In celebration of a new legal year, various activities are usually lined up by the judiciary for stakeholders in the sector. These activities, apart from the social value, also give a glimpse of what to expect in the coming days. ROBERT EGBE writes.
It’s official. The long vacation is over and the 2015/16 Legal Year is in session. Courts around the country – whether federal or state – are back in business. In most states, it is customary to kick-off the year with social and religious events, and this year was no exception.
In Lagos, the start of the new session was marked with several activities, including a Legal Year Dinner, organised by the Lagos State Judiciary at the Nigeria Law School, Lagos Campus.
The dinner was the culmination of a four-day event, which began with simultaneous prayer sessions at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina and Lagos Central Mosque, Nnamdi Azikwe, Lagos, a novelty football match between the Bar and the Bench at the Onikan Stadium, and an interactive Bar and Bench Forum at the High Court Foyer, Igbosere, Lagos
The religious services were particularly notable because – for the first time in the state’s history – they witnessed the physical attendance of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State at the church and his deputy, Dr. Oluranti Adebule at the mosque. The governor used the opportunity to restate his administration’s commitment to the growth of the judiciary.
“I didn’t know that this is the first time a governor will be attending the service of new legal year in Lagos State,” Governor Ambode said, “I just felt it was dutiful for me to be here.”
He continued: “This is a new beginning. I just want to reiterate my commitment to partnering with the judiciary, this is because the judiciary remains the most veritable instrument for the attainment of growth and economic development in the state.”
On the social front last Wednesday, the Bench proved its superiority over the Bar, with a select judges and magistrates’ side recording a 6-1 victory over a team of lawyers during a novelty match played at the Onikan Stadium.
At the Bar and Bench Forum, the no-holds-barred discussion between lawyers and judges, led to the disclosure by the Chief Judge (CJ) of Lagos State, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, of the introduction of the Bail Information Management System (BIMS), to capture the biometrics and full documentation of defendants and their sureties in the state’s judicial system.
Justice Atilade explained that BIMS is designed to address some of the unique challenges bedeviling the criminal justice system and also see to the reduction of abuses by those she termed unscrupulous lawyers and professional sureties.
She said: “The trials of suspects are usually delayed due to their non-production in court by prison authorities who sometimes cannot even identify their specific places of remand.
“The BIMS will be deployed in the 22 magisterial districts and the Lagos and Ikeja Divisions of the Lagos State High Court.
“The information will be linked to a centralised data base accessible to everybody and give judges and magistrates confidence to grant bail to suspects.
“It will help to address the issue of awaiting trial inmates because suspects can easily be tracked from the system.”
While promising that the judiciary under her watch would see to the improvement of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law in the state, Justice Atilade maintained that the state judiciary would remain a model in Nigeria and indeed Africa.
The CJ said: “The Lagos State judiciary will continue to perform its responsibilities and also provide modern infrastructure that will help in the quick dispensation of justice.
“We must be steadfast and honest while discharging our duties as officers in the Temple of Justice. We will ensure justice in all cases and at all times.”
Justice Atilade also called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to cooperate with the state judiciary so as to aid speedy dispensation of justice in the state.
Governor Ambode emphasised the judiciary’s importance to his administration by attending Friday’s Legal Year Dinner dinner, which opened the 2015/16 Legal Year in the state.
It was also another opportunity for the Chief Justice to make one important request of the governor: the return of Judiciary Capital Vote. Justice Atilade was concerned that the Lagos State Judiciary was still financially dependent on the Ministry of Justice and appealed to Governor Ambode to assist in effecting the return of Judiciary Capital Vote as required by Law and in the spirit of separation of powers.
The CJ, however, admitted the governor’s interest in the welfare of the judiciary and restated her confidence in him.
She said: “To a very large extent, as we demonstrate our implicit confidence in our able governor to right the wrongs of the past, help reposition and propel the State Judiciary to desired heights, we must sincerely express our gratitude to His Excellency for all the support and kind understanding.
“Truly, he has within the short period of his administration demonstrated strong interest and concern in the growth of the Judiciary and in the welfare of judicial officers, magistrates and all personnel the of the Lagos State Judiciary,” she added.
In his response Governor Ambode promised that his administration will continue to improve on the achievements in the judicial sector and ensure that judges, magistrates and the courts in the state work in a conducive atmosphere.
He said: “We will work with the judiciary to move our justice sector to a higher level. The reform process is not a finished business, it is a work in progress.”
The Federal Government’s seeming recharged firing at corruption, without instituting corresponding special court of speedy trial of identified offenders, is unlikely to hit the magnificent bull’s eye. The increasingly multiplying number of pending cases, including cases of corruption, at the law courts makes nonsense of the country’s system of administration of justice. The essence of the law and its administration is to ensure stability, peace and harmony in a society. In today’s Nigeria, however, these advantages of justice have rapidly peeled away in slow dispensation of justice. And Nigerians are fast losing confidence in the judiciary, and growingly resorting to jungle justice – a sure path to anarchy.
