The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice

  • A procedure where an accuser is shielded from the accused during inquiry is not in compliance with natural justice

    The facts giving rise to the appeal are that two petition were written against the 1st Respondent concerning her conduct in the discharge of her functions as a judge of the High Court of Justice, Oyo State. One petition was written by Mr. Adebayo Shittu as the Attorney-General of Oyo State and second was written by an Organization known as the Committee for Defence of Rule of Law. On the direction of the 2nd Respondent, the 1st Respondent responded to the petitions and a panel of investigation was constituted to inquire into the matter.

    At the panel, the former Attorney-General who authored one of the petitions was called upon to present the petition which had been withdrawn by the then incumbent Attorney-General before then. The former Attorney-General was cross-examined. At the end of the sitting, the panel submitted its report to the 2nd Respondent which relied on it and suspended the 1st Respondent, and recommended her compulsory retirement.

    Aggrieved by the turn of events, the 1st Respondent as Plaintiff sued for the following reliefs at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.

    “i. A declaration that the recommendation of the 1st defendant based on its investigation committee report relating to the plaintiff in all its ramification is illegal, unconstitutional as it violates the plaintiff’s right to fair hearing which include the right of natural justice guaranteed under Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

    ii. A declaration that the Attorney-General of Oyo State, Adebayo Shittu, Esq., not being the writer of the petition dated 12th May, 2007 to which the 1st Defendant panel adjudicated upon and allowing the said Attorney-General to be a substituted complaint is null and void, unconstitutional and against natural justice.

    iii. A declaration that the recommendation of the 1st defendant to the 2nd Defendant against the plaintiff based on a petition that has been withdrawn by an Attorney-General of the State is null, void, unconstitutional and of no effect.

    iv. A declaration that the letter of Barr. Michael Lana dated 5th November, 2007 having withdrawn the petition written by Adebayo Shittu, the then Attorney-General of Oyo State, there was no longer complaint by the 1st Respondent’s Committee to investigate and adjudicate on how much more to make recommendation thereto.

    v. An order setting aside the report/recommendation of the 1st Defendant to the 2nd Defendant for gross infringement of the plaintiff’s Fundamental Human Right to fair hearing.

    vi. An order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, their agents, servants or privies from carrying into effect or executing or enforcing the said recommendation or anything connected whatsoever with the said report or recommendation relating to the plaintiff.”

    The Federal High Court entered judgment in favour of the 1st Respondent as Plaintiff and granted all the reliefs sought by her. Dissatisfied, the Appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal by way of a notice of appeal containing four grounds of appeal. In his brief of argument, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oyo State on behalf of the Appellant, formulated four issues for the Court’s determination of the appeal. The issues are;

    “1. Whether having regard to the circumstances of the purported withdrawal of the petition filed by Mr. Adebayo Shittu, the said petition could be said to have been validly withdrawn by Mr. Michael Lana.

    2. Whether the learned trial judge did not approbate and reprobate when he gave regard to authorship in respect of one petition and disregard authorship in respect of the other.

    3. Whether the trial Judge did not misconceive the case and misdirected himself when he held that the Committee for Defence of the Rule of Law is a faceless society.

    4. Whether having regard to the fact and evidence as well as the entire proceedings of the investigation panel, the Plaintiff/Respondent could be said to have been denied fair hearing.”

    Arguing issue 1, the learned Attorney-General of Oyo State, submitted that the withdrawal of the petition against the 1st Respondent was not done in good faith and was done without power to do so. The same, he added, was an abuse of public office and legal process. He was of the view that the posture of the 1st Respondent indicated that they did not want proceedings to go on during investigation. He then referred to Section 55 of the Interpretation Law of Oyo State 2000 and Section 8(1) of the Interpretation Act Cap. 123 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and submitted that upon removal of Mr. Shittu from office (as Attorney-General) Mr. Lana (his successor) did not have the power to discontinue or abate civil proceedings already initiated. These provisions, he argued, do not conflict with Section 211 (1) of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) as the latter relates to criminal proceedings. As regards his issue 3, it was his submission that the Federal High Court misconceived the facts about the address of the organization and this led to the misdirection that the organization did not exist. On issue 4, the learned Attorney-General referred to the case of MMS LTD v. OTEJU (2005) 14 NWLR (945) 517 and submitted that the proceedings of the panel conformed to the requirement of audi alterem partem. He noted that the proceedings of the panel demonstrated that the 1st Respondent was given opportunity to present her case, the panel was impartial, she cross-examined her accusers, called her witnesses etc. He finally urged the court to uphold the appeal and set aside the judgment of the lower court.

