Supreme Court. We must take into consideration the reputation, the integrity, the skill, productivity, established reputation of the candidate before appointing him to the position of CJN.”

    He argued that it was unhealthy to the judicial system and the performance and integrity of the Supreme Court to continue with the present system.

    Kunle Ogunba, SAN, shared similar sentiments with Sagay on the establishment of an appraisal system in determining who is to be appointed CJN, rather than making it a matter of seniority.

    Ogunba reasoned that in so doing, the best brain in the Supreme Court would be appointed CJN instead of the most senior.

    He said: “They can put a template to say if you want to go higher within your career, this is what you should do. They do it in other professions. They have performance appraisal on a dispassionate level. We know that in the judiciary, there are bad eggs and some are not optimally performing. Some are not intellectually sound.”

    Ogunba was, however, opposed to the appointment of someone from outside the Bench as a CJN.

    He said it would kill the morale of justices of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court who had been aspiring either for elevation, or hoping to attain the position of CJN.

  • Group seeks effective criminal justice system

    Group seeks effective criminal justice system

    An Effective criminal justice system will be difficult to attain if the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 is not properly implemented, experts have said.

    It will require the support of all stakeholders to make the law work, they said.

    The experts, including judges and senior lawyers, spoke in Abuja at a forum organised by the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) to honour advocates of reforms in the criminal justice sector.

    A draft strategy for effective implementation of the ACJA was presented at the Night of recognition and presentation of the draft strategy/needs assessment towards an effective implementation of the ACJA.

    It afforded participants an opportunity to deliberate on the effective implementation of the ACJA, challenges and how best to improve on achievements recorded so far.

    Speakers hailed the various innovative provisions of the ACJA, but argued that the success of the law required that efforts be first directed at eliminating challenges in the court system and among the agencies within the criminal justice system. They also stressed the need for enhanced commitment of players within the system.

    The speakers included the President of the CSLS, Prof Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN); Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello; Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN); his predecessor, Akin Olujimi (SAN); and former Chair, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Dahiru Umaru.

    Prof Akinseye-George, who noted that his organisation played a leading role in the activities that culminated in the passage of the ACJA in 2015, said he always believed that more needed to be done, beyond the enactment of the law, to eliminate the defects in the country’s system of criminal justice administration.

    He noted that the nation’s problem was not the dearth of legislations, but the will to effectively apply such laws where necessary. “Our statute books are replete with many well-crafted laws that are yearning for application. There are too many hindrances, including constitution-related barriers to the effective implementation of laws.

    “This is the reason why, after fighting so hard for the passage of the ACJA, from 2003 to 2015, we have taken on the next task of working with our partners and relevant agencies to promote the understanding of its provisions and their effective implementation.

    “This decision is based on the realisation that an effective criminal justice system, which is capable of discouraging criminality and anti-social behaviour is a sine qua non of any modern democratic society,” the CSLS President said.

    Malami, who identified the benefits of the ACJA, said the Federal Ministry of Justice, under his watch has initiated various measures aimed at ensuring the success of the law. Some of such measures, he said, included the development of a framework for the reform of the justice sector and the recent adoption of National Prosecution Policy (NPP) and Prosecution Guidelines (PG).

    The AGF, who was represented by an aide, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku, explained that his ministry’s justice reform plan, which focuses on strengthening prosecution and enforcement mandates, “sets out specific activities that will enhance the criminal justice system.” These activities, he added, will be implemented over the next two years.

    He said the NPP and PG, applicable nationwide, are intended, among others, to address “the needs and expectations of prosecutors in ministries of justice, specialised prosecuting agencies, police prosecuting officers and private legal practitioners occasionally granted fiat to prosecute.”

    Olujimi praised Prof Akinseye-George and his group for their commitment to ensuring the successful passage of the ACJA by the National Assembly. He noted that the introduction of ACJA created new problems in criminal prosecution in the country. But, he was quick to add that the problems were surmountable.

    Olujimi, who said he was involved in some criminal cases, where ACJA has been applied, said there was the need for a robust arrangement for the implementation of the law. He agreed that the Act has helped to reduce delay, but advised that there was need to ensure that everyone keys into the ACJA regime.

    “There are courts you go to and you raise objection. They tell you ACJA says we should take such objections at the end of the day. They push your objection aside and ask you to call your witness. But some courts still do not follow that approach. That is obviously defeatist of the aim of the ACJA. So, all judges must key into these reforms. I believe when we have this draft strategy in place, it will definitely help,” the former AGF said.

    Identifying some hindrances against the attainment of speedy trial, Olujinmi noted the huge workload of judges, insufficient work tools, inadequate court facilities, among others.

    Olujimi said although he was not averse to the idea of separate courts to try corruption cases, there was a need for a clear definition of the speedy trial duration envisaged under the ACJA, which must take into account the various intervening factors, which are outside the contemplation and control of parties and the court.

    Justice Bello, who blamed lawyers for delaying proceedings, agreed with Olujinmi on the existence of challenges within the court system that work against the attainment of prompt trial as envisaged under the ACJA. He said efforts were on to address such challenges.

    One of such efforts, he said, is his decision to recruit 10 more judges this year to reduce the workload of judges of the High Court of the FCT.

    He said effective case management, which intended under the ACJA, was only possible where every player within the criminal justice system plays his/her role effectively and was driven solely by the success of the process.

    First to be honoured at the event was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (for being the first state Attorney- General (AG), who championed far-reaching reforms in the justice sector, which led Lagos State, where he served as AG, to first enact the Administration of Criminal Justice Law in 2007).

