The Nation Newspaper

Category: Law

  • Experts seek better care for ‘insane’ inmates

    Law and mental health experts have advocated a review of the criminal justice system, policy change by the government and attitudinal modification by the people to reverse the current plight of prison inmates with mental disorder.

    They observed that, not only was extant mental health laws archaic, the criminal justice system, government’s underfunding and the unfriendly disposition of the society do not secure the rights of mentally ill prisoners.

    The experts spoke in Abuja at a two-day national workshop on: “Mental health and justice in Nigeria: Strategies for effective and humane management of prisoners with mental health challenges,” organized by the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria (LACN), with supports from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the European Union (EU).

    Speakers included the Minster for Justice and Attorney General of Federation (AGF) Mohammed Adoke (SAN), Chairman, LACN, Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), Director General, LACN, Mrs Joy Bob-Manuel, Acting Controller General of Prisons, Aminu Sule, a London-based Psychiatrist, Dr. Akintunde Akinwunmi and Dr Uju Agomoh of the Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA).

    Adoke faulted the current arrangement which give scant regard to the interest and rights of mentally ill offenders, while Ayorinde suggested a review of the current trial procedure to ensure that the mental state of any offender was determined before he or she is subjected to trial.

    Mrs Bob-Manuel, Sule and Akinwunmi suggested the review of existing legislature, provision of adequate funding for the maintenance of prison inmates who are suffering from mental disorder. The population of prisoners with mental health challenges is currently put at about 150 nationwide.

    Adoke, represented by a Senior Special Assistant, Adebola Odugbesan called for the establishment of special courts for the trial of mentally ill suspects. Ayorinde, represented by Okey Akobono regretted the current plight of prisoners with mental health challenge.

    Mrs. Bob-Manuel, who faulted the current practice where only relatives of mentally ill prisoners were empowered to bear the cost of conveying such persons to asylum, called for more favourable policies from all levels of government to ensure that mentally ill inmates were well catered for.

    She noted that in most cases the relatives a mentally ill inmate, who the law empowered to fund the transportation of the sick prisoner, are generally poor and unwilling to be seen with a person of unsound mind due to social stigmas.

    Sule, who noted an increase in the population of prisoners with mental health challenge, said new mental health legislation was necessary to ensure adequate protection, rehabilitation and re-integration of mentally ill persons in the country.

    “Mental health is neither by choice nor a crime. As their human right, it is the duty of the state to provide adequate care for such individuals, not punishment. We can no longer afford to look the other way even as the World Health Organisation warns that there is a growing global burden of mental disorders,” Sule said in a speech read on his behalf by Peter Ekpendo.

    Sule called for the inclusion of mental disorder treatment and management in the primary healthcare system to ensure that freed inmates, who suffer from mental health challenge could easily access care. He suggested enhanced training of mental health professionals to bridge the current gap in the availability of mental health experts in the country.

    Dr. Akinwunmi observed that recent studies in the country have shown a prevalence rate of about 12 per cent in the general population and up to 34 per cent in the prison population, and argued that like every individual, people with mental disorder were entitled to the right to fair trial.

    He contended that the existing mental health law, inherited from the colonialists, was inadequate in the face of current mental health challenges. He urged the National Assembly to pass into law before the end of their tenure, the Mental Health Bill submitted to the Legislature since 2004.

    Dr Agomoh said the workshop was intended to address the current plight of mentally ill inmates, which results mainly from factors within and outside the criminal justice system, which are often caused by corruption, negative stigmatisation, poor legislative framework and policy, and lack awareness and skills in the treatment of persons with mental health challenge.

    As a way out, she advocated the development of an effective framework to guide to processing and management of mentally disabled persons within the criminal justice system, including the provision of appropriate mechanism for their transfer to hospitals.

    To achieve this, she noted, requires the review of existing legislation and ensuring that the protection of the rights of mentally ill inmates becomes an acceptable social norm, not an exception to the rule.

    Dr Agomoh noted that the nation’s prison system was ill-equipped to provide appropriate treatment for the mentally disabled population of inmates and called for enhanced collaboration among relevant agencies to  ensure a well-coordinated, humane and effective treatment of mentally ill prisoners within the criminal justice system and the community.

     

  • UNILAG wins moot competition

    UNILAG wins moot competition

    The Law Faculties of Nigerian Universities come together every year to hold the Moot Court Competition to develop advocacy skill. Last week, six universities participated in the competition  sponsored by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN). ADEBISI ONANUGA reports.

    The Students Association of the Law Society, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) has won the fourth Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) Annual Mooting Competition.

    The society scored 82.25 per cent to beat five other universities including University of Benin (UNIBEN); University of Nigeria, Nnsuka (UNN);  Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife; Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo and Babcock University, Ilishan. They were marked “Team A-F”.

    OAU was the first runner-up with 81.25 per cent while UNN was the second runner-up.                                                                  The competition, which held at the auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies(NIALS), had Magistrate Adejumoke Olagbegi-Adelabu and Ms. Onyinye Ukegbu as judges.

    John Odey of OAU won the award for the best “Oralist Advocate”.

    The UNIBEN team won last year, defeating UNILAG and LASU.

    In this year’s competition,  Manedi is as a imaginary republic; Tavardi a state and Fentoc  a local government council area in Tavardi.  Team F (UNILAG) was represented by Jaiyeoba Daniel and Timilehin Oyewo;  Team B (UNN) by Omeye Emenike and Micheal Nwaneka  and Team E  (OAU) by Odey and Elizabeth Whesu.