    Learned senior counsel for the 1st Respondent in respect of issue one stated that the averments of the 1st Respondent in her statement of claim that the petition was written against her by the Attorney-General Oyo State and had been withdrawn by the Attorney-General Oyo state were not specifically denied by the Appellant. It was his submission that the petition signed by Barr. Adebayo Shittu for the Oyo State Government was not signed in a private capacity and that by virtue of Section 8 (1) of the Interpretation Act, it was properly withdrawn by the then Attorney-General of Oyo State (Mr. Michael Lana) in his official capacity not as a suit but as a petition. In regard to issue three, he adopted his arguments on issues one submitted that it was wrong for the investigation panel to allow Mr. Adebayo Shittu to transform from being counsel to being the petitioner. Senior counsel finally urged the Court to dismiss the appeal.

    In determining issue 1, the Court noted that the petition which in part kick-started the process of investigation against the 1st Respondent was written on the Letter – headed paper of the “Attorney-General’s Chambers Ministry of Justice, Ibadan, Oyo State of Nigeria”. It was signed by Alhaji Abdul-Raheem Adebayo Shittu in his capacity as “the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.” The Court held that it is thus clear that the petition was not a personal letter written by Mr. Adebayo Shittu but an official letter written by him in his capacity as the Attorney-General of Oyo State and Chief Law officer of that state. The Court further held that it follows therefore that the Attorney-General of a State is a corporation sole recognized by the Constitution and the law of the land as having a personality which is distinct from the separate personality of the individual holder for the time being of that office. See CARLEN (NIG) LTD v. UNIVERSITY OF JOS (1994) 1 NWLR (323) 631, 656; (1994) LPELR-832(SC) and ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION v. ALL NIGERIA PEOPLES PARTY (2004) 114 LRCN 2671, 2687-2688; (2003) LPELR-630(SC). The office acts through the natural person who holds that office for the time being or a person delegated by him in respect of a particular function that can be delegated. See ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF KADUNA STATE v. HASSAN (1985) 2 NWLR (8) 483; (1985) LPELR-617(SC).

     The Court noted that there is uncontroverted evidence on both sides that before the panel of investigation began its sitting, the holder of the office of the Attorney-General, Oyo State, at the time in his official capacity withdrew the petition earlier written by that office. The Court held that it was within his powers to do so and his motive even if considered less than noble cannot be questioned except by the Governor of the State who can sanction him, or he may be forced to resign by adverse public opinion. The Court stated the position of the law that Constitution does not admit of any limitation to the exercise of the powers of the Attorney-General. See IBRAHIM v. STATE (1986) NWLR (18) AND ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF ONDO STATE v. ATTORNEY-GENARAL OF THE FEDERATION (2002) 9 NWLR (772) 222, 419. The Court held that this applies even in respect of withdrawal of petitions before the 2nd Respondent and is in keeping with the position of the Attorney-General under the common law which considers him a law to himself and subject to direction and control from none in the discharge of his office. The Court resolved this issue against the Appellant.

    On issue 4, the Court noted that Section 36 (1) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) gives constitutional flavour to the twin pillars of natural justice, viz; (a) audi alterem parlem and (b) Nemo judex in causa sua. The Court held that it applies not only to courts of law or tribunals but also to administrative bodies, such as the 2nd Respondent’s investigation committee.  The Court noted that the former Attorney-General (who had then become a private citizen) was called upon by the investigation committee to present the petition. Again Mr. Adebayo Shittu (the former Attorney-General) was allowed by the committee to mutate from being counsel for the committee for the Defence of the Rule of Law, Oyo State, to testify for it even though he is not a member thereof and no reason was given for the absence of the Committee and its members. The Court held that the 1st Respondent was not afforded the opportunity of confronting her accusers and cross-examining them on their allegations against her. The Court stated that fair hearing requires that a person must be given not only an opportunity but a fair opportunity to cross-examine her accusers. The Court cited the recent case of ADEWUNMI v. NIGERIA EAGLE FLOUR MILLS (2014) 14 NWLR (1428) 443 at 458; (2014) LPELR–22557(CA), where DONGBAN-MENSEM, JCA, stated that:

    “A procedure where an accuser is shielded from the accused all through the inquiry is certainly not one in compliance with natural justice. Presence and confrontation has a lot of impact…..” Issue 4 was therefore resolved against the Appellant.

     

    On the whole, the Court held that the appeal lacks merit and it was dismissed.