A number of cases of corruption against politicians have remained pending ad infinitum at the law courts, or remained untried as long as the relevant politicians remained alive, and Nigerians have learnt to treat such cases as forgotten pieces of history. Extraordinary offences call for extraordinary measures. Here lies the justification for existence of special courts or tribunals in Nigeria and elsewhere that claim to be governed by the rule of law. Rightly, today’s democratic Nigeria still retains a number of special courts, including the Armed Robbery Tribunal, the Anti-Corruption Commission, established by the corrupt practices and other related offences Act (2000), and Fast Track Courts, established in 2007 to try and conclude commercial cases “within six months of the date of filing the case”. The existence of special courts or tribunals will not be an excrescence on our judiciary system. In addition to armed robbery, mounting illicit wealth of politicians and incidences of Advance Fee Frauds, commonly known as “419”, there are cases of internet frauds and fraudulent property speculators and sellers, and several other cases. Special courts should exist to handle extraordinary offences and ensure speedy justice in such matters.
Contrarily, some argue that the existence of special courts is not the solution to the delayed justice that characterizes ordinary law courts. They point to the dismal, sluggish performance of the election tribunals in the restored democracy. Delivery of verdicts by the tribunals on a number of petitions was so delayed that certain petitioners who eventually won their cases enjoyed abridged justice, and as a result lost considerable portion of their constitutional tenure. Indeed, almost four years after the 2003 elections, a number of election petitions were not really disposed of. The petitioners had withdrawn from the litigations after calculating that even if they won, there was negligible justice left for them to enjoy. One sensible argument against the existence of tribunals or special courts is that it is a violation of the rule of law, which demands that the same ordinary court of law that tries a farmer for stealing a hoe should try a tycoon for defrauding a bank or a political leader for looting the public treasury. Again, they say, special courts are not ruled by normal laws, and in some cases, too, the extraordinary laws are not administered by professional judges.
By the way special tribunals were composed, constituted and administered in the stretched military rule, Nigerians are bound to perceive them as all-round evil, intolerable in a democracy. However, there is hardly anything fundamentally wrong with tribunals or special courts, if the laws in the tribunals are administered by professional judges, and persons convicted by tribunals granted the right of appeal. The denial of right of appeal in the initial provisions of the Civil Disturbances (Special Tribunal) Decree 2 of 1987 came under severe criticism in 1995 when nine Ogoni men were executed after their conviction for murder by the tribunal. The decree was amended the following year, 1996, to grant the right of appeal to persons convicted by the tribunal and to remove military personnel from membership of the tribunal.
The right of appeal is sine qua non in dispensation of justice. As Thomas Jefferson, the great constitutional lawyer and a former US president succinctly put it: “The sword of law should never fall but on those whose guilt is so apparent as to be pronounced by their friends as well as foes.” The removal of armed forces personnel from sitting on the special tribunals is in line with the demand of the rule of law that the laws of the land must be administered by a known and impartial judge.
Let there be special court for looters of public treasury as there is special court for “419” cases. Let there remain special court for bank and other financial offences as there has remained armed robbery tribunal. Let there be miscellaneous offences tribunal to try miscreants who tamper with PHCN and NNPC equipment. Let there be other workable special courts, provided each of them is properly constituted and the laws there administered by competent judges, and the convicted granted right of appeal.
It is always a serious mistake to believe that world democracies, including Britain, regarded as the mother of the rule of law, totally abhor special courts, and are ruled by law alone. It has not been so, not just because of the special courts’ advantages of specialization in cases they handle and their speedy delivery of judgments in such cases. The over-riding point is that certain developments today compel the existence of special courts as part and parcel of modern democratic governance.
It is wrong to assume, as Prof. A.V. Dicey, who propounded the theory of the rule of law, assumed, that Englishmen are ruled by the law and only the law. The conventions play an important part in the British constitution, and many conventions are never enforced by law. Another point is that the British parliament is supreme over the law, in the sense that parliament can over-rule the decision of the judges if it does not agree with it. Besides, the growth of delegated legislation, the right to legislate granted to others by parliament, and administrative jurisdiction undermines the theory of the rule of law. For instance, a Briton who feels wronged by his local council goes to the appropriate ministry, and not to the law court, to seek redress.
However, special courts as they exist in Nigeria today appear to be restricted to criminal matters, and this gives the false impression that only private citizens commit offences. Special courts should be extended to include administrative courts, which should try public officers for some acts that they have committed in their official capacities against the private citizen.
In essence, Nigeria should adopt a model of the French system of administrative law and the administrative courts. Under the French Legal System since the time of Napoleon 1, a clear distinction exists between administrative law and the general law of the country. Administrative law deals with the state, the public service etc. in their relationship with the ordinary citizen. If a citizen feels aggrieved as a result of any act of omission or commission by a public authority, he can thus initiate an action in the administrative courts.
