Bolaji Ramos is a partner and head of litigation at RouQ and Co. He holds an LLB and Masters of Law from the University of Lagos (Akoka). In this interview with Anne Agbi, the mediation and legal advisory expert examines justice delivery reforms, effect of global pandemic on young lawyers and how to tackle the abuse of ex parte orders.
Tell us your Nigerian law story?
I had my LLB from the University of Lagos (Unilag) in 2010, and I proceeded to the Nigerian Law School the same year and finished in 2011. My set could not get called to the bar that year due to a security threat in Abuja back then. So, we were eventually called to bar in February 2012. In 2013, I applied to Unilag again for a Masters Degree, and rounded off in 2015. In 2019, I applied to the Lagos State University (LASU) and had another degree, Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in 2022. I am currently a PhD student.
I have been practising as a lawyer for 11 years and it’s been such an engaging experience, especially in the litigation, mediation advocacy and legal advisory/consultancy spaces.
Can you highlight some of the challenges you faced as a law student?
Some of the challenges I encountered during my studies can be put into two categories; First, the government and secondly, lecturers teaching methods. The government could not provide facilities for conducive learning such as good and well equipped library, classrooms, internet services etc. There were times that students were unduly put under pressure and expected to do the impossible by covering in two days what should ordinarily be covered in two months. Attention was paid principally to covering the course outlines than the students having a good understanding of what was being taught.
On justices petition against former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko regarding funds, allegations of corruption and his resignation?
I took my time to study and analyse the two letters, that is, the one written and signed by the other Justices led by Ariwoola, ACJN and the response by Tanko, CJN (retired). My sincere take on the two letters is that both of them actually have merits, to a very large extent. For me, the gravamen of the two letters is the deplorable state of the Apex Court (Judiciary in Nigeria generally) and the need for a sincere and timely reform.
There are some minor but important details that both letters talked about, and if one looks at it very well, one can only come to the conclusion that irrespective of the fact that one CJN resigns and another one is appointed, the problems will remain unchanged and continue to be with the judiciary (and all of us) if they are not nipped in the bud. It is time to cure the cause and not just treat the ailment.
The reason stated by the former CJN Tanko for his resignation is ill-health. According to his rejoinder letter, he said he was not going to join issues with other Justices on the allegation of corruption. So, officially, I would not say he resigned because of the allegation of corruption.
What do you think they should have done differently?
Except there are still personal things not being or fully disclosed, I would have expected the NJC to be approached. The NJC is constitutionally empowered to, inter alia, discipline judicial officers. The CJN is/was a judicial officer. Allegations of corruption in discharging official duties of a CJN can be investigated by the NJC. I know the CJN is the Chairman of the NJC. It is expected that a CJN cannot chair a meeting where allegations of misconduct against him is being heard. The good thing about using the NJC is that not all its members are justices/judges.
As seasoned litigation, commercial lawyer and arbitrator who has been on both divides, what in your view should be urgently done to speed up justice delivery in Nigeria? What needed reforms have you identified?
Practice and Rules of Court that encourage delays (especially on undefended or straight forward cases) must be reviewed. Possible timeframe for hearing and determining cases of this nature should be set. This has been done for small claims cases and election petition cases.
Technical issues that affect substance or merits of a case (both in contentious and non-contentious matters) should not be allowed by the court to delay the hearing of applications and substantive cases, especially where the technical issues can be overlooked or treated as mere irregularities.
Use of modern technology where necessary, especially where it can engender quick justice delivery is most desirable and should be adopted. A good example is the new Rules of the Federal High Court on election petitions that allow serving by email on pre-election matters.
More attention should be paid to judges that have tendency of delaying proceedings, rulings and judgments. Most times, lawyers and parties are blamed for delaying cases, but the truth is that a good number of judges delay cases, too.
Pre-action steps such as case management conference (CTC), pre-trial conference (PTC), etc should be done away with in deserving actions (contentious or non-contentious). While the intention behind them to control the number of cases that eventually make it to court, the truth is that these pre-trial procedures can bring about hardship and delays in some instances.
Are you concerned about courts of coordinate jurisdiction issuing conflicting orders? Is NBA doing enough to rein in the culprit lawyers? How can the abuse of ex-parte orders be tackled? Should it be abolished?
This is a major problem for stability in the legal profession and Nigeria generally, and I am very concerned as a stakeholder. I believe and personally charge NBA to do something about this very fast.
Outside the courts of concurrent jurisdiction, another court that has a worrisome number of conflicting judgments is the Court of Appeal. One judgment of a COA can overrule an earlier one, this is not a problem. It becomes worrisome and problematic when a subsequent judgment pays no attention to an earlier judgment on the same issue or principles. This is prevalent in the area of garnishee proceedings on whether an application for stay of execution by a judgement debtor should be a ground for not making an order nisi/absolute in favour of a judgment creditor. NBA must continue to seriously engage these stakeholders on these developments.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) has been able to scale through this hurdle of issuing conflicting orders because of its case management policy. It will appear the judges of the NIC usually pay particular attention to existing decisions in its database on a certain issue before deciding such issue. This, for the NIC, has reduced situations of conflicting orders/judgments in the court.
There have been allegations of corruption in the judiciary, with the ICPC saying recently that N9.4billion exchanged hands as bribes between lawyers and judges in one year. What is your take on this?
On Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) allegation of corruption in the judiciary, corruption happens between the bench and the bar. I am aware some cases relating to this were/are still in court involving judges and lawyers while some have been taken to NJC. As per ICPC claim, I am yet to see an official document or a court decision confirming this. I do, however, not doubt the possibility. Like every other Nigerian, I look forward to seeing ICPC evidence.
What are your thoughts on the demands for true federalism as reignited by the VAT dispute, a new constitution and restructuring/power devolution?
Nigeria can hardly go anywhere if we are still short of a true federalism. True federalism touches on everything that affects our lives as Nigeria. Our security depends on it. Our judiciary depends on it. Our taxes, business operations etc. depend on it. One of the major reasons we are receiving calls for secession today is because true federalism is not being taken serious in Nigeria.
These calls can be best addressed by practising true federalism. It allows the sub-nations in Nigeria to develop on their own and at their pace.