     

     •Edited by LawPavilion

     LawPavilion Citation: (2014)

     LPELR-24131(C

     

     

  • Nigeria, justice and development

    At the international level there has been a growing shift in conversation on why justice and respect for rule of lawmust be included in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Since the Millennium Development Goals were first developed in 2000, over the last 14 years, it has dawnedupondevelopment partners and other relevant stakeholders that both justice and rule of law underpin not only security, but sustainable economic development as well. As the MDG’s are coming to an end next year, we must look more seriously at why including justice in the Post 2015 Development Agenda is vital. For a country like Nigeria – Africa’s “economic powerhouse”-this move would represent a valuable step forward for justice, security, the economy and gender rights as a whole. But first it is important to take a look at the current state of affairs in the country, then see why the setting of new benchmarks with the Sustainable Development Goals could help improve the overall state of affairs in Nigeria.

    Nigeria’s criminal justice system

    The criminal justice system in Nigeria today is one where ordinary people are not sure what justice holds for them, courtrooms and prisons are dilapidated and a vast majority of those in prison are awaiting trial. The search for justice is costly and often times not even worth the effort. With low manpower and poorly trained personnel in the judiciary and justice ministries, both civil and criminal cases suffer long adjournments. Most times, litigants abandon their claims due to high costs occasioned by protracted period of litigation. The slow pace at which reform is being carried out in the criminal justice system ostensibly keeps access to justice far from the reach of the poor and downtrodden.

     

    Police force mistrust

    Justice and security are interlinked and inseparable, andin Nigeria both are deeply ailing. There is a perpetual state of tension and anxiety across the nation – one which is exacerbated by the (often) uncontrolled use of state power, justice that is rarely assured and a police force that lacks public trust.The departmentthat isnormally charged with maintaining law and order, security and safety has lostpublic confidence throughgrowing concerns about the spate of corruption, bad leadership, ineffective or poor supervision and absence of clearly defined goals. For Nigeria’s common man, justice offers little more than an elusive ideal. The result is a society that either condones crimes committed against them or (most often) resorts to extra-legal means to ventilate their claims or grievances. This slow and (sometimes complete absence of) crimes investigation impairs the judiciary’s ability to dispense justice altogether.

     

    Economic consequences

    The heightened atmosphere of insecurity bears negatively on Nigeria’s economy – it discourages potential investors and hinders economic growth. If Nigeria’s vast resources were maximally harnessed in a regime where justice, human rights and rule of law prevailed, the country could reach new heights.

     

    Enhancing the status of Nigerian women

    Moving towardsa post 2015 agenda, it has become increasingly obvious that a strong and deliberate intervention is needed to enhance the social, political and economic status of women in Nigeria. As in many other parts of Africa today, an estimated 70 per cent of those living in abject poverty in Nigeria are women (qualified as living off less than a dollar per day). In the public sphere, the figures are equally skewed – a meager seven percent of women are represented in the public sphere, occupyingpositions in parliament, the judiciary, executive arms of the government and various businesses. The “key problems”for Nigerian women living in a largely patriarchal society, remain unabated and are yet to be effectively addressed. Such problems include incessant domestic violence, rape and cultural barriers that hinder their growth and relevance. In addition to economic factors, the non-flexibility of socially ascribed gender roles further limits women’s access to power, education, training and productive resources. With 16 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria, experience has proven that women can immensely contribute to the country’s socio-economic and political development if liberated from current limiting cultural barriers.

    Access to information

    Historicallypublic governance in Nigeria has been bedeviled by a culture of secrecy, which hassurrounded all levels ofaccess to government information.  For decades, State institutions hardly kept records because of lack of knowledge or their strong desire to maintain secrecy. More so that civil servants were protected by the Official Secrets Act and other laws from disclosing sensitive information.

    Since the Freedom of Information Bill was passed into law in Nigeria, there has been palpable progress in the areas of public accountability and governance. But there is still a real lack of freedom of information, which has undoubtedlyimpaired Nigeria’s democratic process, impacting onits social and economic development. When information is stifled it impedes the possibility of ensuring inclusive participation in the governance process. With well-articulated targets and goals set to increase access to information, Nigeria stands a great chance to reduce corruption to its barest minimum, and enhance public accountability in governance which are the needed precursors for sustainable economic development.

     

    Conclusion

    Access to justice and respect for rule of law in any given society underpins security and ensures a just society. It serves as a bedrock on which all other social, economic and political activities thrive. Over the years, we somewhat ignored this perspective, but when we consider rule of law as a development goal it cannotbe neglected. To ignore justice and rule of law in any development plan in Nigeria is a recipe for failure.

    That said, it is increasingly obvious that Nigeria can no longer sustain its development targets and goals in post 2015 if they are not hinged on justice and rule of law. Nigeria’s post 2015 Development Plan must rest on a foundation of justice, respect for rule of law and human rights, effective security and safety for all. To do otherwise is like building a house of cards.