    The plaintiff, Gaston Minerals Limited, represented by Team F, filed a suit at the Federal High Court of Manedi, within the Tavardi judicial division,  against the Federal Government of Manedi and prayed the court for damages for frustrating a contract to mine uraniums.  Gaston Minerals listed defendants to include the Attorney-General of the Federal Republic of Manendi as first defendant and Fentoc City Local Government as second defendant. They were represented by Team B and Team E respectively.

    The plaintiff, Gaston Minerals, sought seven reliefs from the court, urging it court to determine whether Fentoc City Local Government exists under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Manendi; whether the Tavardi State House of Assembly can validly pass a law renaming Fentoc town as Fentoc City; whether Fentoc City amended law amounted to a declaration of the independence of Tavardi State under the constitution and international conventions and laws.

    Gaston further prayed the ‘court’ to determine whether Fentoc City Local Government has jurisdiction to seal off the uranium mines; whether the new President of Manendi, Kato, can validly terminate and re-award  mining contract earlier awrded to another company, Toma Company International Limited, and whether President of Manendi is stopped from denying the de jure existence of Tavardi State as a republic among other prayers.

    The Attorney-General, the first defendant in the suit, filed a defence where he claimed that the suit was wrongly filed and that the matter ought to be between the plaintiff and Tavardi State with Fentoc Local Government as co-defendant.

    Fentoc Local Government, on the other hand, filed a statement of defense in which it claimed control over the uranium mine and other minerals in the state, having declared that the state is independent of the republic of Manendi and as attested to by its state House of Assembly, which passed a bill into law to declare its independence and which has been signed by the governor, Dansaki.

    All the counsels filed written briefs to support their clients’ positions, the judges however, did not deliver any judgment but made observations on the briefs. In her observation, Magistrate Olagbegi-Adelabu noted that the briefs of Teams F, E and B are similar in style and are more of rulings and judgments than lawyers’ submissions. She took the students through how briefs and submissions are written by lawyers as against the style for writing  judgments.

    Ukegbu,  who said she had “floor fright” on her first day in court,  commended the students for exhibiting confidence and standing their ground in the defence of the reliefs they sought.

    The two judges  noted that the teams were articulate and praised the students for their diligence and for presenting well researched positions before the court.  They told the teams that their verdict was based on the facts presented by the counsels for the plaintiff, the first and second defendants.

     

  • Kudos to small scale enterprises

    The recent revival of support by the federal government for small scale entrepreneurs through a 220 billion naira intervention fund referred to as the micro, small and medium enterprise development fund (MSMEDF) deserves all the encouragement. To further this cause to entrench the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), well beyond the current efforts, the federal government should as a matter of priority establish a Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises, to galvanize and concentrate enough bureaucratic efforts to grow this important segment of our economy.

    Interestingly under this fund, the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria is working to eliminate gender disparity in the MSME sub-sector. So at the lunch of the MSMEDF on August, 15, 2013, the Central Bank of Nigeria, earmarked 60% of the 220 billion naira seed capital for women, while 40% is for men. The program defined a woman enterprise as one that is at least 75% owned or operated by female Nigerians. The fund has two main objectives. First is the social/development object and grants which account for 10% of the fund. The second objective is commercial which accounts for 90% of the fund. Also it provides that 80% of the monies in the commercial component of the fund will be allocated to micro enterprises and 20% to small and medium enterprises.

    The guidelines defined micro enterprises as one with less than 10% employees with a total asset of less that 5million, excluding land and building, and operated by sole proprietor. Small and medium enterprises are defined as entities with asset base of more than 5 million and not more than 500 million, excluding land and buildings, with employees of between 11 and 200. The businesses covered by the fund are listed as agricultural value chain activities, trade and general commerce, cottage industries, artisans, services: hotels, schools, restaurants, laundry, etc, and other income generating projects as may be prescribed by the managing agent.

    The channel for distribution of the fund is from the CBN to the participatory financial institution (PFI) and then to the MSMEs. PFIs include micro fiancé institutions (NGOs and financial cooperatives) and finance companies that meet the criteria. Quite a number of banks have keyed into the program and have designed gender related funding programs to tap into the CBNs plan of action. The interest in female, while seeking to engender gender parity in business ownership, may actually be tapping into to the well heeled notion that women are more trustworthy than men, in this case as borrowers. After all, according to Petrokis and Kostis (2012); while empirical results indicate that inter personal trust dose not affect the number of SMEs, trust becomes widespread in a society when the number of SMEs is greater.

    As I had posited at the beginning of this piece, there is the need to create a ministry for MSMEs, which will be charged to push for the institutional reforms that will help the sub-sector to make the needed impact in the economy. This is the case in other developing economies, where institutional support is developed, to make similar fund more effective. Some of the support includes organized cluster based approach to lending, which the minister of finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has pushed for among some industry operatives. A cluster based approach has been shown to be more beneficial in dealing with well define and recognized groups, the availability of appropriate information for risk assessment, monitoring by the lending institution and reduction in costs for borrowers.

    Another institutional help to the MSMEs will be the creation Credit Guarantee Fund Trust, as a counter poise to lending without collateral. Under such scheme, the lender concentrates effort on project viability, and so the security is secured purely on the primary security of the asset financed. As practiced in other jurisdiction, the Credit Guarantee Trust Fund is structured to minimize the risk of the lender and assure him that in the event of failure by the borrower to meet his obligation, the Fund will step in to ameliorate the loss incurred by the lender. In turn the Fund is paid guarantee and annual service charge by the MSMEs.