    Olujimi, the AGF between 2003 and 2005, was honoured for being the first AGF to initiate the idea of overhauling the criminal procedure system and empowering the National Working Group on the Reform of Criminal Justice Administration to develop the ACJ Bill in 2003.

    Also honoured were ex-AGF, Bayo Ojo (SAN), former Senate President, David Mark, ex-Chair, House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Dr. Ali Ahmad, former AG, Ekiti State, Wale Fapohunda and Femi Okeowo of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

  • Court appoints registrar as energy firm’s liquidator

    Court appoints registrar as energy firm’s liquidator

    • Judge erred, firm alleges on appeal

    Ecobank Nigeria Limited has filed a winding-up petition at the Federal High Court in Lagos against Mettle Energy and Gas Limited.

    The bank, through its lawyer, Kunle Ogunba (SAN), said it availed Mettle N781million which it allegedly failed to repay.

    It said parties had agreed on terms of settlement after protracted negotiations, which Mettle Energy allegedly did not comply with.

    “Despite the magnanimity/concessions extended the respondent leading to the terms of settlement, the respondent failed, refused and/or is unable to comply with the repayment plan duly covenanted,” the bank said.

    In the terms of settlement, it was agreed that Mettle Energy would pay N245 million out of a debt of over N781 million.

    Ecobank is praying that the company be wound up in line with sections 409 (1) and 410 (1) and (b) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap 20, 2004.

    Justice Jude Dagat made an interlocutory order appointing its Chief Registrar as the firm’s provisional liquidator based on an application by Ecobank.

    The court ordered the Chief Registrar to take charge and custody of all identified/traceable assets, properties, funds in banks and other financial institutions belonging to Mettle Energy.

    The provisional liquidator is also to take over moveable and other traceable assets of the respondent within Nigeria pending the hearing and final determination of Ecobank’s winding-up petition.

    Justice Dagat made a consequential order of interlocutory injunction restraining the energy firm’s directors or employees from tampering with its funds in any bank until the winding-up petition is determined.

    The judge also barred Mettle Energy and its agents from alienating or dissipating its assets, including machinery and tools of trade, pending the hearing and determination of the petition.

    The respondent and its directors were also barred from interfering with or disturbing the provisional liquidator.

    Mettle Energy has, however, filed a notice of appeal to challenge the order.

    It also filed a motion on notice for stay of execution of the order pending the hearing and determination of its appeal against the ruling.

    The respondent also sought an order restraining the Chief Registrar from acting as the provisional liquidator.

    In its appeal, the respondent said the judge erred in making the order because there was no valid advertisement of the respondent’s petition for winding-up.

    Justice Dagat adjourned till February 28.

  • Remo towns share native laws, customs, says witness

    Remo towns share native laws, customs, says witness

    The Apena of Ofin in Sagamu, Chief Lamidi Olaitan Adesanya, has told an Ogun State High Court that the 33 towns of Remoland share the same native laws and customs regarding the selection of a king.

    He was testifying in a suit by Prince Adetayo Odunsi, who is challenging the nomination of Albert Mayungbe as the Odemo of Isara-Remo by the kingmakers.

    The witness said beside sharing similar tradition, the 33 towns also “do things in common as one Remoland”.

    He was being cross examined by counsel to the first, sixth to 10th and 14th defendants, Dr. Victor Odunaiya.

    He disagreed with the contention of the defence that some of the 33 towns, including Batoro, Ogere, Ilara, Ikenne among others, operate different native laws and customs.

    Other defendants in the suit are Chief Wasiu Ekundayo; Secretary, Remo North Local Government; Oliwo of Isara, Chief Ajibowu Ogunfowodu; Apena of Isara, Chief Jimoh Soyombo; Chief Ladipo Ogunyemi; Ogbeni Odi of Isara, Chief Olajubu Osibote; Ekeji Asipa Odi, Chief Tunde Kalejaiye; Asipa Odi of Isara, Chief Owuye Logba.

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

    The claimant said he is direct descendant of the late king Oyemade Mayungbe and progenitor of Erinsiba Ayoledoye Ruling House.

    He averred that he is the one lawfully entitled to the stool of Odemo of Isara.

    But Mayungbe had insisted on being a bonafide member and descendant of the Erinsiba Ayoledoye Ruling House.

    The witness, while being led in evidence earlier by counsel to the claimant, Mr. Olumuyiwa Obanewa, had told the court that he adopted in total, the content of a statement he made on oath on June 23, 2016 as his evidence in the matter.

    Obanewa also reminded the court that he had filed an application which then sought to and replaced the deceased second defendant with another person.

    The clarification was made following the submission of the defence counsel that he was yet to be briefed by the new second defendant.

    Chief Adesanya further told the court that he had served three Akarigbo of Remo in his capacity as Apena of Ofin, Sagamu since his installation in 1982 and that he is very conversant with the native laws and customs of Remoland.

    He also disagreed with the defence that he was not familiar with the customs of appointing kings in the 33 towns that made up Remoland, insisting that as Apena of Ofin, Sagamu, he is also a kingmaker and that this gives him the opportunity of being conversant with the native laws and customs of the various towns.

    He said as the Apena of Ofin, Sagamu and a leader of the Osugbos, he always represents the Akarigbo in the 33 towns whenever a new king is to be installed and other functions of the Osugbo cult while the Oliwo takes charge of Palace functions.

    Aside from the Osugbos, the witness also claimed to be the leader of Yagba cult, Sango cult and other cults related to the Akarigbo and relates with them during their annual festivals as the representative of the paramount ruler of Remoland.

    In answer to another question, the witness said it was not true that Sagamu was the last to settle in Remoland while explaining that the name Sagamu was derived from the name of a river and a discovery made by a hunter, “ ibiti orisa gbe amu ewa si” which later became “Orisaga-muewa”.