    The time to set priorities for Post 2015 is here and the opportunity to place justice and rule of law at the heart of Nigeria’s development agenda must not be missed. At the core of Nigeria’s empowerment, stability and development is justice and rule of law. In the next fifteen years, justice and rule of law shouldoccupy a distinct place in any proposed or adopted development agenda. If we exclude justice and rule of law, the consequences of such omission may be too heavy for us to bear. It may be extremely difficult to achieve respect for human dignity – particularly for the vulnerable. The time to act is now!

    •Oziegbe, is Senior Partner with Partnership for Justice, a non-profit organization of professionals who share a commitment to equality, justice and globalization of human rights standards and a consultant with OSIWA.

  • Justice, communications and security

    I found the screaming headlines in some newspapers this week quite disturbing even though they provided ready ammunition for me to write this piece. One was about a letter from the National Judicial Commission [NJC] asking the Inspector General of Police to prosecute those who assaulted judges in Ekiti State recently. Two of them concerned the dead and living Boko Haram leader and the military trial of mutinous Nigerian soldiers. The fourth was the announcement in India mid week that the nation’s PM Narendra Modi would address the nation through radio so as to be able to reach millions of Indians who have no access to television. The fifth was the offer from Egypt to Libya to help it fight Islamic militancy as it has intelligence on them from Egypt’s experience in subduing for ages the Islamic Brotherhood whose member, the deposed former President Mohammed Morsi is awaiting trial in Egypt for treason. For various reasons I will narrate here, I found these pieces of news quite fascinating in drawing lessons to move our great nation forward especially as we have just celebrated our 54th Independence birthday in a mood that even the President of the Republic described as’ sombre’. I agree totally with the sober analysis of our No 1 Citizen and really wonder how, as deeply enmeshed in the eye of the Nigerian political and Sahel storm as he is, he can still sound so distant and aloof from it all and still carry on his onerous responsibility in an amazing ‘business as usual‘ manner. Grudgingly, I concede this to be a rare leadership trait but before you hastily proceed to give him another Independence Day Award in addition to the many he just conferred this week on distinguished Nigerians in Abuja, I ask you to tarry awhile and be patient, till I have finished my self – given assignment of today, on the news items I listed before.

    Let me first of all state my initial reaction either of amazement, joy or revulsion on each of these news items before I proceed to draw my conclusions or moral there from. In the attacks on judges in Ekiti, one is left wondering why the good people of Ekiti State, renowned for their great learning and endless Ph ds, who recently had a peaceful election, suddenly took it into their heads to take umbrage at judges and beat them up in their courts. Certainly that is definitely un Ekiti – like. On the death defying Boko Haram leader, whether he is alive or dead is immaterial as long as his followers still continue to kill innocent people and are trying to maintain their declared caliphate in Nigeria. It is therefore sheer horror for any right thinking or decent person to see his tape and watch it as that is just like giving the devil a platform it does not deserve for its murderous activities. On the mutiny trial of Nigerian soldiers, including four lieutenant – colonels, I feel sad that the Nigerian army is washing its dirty linen in public at a time when it should not allow itself to be distracted from the present task of crushing Boko Haram by all means at its disposal and as speedily as possible. The fourth news that technology giant India has millions of people that have no access to TV is quite baffling and it shows how caring their new PM is in getting civilisation and governance to the farthest reaches of India. That in itself provides a show case for Nigeria where every state capital has at least two TV stations, one from the state and the other from the Federal government. The last is the timing and relevance of the Egyptian offer to Libya after it was reported that together with Saudi Arabia and UAE air forces it has conducted airstrikes against Libyan Islamic terrorists just last month. This then marks a watershed in the politics and diplomacy of the Middle East as Arabs turn on themselves in a crucial bid to create much needed security and peace in a region rent apart by religious militancy and sectarian strife.

    We can now proceed to do some sober reflection on these incidents serially starting with the letter from the NJC to the Police IG to prosecute those involved in the attack on judges in Ekiti state. To me it seems the NJC is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as it finds itself precariously on the horn of a dilemma. The judges affected were said by their assailants to be corrupt or to have been giving dubious judgements. Is the NJC aware of this and has it got some information on this in its record? This is because those who live in glass houses should not throw stones .Secondly the attackers were said to be supporters of a governor elect who was initially reported to have slapped a judge but who denied this, saying his overzealous supporters did.

    Obviously, this governor elect has the mandate of governorship in his pocket from the last election that he won. Will the IG initiate his prosecution for not controlling his supporters or is he expected to fold his arms while his supporters are being prosecuted? It is a well known fact that the governor elect belongs to the ruling party and from all indications he will be protected by federal might till he is sworn in after which he has immunity from prosecution. Of what use then is the NJC ‘s letter to the IG except for record purposes?. Nobody is deceived that the governor elect has taken the law into his hand and should not be allowed to get away with it. But in this Nigeria of today he will get away with murder right before our eyes. That is most unfortunate and disgraceful but that is the stuff of our democracy as we proceed towards the inevitable 2013 presidential elections which has claimed the honor and dignity of judges in Ekiti state for now and is a warped and corrupt democracy which the NJC, the sancto sanctorium of our temple of justice, can not beat its chest and claim total ignorance about. For now I see the NJC letter to the IG on the Ekiti judge beating debacle as a futile, judicial barking at the moon given our present socio- political environment and the weight of corruption on the neck of the judiciary dangling dangerously like the famous sword of Damocles.

