The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • ‘How young lawyers can succeed’

    Young lawyers can succeed by specialising in an aspect of the law,  former Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) President, Boma Ozobia has said.

    Speaking during a mentoring programme organised by her firm, Sterling Partnership and GE Nigeria, she said young lawyers can plan their career path ahead.

    The event, which held at the Lagos campus of the Nigerian Law School,  exposed the students to  career options available to them.

    Introducing  the eighth edition of the programme, Ozobia noted that the profession is so wide that everyone can succeed.

    She can develop interest in a particular area and seek to pursue a career in it.

    Speaking on how to become a litigator,  Mrs Miannaya Essient (SAN), said: “I have learnt from experience that you have to put in your best at all times. You have to be confident, polite and accept responsibility whenever anything goes wrong.

    “You must understand the Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanisms of Arbitration, Mediation, Negotiation and  Conciliation. You must have specific skills of fluency in both written and spoken English, appreciate and analyse issues and  above all must appear very clean at all times.”

    Justice Candid Johnson of the High Court of Lagos State spoke to the law students on “a day in the life of  a  judge”.

    He gave nsight into what it takes to be a judge and why the revolution in Lagos Judiciary has become a model.

    Other speakers include Ifeoma Obasi, who spoke to “a day in the life of an in house lawyer” and Prof. Oyelowo Oyewo who spoke on challenges of combining teaching and law practice.

    Managing Partner of Sterling Partnership Solicitors, Mr. Isreal Aye said: “Our aim is to better equip these aspirants to the bar using this unique platform to educate, inspire and prepare them for what lies ahead post call.

    “The Sterling code in every project is to ‘Create Value”. Hence,  I consider this to be Sterling’s intervention to add value to the individual aspirants to the Bar and the legal profession as a whole.

    “In a nutshell we prefer to be a force for change by taking an active rather than passive stance,” he said.

    Mr. Chuka Eze of GE said: “I believe that the students will find the programme motivating because the mentors cut across almost every aspect of legal practice, namely, the bench, the bar (including an SAN), in-house counsel and the academics.  Hence every student should be able to see a representative of his career aspiration in the mentoring panel.”

    Eze also spoke on how he moved from general practice to being an in-house counsel.

    “Drawing on my expensive, having recently moved from general law firm practice to in-house practice, I compared general law firm practice and in-house practice and highlighted the highs and lows of in-house practice.

    “One low point of in-house practice for me is the fact that I do not directly make money for GE, unlike when I was in the law firm and bill for any work done for a client.

    “Another low for me was that in-house practice takes me out of my comfort zone as an oil and gas lawyer as I am now required to answer any legal question that the company may have.

    “Also as an in-house counsel, you are always required to participate in lengthy meetings/calls that you have nothing to contribute in.  You can also find yourself lonely as an in-house counsel.

    “This is because unlike in law firm where you enjoy the company of other  lawyers with whom you discuss legal issues with, you may find yourself as the only lawyer in a company with no other lawyer to discuss legal issues with.

    “The highs for in-house practice is a better work-life balance.  Unlike in law firm practice where the focus is satisfying the demands of the client no matter what it demands of the lawyer, in-house practice is better organised with reasonably respected working hours.

    “In –house practice improves the business of the lawyer as the lawyer does not only consider the legal issues, but also looks at the bigger picture, which is how the legal issue fits into the overall business objective of the company.

    “In-house practice should ultimately make the lawyer a better person as it cultures the lawyer’s manners in the areas of emailing, speaking, communication, and other useful soft skills.

    “In conclusion, I was of the view that neither general law firm practice nor in-house practice is better the other, but that the preference for each person depends on the person’s motivation in life.”

  • Lawyer writes police over ‘harassment’ of bailiff

    A lawyer, Dania Abdullahi, has urged the Assistant Inspector-General of Police AIG), Zone Two, Onikan in Lagos to transfer a case-file on a tenancy dispute to another police division.

    Abdullahi said his client, a senior bailiff/sheriff of the Federal High Court, Ernest Nwanoro, was asked to quit his 21, Ajoke Okunsanya Street, Ago Palace Way, Okota residence.

    According to him, before the notice expired, some policemen from the Ago Police Division, stormed Nwanoro’s premises and disconnected his power and water supply and barricaded the entrance.

    Abdullahi said the house is owned by a former Comptroller of Customs, Chief John Ogundoju, but managed by his daughter and husband, Mr and Mrs Eniafe Adeola through an agent, Lanre.