    He disagreed with the contention of the defence counsel that “Orisaga-muewa” was an idol planted at the beginning of Ofin as the symbol of unity of the 33 towns that made up Remoland.

    He told the court that the title of any person that becomes the King of Ofin Sagamu is Akarigbo enunciating that in the ancient days, only Elemuren and Alara wear crown like Akarigbo but that in the present day, all the kings of the towns that made up Remoland now wear crown and have titles to go with it.

    He maintained that in spite of the fact that the towns that made up Remoland have varied number of kingmakers, they still share same native laws and customs.

    Justice A. Babawale adjourned ttill March 28 and 30 for continuation of cross examination.

  • Lagos to enforce safety laws in schools

    Lagos State has vowed to enforce safety laws in schools, warning that violators would be prosecuted.

    It will carryy out safety audit in all private schools to ascertain their safety compliance status in line with the Lagos State Safety Commission Law 2015.

    The commission’s Director-General, Hakeem Dickson, spoke after a meeting on School Safety Management Systems with private proprietors.

    He  said those who complied would  be issued a safety compliance certificate.

    At the meeting were the Association of Private School Educators in Nigeria (APEN), Association of Private School Owners (APSO), Association of Formidable Educational Development (AFED), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), League of Muslim Schools Proprietors (LEAMSP), Redeemed Schools and Methodist Schools.

    According to Dickson, the checklist of the safety audit includes emergency preparedness, a secure physical environment, sick bay, first aid, safety signage, good hygiene practices and insurance, among others.

    He said the exercise was not aimed at penalising schools but to work together to ensure the overall safety of lives and property.

    According to him, safety in schools is of paramount importance to the state government,  emphasising that as a responsible government, Lagos would not compromise in ensuring the safety of children in schools.

    He reiterated  the commitment he made on assumption of duty as the DG of the commission to carry out its mandate of ensuring safety in Lagos State, without leaving any sector, most especially schools where children spend a significant amount their time.

    Dickson said it was beneficial for schools to have various safety measures to ameliorate the infractions of educational institutions.

    He advised private school owners to make provisions for safety in their budget so that they could have the requisite safety measures in place, stressing, “what is the essence of being the best school in Nigeria if safety is inadequate?”

    He reminded school owners that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has signed a Child Safety Law and another which stipulates death penalty for kidnapping as a demonstration of his commitment to safety in our schools.

    Dickson also stated that it was the intention of government to make proprietors of schools  safety ambassadors so that they could assist in the drive to make safety a culture in schools.

    He solicited for the support of school owners, and promised to always engage and invite them for roundtable meetings, trainings and advised them to avail themselves of the Lagos State safety law as well as the school safety compliance manual, school safety general rules and Ten Code safety framework in order to be familiar with it.

    Responding, the on behalf of the associations, Dr (Mrs) Femi Ogunsanya, appreciated government efforts   through the Safety Commission for convening the meeting noting however that the state has always engaged private school owners in their policies and programmes.

    She said “we are interested to know the expectations of the Commission before the safety auditors visit schools because we don’t want to run schools that are not safe”.

    According to her, starting a school shows a passion for children in the first place therefore their safety should not be compromised.

    Dr Ogunsanya said “we operate in a fraudulent environment; therefore we have to protect ourselves and need to have the identity of the safety auditors when they come to do their inspections and appealed for leniency in the charges for the safety certificatio

     

     

  • Fed Govt to amend copyright law

    The Federal Government will amend the Copyright Act to make it more digitally-compliant, Head of Regulatory Department of Nigerian Copyright Commission, Mr. Michael Akpan, has said .

    He spoke at a stakeholder’s forum on open access, organised by the Creative Commons, in partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies (NIALS) .

    The programme, which focused on creative, common and access to content, brought together government agencies, members of the academia, lawyers, analysts, students, business owners, technological start-ups and social media experts.

    He said the country’s new copyright system, like similar regimes, reflects key fundamental policy thrust.

    He said the system was designed “to strengthen the copyright regime in Nigeria, to enhance the competitiveness of its creative industries in a digital and knowledge-based global economy; to effectively protect the rights of authors to ensure just rewards and recognition for their intellectual efforts while also providing appropriate limitations and exceptions to guarantee access to creative works, encourage cultural interchange and advance public welfare”.

    Akpan noted the new draft bill for the protection of intellectual properties in Nigeria expanded the scope of limitations and exceptions to make allowances for more free uses of creative works particularly in the context of educational and non commercial activities.

    According to him, the task of shaping copyright for the digital networked environment should not be restricted to the legislative dimensions of copyright law, but must take into account, how copyright is managed in practice.

    He said reforms of the copyright system should be beyond new legislative provisions. Changes in policies, copyright culture and practice may in fact be more relevant than changes to the legislation.

    He enunciated  that open access is important to the growth of the information society as information and knowledge has become the greatest building blocks for societal development.

    “Nigeria is a developing country at the throes of maximizing its huge human and natural resource. One of the roads to achieving this is the platform provided by open access which provides free online access to information which anyone may require”, he said.

    He added “Nigeria is endowed with a population predominantly made of youths with undeniable creative capacities who can utilize this platform to gain knowledge and how that will eventually change the fortune of our country”.

    The Director General of NIALS, Professor Adedeji Adekunle indentified infrastructural deficit, inadequate man power and knowledge gap as an impediment to open access governance in Nigeria.

    Adekunle, who was represented by the Director of Studies at NIALS, Prof Anmi Awah, said although infrastructure development is key, “we will not wait until we have a wide spectrum of infrastructure before we follow the rule guiding use of materials online which should be followed to the letter”.