    The next two issues namely Boko Haram and the army mutiny trial are really two sides of the same coin and border on security and justice in our nation. First the army must maintain discipline within its ranks by all means. That is its prerogative and nobody or institution can take that away from it. Not even its Commander in Chief as it is apparent that the President is not interfering in this matter. But then the army should not cut its nose to spite its face as it is doing now. I say categorically that this mutiny trial should be an internal affair of the army and should not be for public consumption as it is at present just because of the war against Boko Haram which is our priority consideration. Justice should be done army style and not in full public glare and ridicule of the image of the army, its officers and ranks. Obviously espirit de corps of the army is being wounded by this public trial of a mutiny which in itself is a disgrace to any army and its leadership and which should be contained firmly and fairly. Again, army style. That is all that is required for the army to again raise the slogan –‘ To keep Nigeria one is task that must be done ‘ Which was our slogan during the civil war against secession and which should be adopted now by the army to stop the rampant Boko Haram drive towards phantom caliphates that are really ‘killerphates‘ in the North East of Nigeria.

    Next is the import of India’s PM Narenda Mordi’s radio address to Indians which is expected to reach 99% of Indians which was far higher than expected through TV audience size in India. What interests me here is not the gist of the PM’s address but the medium, radio, which also has a formidable audience here for different reasons some of which have serious security concerns especially now that we are at war with Boko Haram. This is because the radio has always been a potent means of communications amongst Northerners both in the North and in any part of Nigeria especially Lagos where most security workers in the posh Ikoyi, Lekki and Ajah Estates are Northerners permanently glued to the Hausa Service of BBC and Radio Kaduna. Even though illiterate, most of these security people are abreast of world news even more than their employers ‘. It was to such people that the Indian PM sought to speak to because they do not have access to TV which in some ways is the same in Nigeria . Except again that our President and his ministers are on twitter which the average Nigerian does not know or care about because he does not have the electricity to plug his phone whereas the ordinary security man in Ikoyi is permanently tuned to global news because of his ‘ever ready’ or Chinese batteries. In terms of security and communications you can just say its win some lose some. For now in India radio is winning and that is good for its teeming masses of almost a billion people.

    The fifth issue concerns Egypt’s offer to Libya to help it fight Islamic Militancy because it has useful information on them. This again is a welcome development because religious extremists generally rely on blind faith to get support and millions into their ranks especially in a mono religious environment like the Middle East in which Egypt has always been a key player. Again this is the second time that it would seem Egypt is breaking ranks with the other Arab States especially the powerful Arab League which must be in a real quandary now as key Arab states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia have turned against Islamic State which is Arab grown and based . Egypt ha s always borne the war of the Arabs against Israel which is the Arabs common foe against which they were united before the advent of beheading IS against which they have again broken ranks . Egypt first broke ranks with Arabs when former President Anwar Sadat went to Jerusalem to meet late Israeli PM Menachem Begin. That exposed Egypt to other Arab nations hatred and led to the assassination of Sadat by the Muslim Brotherhood on which the new Egyptian President al Sisi said that Egypt has information on, to help Libya track their terrorist supporters fighting against the government in Libya which is fast collapsing.

    Again the Egyptian experience on surviving the Tahrir Square mass street demonstrations that led to the collapse of the Housni Mubarak regime in 2011 should be useful to Chinese authorities in Hong Kong which faced a government shut down by thousands of students this week as seen on global TV. One thing is certain about the Egyptian army in or out of government. It knows how to manage power, politics and politicians. It recently lost and gained power through its deft and Machiavellian manipulation of democracy and political institutions in Egypt. Now, its former Commander is Egypt’s president while the man Egyptians elected is facing treason trial. Indeed Egypt under its present government has sterling credentials to market its brand of political stability and politics anywhere in the world especially in the Middle East which is its turf and N Africa which is its backyard. Anyway I advise the demonstrators in Hong Kong to recall the Tahrir Square Street demonstrations in Cairo and how it ended for those demonstrators in Egypt. A word certainly, is enough for the wise.