If, for instance, such courts exist in Nigeria, citizens whose houses or shops were erected with officially approved plans but were demolished on the orders of a governor, minister or council chairman, will take such public officer to the administrative court. Likewise, a minister who denies a politician or a political party access to a public-owned media like the television, radio or newspaper, or invokes a non-existing law to shut a media house will equally be taken to the relevant tribunal for trial and sentencing.
If Nigeria has a Federal Character Commission, it should also have a federal character court; if it has unity schools, it should also have unity schools court, and so on. There is a strong case for the adoption of a system of administrative law in Nigeria and other countries, including Britain, which do not have it.
However, one major problem in adapting it in Nigeria is the problem of getting enough judges and lawyers specialized in the relevant laws. Administrative law is a definitely specialized branch of law, and, if judges and lawyers specialize in it, it is reasonable to expect fairer and more enlightened handling of administrative cases while the special powers enjoyed by the administrative courts enable them to act decisively in cases where they find an abuse of power on the part of public authority. The same also goes with other special courts.
Few weeks to the start of the 2015/2016 Legal Year, lawyers have set agenda for the judiciary. They argue that it must give fillip to the Buhari administration’s anti-corruption war to make the crusade meaningful. ADEBISI ONANUGA reports.
How will the judiciary fare in the 2015/2016 legal year, which be gins this month? All eyes are on the courts to see how they will deal with corruption cases expected to come before them. It will be the judiciary’s first full legal year under President Muhammadu Buhari. As the last hope of the common man, so much is expected of it.
In the 2014/2015 legal year, there were sundry allegations against the judiciary. Things are expected to be different under the Buhari administration which is waging war against corruption.
At the just concluded 55th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja, President Muhammadu Buhari urged lawyers to back his admistration’s fight against corruption and impunity.
Acknowledging the responsibility of lawyers to defend their clients, he urged them to do so without compromising their ethics and the integrity of the legal system – no matter how lucrative the brief may be.
Buhari urged lawyers to see corruption as a gross violation of people’s rights, stressing that pervasive corruption has continued to deny people access to basic needs.
“For the masses of our people, millions still wallow in want and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; and why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centres. It is the reason pensioners are not paid and potable water is scarce.
“Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil. This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy in the defense of fundamental rights.
“I am convinced that the law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if the change we seek is ever to materialise,” he said.
Buhari stressed that his administration has taken on the challenge of fighting corruption, saying, “the fight against corruption is in reality a struggle for the restoration of law and order. Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in the society. Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to check them.
“Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way,“ he said, adding that it should be the role of legal practitioners to help the country back to the path of rectitude.
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed said incessant delays in the administration of justice remains a problem.
“Lawyers now insist on pursuing cases and interlocutory appeals based on nebulous points of law, regardless of the length of time or the expense involved in doing so to the detriment of their clients.
“Whilst it must be acknowledged that our judiciary is not perfect, we cannot overlook the role of counsel in facilitating the onset of delay”, he said.
Justice Mohammed noted that delay in most instances are either occasioned by the lack of diligent prosecution of a case, antics of counsel such as the use of interlocutory appeals to stall and frustrate a legitimate expectation of justice, or indolence on the part of some Judges.
“My learned colleagues, this state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue. It is one thing to talk the talk, but I am also determined to walk the talk”, he stressed.
“It is for this reason that, as part of our determined effort to ensure that our Judicial Officers are alert to their responsibilities, the National Judicial Council has constituted an Inspection and Monitoring Committee for on-the–spot assessment of Judicial Officers on duty.
“As we continue to fish out and discipline indolent and lazy judges by showing them the way out of the system, we must also acknowledge and praise those judges that are diligent and hardworking.
To this end, the NJC’s Judicial Officers’ Performance Evaluation Committee has also been strengthened to perform its functions,” the CJN said.
He also said that the reforms recently introduced in the judges’ appointment process was yielding results and will, in no distant future, eliminate indolent and unqualified judges from the Bench.
As the nation gets set to commence the legal year 2015/2016 in a couple of weeks, what especially must the country look forward to in terms of justice delivery?
Are there areas that the National Judicial Council (NJC), judges and lawyers must improve on? What are the expectations from the courts with regard to the current bid to rid the country of corruption?
Expectations
Lawyers believe that there is room for improvement. They note that a lot still needs to be done to make the judiciary truly the last hope of the common man.
Former Chairman of the NBA, Ikeja Branch, Monday Ubani; his successor Yinka Farounbi; a member of Ogun State Judiciary Service Commission, Abayomi Omoyinmi, Lagos lawyer, Yemi Omodele and Emeka Nwadioke, among others, said the judiciary must live up to expectations by helping the Federal Government in its anti-corruption crusade.