    Another institutional help to maximize the benefits of MSMEs is the use of credit ratings in risk assessment. Where there is a reliable credit rating for the MSMEs, the lending institutions find it easier to make their decisions, especially when lending without collateral. Credit rating may also be useful in determining the interest rate for both the lender and the borrower, as MSMEs with favourable ratings may likely get better lending rates than those with poor ratings. Associated with credit rating will be a credit bureau which the Central Bank and the financial institutions are already building, which will keep the data on the borrowing characteristics of companies and individuals, which ordinarily is a sine qua non to the very survival of the lending institutions themselves.

    A further bulwark to protect the new national wave for MSMEDF will be the establishment of laws to protect the MSMEs from their customers, with respect to payment for supplies and for services. Such laws will impute into contracts, where there are no provisions, mandatory payments for services and goods on the due date, and for penalties to accrue to the benefit of the supplier or service provider, after a named date. In some cases the banks will be under legal obligation to pay the supplier or service provider from monies of the benefiting companies in their custody. This will save the MSMEs from the debilitating legal challenge to recover monies due to them from the courts. Also the laws can provide for arbitration and mediation, where there is a dispute in place of litigation. No doubt, the benefits of a viable MSMEs sub-sector are indeed innumerable.

  • Trespass claim valid where there’s no ownership proof

    Trespass claim valid where there’s no ownership proof

    The Appellant as Plaintiff had at the High Court of Osun State at the Oshogbo Judicial Division instituted an action against the Respondents as Defendants claiming damages for trespass and injunction on the business premises known as Groovy Cafe and Restaurant lying and being at opposite Osogbo Grammar School, Iwo Road, Osogbo.

    The Appellant is the proprietor of the Groovy Cafe and Restaurant where he carried out his hospitality business which includes a restaurant, beer parlour, night club, games and event centre, where at he has been in lawful occupation of the premises thereof as a yearly tenant for about 10 years before the action in 2008. The Appellant rented the said premises from one late Chief Rasaki Alli and was paying rent to him. After the death of the said Chief Rasaki Alli, his children through a Management Committee wrote to the Appellant in respect of the Rented Property. The Appellant paid rent to the said Management Committee and subsequently to the firm of M. A. Laogun & Co. as the family’s Solicitors in charge of the estate of late Chief Rasaki Alli. In January 2008, the Appellant was issued a quit notice by the the 1st Respondent as a purported new owner of the rented property. The Plaintiff/Appellant was told by the solicitors to his landlord and the Management Committee of the Chief Rasaki Alli estate to disregard the said Notice as it was not their act and that the 1st Respondent had no such interest/title in the said property. The Appellant wrote informing the 1st Respondent of the reaction of the Rasaki Alli family and warned against any further interference with his peaceful enjoyment of his tenancy. Not done yet, the Respondent in November 2008 issued a Notice to quit within 7 days to the Respondent. The Appellant’s landlord, through the late family again re-assured him to ignore the Notice. This he did, but not without responding by a letter to the Respondent through his solicitors. Notwithstanding all the aforesaid, the 2nd Respondent led a group of people to the premises and purporting to be acting for the 1st Respondent, on November 16th 2008, made a fence round it and blocked the access or entrance thereto. The Appellant had to invite the police, who invited the 2nd Respondent to the police station. The Plaintiff/Appellant proceeded to write through his counsel, demanding the removal of the fence blockade to the Business premises while the 1st Defendant/Respondent may sort out his problems with the late Chief Alli family in respect of the ownership of the premises. There being no response to the letter, the Plaintiff instituted the action leading to this appeal. Appellant insisted that he was the sole occupant of the premises i.e. Groovy Cafe and Restaurant and had never met the 1st Respondent before, nor was the 1st Respondent ever introduced to him as a purchaser of the said premises.

    On the other hand, the case of the 1st Respondent is that the premises in dispute belong to one Mrs. Rosemary Alli, alleged to be one of the wives of the late Chief Rasaki Alli and that the premises was sold to him in 2006 together with shops near to the building by the said Rose Mary Alli. That the late Rose Mary introduced the 1st Respondent to the Appellant and the occupants of the shops, who vacated the shops on the 1st Respondent’s order, except the Appellant who refused to leave the premises. He admitted that the 2nd Respondent was in the premises to carry out renovation work, including the fencing of the premises on the instruction of the 1st Respondent, and that the police invited the 2nd Respondent upon the Appellant’s report. He denied any act of trespass but admitted that the Appellant was in occupation and paying rent and for many years to Chief Rasaki Alli and after his death to his family Management Committee. He acknowledged the correspondences between the parties prior to the suit and the fact that there was no prior court order for the taking of possession, There was no document in proof of Rose Mary Alli’s title to the property as alleged, however the document of purported sale by her to the Respondent was tendered and rejected in evidence, for not being an admissible registrable instrument in law.