  • Desecrating the temple of justice

    Desecrating the temple of justice

    Twice in four days, the Ekiti State High Court was attacked by thugs believed to be loyal to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor-elect Mr Ayo Fayose. A judge was beaten up in an unprecedented act of hooliganism in the temple of justice. His suit was torn. The Chief Judge’s court was invaded, his staff roughened up and his record book shredded. To forestall further attacks, all courts have been shut indefinitely. wLawyers and activists are calling for the trial of Fayose and the perpetrators. But Fayose has denied involvement in the incidents. Will the perpetrators go scot-free? All eyes are on the judiciary to preserve its dignity, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.

    Twice in four days, judicial activities were disrupted by thugs in Ekiti State last week. The hoodlums broke  into the court, ransacked offices, destroyed records and attacked staff and judges with the tacit support of the police and other security agents.

    There has been outrage over the incidents, described as desecration of the temple of justice. Will the thugs, believed to be loyal to the Ekiti Governor-elect, Mr Ayo Fayose, be brought to book? Some lawyers are calling for the prosecution of Fayose, who seemingly justified the attacks but denied involvement. He was in the court when the attacks were perpetrated.

    The lawyers urged the judiciary to unite and resist intimidation. An example, they said, must be made of the perpetrators. Failure to punish those responsible, they argued, will set a bad precedent, endanger the rule of law, erode the judiciary’s integrity and encourage political urchins to beat up judges at will to intimidate and silence them.

    The first attack

    Last Monday was like a movie scene. Justice Isaac Ogunyemi of Court Six declared that he had jurisdiction to entertain the cases of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP) and Adeniyi Ajakaye and others challenging Fayose’s eligibility to contest the June 21 election, which he “won”.

    The hoodlums openly disagreed with the ruling. They sang songs to condemn the decision, and threatened to deal with the judge, who was said to have been protected by a special group of about six officers from the Riot Squad.

    However, panicky lawyers, litigants and officials ran out of the court room, screaming as scores of thugs hurled missiles at them. The police, apparently overwhelmed by the violence, looked helpless as windows were smashed and furniture broken. Those perceived to be obstructing the thugs’ aspirations were dragged on the courtroom’s floor and dealt with, using all sorts of objects.

    Judges, lawyers including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), journalists and other court officials ran for dear lives, hiding in offices, court registries, under chairs, tables, or anything that could serve as temporary hideouts, as the hoodlums ran amok.

    The second attack 

    The outrage over the first attack was yet to abate when, three days later, an army of thugs, unleashed violence on the court again. This time, Justice John Adeyeye was beaten up and his suit torn. Another judge was assaulted, while the office of the Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Ayodeji Daramola, was invaded. His workers were beaten up, his record book destroyed and proceedings disrupted. Lawyers, litigants and court clerks fled as the thugs smashed property.

    Fayose was at the Elections Petition Tribunal for hearing of the case by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against his “victory”. The thugs were said to have surged forward, entering the court premises after the policemen manning the gate allowed Fayose in. There was commotion.

    Several detachments of policemen in pick-up vans and an armoured personnel carrier (APC) took positions around the tribunal before it began sitting. At a point, tear gas was fired and people scampered away, but the thugs regrouped in defiance. Some were said to be jogging up and down the main road, singing songs and checking for supposed ‘enemies’

    Reliving how the judge was assaulted, Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Mr. Wale Fapohunda said: “Justice Adeyeye, who was presiding over a case, accosted Fayose while moving around with his supporters (within the court premises) and advised him to desist from moving around and causing disruption of court proceedings.” According to him, that led to “the exchange of hot words between the duo, resulting in the manhandling of the judge.” Fapohunda said he was “informed that the irate youths attacked the judge on the order of the governor-elect.”

    The developments forced Justice Daramola to order the closure of all courts due to “the spate of attacks perpetrated by political thugs and their persistent presence on the Ado-Ekiti High Court premises in the past few days.”

    He said political thugs came in their hundreds, invaded the high court premises and assaulted the state’s third most senior judge, Justice Adeyeye “by beating him up and tearing his suit into shreds while the police officers on guard looked unconcerned and uninterested.”

     ‘Arrest, prosecute Fayose now’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said since Fayose does not yet enjoy immunity from arrest and prosecution, he should immediately be arrested over ”the dastardly and barbaric attack, which represents an attack on justice and on the rule of law, and the violence that has gripped the state.”

    The party said while Ekiti State Police Commissioner Taiwo Lakanu did well by rushing to the venue to help restore order after the judge had been beaten up, the role of the police in the two attacks was shameful.

    It said: “According to published reports, which are yet to be refuted, police personnel stood by while litigants, lawyers and other citizens were being mauled by rabid PDP thugs in the first attack, and again seemed powerless as Justice Adeyeye was being manhandled and his suit torn until the Police Commissioner arrived at the scene. If this is not an act of collusion, then it is a case of unacceptable gross incompetence for which those security agents must be brought to book.”