    Technical Lead, Creative Common Nigeria, Mr. Kayode Yusuf said that the forum is set to create awareness and support for open access among stakeholders in Nigeria.

    He said for a country in the process of reforming its copyright laws to align with current requirements of the digital age, the concept of ‘open’ cannot be ignored.

    He lamented that it is clear that the philosophy of ‘openness’ in any form of knowledge governance is still a strange phenomenon in Nigeria. The level of awareness and scale of implementation of the different models of openness in knowledge governance in the country are insignificant in proportion to its size, needs and population.

    He said the concept of open access has a lot of potentials for Nigeria as it will open more access to data, information and education that are needed to galvanize development.

    “We will continue to engage the various stakeholders and entrenched the merits of open in addition to the fact that it is in perfect alignment with digital technology as the principal means of knowledge production and dissemination today. The philosophy of ‘open’ in knowledge governance and its merits can be seen in both the public and private sectors in education, research, governance,” he said.

  • ‘The ex-Enugu CJ we know’

    Prof Uche Jack-Osimiri served as foundation dean, Faculty of Law, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, from 2000 to 2003. He was dean, Faculty of Law, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt, from 2003-2007. In this article, he describes former Enugu State Chief Judge Justice Innocent Azubike Umezulike as upright.

    The attention of the committee of friends has been drawn to the publication on the front page of The Nation Newspaper dated January 12, 2017, concerning the retired Enugu State Chief Judge Justice (Professor) I.A.Umezulike (hereinafter called ‘UmezCJE’).

    While we are not opposed to the war to get rid of corruption in the judiciary, there are distortions of facts contained in the sustained media attacks on him which necessitated our rejoinder.

    Setting the records straight, UmezCJE was not dismissed but was retired by the National Judicial Council (NJC), not on the allegation of corruption but for the breach of the rules governing the delivery of judgment as prescribed in Section26 (4) (i) the Nigerian Constitution 1999.

    While we would not like to join issues with our revered and esteemed National Judicial Council (NJC), we thought that applying the universally-accepted jurisprudence of penology and sentencing in our justice delivery system:- which stipulates that “punishment should be commensurate with the alleged wrongdoing”, the proper sanction should have been an official warning or serious reprimand. Since NJC has taken a different position, we prefer to leave the issue of premature retirement to divine judgment.

    UmezCJE is not an angel but a descendant of the Biblical Adam and Eve. It is human for a judge to oversight the 90 days requirement and make mistake.

    Secondly, we urge reporters in the interest of fairness to be circumspect and resort to investigative journalism.

    Caution is required to erase the irresistible impression that the reporters are on a vendetta mission and hired to collaborate with enemies who are determined to annihilate the judge.

    The reporter should have applied for and read the copy of NJC report and recommendations. It is obvious they did not before delving into the mis-informative and disparaging publication.

    The evidence in the NJC report pages 5 to 11, stated that N10 million was never donated to the judge but to the publishers of the books Snaaps Press (Nigeria) Limited, Enugu (hereinafter referred to as ‘SNP’) for the purchase of the books.

    NJC did not find UmezCJE guilty on this ground because he was not the beneficiary of the money even though the publishers could pay him as the author royalty in the future.

    Many of us were present and witnessed the crowd of over 3,000 people who attended the launch of the book titled “ABC of the Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria” on February 7, 2014.

    Professor Imran Oluwole Smith, SAN, of the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, did the first review of the book while I did the second review.

    Many people bought copies of the book that day and others who were unavoidably absent, launched it later by making payments in the subsequent months. The N10m was donated to the publisher, Snaaps Press.

    One wonders where the newspaper reporters got the misleading information “he was found guilty of receiving donation of N10m” when they refused to read NJC report?

    It is inconceivable that the philanthropist Prince Arthur Eze could choose to display bribe in the public.

    It is not a criminal offence for Arthur Eze to launch a book with any affordable amount. It is also not a criminal offence for UmezCJE to sell the books he authored.

    To date, the proceeds of the book launch were deposited in an account in Zenith Bank Plc where the learned judge sequestrated all the funds realised as endowment to promote research and publication of books in Property Laws.

    The proceeds from the sales of the books have continued to come in from 2014 to date. They have not been spent but invested in treasury bills.

    Those aggrieved by the judgments delivered by UmezCJE at the High Court are encouraged to proceed to Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

    In fact, some of the cases are already on appeal. The irresistible deduction from the general episode is that the donations were meant to encourage scholarship. It is an unfair persecution, pursuit of vendetta and harassment against him via orchestrated propaganda by the press.

    It is not an offence known to our criminal jurisprudence for a judge to sell books he authored using his intellectual ability via launching/donations. Earlier before the launch, the prior consent of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) was sought and obtained. To date UmezCJE (retired) had published over 23 law books of revenue-yielding nature.

    SNP published five of the eight books personally written by the brilliant judge.  Also the 16 books edited by the learned judge, SNP published all of them.

    They are as follows:-1. General Principles of Property Law (1986 Fourth Dimension Publishers Enugu ‘FDP’) 2. Title by Adverse Possession (1990 FDP), 3. A Guide to Instrument Registration and Land Registry Practice (1992 Yemi Oyedele Law Publishers Lagos), 4. The New Wigs’ and Challenges of Legal Practice in Nigeria (2005 SNP), 5. 25 Years of Land Use Act (2006 SNP), 6. The Role of Pleadings in Civil Trials (2008 SNP) 7. Nigeria’s Major Land Reforms (2011 SNP), 8. ABC Contemporary Land Law in Nigeria (2013 SNP).