    The lawyer said on April 28, at about 10pm, Nwanoro got a call from Lanre to report at the police station.

    The following day, he accompanied his client to the station to see the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), who was away.

    According to him, on May 3, his client got a call from the DCO asking him to report at the station without fail.

    Abdullahi said he tried calling the DCO to know why his client was wanted, but was not given a reasonable explanation.

    The lawyer said a tenancy dispute was a civil matter that should not warrant intimidation by the police.

    Alleging that the DCO may have been compromised, Abdullahi said the case file should be transferred from Agor Police Division for a discreet, unbiased and fair investigation.

    The lawyer said the DCO allegedly “descended into the arena” and should, therefore, be reminded about what the law says on tenancy agreements.

    Abdullahi said his client, who was forced to relocate his family, did not commit any offence to be treated like a criminal.

  • Justice seeks review of legal education curriculum

    Justice seeks review of legal education curriculum

    Justice Centus Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court has  called for a review of the legal education curriculum.

    This, he said, will ensure Nigeria produces lawyers who can compete with the best abroad.

    Justice Nweze spoke at the monthly meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Abuja branch,  hosted by the law firm of J-K Gadzama LLP at J-K Gadzama Court.

    He said: “We canvass the view that law scholars in Nigeria should re-imagine the intellectual content and breadth of their fields of study. They should now be thinking of moulding and shaping future advocates who would have audience not only in Nigerian courts but also in the global community of courts.

    “This is even more so since Nigerians are found in virtually all corners of the globe. These Nigerians in the Diaspora are either engaged in trans-national trades or businesses or other forms of endeavour.

    “The question may be posed: of what use would the Nigerian lawyer be to such global Nigerians  if the Contract Law curriculum, for example, does not transcend the traditional English Law assumptions?” he asked.

    Justice Nweze wondered if law faculties teach their students the norms of international contract law.

    Such issues, he said, include “the world’s emerging lex mercatoria: the UNIDROIT principles of International Commercial Contracts or the UN Convention on Contracts for international sale of goods.”

    “How many Law Faculties in Nigeria teach their students that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement regime possesses an attribute that international law lacks, namely, effective enforcement mechanisms?

    “Coming nearer home, we do not entertain any doubt that our professors of family law are conversant with the traditional definition of adultery as the physical infidelity of a spouse.

    “But then as Prof Karen S. Peterson has, insightfully, shown in the illuminating article, ‘Infidelity Reaches Beyond Having Sex,’ new forms of social media and virtual communication are shaping the way relationships (including extra-marital physical and nonphysical relationships) are conducted.

    “More communication takes place outside the confines of marriage—even if still within the home. His finding is that cybersex and virtual affairs on the Internet are popular areas of interest among professionals, who study spousal infidelity.

    “Against this background, therefore, the question may be asked: how many Family law teachers have given a thought to whether ‘virtual adultery’ should constitute actionable conduct in divorce proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act?

    “The expression ‘virtual adultery’ has been defined as ‘non-physical behaviour that adopts one or more aspects of a romantic relation-ship and consequently creates disconnect in the marriage.’”

    Justice Nweze said the curriculum on the criminal justice system also needs a review.

    “It would no longer suffice to teach the elements of the offences of murder; manslaughter; rape etc under the domestic penal statutes.

    “Since Nigeria has ratified and would, hopefully, some day domesticate the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), our young advocates would, if properly groomed now, be the future prosecutors and defence lawyers for persons who would be charged with the offences defined in the Statute.

    “Instructively, due to the complimentarity principle in the Rome Statute, the domestic courts have the primary responsibility of prosecuting offences under the Statute. It is only where the country is unwilling or unable to prosecute that prosecution at the ICC can commence through the trigger mechanism

    “In order to actualise this goal, we advise young lawyers to embark on an integrated course on Criminal Law which, expectedly, would include a comparative study of the features and elements of the above offences with the features and characteristics of international crimes.

    International crimes bear certain peculiar characteristics that distinguish them from ordinary municipal crimes. They are offences that violate the bristle bond of humanity; hence, an offender is seen as hostis humani generis, an enemy of mankind.

    “As young advocates who would shape the future of legal practice in Nigeria, we implore you to note that the Evidence Act, 2011, did not take account of these, and other developments that would enhance expeditious trials.

    “Although, these developments have been codified in some jurisdictions, only time would tell whether they would be adopted as part of our adjectival law on digital evidence,”  Justice Nweze said.