    At the close of hearing, the learned trial Judge dismissed the Plaintiff’s case on the ground that the Plaintiff had not proved that he was in occupation or exclusive possession of the premises and that the entry into the premises was not an invasion, such as to constitute trespass as according to the learned trial judge, the 1st Respondent had purchased the premises from the late Rose Mary Alli and that the Appellant had become a mere licensee on the land after the purchase. Peeved and so disappointed with the decision of the learned trial Judge, the Plaintiff appealed to the Court of Appeal. The Appellant formulated 6 (six) issues for the determination of this appeal; the said issues were also wholly adopted by the Respondents in their opposition to the appeal. The issues are:

    i. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in his decision that the description of the premises on which the Appellant sued is not clear.

    ii. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in his decision that the possession of the premises on which the Appellant sued cannot be ascribed to the Appellant.

    iii. Whether from the nature of the claims before the lower court, the reaction of the Appellant’s landlord to the entry into the premises by the Respondents is necessary for the success of the Appellant’s claims against the Respondents.

    iv. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in his decision that he believed that the 1st Respondent purchased the premises from Mrs. Rose Mary Alli.

    v. Whether the learned trial Judge was right in dismissing the Appellant’s claim for damages, for trespass and injunction.

    vi. Whether the decision of the learned trial Judge can be supported by the weight of evidence adduced before the lower court.

    Arguing issue No. 1, the Appellant’s learned counsel submitted that the trial judge was wrong in his decision that the description of the premises upon which the suit was brought was unclear. That the endorsement of the claims on the writ of summons and the statement of claim describes the premises as Groovy Cafe and Restaurant lying and being at opposite Oshogbo Grammar School, Iwo Road, Oshogbo. On his part, the Respondent submitted that the description given by the Appellant is at variance with his pleadings and exhibits tendered in proof of his description of the premises and that the Judge was therefore right in so holding that the description was uncertain.

    On issue 1, the Court held that the fact that the Respondent issued quit notices severally on the Appellant as Defendant in respect of the premises was a clear statement that the premises in dispute and in occupation of the Appellant was well known to the Respondent and the trial Court had no reason to doubt the description as the issue was not a claim of declaration of title to a piece of land of a specified dimension. The Court stated that the simple question related to whether the Respondent had trespassed into the said premises. The Court held that if there was an unlawful interference with the right of peaceful enjoyment of the property by somebody in lawful occupation thereof the dimension or specific area of the said subject property was an irrelevant fact for any consideration. The Court held further that the slightest act of interference be it by the physical presence there, or by fencing as done or the quit notices severally issued without basis amounted to trespass against the Appellant’s right of occupation and use as a tenant. Issue No. 1 was resolved in favour of the Appellant.

    On issue 2, Learned Counsel for the Appellant argued that the claim was based on trespass hinged on fact of lawful occupation by tenancy and not upon any question of ownership of the property. It was, therefore, submitted that a tenant in possession or occupation of land can maintain an action in trespass against all parties including his landlord. See Akinkugbe v. Ewulum Holdings (2008) 6 SCM 23 at 40; (2008) LPELR-346(SC). The Respondent in answer to this issue submitted that the Respondents had exercised various acts of ownership over the premises such that he had proved better title than the Appellant.

    Arguing issue 5, learned counsel for the Appellant contended that action for damages for trespass lies at the suit of a person in possession and that the slightest act of possession suffices. It was emphasized that an action in trespass is not conterminous with ownership claim as the person entitled to claim need not be the owner of land forming the subject matter of the trespass. See Echere & ors v. Ezerike (2006) 5 SCNJ 120; (2006) LPELR-1000(SC). It was also submitted that there was no need to prove actual injury as the mere stepping of foot on the land or premises in possession of another person without consent gives rise to damages for trespass even when no physical injury or loss occurred. In response, the Respondent submitted that a possessor of premises or land can maintain a valid action in reaction to the slightest disturbance of his possession against everyone except a person who can show a better title to possession. The Court in determining this issue re-iterated that the law is settled that a claim in trespass is not dependent on a declaration of title. That trespass being an injury to possessory right, the proper Plaintiff to an action in trespass is the person who was or who was deemed to be in possession at the time of the trespass.  The issue was resolved against the Respondent. The Court further held that the reaction/consent of the landlord or owner of the property, (a non-party to the suit) is not a requirement of the law for a competent and successful claim in trespass.

    On the whole, the Court held that the judgment of the trial Court is perverse in all ramifications. The Court held that the appeal succeeds and it was allowed.

     

     

    LawPavilion Citation: (2014) LPELR-23706(CA)

    Compiled by: LawPavilion

     

  • Appeal Court to computerise operations

    The Court of Appeal is set to modernise its operations by introducing electronic filing and more use of technology.

    Its President, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa led a team on a visit to Australia to study how they apply technology in their courts.

    The choice of Australia, it was learnt, was because the country operates a hybrid judicial system which copies the United States and the United Kingdom.

    The team visited the Federal Family Court of Australia to see its e-filing system, and was received by the court’s Chief Justice, Diana Bryant.

    It is believed the e-filing, when functional, will transform the Court of Appeal from a paper-based system to an electronic one, where interactions can occur via internet or automated voice-responseS.

    It was learnt that when the technology is deployed, lawyers can file cases through their computers or tablets, get hearing dates, receive notices, access cases electronically, track cases and recall decided cases. It could also help reduce conflicting judgments.

    An information technology expert, Adegbenro Alao, who was a part of the visit, said: “We are confident that the PCA is on the right path to modernise legal administration in Nigeria and hopefully her vision will be appreciated by generations to come.”

    It was learnt that the e-filing will be based on the online electronic filing system developed for the appellate courts, and the pilot project will begin in the Lagos Division.

    However, analysts say poor power supply, erratic internet services and computer illiteracy of some lawyers, justices and judicial personnel may work against the project.

    Still, others believe application of technology in court processes will speed up cases’ adjudication. Mrs Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), said: “This is something that is being practiced all over the world, so it is not entirely new. If we say Nigeria is the giant of Africa, we should demonstrate that in all ramifications.