    The other books edited by him are: – 1. Democracy Beyond the Third Republic (1992 FDP), 2. Towards The Stability of the Third Republic Democracy (1992 FDP) 3. Administration of Justice in the 21ST Century (1996 FDP), 4. Essays in Honour of Justice Eze Ozobu retired CJE (1996 FDP), 5. Judicial Excellence – Essays in Honour of Justice Iguh Retired Justice of Supreme Court (2004 SNP), 6. Law, Democracy and its Dividends – Multi-Disciplinary Essays in Honour of Chimaraoke Nnamani (2004 SNP), 7.  Judicial Integrity, Independence and Reforms Essays in Honour of Justice M.L. Uwais Retired CJN (2006 SNP), 8. Judiciary and Democracy in Nigeria – Essays in Honour of Justice Salihu Moddibo Alfa Belgore Retired CJN (2007 SNP), 9. Judicial Incorruptibility – Essays in Honour of Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi Retired CJN (2009 SNP).10. Judicial Boldness and Reforms (2011 SNP), 11. Niki Tobi JSC –The National Political Reforms (2012 SNP), 12. Judicial Innovation and Fearlessness – Essays in Honour of Justice Aloysius Iyorgyer Katsina-Allu Retired CJN, 13. The Bar-Bench Relationship Essays in Honour of Barrister Michael Okeh Nweke late distinguished Enugu based Lawyer (2016 SNP) and others.

    These intellectual works of the learned Judge are in high demand and are available in the Courts, Law Schools and Universities in use by the academia, students and lay people.

    These are regular sources of revenue. The books are distributed to Lawyers, marketers and others on proceeds return basis. The sales are conducted by lawyers, marketers, businessmen and other individuals and the proceeds are paid through lodgements into Zenith Bank account at intervals.

    One is therefore at a loss when the legitimate sales and earnings from the intellectual properties of a judge would be classified as an unjust enrichment and abuse of office?

    The alleged verification of the salaries account of the learned judge by operative of EFCC (Economic and Financial Crime Commission) and the leakage of its contents to the pressmen displays so much vendetta The media report of N632.2m allegedly found in the bank account of ex-Enugu CJ’s is false. There is no such money anywhere in his account.

    No doubt the learned judge earns N701, 726.28 and the fact that he did not make withdrawals for 11 months did establish corruption. The prudent judge frugal domestic expenditures centres on his monthly allowances N450, 000 paid to him in cash as the Chairman of Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

    Your reporter also oversighted the fact that the learned judge also receives allowances for numerous meetings of the various committees of the judiciary he attended.

    He lives in a free accommodation with electricity, water, gas bills paid for him by the state. The cars were purchased, owned and maintained by the state government.

    One is tempted to question whether the reporter expected the learned judge to consume all the earnings voraciously. This is inconceivable as he must save income for the raining day, old age and retirement.

    Further orchestrated in the newspaper report is the ownership of houses, many which are fictitious. The few houses and other properties he owns are commensurate with his income.

    He holds LLB, LLM of the University of Lagos and was admitted to practise as a lawyer in 1980. For over 36 years his mates and juniors at the Bar have become Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Judges, Professors and distinguished public servants who own 5-Stars hotels, housing estates and huge investments.

    We are tempted to ask the persecutors whether UmezCJE after hard work as a legal officer, Professor, Judge, Chief Judge and administrator is expected to be a poor church-rat?

    We the members of the Committee of Friends of UmezCJE are not lacking in courage and resources to contest the EFCC allegations in the court of law, to ward off these pursuit of vendetta, blackmail, witch-hunting and vindictive press war and persecution.

    It is human for a judge to react adversely in the face of insulting contemptuous remarks by a defence lawyer, defamatory and provocative comments in the newspapers reports, we the members of the committee of friends of UmezCJE, shall not reject him.

    We are proud of his enviable achievements. We have known him since 1987 close to 30 years, initially as a lecturer in law at University of Ibadan, later as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and much later as a Senior Special Adviser to Attorney General of Federation.

    He is a diligent, industrious, resourceful person with compassionate and humanitarian temperament. He is not a greedy person as reporters would want us to believe.

    He was also assessed and appointed Adjunct Professor of Property Law, Faculty of Law at Ebonyi State University Abakaliki where he helped mid-wife the new Faculty from 2000 to 2004 – in fact he rendered academic services free of charge to the university.

    At the Faculty of Law Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Justice (Professor) UmezCJE rendered freelance academic services for three years (2004 to 2007) as an external examiner.

    During his tenure, he invented what we now call ‘compassionate marks’ to cushion the effect of some of the alleged high handed grading or rigidity of the ‘Marking-Scheme’ of students’ examination scripts.

    In fact, one of the students’ beneficiaries of these morale boosting top-up marks, to the glory of God scored first class honours in the Bar Final examination of the Nigerian Law School. Students who failed one course were allowed to graduate.

    This practice accords with London University and other tertiary institutions’ Examination regulation in the United Kingdom.

    His achievements as a judge and Professor of Law with numerous books, technical reports, articles in the scholarly refereed journals are monumental.

    With the numerous publications, His Lordship is a great servant of the law. He has continued to increase the indebtedness of our generation of lawyers (and indeed the future generations too) to him.

    Having served this country meritoriously as a legal officer, law teacher, judicial officer and administrator, let us forgive the little mistake of delivering judgement in excess of 90 days.  He deserves peaceful retirement.

  • One war, discordant voices

    One war, discordant voices

    The Federal Government is being put to the strictest test yet of its anti-corruption campaign. The Senate is demanding that the Presidency clears the air over the alleged financial indiscretion of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal and the two security reports on Acting Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Ibrahim Magu. Senator Shehu Sani of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has joined the fray, accusing the government of double standard in waging the war. Lawyers, in this report by Eric Ikhilae, suggest ways to address the seeming contradictions in the campaign.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been consistent in its criticisms of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s anti-corruption crusade. It argues that the anti-graft war is targeting only the opposition.

