The move by Lagos State Government, through its Ministry of Justice, to assemble stakeholders to further discuss the way forward with respect to the nation’s quest and popular demand for justice sector reforms could not have come at a better time. To His Excellency, Governor Akinwumi Ambode and his amiable Attorney- General and Hon. Commissioner for Justice, it is a summit that is so crucially relevant and compelling as a way of moving the debate forward and offering a platform for Stakeholders to walk their talk. And they cannot be wrong on this assumption. It is indeed, like many of their policy decisions, a right step in the right direction.
Much more interesting is the all important topic of the summit , which is Contemporary Trends: Catalysts for justice sector reforms in Lagos state. Quite expectedly, expectations are high regarding this Stakeholder’s summit on the administration of justice; being aware of the crucial role our beloved Lagos state plays not only for itself but also as a pacesetter in the socio-economic growth and development of our legal system in Nigeria.
This article is a Stakeholder’s contribution aimed at examining some of the current trends in the justice sector and how they can push reform efforts in the judicial sector of Lagos. It is going to be divided into three parts: The first part of the article is going to deal with Nigeria-specific trends, the second part will deal with Global trends, and the third part of the discourse shall deal with how the combination of these trends can serve as a catalyst for justice sector reforms in Lagos State.
The Nigerian contemporary trends
At the forefront is the issue of corruption in the judiciary and the need for accountability. We are all aware of the allegations of corruption leveled on high profile members of our judiciary. This is a truly alarming and worrisome trend, as the judiciary is supposed to be the mirror that reflects a clean, fair and great vision for society. Whether it is as bad as it is being portrayed is a question that may not be easily answered until the guilt of the alleged judicial officers has been established or otherwise. In the meantime, however, there is no doubting the fact that our judiciary is, more than ever before, enmeshed in a tragically scandalous situation. Certainly, this points to the need for the judiciary to create and strengthen internal accountability mechanisms. These mechanisms would serve two purposes:
Firstly, they would prevent judicial corruption even before it happens. We must go back and look at the process of how we appoint Judges. It needs to be a more rigorous and transparent process, so that we can weed out bad eggs even before they get a chance to ever sit as Judges and in judgment for or against the citizens of this country.
Secondly, these accountability mechanisms should involve self-cleansing of compromised and corrupt judicial officials in partnership with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Since the recent arrests of certain judges, I have often heard public affairs analysts and legal commentators on TV and the mass media argue that arresting Judges is a breach of the independence of the judiciary. I do not agree nor subscribe to that line of thinking, but it does raise a challenge for us as stakeholders in the judicial process. The challenge before us is: How do we ensure an effective method of dealing with cases of corruption in our midst? When we fail to do what we have to, the other arms of government step in; and then some of us say that this is harming the independence of the judiciary. If we do not sweep our compound—if we leave it dirty—we should not be surprised or even angry when our neighbor cleans it for us. No one likes a dirty environment, so we must keep our compound clean. Therefore, as stakeholders, we must be able to self-police ourselves as members of the judiciary.
As a constant beacon of hope, Lagos, being at the forefront and cutting edge of judicial reforms and innovation, can lead the way in the fight against judicial corruption. The million-dollar question is: What do we do?
Part of my suggestions for reforms and proposed agenda as all roads lead to Lagos for the Stakeholders summit to be united in purpose and loud in re-echoing the call for urgent action on the need to reform the process of appointing Judges. The process must be transparent and free of political considerations. The NJC should have 100 per cent responsibility for appointing Judges. That way, when Judges fail to adhere to the code of conduct of the judiciary, we will know how to deal with it.
The conditions of service of our judicial officers must also be a matter of concer for Stakeholders as a cardinal point on the egenda for justice sector reforms. Coincidentally, this was a struggle Lagos State had spearheaded at the advent of this current democratic dispensation when, under the dynamic leadership of His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as Governor and his Attorney-General and Hon. Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, there was a radical reform in the Lagos judicial sector which witnessed an unprecedented upward review of the remuneration of our Judges and Magistrates. Today, His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is the nation’s Vice President and a keynote participant at the Lagos summit.
We need to reduce the incentive for bad behavior by making sure that, as a system, we are paying our Judges competitive salaries and other benefits, so the temptation to involve themselves in corruption is less. Also, financial autonomy for the judiciary is a way to guard the independence of the judiciary and prevent it from being too dependent on the other two arms of Government for funding.