    “For those countries that have adopted it, it often makes judicial process easier and faster for them, so we stand to benefit a lot from it. I think Nigerian judicial system is ready for it.”

     

  • UN agency trains judicial officers

    The United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) has held workshops for workers in the judiciary.

    It is in line with its objective to ensure a reformed and effective justice delivery system.

    Two of such workshops, under the “Support to justice sector in Nigeria” project, with funding from the European Union (EU), were held in Lagos.

    One was for information officers in justice sector institutions. They included the courts, ministries of justice, Nigerian Prisons Service and the police. The other was a training programme to build the competence and skills of justice sector officials in the use of computer and related information and communication technology (ICT).

    During the workshop for information officers, which held for two days, participants were trained on various components of information dissemination in justice sector institutions and how best to effectively disseminate information.

    Facilitators included the Project Coordinator, Ade Omofade; National Information Officer, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC), Lagos, Oluseyi Soremekun; UNODC’s Outreach and Communications Officer, James Ayodele; Communications expert, Kaneng Rwang-Pamand Head of Department and Coordinator,  Akinola  Aguda School of Post Graduate Studies, Nigerian Institute of Advance Legal Studies (NIALS), Mrs. Comfort Chinyere Ani.

    Omofade explained that the project, with a € 26,000,000 funding from the EU, began in last year and is meant to last 42 months.

    He said the objective of the project, meant to cover the federal justice sector institutions and similar institutions in 10 states – Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Federal Capital Territory, Imo, Osun, Katsina, Lagos and Yobe, was to strengthened the rule of law through enhanced accountability, accessibility, transparency and fairness of the justice system.

    Omofade said the project has so far achieved increased justice sector coordination / policy development; development of operational capability; training and  research capacity of justice sector and enhanced access to justice and respect for human rights.

    Mrs. Pam advocated a coordinated relation among information managers in justice sector institutions and stressed the need for vibrant and symbiotic relationship between justice sector’s information managers and the media.

    She noted that the media play an integral and vital role in all aspects of justice, including funding, adding that the media is the first to define events (agenda setting) and inform the public, thus heightening awareness.

    Ayodele stressed the need for the justice sector spokespersons to always be involved in raising awareness about the activities of their sector with the intention of influencing public attitude, behavior and belief towards the achievement of a defined purpose or goal.

    Soremekun, who noted the waning public confidence in the nation’s justice sector, argued that the task of raising community confidence in the justice system was not the exclusive responsibility of the Information Officers in the Ministry of Justice.

    According to him, it is the responsibility of all information managers in the agencies that form components of the justice system. He urged information officers to” liaise effectively with the media colleagues covering their organisations.”

    Mrs Ani, who noted that access to justice was an essential appendage of the rule of law and the fulfillment of the vindication of the right of the citizen, said easy access to the court requires a wide range of steps, which include amending some existing legislations; review and modernisation of court process; the police force and prisons service.

    “The aim is to build up respect for the rule of law and due process among stakeholders in the administration of justice and buttress their roles as protectors of those rights, which will ultimately engender unhindered access to justice,” she said.

    Mrs Ani suggested the general adoption of the various alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures in view of the many benefits of the ADR over the conventional court process with its attendant technicalities and delays.

    ”The alien nature of the legal system; the attendant inherent delays; the public’s unfamiliarity with the nature of litigation process; the technical nature of law and its procedure are factors making ADR a better option for litigants. Lawyers and litigants have to be well sensitised to embrace this new process, which is actually a return to our traditional African dispute resolution method

    “A strong, courageous, independent and incorruptible judiciary is indispensable for the people to have confidence in the justice system, thereby shun self-help or jungle justice,” Mrs Ani said.

    For training on ICT usage, three of the project’s ten focal states – were trained. They were 100 participants with 30 from Bayelsa,  32 from Benue and 38 from Cross River States.

    The participants included investigators, prosecutors, administrative staff of the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice, as well as police and prison officers. Each training session lasted five days and participants learnt, among others, how to use the computer to create, organise and store documents, prepare and make presentations, surf the internet, manage basic data, and access the social media.

    The Training Consultant, Olatunji Komolafe said 10 of the trainees, who had never used a computer before, were able to use the device to perform basic administrative tasks at the end of the training.

    “Despite the short period of the training, feedback from the trainees shows that all of them are now computer literate and can use the device to perform various tasks at work and at home,” he said.

    Most participants at the workshops expressed delight and praised UNODC for the initiative. They sought more of such opportunities.

  • ‘Law to stop abandoned projects coming’

    ‘Law to stop abandoned projects coming’

    Mr. Ntufam Fidel Ugbo, a lawyer, is the Executive Secretary National Planning Commission (NPC) and Secretary to the National Economic Council (NEC).  A former Director with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),  Mr. Ugbo was Secretary to the State Government, Commissioner for Finance, Planning and Budget in Cross River State before he was appointed to the NPC. He is a governorship aspirant in Cross River State. He speaks with  JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU on law and economic development.

    Can you give us  an insight into your background, where you were born and how you started as a young man?

    Well, every human being, no matter what he or she is in life and  how highly placed, must have started from somewhere. And anywhere you start from, you can call it your scratching point. So, I started from the scratch. I was not born in the city. I’m a rural boy, I grew up in a rural community, went to  primary school in a rural community, except that I was exceptionally brilliant  in my academics.

    What do you mean by this ?

    Well, I said that because I made a distinction in my primary school examinations, that is  First School Leaving Certificate.  I went to  secondary school  in the then East Central State. I then went to the University of Calabar, first degree in economics, second degree, finance and eventually, I went to read law, went to  Nigerian Law School. I was eventually called to the Nigerian Bar in 2005.