Ubani NWADIOKE
Ubani lamented that justice delivery system is still, unfortunately, very slow and discouraging to persons who believe in peaceful resolution of disputes through the court system. According to him, the slow process in Justice delivery portends danger to national growth generally.
“Therefore, my expectations will be the enthronement of a judicial structure and mechanism that will facilitate a quicker, less costly and justice-driven administration of justice. Simply put, our justice delivery system should be fast-tracked, transparent and fair to all parties at all times.
“The NJC as a body must intensify its disciplinary measures against erring judges, should try to accede to the States in terms personnel demands and requirements. I do not personally subscribe to the idea of NJC denying the demands of the states on the number of judges that will sufficiently dispense justice efficiently in their states. “Some amendment needs to be done to our laws to ensure we correct what I consider an anomaly.States in the federation should get the number of judges they require to dispense quicker justice. The former chairman of NBA Ikeja said his expectations from judges are numerous,saying: “They are to remain incorruptible, justice-driven character in handling cases and firm and fair to all parties that appear before them. Above all efficiency, thoroughness and justice should be the watch word of every judge in Nigeria”, he said. For the bar, he said, “lawyers as ministers in the temple of justice must assist the judicial system to attain efficiency with the attendant confidence that does to the entire system and by extension to the entire country. They must avoid filing frivolous cases and applications during trials; they must stop being a cog in the wheel of justice by the frequent requests for adjournments in order to derail the cause of justice during proceedings. The disciplinary body of NBA must live up to expectation by instilling discipline in the legal profession and ensure that erring lawyers are properly punished for infractions of the ethics of the profession. Contending that corruption, as a heinous crime, has retarded our national growth and put our generation and generations unborn under severe bondage, Ubani suggested that for the country to get rid of corruption and save the future of the nation, the Nigerian judiciary must rise to the occasion and save Nigeria from total collapse. The judiciary, according to him, will achieve these by ensuring that the philosophy of ridding the country of corruption must be tackled seriously using the judiciary as a deterrence. He said trials of corrupt cases must be handled with every seriousness they deserve and processes ensured that trials and proceedings are not bogged down by technicalities and unnecessary rigmaroles employed by parties and lawyers during trials. Laws must be enacted and implemented judiciously. He stated further that part of the reforms must include dedicating special courts made of incorruptible judges to handle and dispense corrupt cases under new timelines that the new law will prescribe.
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Omoyinmi
I will suggest that corrupt cases should not take more than one year to conclude and appeals should be once after proceedings and both the trials and appeals on them should not take longer than two years to conclude. Any judge found wanting in handling these sensitive case/s should be shown the way out of the system without delay”, he contended, adding that abolition of long hand in proceedings, financial autonomy and provision of basic facilities and employment of honest, dedicated and capable judges we will be on the wayto having an efficient judiciary that all of us shall be proud of”.
Omoyinmi on the other hand said he expects that the delivery of justice should be prompt, absolute and just. Emphasising that justice delayed is justice denied, he said there should be improvement in dispensation of cases in our justice system so that quick dispensation of justice can be achieved even if it means appointing more judicial officers to adjudicate in order to cope with increase of cases in our courts. Omoyinmi expects lawyers in particular to improve in making sure that matters in court are speedily dispense with professionaly. The courts must however brace up to its responsibility by making sure that cases of corruption are adjudicated upon without fear or favour in order to support the country in its quest to rid country of corruption.
Omodele said the new legal year should bring about breakthrough in Nigeria on the basis that many corruption cases are going to be prosecuted by the government of the day. In views of this, “I state that it is a year where judges should be bold and fearless in delivery of justice. They should do their work without fear or favour to anybody whatsoever”, he stressed.
YEMI OMODELE
Omodele’s expectation is that lawyers should assist the bench in quick dispensation of justice saying, “filing of frivolous applications should be jettisoned by counsels”. His expectation is also that the government of the day, both at the federal and state levels, should ensure that the condition of service of the judicial workers are well taken care of to avoid incessant strikes in the sector. I also expect a situation where appointments of lawyers to the bench are done without any influence from any quarter whatsoever”. He said that the proposal to establish a special court to try corrupt and fraud related cases could be done by adopting Lagos State method of having corrupt and other related division rather than waiting till the time the constitution is amended. These will fast track those cases. This, according to him, was because there is likelihood that some members of the National Assembly(NASS) may frustrate the amendment. “The constitution accommodates this style of Lagos State and I suggest same for the Federal Government and other states of the federation . He added that economic and other related offences court is hereby suggested to commence without delay. Nwadioke remarked that it was deeply frustrating that the challenges reeled out during the last legal year are still staring us in the face. “ It is however expected that a diligent implementation of the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act will have a salutary effect on criminal justice administration especially in aiding speedy dispensation of criminal justice and decongesting of the prisons”.