  • Ecobank urges court to appoint liquidator for Honeywell

    Ecobank Nigeria Limited has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to appoint a liquidator for the assets of Honeywell Group over an alleged debt.

    Moving the application before Justice Jude Dagat, the bank’s lawyer, Mr Kunle Ogunba (SAN), urged the court to dimiss Honeywell’s objection to the application.

    Honeywell’s lawyer, Olabode Olanipekun, had urged the court to strike out the suit on the basis that there was no prior advertisement for a provisional liquidator by the bank.

    “A provisional liquidator can only be appointed after advertisement. There has been no advertisement, so the condition precedent has not been met,” he said.

    But, Ogunba said the objection was “misconceived” because the rules on winding-up petitions do not make prior advertisement mandatory before a liquidator can be appointed.

    “The appointment is tied to the discretion of the court,” Ogunba said. Ecobank said Honeywell is indebted to it to tune of N5.5billion.

    Arguing Ecobank’s winding-up petition, Ogunba, principal partner of Kunle Ogunba & Associates, said the respondent never filed a response to the petition.

    “The petition for winding-up remains clearly unchallenged,” he said.

    He prayed the court to dismiss Olanipekun’s claim that it was wrong for Ecobank to sue both Honeywell Group (obligor) and its chairman Dr Oba Otudeko (guarantor).

    “It is not the law that the bank cannot pursue both the obligor and guarantor simultaneously,” he said.

    Olanipekun had claimed that the Bankers Committee had ruled that Honeywell was not indebted to Ecobank.

    But, Ogunba said the Bankers’ Committee decision was not enforceable on any of the parties, adding that the fact Honeywell went to court over the dispute showed the decision was inconclusive.

    “Why would they go to court if they had a decision that was binding? I urge your lordship to dismiss this application. It is totally misconceived,” he said.

    Opposing the application, Olani-pekun urged the court to dismiss the winding-up petition for being an abuse of court process.

    He said: “The purport of this case is that despite the payment of N3.5billion, they are saying we’re still indebted to the petitioner (Ecobank). In the case before Justice Idris (a sister case), we’re saying that the N3.5billion is full and final payment.

    “They’re saying we owe, but throughout the petition, they have not indicated how much. A winding-up petition cannot arise where there is no ascertained and ascertainable debt.”

    Besides, Olanipkkun said the Court of Appeal had ruled on the issue. Ogunba, however, said the claim was still pending and is a matter of appeal before the Supreme Court.

    Ogunba also moved an application praying the court for an injunction restraining Honeywell Group from accessing its funds in Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Citibank Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Wema Bank, Enterprise Bank, Union Bank, First Bank, Skye Bank, Sterling Bank and Unity Bank.

    Others are Keystone Bank, United Bank for Africa, Mainstreet Bank, First City Monument Bank, Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Fidelity Bank and Ecobank.

    He said the injunction should subsist pending the determination of Ecobank’s appeal on a March 18 ruling by Justice Dagat discharging earlier interim orders made in the case.

    But, Olanipekun urged the court to dismiss the application on the basis that Ecobank had not been diligent in prosecuting the appeal.

    Justice Dagat adjourned until September 26 for ruling.

  • Alegeh blames economic woes on past administrations

    Alegeh blames economic woes on past administrations

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Augustine Alegeh (SAN) has blamed past administrations for the country’s economic woes.

    He said they lacked the vision and expertise to place Nigeria on the path of development.

    Alegeh  spoke in Benin while delivering a lecture entitled: Law and National Development at the 15th Annual Justice Idigbe Memorial Lecture.

    It was organised by the Faculty of Law, University of Benin.

    He said Nigeria had witnessed abuse of office and mismanagement of resources by those entrusted with the commonwealth.

    Alegeh said: “Though Nigeria’s crude oil and gas reserves have continued to increase over the years, despite our enormous endowment, Nigeria has not been able to record significant economic growth and development relative to our resources.

    “The reason for the Nigeria’s economic woes and setback were identifiable as absence of rule of law, corruption, insecurity and failure to implement extant laws,” he said.

    Alegeh said several programmes were initiated and sold to the public as designed to boost development and economic growth, but regretted that “these programmes were mere conduits to siphon and loot the public treasury”.

    “The few of such programmes that worked and impacted positively on the lives of the citizens were later abandoned by successive governments that erroneously thought that these programmes had served their purposes being the initiatives of previous administrations.

    “One remembers with nostalgia, the days when the US Dollars was lower than the Naira at about 70K-$1. During those days, the Naira was considered to be a very strong currency exchange in the world market based on the value of products Nigeria exported. Presently, we are faced with the sad reality of having the currency exchange rate at $1 to N320.”