    What have you been doing all these years?

    In all these years, I have worked in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). I was one time the commissioner for finance, planning and budget and eventually ended up as the Secretary to the Government of Cross Rivers State and now, Executive Secretary, National Planning Commission and Secretary, National Economic Council.

    As the Secretary to the National Planning Commission, what  is the work of the commission?

    The commission is special. It is the only commission in Nigeria that has its duties spanning the three tiers of government,  the Federal, states and local governments. We oversee every planning activity across the tiers of government and whatever we do as the planning commission also cascades to all these tiers of government.

    We are also a window to the world in attracting grants from donor agencies, from bilateral partners into Nigeria. We are also a coordinating commission. We coordinate all development assistance that comes into Nigeria for any ministry, department or an agency of government. While the Ministry of Finance is in charge of credit facilities, anything such as loan facility, credit facility, it is the Ministry of Finance. Any grants, in aids to Nigeria either in cash or in kind, comes through the National Planning Commission.

    Law has been defined as an instrument of social engineering. What aspects of our laws do you think should be amended to fast track economic development in the country?

    Law and economics go hand in hand, law and development go hand in hand. If you create an enabling environment what it means is that your legal systems are perfect. You can encourage investors to come and invest because the legal environment is conducive for them to operate and when that happens, it brings development, so you see the nexus between law and economic development. When you embark on projects and programmes of governments, governments come and go, but the   programmes and projects you established  would continue to remain. How do we  ensure that the law helps us to ensure that progress and development are sustained?  What we in the National Planning Commission noticed is that when governments come into power, the first thing they do is  to abandon what the previous administration did. And to us, that is a loss to the Nigerian populace.

    What are you doing about this?

    We came up with a law which we call Projects Continuity Bill, which is before the National Assembly, believing that the National Assembly will look at it and pass it into law so that no administration, whether it  is the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) or is the All Progressives Congress (APC),  will come to power and abandon what the immediate past  administration did. This is beneficial to Nigerians and not to any particular person or any political party. So we expect that such a law would  be put in place as it will help us in our development efforts. It will help Nigerians to realise the benefits of their taxes. That is how law can assist in ensuring that there is  development. That is how law will ensure that people, who are supposed to bring in money, invest and bring development come in when the environment is right and the  legal systems properly put in place. That is the relationship between law and development and we believe that we are doing a great job in addressing that.

    One of the problems  in Nigeria   is lack  of continuity in government policies. What is your commission doing to stop this?

    We are trying to see that there is continuity in government  development policies. Remember that we started with the vision 2020. About 5000 Nigerians participated in tracking the Nigerian vision. Why did we get all Nigerians from all walks of life to participate in that?  It is because  we didn’t want  it to look as if it is Federal Government document. No,  it should be a Nigerian document.  So, every Nigerian was given  the opportunity to make a contribution to that plan. And when that came up, the states in the same vein, followed suit by developing their own vision which was derived from the national vision.

    To ensure that we coordinate and ensure the working together of the three tiers of government, we have the National Economic Council, which is chaired by the Vice President with all the 36 Governors in attendance and you know that the constitution places the responsibility of the governance of the third tier of government, which is the local governments in the states.

    So, if the governors are in attendance, they are representing their states. So, this meeting holds every month  where we discuss matters that affect the Federal Government, the states and the local governments in one sitting and everything we need to do as a nation.  This is very important and we coordinate this meeting from the National Planning Commission, which is an aspect we think we are doing well.

    Which  values do you think have been added  to the governance of this country?

    Well, for the first time in the history of Nigeria, a sitting President did a mid-term review of his achievements. That is  Mr President’s Transformation Agenda  mid-term report. He published a report  where he challenged Nigerians, saying,  this is what he has achieved in the two years of his presidency and if anybody doubts what was contained in the report, he is free to  debunk it by showing that what was written was not correct. Up till this moment, nobody has come out to say that what  the President  presented was not true. That report was was facilitated by the National Planning Commission, they  came up with that report.

    We have set up a national monitoring and evaluation system for the country, which is working very robustly. We have established a Geographic Information System (GIS) monitoring laboratory in the National Planning Commission because we know that we are in an age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which we must apply in running all our processes. We have done all that, which is the pride of the commission, and it happened during my tenure as the secretary to the commission. So,  I am indeed, proud that we are doing  what  we ought to do and we partner  other organs of government that are available to us like the Joint Planning Board

    What is the work of this Joint Planning Board?

    The Joint Planning Board is a body where all the states planning commissioners meet quarterly to discuss issues that affect the three tiers of government and what can be done. We make resolutions,  go  ahead to enforce them and at the same time monitor what is going on. The National Monitoring and Evaluation that we have put in place, is also encouraging the states to adopt the same system because it will help us to know what we are achieving and where we are failing. This is because once we know where we are achieving well and where we are failing, we can correct the failures and improve on the positively.  So, to that extent, we are making wonderful  contributions and we are coordinating what  happens across the three tiers of governments.

    What do you monitor and evaluate?

    We monitor budgets and programmes implemented by the three tiers,  Federal Government  fiscal projects. We develop a monitoring evaluation report every  year to tell what ministries and departments are achieving every year and whatever do not achieve, we report also.

    Why do you do this ?

    We do this because we want to give them an opportunity to see what they are doing, because as the saying goes, you do not see yourself, you can only see yourself with a mirror. And we being the mirror through which the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) see themselves, we give them that report, so as to see clearly what they are doing right and what they are not doing  wrong. We a  also monitor programmes and not only projects.