Nwadioke said there must be a virulent advocacy for increased funding of the judiciary. This will redress many of the gaps in the justice sector, not least the infrastructural decay that feeds delayed justice among other ills. In return, the judiciary must be seen to be at the forefront of the fight to combat corruption and impunity by curbing influence peddling within and outside its ranks. Judicial appointments must be done transparently to ensure that only the best in character and learning superintend our temples of justice. Law thrives on certainty. Conflicting judgments negate this hallowed aphorism.
Nwadioke expects that lawyers should give the judiciary every assistance and cooperation to ensure speedy dispensation of justice, including but not limited to shunning frivolous applications that impede the wheel of justice.
“The Nigerian Bar Association deserves our commendation and gratitude for giving the Bar a people’s constitution. Even for some of us who have been ardent critics of Bar governance in recent years, the Alegeh Administration has written its name in gold for this singular milestone. However, there is no substitute for a diligent implementation of the new constitution. The welfare of lawyers must continue to be addressed frontally to shore up professionalism”, he added.
Farounbi said the new legal year comes with great expectations.
He said:“This is understandable as it is like moving from a December of an old year to a January of a new year.
“I am generally looking forward to a Bench that will hold tightly to the oath of office taken by dispensing justice without fear or favour to all manners of people, and a Bar that will guide our Judges and Justices to arrive atfair decisions that will be beneficial to the generality of Nigerians.”
On corruption, he said: “The country is presently swimming in the cool water of corruption, the Bar and Bench should play the greatest role in assisting this new government in making the water to be hot with the view to eradicating the menace so as to avoid the prediction of Mr. President that: ‘If we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us’.
“I equally urge the NJC to beam its searchlight more on our Judges and Justices. No doubt, some of our Judicial officers are still very corrupt, some are lazy and some are not too knowledgeable in law and are not willing to develop themselves. Honestly, some of these Judicial officers have no business in the system.
“These individuals should be identified and either shown the way out of the system or made to fall in line with the demands of the 21st century Justice System.”
On disciplining errring lawyers, Farounbi said: “I equally urge the NBA to sharpen the teeth of the Disciplinary Committee of the association with a view to identifying the bad eggs in the profession for eviction. High moral standard and ethics that are previously taken for granted are now lacking among most of our colleagues.
“Lawyers now put on jeans with brown shoes, and blazers to attend our Courts. In fact, some no longer remember the injunction of the sage, Hon. Justice Oputa that a lawyer must, at least, have a ‘serviceable suit’.
“What about the seniors and the not too seniors in the profession who are corruption pipes to ferry bribe to some of our Judges and Justices. We will do good to fish them out and make them face the consequences.
“They are a disgrace to the profession and great clog in the wheel of the development of our legal system. The emanating judgments from their actions are minuses to the system rather than the other way round. To whom much is expected, much should equally be given.
“Our government should place fundamental importance on the Judiciary and the Justice System generally.
“If we expect our Judges and Justices to, like Caesar’s wife, live above board, then we should pay greater attention to their welfare, security and training.
“Nigeria is more than overdue for electronic recording of our proceedings. It is highly inconsiderate to expect our Judges and Justices to take down proceedings in long hands for five, six hours every day for five days in a week. In fact, this must be stopped pronto.
“All these points and more attended to, we will have a legal system we will all be proud of. I wish Nigeria and Nigerians a wonderful Legal Year.”
Considering the myriad allegations of corruption, in recent times, the proposal that special courts should be set up to try looters is attractive. The challenge, however, would be how the government can make that happen. To create a new set of courts, the government may be confronted with the task of amending the constitution. An alternative would be to collaborate with the judiciary, to designate some courts to specifically handle corruption-related cases. We believe however that if the government can successfully set up special courts to expeditiously deal with corruption cases, the anti-graft war will be more efficient.
Luckily, the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, if implemented, will also help to reduce the abuse that criminal trials are fraught with in the country. It is hoped that the act will bring an end to the abuse of court procedure, through irrelevant applications meant to stall quick trials for criminal offences. Again, the act will arrest the use of frivolous injunctions by especially politically exposed persons, to frustrate their trials. So, if in addition to the new act, special courts are put in place, trials in criminal matters may seize to last for years, as we presently experience.
It is also hoped that the recently reported screening of judges by security agencies, to sift the upright ones from the pack, to man such courts for corruption related cases will further give impetus to the fight against corruption. Considering that the integrity of a judge is the fulcrum of a court of law, we urge the government to be thorough in the screening. There is no doubt that unless the guilty are confronted with their sins before upright judges, the chances of wriggling out from conviction are higher, as our recent experience showed.