    He said it has become imperative to examine the relationship between law and national development in nation building, adding that  governments across the world  are increasingly engaging in law reforms as they seek to ignite, support and sustain economic growth and development in their countries, and Nigeria must not be different.

    Alegeh, who said the  petroleum industry had undergone several modifications and reforms, noted with dismay that: “it is rather unfortunate that, despite discovering crude oil over 59 years ago, we are yet to enact an Act that has the capacity to regulate activities within the petroleum sector.

    He reiterated that attempts  by the National Assembly to balkanise the Petroleum Industry Bill and pass it piecemeal is certainly not the solution to the problem in the Oil and Gas Reform, adding that the PIB is expected to address the constant face -off between oil companies and their host communities.

    “The PIB should address the issue of the destruction of the ecosystem via pollution of the water system leading to the death of fishes and other sea animals. The PIB should also be able to address the issue of youth restiveness and militancy in the Niger Delta region. These and many more issues are expected to be addressed by the PIB as part of the reforms expected to be introduced in the oil and gas sector,” Alegeh stated.

  • Monarch sues lawyer over land

    The Oloto of Otto and Lagos Mainland, Oba Ganiyu Odesanya has sued his family’s former lawyer and seven others over a disputed 5.708 hectares of land at Oke-Alo, along Ilupeju, Gbagada/Oworonsoki Express Way, Lagos.

    In suit No. ID/8383/14, the monarch asked a Lagos High Court in Ikeja, to declare the Oloto Royal Family the owner entitled to a Statutory Right of Occupancy over the land with Survey Plans Nos. FAN/LA/295/2001 and OY295/37/2002/LA.

    Listed as first to seventh defendants are Mukaila Olajide Oseni (For himself and on behalf of Adams/Esu Family); Chief Lasisi Arubo (For himself and on behalf of Alase Family); Diya Fatimilehin & Co. and the Lagos State governor.

    Others are the state’s Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice; the Commissioner, Ministry of Housing and Rilwan Dawodu.

    In an amended statement of claim dated March 3 and signed by Bolaji Mustapha, the claimant averred that the 5.708 hectares covered by Survey Plan No. LS/D/LKJ 1876 was excised to it by the Lagos State government from their original plot measuring 54.856 hectares.

    He said that he was represented by the seventh defendant, Dawodu, in the negotiations for out-of-court settlement initiated by the fourth, fifth and sixth defendants.

    The claimant alleged that Dawodu refused to make the Terms of Settlement available to him on the grounds that it had yet to be signed by the other parties, which was later found to be untrue.

    He averred that the seventh defendant, purporting to represent the Oloto Royal Family, connived with the first to sixth defendant and gave part of the 5.708 hectares to the first to third defendants.

    In an affidavit in support of a motion on notice dated March 3, 2016, deposed to by family’s secretary, Chief Mohammed Akinola, the claimant alleged that the defendants recruited Mobile Policemen and “thugs and bandits armed with guns, cutlasses,” who attacked members of the family in a bid to forcibly erect a signpost “on our land.”

  • Will death penalty end kidnapping?

    Will death penalty end kidnapping?

    In two months last year, there were 225 kidnap cases in 23 states. In October alone, there were 108 kidnappings and sea piracy in 24 states, with 180 victims, including 26 foreigners. Alarmed, the Senate has proposed capital punishment for kidnappers. Can this stem the tide? ROBERT EGBE writes. 

    “I slept on the bare floor inside the bush throughout. My abductors covered their faces and changed locations as they moved about four times daily to avoid arrest. I had severe backache; I was drenched in the rain and was fed only bread and soft drink.”

    -Chief Olu Falae (77), narrating his four-day experience in a kidnapper’s den last September.

    Numbers do not lie. Or do they? In its Global Kidnap Review 2016, NYA International, a crisis prevention and response group, listed Nigeria 10th among “severe threat countries” for kidnapping.

    The top five countries on the list are Libya, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, all are torn or recovering from a war.

    NYA said last year, “severe” kidnapping was perpetrated by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria; there was also politically-motivated abduction of high-profile nationals.

    The group added: “There  has,  however, been  an  increase  in  wealthy,  prominent  victims,  indicating a  shift  towards  criminally-motivated kidnappings.

    “The line between piracy and kidnapping has become increasingly blurred as wealthy locals are increasingly being targeted.”