    It is widely speculated that you intend to be Cross River State governor next year, what is your reaction to this?

    Service to me has been part of my life because when I was talking to you about the areas I have offered services here and there, you will see that it has always been a life of service to the people, service the nation and all that. And if at this point in time I consider that I have all it takes to  step up my service to my state, I think I’m right.

    What makes you think you are the man for the job?

    Yes, in 2006 I aspired to be the Governor of my state. I am a team player and at the end of the day we agreed and came together. We worked together to actualise the dream for one of us, who happens to be the current Governor.

    Now 2015 is around the corner , the guidelines are indeed, out and my people still believe that I have what it takes to give them that leadership and I have been urged to renew the aspiration I started in 2006. I cannot let my people down, I will take up the challenge and I will show interest.

    There was an advertisement in the newspapers where you were quoted to have said that  you rejected the Lagos accord of three musketeers, what is your reaction to this?

    I was shocked to the marrows when I read the advertisements in the newspapers. I was shocked because I did not understand why human beings could go to the extent of concocting, fabricating and publishing such lies in the newspapers just to undermine other candidates and achieve political gains.

    That advertisement did not come from me nor did it emanate from my campaign office. How can I go ahead to say that a government, which I am fully part of, is a slave driver? It then means that I am a slave driver.  Above all, we have done our best for our people and the country in general. Mischief makers used the photographs of our Governor and that of our former governor to do that. They made it sound as if it came from my campaign train. It is really unfortunate and this kind of politics must be discouraged by all. The press should always cross check who is sending advertisements to them.

    They should always confirm the authenticity and verify the source, so as not to embarrass innocent citizens, defame them or infringe on their fundamental rights.

    As an embodiment of economics, law and finance, how do you intend to touch the lives of ordinary people of Cross River if elected as Governor in next year?

    At times when you are growing up in life, you go through certain processes that may look like you don’t know what God is doing, but He is deliberately preparing you for certain responsibilities. You may never know that. But somehow, somewhere along the line, you will begin to realise that God was indeed, preparing you for a great task.  I started my life as an economist. I was engaged in the Central Bank of Nigeria as an economist where I worked for 24 years. Out of the 24 years, 20 years were with the CBN and four years were the years I spent as Commissioner for Finance, Planning and Budget in Cross River State. That was between 1995 and 1999.

    When I returned to the Bank, I read law and took a Masters’ degree in Finance, which exposed me to all forms of financing options and all that. As if that was to say look, you are going to face a state that is financially challenged, you should have those views to decide on how you are going to innovatively create some financing that will help to propel development in the state.

    So, I believe that these backgrounds I had, with the fact that I worked at the CBN  and in the International Economic Relations Department of the Bank, I am now working in National Planning Commission where I have to coordinate and direct  development assistance to Nigeria, interface with development partners and interface with bilateral partners from different  parts of the world  that send one form of development assistance or the other to the nation. That in itself has  also placed  me in a  better position to bring this experience to bear on the people of Cross River State to be able to share the benefits.

    How do you think your law background would help in governing the state?

    Politics is all about law and order. My law background will be able to give me an insight into what should be the proper legal frameworks, the proper laws that we should put in place to propel our economic development in order to create the enabling environment for governance. How does it enhance the understanding between the executive and legislative arms of government? If you have somebody who has a fair idea of the law, you will be able to manage the relationship among the Legislative, the Executive and the Judiciary. So, these have placed me in a position where I will be able to address some of these issues for the benefit of the people of Cross River State.

     

     

     

  • Ikeja NBA wants Ekiti Courts re-opened

    Ikeja NBA wants Ekiti Courts re-opened

    The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, has decried the closure of Ekiti State courts, saying it endangers democracy and rule of law.

    The chairman, Yinka Farounbi said this while briefing reporters after a three-day fact-finding mission to the state following the attacks on judges.

    He  urged the Chief Judge of the state, Justice A.S. Daramola to re-open the courts, saying peace has returned to the state capital.

    Farounbi condemned the attack on judges of the state High Court by thugs suspected to be loyalists of the governor-elect, Ayodele Fayose.

    He said the hoodlums’ action amounted to  threat to the  independence of the judiciary.

    “In view of the fact that our democracy was hard won from long years of military rule, it should be the concern of all well meaning Nigerians, particularly legal practitioners to protect the nascent democracy zealously,” he said.

    Farounbi said their findings revealed that the attacks were clearly carried out with the aim of stopping the court from discharging its lawful and constitutional responsibilities of adjudicating over disputes before it.

    “Evidence abound that the invaders of the courts had clear intention to overawe the court. Their action in proper legal context was treasonable,” he said.

    The NBA chairman held Fayose liable for the mayhem and physical assault of Justice J. O Adeyeye.

    Farounbi said his team spoke with the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawyer Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN);  lead counsel for the People Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti, Hon. Obafemi Adewale; the Commissioner of Police, Mr F.T. Lakanu; the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, among other eye witnesses.

    The fact-finding mission, he said, took place between September 28 and 30.

    He said they discovered that Fayose  “did not  stop” his supporters from assaulting the judges.

    According to Farounbi, the PDP governor-elect  watched his supporters physically assaulting the judge without any attempt to stop them.

    “ Justice Adeyeye was indeed assaulted with fist blows, whips and kicks by about 20 people who were with the governor-elect, as he was  passing by the former’s court.