As we witnessed in recent past, a number of judges had handed out ridiculous sentences, or mere fines, for serious criminal offences. While a few of them later got sanctioned for their misconduct, the beneficiaries of the miscarriage of justice got away based on those ridiculously light punishments. So, the sanctity of the judicial process, which hinges on the integrity of the judges and other judicial officers, is fundamental to a successful prosecution of the war on corruption.
Nigerians expect that with the help of the National Judicial Council (NJC), judges who have proven cases of corrupt tendencies would be shown the way out. In beaming the searchlight on the judges, those who have been overtly soft on corruption, and those with unexplainable wealth, should not be saddled with serious corruption cases. While it will be unfair to witch-hunt any judicial officer, it will be fair to subject their past actions to scrutiny.
Where there is the need to amend the constitution or other extant laws, we urge the legislature, both at the federal and state levels, to give their maximum cooperation to the exercise. For most Nigerians, the war on corruption should be treated as a national emergency, such that the three arms of government would work together to ensure maximum efficiency. To underscore the importance of the war against corruption, we call on the opposition parties to support a bi-partisan war on corruption.
While hoping on the cooperation of other critical stakeholders, it is encouraging that President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), have made the war on corruption a priority. As the president has said severally, if Nigeria does not kill corruption, the cankerworm will kill Nigeria. So, if special courts are needed to slay the corruption dragon, we urge the government to take every expeditious action to create them.
‘As the president has said severally, if Nigeria does not kill corruption, the cankerworm will kill Nigeria. So, if special courts are needed to slay the corruption dragon, we urge the government to take every expeditious action to create them’
Lagos lawyer, Babatunde Fagbohunlu (SAN), has said specialised courts are better for resolving commercial disputes than the conventional courts.
Fagbohunlu, who specialises in commercial litigation and is a member of the National Committee on the Reform and Harmonisation of Arbitration/ADR Laws in Nigeria, listed the advantages of such courts to include sensitivity of the judges in such courts to the importance to the economy of quick resolution of commercial disputes.
“First of all, specialised courts mean enhanced efficiency,” Fagbohunlu said, “You would have a group of judges or a team of judges who are specialised in handling commercial disputes, who have an understanding of what the needs of the commercial community are and who have sensitivity to the importance to the economy of quick resolution of commercial disputes.
“And you can only have those qualities when you have a team of judges who are focused specifically on resolving commercial disputes, in the sense that they belong to a specialised commercial division.”
Fagbohunlu, who regularly represents Nigerian as well as foreign and multinational clients in arbitrations administered by arbitral institutions such as the International Court of Arbitration of the International Criminal Court (ICC), also addressed the question of whether arbitration is cheaper than regular litigation.
He said: “Is arbitration really cheap? Is mediation and reconciliation really cheap? I think it’s very easy to say when you look at the type of fees that arbitrators charge today and when you compare that to the fact that when you go to court, you pay very minimal fees to file your case, you don’t have to pay the judge to hear your case, he’s a public servant and is paid by the state.
“When you think about that, you’re likely to come to an intuitive conclusion that arbitration is definitely more expensive than litigation, but what needs to be borne in mind is this; if you have a good case, and you take it to arbitration and win, you are likely to recover all that you have expended, unlike in the courts where there’s a lot of controversy as to whether if I win a case against you, then I’m entitled to recover from you all the money I paid my lawyer. So, there’s controversy as to whether that can happen in court. With arbitration, it is specifically spelt out in the Arbitration Act that I can recover all the fees I paid to my lawyer. I can recover it from you because you lost the case.”
Former Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako has urged the Federal High Court in Lagos for leave to apply for an order of mandamus against its Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta.
The order of mandamus is to compel him to release the case file in Nyako’s suit seeking to nullify his impeachment.
The plaintiff had filed the suit alleging breach of his fundamental right to fair hearing by the seven-man investigation panel, which indicted him of 16 counts of gross misconduct leading to his impeachment on July 15 last year.
Adamawa State House of Assembly, the chairman of the investigation panel, Buba Kaigama and Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba are the respondents.
Nyako had petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Mahmud Mohammed to probe Justice Auta for allegedly stalling judgment.
He said Justice Bilikisu Aliyu of the court’s Yola Division heard parties in the suit on February 2 and adjourned till February 12 for judgment, only for the chief judge to call for the file.
But the court’s Chief Registrar, Mrs Rosemary Oghoghorie, said on February 17 the case file was not seized but that Justice Auta only called for it to clear a petition dated February 3 sent to him by a party in the suit.
“Until the case file is treated, it will not be released. The judge handling the case has not responded to the petition and until that is done, the case file will not be released. That is the right procedure to follow,” she said.
Nyako, in his fresh application, said the seizure of the case file by Auta was intended to delay the judgment till after May 29 when his tenure would have elapsed, thus rendering the case a mere academic exercise.
Nyako’s lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje said: “All efforts to make the respondent (Auta) return the case file for the judgment of the court to be delivered proved futile.