    A report by Reuters in February said at least two persons are kidnapped each month. It identified the kidnap hubs to include the Niger Delta “with the threat from both militants and armed gangs.”

    It continued: “Ransoms for foreign nationals range from $28,000 to $204,000, with ransom payments for Nigerians generally less than $100,000. Time spent in captivity is varied, with the longest period some 465 days.”

    At the18th African Reinsurance Forum of African Insurance Organisation (AIO) hosted by the Insurance Institute of Mauritius in 2012, Nigeria was designated as the global capital for kidnap for ransom.

    AIO said: “The number of kidnaps for ransom in Africa continued to increase. In the first half of 2011, Africa’s proportion of the global total increased from 23 per cent in 2010 to 34 per cent. Nigeria is now the kidnap for ransom capital of the world, accounting for a quarter of globally reported cases.”

    It said there was an upsurge in the demand for terrorism insurance to provide financial cover in the event of a kidnap.

    On April 15, 2014, perhaps Nigeria’s most high profile kidnap incident occurred with the abduction of 276 female students by Boko Haram; 219 of them are yet to be found.

    Also abducted were Mike Ozekhome (SAN) (August 23, 2013), Mrs. Toyin Nwosu, the wife of Mr Steven Nwosu, Deputy Managing Director, The Sun Newspaper; Sheikh Adam Idoko, Deputy Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), who was kidnapped in Ogrute Enugu-Ezike on September 3.

    Last September 21, national leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and one-time presidential candidate Chief Olu Falae was also abducted, while last Tuesday, former Minister of State for Education Senator Iyabo Anisulowo regained her freedom after seven days with her abductors. A leading Nollywood actor, Pete Edochie, was also kidnapped, as well as wife of Supreme Court Justice, Doyin Rhodes-Vivour.

     Death penalty for kidnappers? 

     In response to the surge, seven states — Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo enacted laws making kidnapping punishable by death.

    They have since been joined by Cross River, Kogi, Bayelsa, and Edo States.

    The first capital punishment convictions for kidnapping were recorded last Friday in Ebonyi State, when an Abakaliki High Court sentenced two persons, Onyemachi Oge and Okechukwu Oma, to death by hanging for kidnapping a medical doctor.

    Justice Eze Udu found them guilty of abducting Dr. Chuka Manyike of the Paediatrics Department, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, on May 5, 2013, at his private hospital at 15, Owerri Street, Abakaliki.

    They were said to have received N200,000 from the N3 million ransom that was paid before the doctor was released after six days in captivity.

    This action by the states is soon to be replicated at federal level with the resolution by the Senate on May 4, to enact a countrywide legislation prescribing the death penalty for kidnappers.

    The resolution followed the submission and consideration of the report of its Joint Committee on Police Affairs, National Security and Intelligence on the “unfortunate recurrence of kidnapping and hostage-taking in Nigeria.”

    The recommendation for death penalty was recommended by Senator Adamu Aliero (APC-Kebbi Central) in respect of a motion on the recurrence of kidnapping and hostage-taking in Nigeria, entitled: “A National Wake-Up Call”.

    Senators were outraged that kidnapping and hostage-taking, which used to be a problem in the Southsouth and Southeast, were becoming widespread.

    The report observed that between October and November 2015, there were 225 recorded kidnap cases recorded in 23 states across the country with over N85m ransom demanded and N28m paid by victims.

    Earlier in the presentation of the report, Chairman of the Joint Committee, Senator Abu Ibrahim, relying on another report by the Department of State Security (DSS) stated that in October 2015, there were a total of 108 kidnap and sea piracy incidents in 24 states where 180 victims, including 26 foreigners, were involved.

    The Senate also asked state governments that had not done so to enact laws that would prosecute kidnappers in their jurisdiction

    However, until the Act is passed, only Houses of Assembly can enact laws on kidnapping since it is not on the exclusive list of the Nigerian Constitution.

    Global practices

     Can death penalty deter kidnapping in Nigeria? It is possible, if the Singapore example is anything to go by.

    The United States, Singapore, Taiwan, and St. Kitts & Nevis prescribed death for the offence of kidnapping, just like China, North Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

    Under the US Federal Kidnapping Act of 1932, if the victim is physically harmed in any manner during a kidnap, the crime could qualify for capital punishment.

    In Singapore, executing kidnapers is legal. The country’s Kidnapping Act of 1961 designates abduction, wrongful restraint or wrongful confinement for ransom as capital offences.