    But the government denies the claim, identifying some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who are also facing trial. They include Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    So, the dispute over the credibility of the anti-corruption campaign was between the opposition and the government until last week when a member of the ruling party, Senator Shehu Sani joined the fray.

    Sani (representing Kaduna Central) accused the government of double standard in waging the war and queried President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to the fight.

    Sani was reacting to Buhari’s letter to the Senate, refusing its recommendation for the sack of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), David Babachir Lawal, for alleged corruption.

    The Senate ad-hoc committee on “Mounting humanitarian crisis in the Northeast,” which Sani headed, had, in its interim report, accused Lawal of abusing his office by influencing the award of a grass cutting contract to a company in which he has interest, under the Presidential Initiative on North East (PINE).

    Based on its findings, the committee recommended that Lawal should resign or be fired by the President. On receiving the report, Buhari directed the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), to look into it and report to him.

    Apparently acting on the AGF’s report, Buhari wrote the Senate, declining its recommendations. The President said he could not carry out the demand, because the ad-hoc panel report was signed by three of its nine members. The SGF was not given fair hearing

    Sani dismissed as “false” the President’s claims on his committee’s report. The Senator suggested that the president’s defence smacked of double standard.

    Sani noted that contrary to the President’s claim, seven members of his committee signed the report. He said Lawal was accorded fair hearing, as he was invited to appear before the committee.

    He said an officer in the SGF’s office received the invitation to Lawal, ading that the committee also placed advertorials in three newspapers, inviting also the SGF and others involved in the investigation.

    Sani said: “Corruption in the Judiciary and others is treated with insecticide while corruption in the government is treated with deodorant.”

    Before Sani’s outburst, the Senate refused to confirm Buhari’s appointment of Ibrahim Magu as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman. The Senate hinged its decision on a damning report by the Department of State Services (DSS), linking Magu with some corrupt practices.

    Although the President has re-submitted Magu’s name to the Senate, the Senators believe that the issues raised in the DSS report on Magu must be sorted out before his clearance.

    Many are of the view that though the President’s commitment to the anti-corruption fight is not in doubt, the manner he is going about it, particularly his handling of the SGF and Magu cases gives cause for concern.

    Observers argued that, in handling the SGF’s case, the President should not have acted as his lawyer by querying the process leading to his indictment by the committee.

    They stressed that it was incumbent on the President, having received the Committee’s report to utilise executive mechanisms to establish the veracity or otherwise of the issues raised in the report rather than querying the process.

    By querying the process rather than the issues thrown up by the report, they argued that the President presented himself as someone working to protect the SGF by discrediting the process leading to Lawal’s indictment.

    They spoke on similar vein in the President’s handling  Magu’s case. To them, the President who swore to fight corruption in all forms should have been interested in getting to the root of the DSS report before resubmitting Magu’s name for confirmation.

    Having missed the opportunity of first, addressing the DSS report, Magu will continue to bear the burden of integrity if eventually he is confirmed, they said.

    Another issue thrown up by the Lawal and Magu cases, observers noted, is the conflicting interests within the Presidency, which account for growing cases of inter-agency conflicts among units prosecuting the ant-corruption war.

    With their positions on many issues, the AGF, the DSS and the EFCC have on many occasions, showed that there is no love lost among them, a development that portrays the Presidency as a house divided against itself.

    Critics are wondering why he DSS headed by an appointee of the President.

    They asked that, if the Presidency is not at war with itself, why should the DSS Director-General, Lawal Daura, prefer to first present such a damning report on Magu to another arm of government, rather than the President, when the President was before the Senate, vouching for Magu’s integrity and praying his confirmation as EFCC chair.

    Critics condemned what they called the seeming inability of the AGF to coordinate the activities of the various prosecuting agencies for the execution of the anti-corruption war.

    They said he had been quiet on many occasions when the DSS ignored valid court orders. They pointed to his justification of the DSS’ invasion of judges’ houses in the dead of night.

    Instances abound where proceedings in cases instituted by the EFCC and the office of the AGF were called off because of the DSS.

    An instance is the case involving a member of the Presidential Investigative Committee on Arms Procurement, Air Commodore Umar Mohammed (rtd).

    Umar was kept in DSS custody for over five months after his arrest last June 19, despite two orders by two judges of the Federal High Court, directing the DSS to release him.

    He was released last December 2, after Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja refused to proceed with Mohammed’s trial as requested by the prosecution.

    Mohammed, 54, last September re-arraigned with his company – Easy Jet Integrated Services Limited – before Justice Tsoho, on an amended four-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/145/16.

    The judge granted Mohammed bail and ordered, among others, that he should be remanded in prison custody until he meets the bail conditions.

    Last November 28, a lawyer from the office of the AGF, Labaran Magaji (who is prosecuting the case) indicated the state’s readiness to start trial. But the defence led by Hassan Liman (SAN) objected to the begining of the trial because the court’s previous order was not complied with by the prosecution.

    He said his client was still being held by the DSS contrary to court’s order. Liman said the prosecution did not transfer the defendant to prison as ordered by the court and  refused to release him even after he met the bail conditions.

    On being informed that the defendant was still being held in DSS’ custody, Justice Tsoho said he would not subscribe to the beginning of the trial when his earlier orders had not been complied with. He declined to take any further steps in the case until Labaran reported last December 21 that the DSS has released Mohammed.