    “The assault on the judicial officer happened when the judge left his chamber and went over to Fayose, asking him to control his noisy and unruly followers.

    “This led to an argument between the duo and the assault on the judge took place. The governor-elect ‘did not stop his followers,” he noted.

    The branch, therefore, called for the arrest and prosecution of the offenders.

    “Those that may be found to have participated in the desecration of Ekiti judiciary should be made to face the wrath of the law no matter highly placed because the law is no respecter of any person.

    “Democracy cannot survive where there is no rule of law and respect for the judiciary,” he said.

    Fayose denied assaulting or beating up any judge.

  • Court rules on ex-Transcorp directors’ trial tomorrow

    The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja will tomorrow rule on a no-case submission made by a former Group Managing Director of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) Plc Mr Thomas Iseghohi and two others.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him, the former Company Secretary Mohammed Buba and Deputy General Manager Mike Okoli in 2009.

    They were tried on 32-count charge of fraud and money laundering in connection with the botched acquisition of Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) by Transcorp.

    The prosecution opened its case on January 23 last year. Trial began before Justice D.U Okorowo before it was transferred to Justice Evoh Chukwu.

    The first prosecution witness (PW1) was Helen Iwuchukwu, now Company Secretary and former Legal Adviser, Department of Shared Services and Strategic Partnership of Transcorp when the alleged crime was committed.

    She testified that her job was to review and draw up commercial contracts. She said the Department of State Security Services (DSS) collected all the contracts in her possession for investigation.

    When asked on cross examination if she could tell the court how the accused persons transferred N15 billion to three companies, she said she was not in a position to know.

    She also stated that she knew nothing about a company or any contract drawn for Global Employment Solutions Incorporated (GESI) as alleged in counts three and four of the charge.

    Five other witnesses testified for the prosecution, with PW4, who was in charge of audit and finance, saying he did not trace any money to the accused persons.

    The prosecution could not secure the attendance of former Transcorp chairman Mrs Ndi Okereke Onyuike to testify despite adjournments.

    The fifth prosecution witness, Aminueem Mohammed, an EFCC operative, said he investigated the case but added under cross examination that the commission did not receive any petition from Transcorp and NITEL against the accused persons, nor did they complain about missing funds.

    EFCC, on May 22, closed its case, but the defendants’ lawyers believe the prosecution did not prove the allegations.

    Consequently, they filed a no-case submission, urging the court to dismiss the charge because it established no prima facie case against the defendants.

    According to them, the core ingredients of all the offences were not proved, adding that all the companies named in the charge have no link to the accused persons.

  • Criminal trial: Atuche not bound by court’s rule – judge

    Criminal trial: Atuche not bound by court’s rule – judge

    Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court in Lagos Tuesday held that the court’s rule on criminal trial is not binding on a former Managing Director of Bank PHB (now Keystone Bank), Mr Francis Atuche.

    He said Section 5 of the court’s Criminal Practice Direction, designed to ensure speedier trial, is not enforceable on him.

    The judge said the section offends Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as it tended to undermine the accused person’s rights.

    “I hold that Section 5 of the Federal High Court Criminal Practice Direction is not enforceable on the first accused person (Atuche),” Justice Saidu held.

    He added: “Substantial justice is not to be sacrificed on the altar of expeditious determination of cases. Just determination of cases is more important.”

    Atuche is standing trial along with a former defunct Spring Bank Plc Managing Director Mr. Charles Ojo on an amended 45-count charge bordering on alleged N125 billion fraud.

    Section 5 of the Practice Direction requires the defence to disclose its case before the commencement of trial.

    Opposing the provision, Atuche’s lawyer Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) said that it was irregular for the defendant to be constrained to specify in writing, the defence he intends to raise, or which aspects of the prosecution’s case it intends to oppose, where no witness has been called.

    Idigbe said no burden of proof should be placed on the defendant, adding that the practice direction tries to force the defence team to specify their strategy.

    He, therefore, urged the court to discountenance the prosecution’s insistence on relying on the practice direction.

    According to Idigbe, the power of the court’s Chief Judge was limited by the provisions of sections 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA).

    But prosecution’s lawyer Mr. Kemi Pinhero (SAN) argued that the practice direction did not derogate from the provisions of the 199 Constitution.

    He noted that Section 254 empowers the Chief Judge to make rules to guide the court’s proceedings.

    Justice Saidu, however, said the practice direction does not conflict with the CPA, but is only aimed at preventing trial delays.

    Refusing to invalidate the entire Practice Direction, he said: “It does not alter or amend the CPA or the High Court Act. It regulates criminal proceedings. The Chief Judge is empowered by Section 254 of the Constitution to make the direction.”

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) re-arraigned Atuche and Ojo on charges of acquiring Keystone Bank’s shares using depositors’ funds.

    They pleaded not guilty to the 45 counts of conspiracy, reckless granting and approval of loans and money laundering, between September 1, 2006 and 2009.

    Atuche was also accused of applying N3.5billion being proceeds of unlawful loans granted to Tradjek Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Futureview Financial Services Ltd, in payment for his acquisition of shares of Bank PHB using various companies as fronts with an intention to conceal the ownership of the loans.

    EFCC said he collaborated with different companies to conceal the genuine origins of the N3.5billion used to acquire the bank’s shares.

    The alleged offences, all of which Atuche denied, contravene Section 14(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act and Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act Cap 38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

    Reckless granting of loans contravene Section 7(1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act and punishable under section 7(2)(b).

    Justice Saidu adjourned the case till November 18 and 19 for trial.