    According to a January 12, 2014 publication by online news agency, Asia One, quoting Singaporean, The New Paper, kidnapping was rare in the city-state because of the stiff penalty.

    In the report titled: “Kidnapping rare because of death penalty”, it quoted criminal lawyers, who explained that people were rarely abducted in the country because of the tough laws.

    They also noted that Singapore’s small size could also be another deterrent, as it makes it difficult to hold someone hostage for a long time.

    Singapore’s Parliamentary Reports of October 23, 2007 also quoted Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee as saying that a study had shown that “95 per cent of Singaporeans feel that the death penalty should stay.”

    Govt proposes special court

     Last Friday, the Presidential Advisory Committee on Anti-Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said the Federal Government is set to create a special court to speedily try certain offenses, including kidnapping.

    He spoke in Abuja at an Anti-Corruption Summit organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice in conjunction with a group, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and ONE Africa.

    Sagay said his committee had completed the draft of a Bill for the establishment of special court. He said the draft, which is being taken through the required legal processes, will aid the establishment of the special court to deal with the special cases speedily.

    Alternative view

     Head of Department, Jurisprudence and International Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) Dr. Adedayo Ayoade feels the Senate’s proposal might be a knee jerk reaction.

    He said: “Politicians tend to panic whenever there’s a problem, when they should think very carefully about the issues and then try to resolve it.

    “Making kidnapping a capital offence will not solve the problem because they are dealing with a society where there are significant social issues that allow for kidnapping; wide income gap, deep poverty, deteriorating economic situation, very porous and poor security environment.”

    Ayoade urged the senators to channel their energies “towards solving the nation’s problems by showing good example, letting us know how much they earn and by not spending so much money on themselves.”

    “Things like these are more likely to have a longer time effect on the nation this issue of capital offence,” he said.

    He added: “If you go to those places where the houses of kidnappers are destroyed, pulling down their homes once they are caught; has it resolved the problem?

    “So, the death penalty for kidnapping won’t solve the problem at all. They’re just trying to show that they are busy, but unfortunately they are very busy in the wrong direction.”

    On the proposal for kidnapping to be included in the jurisdiction of the proposed special court, National President, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) Malachy Ugwummadu expressed reservations.

    He warned the government to avoid over-regulating the society.

    Ugwummadu said: “On the call for special court, we must try, particularly those of us in the legal community must help to ensure that our country is not over regulated, and that we don’t proliferate these courts.

    “We’re talking of special courts for robbery, corruption, kidnapping, special courts for child abuse etc. With respect, that is not how to run a society. We must deal with the fundamental causes of these vices, so as to make their occurrence impossible.”

    He added that “instead of looking in the direction of special courts, let us first consider deploying the state’s energy in reviving the security apparatus of the country.

    “There will be serious disincentive for some of these crimes if you kidnap and you are arrested in the next 48 hours. The business will completely disappear.

    “But if you kidnap and after one month you are still waxing strong and collecting money randomly from people, it’ll mean that there’s a market for it.”

    Ugwummadu said only the government could provide the kind of disincentive that is necessary.

    “It comes from the government through the security agents, and the Constitution of Nigeria under Section 14(2)(c) is that the welfare and security of the people shall be the primary responsibility of government.”

  • Scholarship for indigent students

    Scholarship for indigent students

    The Ilaje Regional Development Council (IRDC) in the coastal area of Ondo State has given scholarship to more than 400 indigent students in secondary and tertiary schools. The gesture was aimed at providing quality education for its people within the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the oil-producing area.

    At Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area venue of the event, cheques were given to the indigent students of the mandate area of the RDC.

    Over 400 students in the secondary and higher institutions benefited from the gesture. While those in the higher institutions received N50, 000 each, secondary school students received N20, 000.

    Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of RDC, Prince Henry Ehinmola said the council initiated the scheme as an annual event different from that of the NNPC/CHEVRONN which scope of beneficiaries extended beyond the RDC mandate area.

    He said the scholarship scheme was strategically put in place to complement the efforts of the state government in order to improve the quality of education of the students in the oil-producing area.

    This is to also assist parents in educating their children.

    The chairman of Ilaje Local Government Area, who was represented by one of his supervisors, Jossy

    Ehimore said the programme was a laudable one as “every programme on education is a programme to improve the well-being of humanity”.

    He appreciated the management of RDC for the initiative and implored the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the gesture.

    All present at the ceremony praised the generosity of the RDC.

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was represented at the occasion by officials of the Ministry of Niger Delta, the Ugbo Traditional Council of Chiefs.