“The respondent (Auta) has connived and colluded with the respondents in the case to deny the applicant justice. The suit is time-bound as the tenure of the office of the applicant is due to expire on May 29, 2015.
“The plot is to obstruct the wheel of justice, forestall the delivery of the court judgment and postpone the evil day till after May 29, 2015 when the tenure of the applicant would have expired. The respondent is bent on frustrating the case of the applicant in a bid to render the outcome of the case academic.
“The respondent, who ought to be fair, independent and unbiased, is now being used as a tool by the respondents to frustrate the case of the applicant, render the outcome of the applicant’s case academic and deny the applicant of justice.
“It would be in the interest of justice to urgently hear and grant this application.”
Auta was sued both in his personal and official capacities. The application is numbered FHC/CS/217/15 and dated February 26.
The case has not been assigned to any judge and no date has been fixed for hearing.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has agreed to a partial suspension of its strike.
The JUSUN NEC, which met at the Supreme Court Complex in Abuja yesterday, agreed to allow court activities resume today in federal courts.
The meeting, which saw temper rising among members, lasted between 3pm and 7.30pm.
The state courts are to await the outcome of a meeting between representatives of the executive (both at state and federal levels), the judiciary, JUSUN and other stakeholders, scheduled to hold in Abuja today.
The Federal courts include the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court (NIC) and federal capital territory courts.
Others are the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
JUSUN President Marwan Adamu confirmed the agreement.
He said a statement would be issued later on the NEC’s resolution.
He added that the NEC decided to allow a partial resumption in the interest of the larger society.
The strike by JUSUN is to compel the executive to obey a January 13 judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, which, among others, affirmed fiscal autonomy for the judiciary and prohibited the piecemeal release of budgetary allocation to the arm of government.
At a meeting on January 12 at the instance of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke, was said to have argued that the judgment over which JUSUN had gone on strike, was not enforceable on the grounds that it was only the three tiers of government that could have their funds deducted from the Federation Account (FA).
The AGF, Attorneys-General of states and others were said to have suggested that there was need to work out an alternative measure of ensuring proper funding of the judiciary through the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
COURTS were paralysed yesterday as workers under the auspices of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) began an indefinite strike.
The strike followed the alleged refusal of the Executive arm of government at the federal and state levels to comply with a January 13, 2014 judgment delivered by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court.
The judgment, among others, upheld financial autonomy for the judiciary and declared as unconstitutional, the piecemeal release of its budgetary allocations.
The strike came at a critical stage in the nation’s electioneering process, when many politicians, who are dissatisfied with the outcome of their parties’ primaries, are in court, hoping to have their cases resolved before next month’s general election.
This is the second time the nation’s judiciary workers would be going on strike on the issue since the judgment was given by Justice Ademola.
The workers shut courts for over two weeks in July. They suspended the strike when the Presidency, through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, intervened.
Representatives of parties relevant to the execution of the judgment, including the accountant general of the federation (AGF), states’ accountants general, commissioners of Finance, among others, held meetings with leaders of JUSUN, which culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in November.
The MoU, dated November 27, 2014, directed the accountant general of the federation to deduct directly from allocations to states’ judiciaries at the last Federation Account Allocations Committee (FAAC) meeting in December.
But yesterday in Abuja, the main gates to the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal headquarters (located within the Three-Arms Zone), the Federal High Court headquarters within the Central Business District and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama were locked when The Nation visited.
Some court officials, who reported for work after the holidays, were turned back by JUSUN officials, led by its President, Marwan Adamu.
The JUSUN officials went round courts to enforce the strike.
On the strike, Adamu said: “There is no going back. We will persist until they (the Executive) respect the judgment of the court. This strike is, therefore, indefinite.
“Since we suspended our initial strike, the government and its representatives engaged us in series of meetings, where about seven agreements were signed. The last one was the MoU signed in November.
“Yet, noting has happened. They promised to comply, but at the last FAAC meeting, we were surprised when they all started shouting no, no, no.
“The accountant general of the federation has refused to obey the judgment. We have tolerated and accommodated them enough.
“In a situation where courts’ judgments are not obeyed, we are heading towards anarchy. We are happy that there is total compliance with this strike throughout the federation.”
The JUSUN president, who sympathised with litigants and other court users, said the workers had no choice, but to go on strike to compel implementation of a subsisting court judgment and the agreement reached with them.
All was quiet at the high and magistrates’ courts in Lagos State yesterday, as workers also complied with the directives of the national leaders of JUSUN.
Among cases caught in the industrial action was the application filed by Pastor Temitope Joshua, seeking to stop the inquest into the circumstances surrounding the September 12, 2014, building collapse.
Justice Lateefa Okunnu could not deliver her ruling in the matter.
Also, the coroner, Chief Magistrate Oyetade Komolafe, could also not sit.