Global Trends
The first global trend in the judicial system concerns access to justice, fairer sentencing, and prison reforms. The rule of law is a critical ingredient for a democratic society, and we all know that access to justice is one of the most important and necessary characteristics of the rule of law. Major countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have been constantly tweaking this very important concept called access to justice; and I must say with all sincerity that I am truly proud of Lagos for the huge steps that it has taken to ensure that access to justice is real and concrete. I really mean this, and I think we are allowed to beat our chests on this point. The Lagos state Government has opened legal clinics and has made justice more accessible to the average man. But the challenge I want to throw at us, since we are talking about reforms, is: How do we institutionalise all of these laudable efforts, especially in criminal cases where Life and Liberty are often at stake? How do we help to ensure that it becomes a national philosophy as it relates to our administration of justice system.
Yet again, I must commend the efforts of the Lagos state Government on the great strides it has made in alternative dispute resolution, especially in the use of mediation and arbitration. This is very important, because it has made justice more accessible to the average man on the street who often views our Court system as too adversarial, lengthy and cost prohibitive.
The second global trend in the judicial sector is the new debate that is growing on the very concept of justice itself. The legal system of justice we inherited from the British was a retributive system wherein all wrongdoers must be punished. But the world is changing and is moving towards a more rehabilitative and restorative system of justice. The point of justice should no longer just be about punishment, but about rehabilitation. The person who steps into prison should leave prison a better man or woman and—not only that—we need to be able to, where possible, reconcile the perpetrator and his victim. This might sound like a lot for us to change our entire concept of justice. But, to the great Victorian Statesman, Benjamin Disraeli, as emphasised in his speech delivered in Edinburgh in 1867: “Change is inevitable. In a progressive country, change is constant”.
This is a progressive era, and Lagos is a place of progressive leadership, foresight and vision. It is possible for Lagos to begin the process of reassessing the very nature of justice in Nigeria. Lagos can lead the way in creating a rehabilitative and restorative system of justice.
Then, the subject of Prison Reforms. Our prisons are over congested. Most of the prisoners are low-level offenders who have never been placed before a Judge. Some of them have been in pre-trial detention for years, very often for minor infractions. This is a worrisome situation. Yet, we are not the only ones with this problem as even a developed country like the US is dealing with issues of Criminal Justice reforms. In fact, the trend in the US is moving towards fairer sentencing for non-violent offenders, and also toward reducing the rates of recidivism among the prison population. So how can this global trend in prison reforms serve as a catalyst for justice sector reforms here in Lagos and in Nigeria? Well, we can start by stopping the practice of detaining people for more than 48hours until they have seen a judge and been sentenced by a Court of competent jurisdiction. That way, the situation of people in pre-trial detention would reduce.
There is also the issue of bail. Many of the people in jail have no business being there; the only reason they are in jail is because they do not have the funds to post bail. The concept of bail is not supposed to be burdensome, and people shouldn’t be kept in jail because they can’t post bail. At that point, we are simply criminalising poverty—not crime. Also, for existing pre-trial prisoners (detainees) in our prison system, we have to fast track the process of bringing them before Judges; and for those who are in prison for minor offences/misdemeanors, we give them community service and let them be on their merry way. It is a threat to our future and to us all that one innocent man idles away in prison.
The final point to make on prison reforms is on the issue of rehabilitation. Again, I hope that we realize that people in prison are a drain on the public’s finances as we have to feed them, clothe them and be responsible for their general well being. Who is paying for that? Surely, the taxpayers of Nigeria.
Therefore, I am calling on us as Stakeholders, that we push for what I call Prisoners’ re-education for post-prison life. While they are in prison, we shouldn’t just lock them up and forget about them; we need to give them life skills and some basic education so that, when they come out, they can be productive members of society. If we do not do that, for many of them life in prison remains one that is better than life outside of prison. In prison, according to some, they at least have one square meal a day. So, Prisoner education is very important.
Finally, on contemporary global trends, I should briefly touch the emerging Trend of Terrorism and National Security. Today, the legal systems of most countries have to respond to and deal with the issue of terrorism. There is an ongoing debate about curbing civil liberties in the name of national security, and we in Nigeria are also not immune from this grim reality of terrorism. The question before us is: How is the Nigerian justice system responding to this peculiar question of national security? How are our police—because they are also part of the judicial system—responding to this new challenge before us? I have a few thoughts and suggestions for reforms: We need to regain public confidence in our institutions, especially the police, because in this fight against terrorism, the police are the agents of justice closest to the people and so they must have the confidence of our local communities to be able to gather data and intelligence.