    Besides, all community heads and representatives of the GMoU areas were also in attendance.

    One of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Omogbemi expressed his happiness and promised to utilise the money given to him sensibly.

    Omogbemi said after his education, he will definitely come back home to join in the development of the oil-rich Ilaje land.

  • Supreme Court decries Mobil’s reluctance to prosecute appeal

    The Supreme Court has decried the reluctance of Mobil Producing Unlimited (MPU) to prosecute an appeal it filed in 2010 against the May 21, 2009 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Calabar.

    The appellate court had held that about 860 Nigerian Mobil workers hired as security guards between 1990 and 1996 were its staff and not officials of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as the company claimed.

    A five-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Suleiman Galadima, noted that the appellant appeared unwilling to prosecute the appeal. It urged Mobil to be certain about what it intends to achieve with the appeal.

    The court’s position was informed by the uncoordinated approach of the appellant’s lawyers and the consistency in the errors they commited in the filing of applications, which often led to adjournments.

    When the case was called on April 25, Mobil’s lawyer, Rowland Obaji sought leave of court for an extension of time to file an appeal and deem the already filed amended appeal as properly filed.

    Justice Galadima drew Obaji’s attention to a wrong prayer in his motion and noted that the court could not amend defective documents for parties.

    Without objection from lawyers to the workers and the police, O. K. Salawu and Sebastian Barth Ozoana, the court struck out Mobil’s motion.

    Justice Galadima noted that similar motions dated September 29 and 30, and December 15, 2015 filed by Mobil had been withdrawn and struck out.

    When asked if he knew when the other motions were earlier struck out, Obaji said he could not recall because the file where it was indicated was with the Senior Advocate leading him in the case.

    “It seems you are not prepared to prosecute this appeal. You should tell us what you intend to do with this appeal. You seem not to be familiar with your appeal and processes filed so far,” Justice Galadima said.

    The court then directed Obaji to file a new motion to regularise the appeal, following which a new date will be issued for hearing.

    Since Mobil lodged the appeal in 2010, it has taken no major steps to ensure its prompt determination. Most adjournments have been at its instance.

    When parties returned to court on June 1, 2015, it was also the unpreparedness of Mobil that foisted an adjournment on the court, prompting the Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad-led five-man bench to impose N100,000 cost on the company and adjourn to December 14.

    On December 14, Mobil’s lawyer, A. O. Wahab attempted to move his client’s application for leave to regularise the appeal, only for Justice Mohammad to, again, notice that the application was incompetent.

    Justice Muhammad also observed that a motion for stay of execution of the judgment, which Wahab said his client filed on February 12, 2010 for stay of execution of the Appeal Court’s judgment was not in the court’s file.

    He consequently ordered the appellant to withdraw the defective application, re-file it on a later date and ensure that all the necessary processes were in the court’s file. Justice Mohammad was however, silent on the return date, prompting lawyer to the workers, Ifeanyi Maduabuchi to draw the court’s attention to the fact that the case was about labour dispute, which requires prompt hearing.

    Maduabuchi said despite the order in the judgment restraining Mobil from dismissing or punishing the workers, it had allegedly sacked some and was subjecting others to unfriendly treatment. He urged the court to intervene and protect the workers.

    The 860 Nigerians were engaged by Mobil as security personnel between 1990 and 1996 to secure its assets in Lagos, Port-Harcourt (Rivers State), Eket and Quo-Ibo in Akwa-Ibom State.

    Dispute arose about their employment status in early year 2000 when about 27 of them in Eket were issued transfer letters by the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), transferring them to Lagos. The 27 rejected the purported transfer on the ground that they were not staff of the Nigeria Police.

    They complained to Mobil, who claimed it had transferred their employment to the Nigeria Police and thus raising the question about whether the company could alter the terms of their employment without their knowledge and consent.

    The workers claimed they were directly employed and paid by the oil company (as reflected in their employment letters tendered in evidence in court); that they were only trained by the police on security operations (under an arrangement between Mobil and the Nigeria Police Force), and that they are entitled to the same benefits as other employees of the oil company.

    On its part, the oil company insists that they should look up to the police for their benefits and other entitlements because it engaged them as supernumerary (SPY) police personnel and not actual staff.