    A similar incident played out before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja) before who Mohammed and his company were earlier arraigned last July 21.

    Justice Dimgba granted Umar N100million bail, with two sureties at N50million each, who could be private citizens or public officers, with landed property in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Mohammed met the bail conditions, but the DSS refused to release him or transfer him to prison as ordered by the court.

    The judge, who was angered by the refusal of the DSS to comply with his orders, elected not to take any further steps in the case until his orders were obeyed.The case remained stalled until it was later re-assigned to Justice Tsoho by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.

    Former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki has been granted bail by three  courts. The Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has equally declared his detention illegal, but he is still being held by the DSS.

    The administration has equally been criticised for its handling of the cases involving some judges.

    Many believe that the government should have worked with the top hierarchy of the Judiciary to ease out judges accused of corruption instead of taking them to court.

    Lawyers, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman, Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), Mike Ozekhome (SAN), and Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), added their voices to the debate on the administration’s handling of the anti-corruption fight.

    Sagay faulted Sani’s position, noting that despite the senator’s background in civil society and activism, he did not support Magu considering the Acting EFCC chairman’s efforts in leading the anti-corruption battle.

    He said: “I don’t really know the basis of that comment he made. I think it’s a political statement. It’s not factual. He’s a political antagonist of his own party.

    “He doesn’t get on well with the governor of his state, and he doesn’t get on with the Federal Government. So it is his political battle that is colouring his statement. It’s not factual.”

    The PACAC chair said Magu was being victimised, adding that senators who rejected his first nomination were not representing the interest of Nigerians.

    “I expected Senator Sani as a human rights person, as far as I know a person from the civil society, that he should have stood up for the truth. He should have known that Magu was victimised deliberately. He should have stood up against that.

    “He should have stood for the oppressed person who has been doing a marvellous work in the fight against corruption. But this time he stood on the wrong side.

    “ Maybe the Senate has its own interest which is contrary to the interest of the country. And he’s standing with that Senate in that regard. So that’s his business,” Sagay said.

    Ozekhome (SAN) urged the President to first address the issues raised in the DSS report on Magu before seeking his confirmation by the Senate. he argued that, no matter how the issue of Magu’s clearance was resolved, the credibility of this administration’s anti-corruption fight will be tainted without him addressing the allegations by the DSS.

    Ozekhome said: “I am worried that the President will be pushing for the confirmation of Magu, knowing full well that, as the number one anti-corruption czar in Nigeria, he must not only be incorruptible, but must also be seen to be so.  The Senate’s earlier refusal to confirm Magu was based on a damning report by the DSS. The issues raised in that report have to be addressed first.

    “One would have expected that there ought to be a synergy between the SSS, the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the police and the Presidency since all of them are controlled by the President under Section 5 of the Constitution.

    “It is inconceivable to believe that the DSS could have sent such a damning report to the Senate without the knowledge of Mr. President. The anti-corruption fight will be discredited with this moral burden and serious case of credibility crisis if the President continuous to push Magu’s name.

    “If the SSS was to recant on its earlier report, not many Nigerians will believe it. Many Nigerians will believe it was compelled to recant. So, Magu’s case is not necessarily one of legalism. It is one of serious moral and credibility crisis that will afflict his tenure and afflict the entire anti-corruption fight.

    “There are many capable Nigerians who can do this job. And, there are many areas where Magu can also perform creditably well. The President does not necessarily need to force him on the country or on an unwilling Senate, because the Senate, under sections 4, 88 and 89 has its own functions to performed under the doctrine of Separation of Powers.

    “The President should save Magu, an otherwise hard working young man, the embarrassment of being rejected the second time and save the Senate of a moral burden if it should confirm Magu, with the allegations against him left unresolved.

    “Under Section 2 of the EFCC Act, the Chairman of the EFCC cannot act without the confirmation of the Senate. This means that all actions taken while in an acting capacity may be challenged if he continues in office as acting Chairman.’’

    Prof Akinseye-George and Kehinde frowned at the seeming helplessness of the AGF in the face of continued disregard of court orders by security agencies, including the DSS.

    They urged the AGF to act as the nation’s true number one law officer by ensuring that every security and prosecuting agency is subject to the dictate of the rule of law. This, they said was important in view of its implication for the administration’s image and the fight against corruption.

    Akinseye-George said: “Disobedience of any agency, either DSS, police, EFCC or ICPC of court order is anti-democratic. It can lead to anarchy. They, by the Constitution, must be subject to civil courts. Otherwise, our claim to being a democracy is questionable.

    “We need to speak to the authorities of these various agencies that their personnel, who are reported to be acting in disrespect of constituted authorities. In the Dasuki case for instance, where about three different courts have granted him bail, the government has no reason to further keep him in custody under any guise.

    “They can release him and then, keep him under watch. Watch him because he is a person of interest. You don’t have to detain him.  This administration that preaches change must consciously encourage respect for the rule of law. It must be one of the pillars,” Prof Akinseye-George said.

    Kehinde warned that if there is no conscious effort of the prosecuting agencies to obey lawful orders of trial courts, then we are not going anywhere.

    “And that is why I am calling on the Attorney- General of the Federation to step in at this point. The AGF is the chief law officer of the federation and his primary duty is to see that the rule of law and due process are observed.

    “That is why I am also of the school of thought that the office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney general of the Federation should be separated so that there will be no political interference.’’

  • Southern Kaduna killings: NBA charts path to lasting peace

    Southern Kaduna killings: NBA charts path to lasting peace

    For three days, a team of lawyers comprising leaders of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was in Kaduna on a fact-finding mission to identify the  causes of the crisis in Southern Kaduna and suggest ways to ensure lasting peace.