Lagos-Specific
This part of the article is dealing with specific trends that can impact the reform process of the judicial sector. First, we discuss the Impact of Technology on the administration of justice. With the advancement of technology, we need to embrace technology as part of our judicial process. This will require that Judges, lawyers and police use technology in the compilation of evidence and even video recording testimonies of witnesses. This will bring to an end the days of a long Court process where we adjourn proceedings because a witness or the Defendant does not show up.These trials are expensive and lengthy and are not good for the administration of justice. Technology can help smoothen the administration of justice.
Therefore, we need to adopt a modern way of thinking. Most of our Courts in the country use the longhand method of taking down Court proceedings. This leads to a long and cumbersome process that slows down the administration of justice. But, again, Lagos has been in the forefront of using technology to quicken the administration of justice. However, I would like for us to expand our vision of what a justice system should be about. We do not only do justice for the sake of the man who brings a case to Court, but we do justice for society as a whole; and so in cases where there is a strong public interest, we need to consider digitally recording these cases. Yes, this might sound almost blasphemous to some of us, but it is important that in the adjudication of high-profile cases, with a strong public interest, the people of Nigeria get to see the wheels of our justice system in motion. It requires us to unveil justice in action to the people.
So I propose that we train our judicial officials on the use of technology in the administration of justice, and I want Lagos to lead the way on this. If there is anyone that can take up this challenge, it is Lagos. So, the call to the same Lagos State, which has deployed more technology in the administration of justice than any other State, is to see more technology in action in the courts and police system of Lagos as a major contemporary trend that will act a catalyst to justice sector reforms in the State and, on the long run, in the Nigerian nation.
More importantly, because this is Lagos, and to the extent that in Lagos we mean business; a best practice trend that stakeholders must urge Lagos to use as a catalyst for judicial reforms is on the need for the law to be more commercial and business-friendly, especially for Lagos. All of the nice things said about justice is all well and good on paper. But, in practical terms, justice can be possible and sustainable only in an environment where there is economic flourishing. Lagos can model itself after the State of Delaware in the US; and London, in England. English Courts have become the destination for big businesses requiring commercial certainty in their disputes.
This is necessary for capital attraction. Lagos being the commercial hub of Nigeria, and indeed West Africa, requires us to ease the legal bottlenecks of doing business. This economic reality should be a catalyst for reforms that create special business courts for contract, tax and other commercial disputes that will be heard swiftly. Lagos Courts can model themselves as the place where commercial disputes can be solved swiftly, certainly and consistently. If we do that, you will find that most business people in other parts of Nigeria will prefer to sue in Lagos Courts because of the quality of the judgments, the swiftness of the judgments and the predictability of the judgments. That will be another avenue for raising internally generated revenue. I call it legal tourism. We can even make Lagos a regional hub for the application of English commercial law, because we have the capacity right here in Lagos. In the same vein, Lagos must take the lead in the much needed reform initiatives and efforts to ease the regulatory and legal obstacles of doing business. Essentially, we can reform and restructure our legal system in Lagos to make it pro- business and commerce. Then, we can have sustainable justice, because it is underpinned by economic growth. A clear message would also be sent to the rest of the country through this reform process.
In conclusion, the Lagos summit on administration of justice is a welcome development targeted, among others, at underscoring the limitations that disabled the Nigerian judiciary from effectively discharging a nation’s eminently important and fundamental duty of fairly and impartially adjudicating disputes, protecting citizens’ rights and constraining the excesses of both the executive and the legislature. It also offers a solid platform for addressing the problems and iniquities of the judiciary, with emphasis on the roles of the stakeholders, especially lawyers, in restoring public confidence in the Nigerian judiciary.
It is imperative that we must continue to welcome as many reform initiatives as possible to further strengthen our legal system, to the extent that we must design a positive organic policy that aims to curb corruption, inefficiency and disorder in our body corporate and, more particularly, in our judicial sector.
More than any other category of stakeholders, lawyers must brazen up to the contemporary challenges and drive the reform initiatives. As lawyers, we must see ourselves as critical Stakeholders in the judicial process. We must take up the gauntlet of vigil Professionals working hard to defend the rights and privileges of lawful citizens and we must not shy away from our traditional duty as watchdogs of democracy and defenders of human rights. We must be ready to provide leadership and champion the struggle for a more humane, peaceful, decent and prosperous society. We must uphold the constitution as the grundnorm while playing active roles in its constant review to meet emerging needs of democratic advancement and we must ensure compliance to the rule of law in line with contemporary international legal order and global best practices. Let the reforms go on and let the real change begin!
*Bamidele is engaged in trans-jurisdictional practice of law as an Attorney & Counselor-at-Law of the State of New York and a Solicitor & Advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