    Fayose denies attacks

    After Monday’s attack, Fayose, through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, said the perpetrators were angry Okada (commercial motorcycle) riders and others who voted for him.

    “His Excellency has no hand in what happened. He didn’t send them. They have been coming to the court and they have been seeing the trend. Their hope is Ayo Fayose and they felt their hope was about to be truncated. They are Okada riders and not hoodlums. They are angry that their mandate was about to be taken away.”

    Fayose denied that his supporters beat up Justice Adeyeye, describing the allegation as not only unfounded, but spurious.

    “I am not aware that a judge was beaten up. In fact, this is strange to me. This is reckless and strange to me. I visited the election petitions tribunal as a party to the case and I was the only one that was allowed passage by security men. To the best of my knowledge, the three judges handling the tribunal case sat.

    “How can I order the people to beat up a judge that has nothing to do with me? At what point was this judge beaten? Was he a member of the tribunal because I went to the tribunal and not the regular court?

    “But I want to point out that a situation whereby judges or judicial officers, who should be custodians of the law, got compromised with politicians, then anarchy will set in. The judge handling the suit against my qualification dropped the case because of tension and because he lacks the confidence to continue.

    “It would have been better for him to insist that he would try the case based on its merit. It is sad that most of our judges have compromised. If you have been defeated in all the 16 local government areas and you now want to come through the window, it won’t be like ice cream party to APC. I would not be too cheap like Segun Oni. I am not going to be cheap at all because I am elected by the people.

    “I don’t care about whatever they write about me because I have grown a thick skin. The strategy of APC will not work. Nobody, no matter how highly placed, will remove me cheaply,” he said.

    Fayose accused APC of a plot to truncate his inauguration on October 16 by trying to obtaining judgment through the backdoor.

    On Monday’s attack on the court, Fayose said: “It’s unfortunate. But don’t forget that the average man on the streets knows what they want and they are equally more enlightened than before, when somebody would just come, pay a judge somewhere for a backdoor judgment, to stall a process, to steal people’s mandate. We want trials done through due process. What is the hurry for this judge? What is his interest?”

    He alleged that the Chief Judge was an interested party in the matter. “We have been told that he wants to assign the matter to himself. He is a clear member of the E-11 – the petitioners. We want a judge, who is ready to carry out his assignment as a judge; who is ready to respect the Constitution of Nigeria, to try matters by being fair to all concerned and be accountable to Nigerians,” he said.

    Is judiciary under threat?

    At the height of the political crises in Rivers State, the courts came under attack. The High Court in Okehi, Etche Local Government, was torched by youths suspected to be thugs on January 6. The target of the arson was the office of a certain judge.

    Earlier, the high court in Ahoada was hit with an improvised explosive device. The bombing happened shortly before hearing in a case seeking to restrain self acclaimed House of Assembly Speaker Evans Bipi was due to begin before Justice Charles Wali.

    There was also a clash when armed policemen forcefully opened Rivers High Court’s main gate, which shut because of a strike by workers. A welder cut the gate’s iron bars.

    Some youths, who gathered at the gate, protested the policemen’s bid to escort the court’s most senior judge, Justice Daisy Okocha, and some others into the premises. Tear gas was fired at passers-by; journalists, motorists and those around the court fled.

    With last week’s attacks in Ekiti, some wonder whether the courts are still the common man’s last hope.

    Outrage trail attacks

    The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), human rights groups and a retired judge condemned the attacks and called for the perpetrators’ prosecution to prevent a recurrence.

    NBA, in a statement by its President Augustine Alegeh (SAN), said: “Reports from our members at Ado Ekiti indicate that policemen and other security agents present at the High Court Complex looked the other way while the hoodlums had a field day in perpetuating wanton criminal acts of violence and damage to property.

    “We call on the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies in Ekiti State to perform their constitutional duty of providing security for the citizens of Nigeria.  This unfortunate development portends grave danger to the lives of our judges in Ekiti State.

    “There is, therefore, an urgent need to protect our judges and judiciary staff from these hoodlums whom we believe must be acting on instructions from some highly placed persons in Ekiti State to unleash mayhem on judicial officers and infrastructure.

    “We condemn in very strong terms these detestable acts of brigandage intended to intimidate and infuse fear into the minds of judicial officers. Those behind these criminal acts of violence have desecrated the courts, which are our temples of justice.

    “The administration of justice can never thrive in an atmosphere where judicial officers are brazenly attacked and, or intimidated in the course of carrying out their lawful duties. The administration of justice can never bow to the whims and caprices of persons who believe that judges must yield to their wishes.