    The team, led by NBA President, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), had its first stop at the office of Governor Nasir el-Rufai on January 16, during which Mahmoud suggested ways of addressing the crisis in Southern Kaduna.

    Mahmoud said: “Since I became the president, we have scaled up programmes in the public interest areas. We recently constituted a multitask force which we charged with the responsibility of working on ways through which we can support citizens affected by crises. A similar task force is currently working in the Niger-Delta region.”

    He explained that from initial briefings the team had from experts who were familiar with the situation, his team learnt that the escalation in the crisis in recent years had bred public mistrust, widespread anger and frustration in some of the communities.

    Mahmoud identified the negative role of political leaders in the area, who, he said, had taken sides and contributed to the atmosphere of mistrust and escalating violence. These leaders, he added, spread the misinformation, which fuelled the crisis.

    He noted that the non-implementation of past recommendations on how to deter recurrence of violence, created a culture of impunity over the years, which needed to be fully addressed.

    Mahmoud added that the recurrent violence in Southern Kaduna could not be addressed by treating it strictly as a legal issue or adopting strict military approach, but required the corporation of all.

    There was a need, he added, for stakeholders to tone down their rhetorics.

    For the political leaders, particularly the governor, Mahmoud suggested the need for more tact and statesmanship in the handling of the situation, While for the religious leaders, he urged them to demonstrate more caution in what they say and do.

    To achieve a long term solution, Mahmoud suggested the need for the state government to seek ways of engaging with all the affected communities and earn their trust. Emphasis, he added, should also be on non-military strategies.

    As a medium term measure, he suggested the need for neutral intermediaries to support the government’s measures in the areas of engaging with stakeholders and improving communication.

    El-Rufai, who praised the NBA team for its initiative, said the cause of incessant killings in Southern Kaduna was difficult to understand.

    He added that the spate of recent killings was a spillover of the April 2011 post-election violence. He said the Southern Kaduna crisis was inherited by his government.

    El-Rufai said: “The southern Kaduna is a 36-year-old crisis. I have decided to face it and I am going to end it. What we are dealing with now is 35 years of impunity. It is our intention to prosecute those instigating hate speech and bring them to book.

    “There is nothing that can be done to Southern Kaduna unless the application of law and order. The security agents have arrested some of the perpetrators. The masterminds will be brought to justice. We are ready to partner with NBA and enforce the law.

    After its interaction with the governor, the team headed for Kafachan, about three hours’ drive from Kaduna (the state capital), where it received a briefing on the state things from a group of security personnel on ground, before proceeding to some communities affected by the crisis. The communities visited were Goska, Dangoma and Bakin-Kogi (all in Jema’a Local Government), where members of the team expressed dismay over the level of destruction.

    At the Area Command Office, Divisional Police Headquarters, Kafachan, Commissioner of Police, Mobile Police Force, Bello Ahmed gave a picture of efforts being made by security agencies to ensure peace.

    Ahmed, who was deployed to Kafachan on December 24, 2016, admitted that there were violent clashes in the affected communities, but said the situation was amplified by reports of the incidents.

    “The scale of the crisis is being amplified. We are not saying there was no crisis, but was not as much as it is being portrayed,” Ahmed said, and urged the team to feel free to visit the communities and interact with residents.

    The scale of destruction was high in Goska. What used to be beautiful houses, but now burnt structures doted the agrarian community, inhabited by mostly Christians.

    The owner of one of the affected houses, Gideon Morik, said two of his vehicles were burnt with the house, while his 14-year old daughter,

    Anna was among those killed on December 24, 2016 when armed men, believed to be Fulani herdsmen invaded the community.

    He pointed to a fresh grave in a corner of his premises, where he said Anna was buried. Impacts of bullets were visible in the steel gate at the main entrance to the house.

    Morik, who said he was a Chairman of Jema’a Local Government, and two-time member of the state House of Assembly, pointed accusing finger at members of the next community- Dangoma, who he said instigated the attack.

    To Morik, there were two motives for the attack – economic and political. “Our land is fertile. We do not use fertilizser. That is why the Fulani people want to take our land by force. We did not vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last general election.

    That is why the state government has refused to protect us and has chosen to leave us to our fate.”

    The leader of the community, Malam Ayuba said 33 houses were burnt while four people are still yet to be accounted for in addition to those, who were shot dead. He said the major problem now was that of insecurity, which has made it impossible for his people to go to their farms.

    “If you move two kilometres away from this village, you will be attacked. The attackers are hiding in our farms, waiting to kill more people,” Ayuba said.

    At Dangoma, a community inhabited mostly by Fulani Muslims, the community head, Alhassan Seidu, denied that his people attacked Goska.

    Although his community was not attacked, Seidu admitted that those who attacked Goska were Fulani herdsmen, but not from Dangoma. He accused members of Goska community of being hostile towards his people before the attack.

    “Our people have lived in this place for over 500 years. We have lived peacefully with our neighbours. We learnt of the attack on Goska by some Fulani herdsmen, who are not from here. Although they (member of Goska community) have, on some occasions, acted hostile to some of our people, we were not part of the attack,” Seidu told the visiting NBA team.

    At Bakin-Kogi, a predominantly Christian community, the district head, Danjuma Gado blamed Fulani herdsmen for the incessant violent attacks in the area. He also blamed idle youths in the area for fuelling crisis.

    He urged the government not to abandon the people to their fate, but to come to their aid.  he praised the NBA for its initiative and assured of his commitment to ensuring the return of peace to the various communities.

    The visit by the NBA team to Kafachan was rounded off with a meeting with some selected stakeholders drawn from the affected communities, who gave first-hand accounts of what occurred and how best to achieve peace.