     

     

  • ‘Why I’m fighting for detainees’

    ‘Why I’m fighting for detainees’

    Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem is the son of Gani Adetola-Kazeem (SAN). He was called to the Bar seven years ago. A member of the Board of Trustees of the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP) and Director, Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI), he tells ADEBISI ONANUGA why he followed his father’s footsteps

    Unlike his peers, Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem chose to champion the cause of the less privileged. For years, he has been at the vanguard of ensuring that suspects awaiting trial do not stay in prison custody longer than is necessary. This he does through his organisation, the Prisoners’ Rights Advocacy Initiative (PRAI).

    His decision to advocate for this less privileged was mooted when, while still in the university as a law student, he  visited the Ijebu-Ode prisons under the auspices of Nigeria Association of Muslim Law Students.

    “During the visit we heard the harrowing experiences of inmates of the prison and there and then I promised the inmates and myself to take up advocacy for the rights of inmates and others whose rights are abused whenever I am called to the bar,” he said.

    His National Youth Service year in Abia state offered him the first opportunity to fulfill this dream when he represented poor inmates in court and successfully secured their release.

    One of those freed was an orphan who had spent over seven years awaiting trial and had become partially blind.

    He and other lawyers partnered with Lagos State to establish the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership (LPILP),  aimed at assisting those who can’t afford legal services, particularly awaiting trial inmates.

    He highlighted some cases handled by his NGO. “We filed an action on behalf of 106 inmates of Kirikiri maximum prison and  most of them were eventually released.

    “We also advocated the release of some underage inmates sentenced to 390 days in prison by the Lagos Environmental and Special offences  court in Alausa and kept in Kirikiri Maximum prison in 2013,” he said.

    Adetola-Kazeem said he took to law because his father wanted him to study law, which he also wanted.

    “I didn’t have to do much. I also had to make him happy since none of my older siblings studied law,” he stated.

    He however remarked  that If he had not done Law, he would have done Psychology and or joined the Military.

    “My father is a lawyer and growing up I wanted to be like him. So the decision to become a lawyer came naturally. Also, I wasn’t good in sciences and anything that had to do with calculation, so the only safe haven to progress in Senior Secondary School was to ‘quarantine’ myself in arts class.

    “When I got to the University, seeing the injustice being perpetuated around, I was emboldened to take up the profession as a passion in order to give voice to the voiceless and that I have been able to do within the limit of my resources,” he said.

    He recalled that his first appearance in court was before Honourable Justice Abai of the High Court of Justice, Abia State in the Abia Judicial Division during his NYSC assignment in January 2010.

    He said he experienced no fright but was “very relaxed because of the drilling I received at the law school and also because of my background.”

    The PRAI Executive Directror have quite a number of persons he admired in the profession. His role models include his father, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), the late Bamidele Aturu, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), Mr Abdul-Jelil Owonikoko (SAN), Mr. Yemi Candide Johnson ( SAN), Mr Gbenga Oyebode, as well as his mentors, Justice Habeeb Abiru of the Court of Appeal and Hon. Justice Babatunde Adejumo of the National Industrial Court.

    “If I can combine the attributes of these great men, then I will be rest assured of being a forerunner in my generation,” he said.

    Adetola-Kazeem regretted that  corruption has becpome an embarrassment to the legal provision and sees it is a reflection of the decay in the fabric of our national existence.

    “I believe the posture of the current government on corruption will assist a lot in cleansing the rot in the judiciary. There are still a lot of Judicial officers who are upright, and I think such people should be encouraged,” he said.

    On his most embarrassing court experience, he said: “My boss, Mr. Obiora Obianwu ( SAN) handed me three files to attend to in Court the next day. as matter of practice I ensure I study my files well to avoid any surprise in Court. However on this faithful day, I had a clear instruction from my boss to take an adjournment in one of the cases which was slated for trial. On getting to Court, I indicated that the trial will not be going on because my boss who wants to handle the case personally is not in town.

    “The opposing counsel insisted that the matter must go on and the Judge, Hon. Justice Abai agreed with him. I was sweating profusely not knowing what to do in the circumstance. One of the lawyers in court advised me to ask for a stand down to enable me familiarize myself with the file. I followed his advice and the Court granted my request. I went out of the Court with the very bulky file and yet could not make any sense out of the contents as the matter was filed under the old dispensation when there was no front loading of processes.

    “I put a call through to my boss, who then instructed a senior in chambers, Mr Dozie Ogunji to come and lead me. When he came, he simply spoke with the Counsel on the other side to allow the Court Adjourn. Surprisingly the Counsel obliged him simply because they were from the same town,” he recalled.

    In the next 10 years, he hoped  to have made very outstanding and unrivaled contributions to the development of the law and the course of humanity. I hope that I would have been elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria”, he said in addition.