Litigants and lawyers were prevented from entering the Lagos and Ikeja High court by officials of JUSUN.
Judges, who reported early for work and hoping to carry on with court proceedings, were turned back as the gates were locked.
The situation was also the same at the state’s magistrates’ courts.
Court registrars were around, but they could not access the court rooms.
JUSUN’s National Deputy President Samuel Adesanya told reporters yesterday that the strike began on January 2 as scheduled, despite the public holidays.
An executive of the Lagos branch of JUSUN, Mr. Adelenu Tajudeen, said the court gates would remain locked till further notice.
The National Industrial Court (NIC) in Ikoyi was also locked as the workers stayed off. Those who reported for work returned home.
Angry litigants and lawyers, who had thought the association would not carry out the threat, expressed displeasure over the situation.
They said JUSUN should have considered the implication of its action on the masses.
They explained that the strike would cause hardship to those in detention while police cells would witness more congestion.
A Lagos-based lawyer, Kayode Bankole, expressed worries that state governments were yet to compile with the judgment several months after it was delivered.
When contacted, the National Secretary of JUSUN, Isaiah Adetola, said: “All state high courts will remain closed until they complied with the judgment of the court and grant financial autonomy to the judiciary.”
In Edo State, courts’ gates were also locked as the state’s JUSUN officials monitored events to ensure full compliance .
Besides the demand for judicial autonomy, the state JUSUN is also seeking the payment of July 2013 salaries to its members.
The salary was reportedly withheld because the state government enforced the “no-work no-pay rule” after JUSUN members joined a national strike. Its Chairman, Uyi Ogieriakhi, said his members were being victimised by the state for participating in the strike.
According to him, “The July salary is a right Edo State cannot continue to keep. We embark on a strike to fight for autonomy of the judiciary.
“The strike we went for was a statutory strike, but workers are being victimised by the government. We are urging the governor to take a look at the July salary. We cannot continue to wallow in a situation, where the judiciary will be caged.”
Courts under the Kogi State Judicial Service successfully handled 7,850 cases during the 2013/2014 legal year, it has been learnt.
It was also learnt that 5,663 others were outstanding.
The Chief Judge, Justice Nasiru Ajanah, spoke at the maiden Kogi State Chief Judge’s Annual Awards, which held at the State High Court Complex in Lokoja, the state capital.
Justice Ajanah hailed the Judiciary for exceptional performance during the outgoing legal year, adding that it would fast-track the administration of justice in the state.
He said: “In the 2013/2014, the High Court had 1,323 cases, which include the cases brought forward from the previous year. Of the figure, 846 cases were completed, leaving an outstanding, which was carried into new legal year. At Magistrate Court level, 3,507 cases were filed before Magistrate’s courts but 2,138 cases were disposed of and 1,369 are pending.”
He added that the Area courts had 8,690 cases filed, out of which 4,701 were disposed of and 3,989
According to him, the Family Court, which handles matters involving children of 18 years and below, recorded 121 cases and disposed of 73, leaving 48 cases pending.
Effective courts and concurrent provision of alternative disputes resolution will assure the future of Nigeria, a law professor at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Mohammed Akanbi, has said.
Akanbi, son of the pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Mustapha Akanbi (rtd), added that such a provision would help parties to a just ending without some of the drawbacks that litigation can entail.
The teacher, who is also a former Chairman of the Ilorin Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said this in Ilorin, Kwara State capital at the 152nd inaugural lecture of UNILORIN. The lecture was titled: “Contending without being contentious: Arbitration, arbitrators and arbitrability.”
He said: “The undoubted potential that arbitration can offer in the quest for justice indicate that the process has a glowing future in Nigeria.”
He recommended a comprehensive reform of the civil justice system in Nigeria to facilitate early resolution of cases.
He said: ‘’For arbitration to be effective, courts still have a fundamental role to play. However, the delay in case resolution in the Nigerian courts causes considerable waste of time and resources of the parties.
“The benefits of a reformed civil justice system in arbitration practice in Nigeria include introduction of an effective case management system; education of judges in the basic knowledge, philosophy and benefits of the arbitration and serving as a confidence booster to an arbitration agreement because parties will be secured in the knowledge that the judicial intervention will not be used to frustrate the arbitration agreement.
“Considering the poor state of our court system in Nigeria today, it is all the more vital that we resolve disputes in a better way. We must have a justice system that is flexible and accessible and that delivers timely, effective and affordable outcomes. Arbitration is a key to achieving this.
“In commercial transaction, conflicts will always be inevitable. However, since commercial pragmatism and not legal accuracy is the preference of men of commerce, parties must learn to contend without being contentious. What is needed, however, is not an idealistic embrace of a novel fad that will replace the courts, but the best utilisation of appropriate procedures that will facilitate the fair and efficient settlement of commercial disputes in Nigeria.”