    “The NBA is sending a high powered fact finding team to Ekiti to investigate the facts surrounding this matter. Any person(s), no matter how highly placed, found involved in this show of shame and desecration of our courts shall surely face the full force of the law as NBA will ensure prosecution of any such person(s).

    “We will not allow persons who do not mean well for our society take steps capable of plunging our country into anarchy.”

    The Ekiti branch of NBA, through its chairman, Joseph Adewumi, said there could be a serious constitutional crisis if by act of commission or omission an atmosphere of anarchy is encouraged.

    “If the current assault on the judges of the Ekiti State judiciary is allowed to continue, they would have lost the necessary independence that should be the bedrock of the performance of their constitutional duties,” he said.

    A retired judge of the state, Justice Demola Bakre, said with thugs taking over the court, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for judges to carry out their duty freely without fear of coming to harm.

    A human rights group, Access to Justice (AJ), condemned what it called unbridled affront on Justice Adeyeye.

    “The attack is shameful, vile, barbaric and grossly contemptuous of the person of Justice Adeyeye and the authority he exercises as a Judge. It is a brutal attack on the administration of justice and the integrity of the justice system in Nigeria. It undermines the independence of the Judiciary and the duty of judges to decide disputes without fear or molestation.

    “This attack on judges and the administration of justice must be repressed and repelled with all the power and authority of the state. Those responsible must be brought to book so that this impunity is not allowed to flourish,” the group said in a statement by Chinelo Chinweze.

    Lawyers seek justice

     Some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), who condemned the attacks, include Chief Felix Fagbohungbe; Malam Yusuf Ali; a former Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Director-General, Prof Epiphany Azinge; Chief Emeka Ngige; Deacon Paul Ananaba; Jibrin Okutepa; Femi Falana; Mr Mike Igbokwe and Dr Joseph Nwobike.

    Others are Mr Ike Ofuokwu; AJ’s Executive Director, Mr Joseph Otteh; Dr. Utman Abdulazeez; Richard Chukwuocha and Charles Titiloye urged the judiciary not to treat the show of aggression with kids’ gloves.

    Fagbohungbe said: “It’s an embarrassment to the judiciary. It’s an embarrassment to the society. The character (of the thugs’ leader) is beyond description. It’s awful. It’s terrible. I think he should not be allowed to get away with this.

    “The Judiciary and lawyers must come together to let him know that he cannot get away with it, that the hands of the law is so long that it can catch up with anybody. It should not be allowed at all. I’m quite concerned and worried.”

    Ngige said the attack was a consequence of voting for the wrong candidate in the governorship election. “It is a clear manifestation of a return of anarchy to Ekiti State. It’s unfortunate that this is what Ekiti people bargained for by voting against Dr Kayode Fayemi. The only unfortunate aspect of it is that the innocent people will also suffer along with those who voted for ‘stomach infrastructure’,” he said.

    Ananaba described the attacks as sacrilegious, saying: “This is a situation we must all unanimous speak against. Even those who think that they are benefiting from the hooliganism today will suffer its ripple effects in the long run. The act is sacrilegious and it must be treated as such. The perpetrators must be brought to book.”

    Okutepa said the attacks were a threat to the rule of law. “If the rule of the jungle is now taking over the rule of law, then might will soon become right and the peace and tranquillity currently being threatened, would have been completely wiped out,” he said.

    Falana said the mayhem unleashed on the court by a gang of hired hoodlums confirmed that “Ekiti people have fully returned to the wilderness.”

    “So far, those who perpetrated the barbaric attack and their sponsors have their admitted ignoble role through public statements issued by them. The Ekiti State governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose has justified the shameful attack on the rule of law in Ekiti State by saying that his election cannot be challenged in court.

    “This is a reminder of the Idi Amin era in Uganda when judges were killed while discharging judicial functions.  Mr. Fayose and his thugs should not be allowed to kill judges and lawyers before calling him to order.

    ”Since the Ekiti State police command is completely compromised, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abbah is called upon to ensure that all the assailants are arrested and prosecuted without any delay. Any attempt to cover up the brazen contempt of court should be resisted by the Attorney-General of Ekiti State, Mr. Wale Fapounda, who should take decisive measures to bring the criminals to book,” Falana said.

    Azinge said the attacks were “thuggery taken too far” and “totally unacceptable to a democratic setting”. “To that extent it stands to be condemned. The police must ensure that the courtrooms are well protected, not just when the court is sitting, but all round the clock to make sure that not just the personnel involved, but all documents and property of the court are continuously protected. If we don’t do that, then it means that we’re bidding farewell to the judiciary and to an extent our constitutional democracy in this country,” Azinge said.

    Ali described the attack as “an abomination that should not be encouraged,” while Igbokwe called it “a desecration of the highest order of the temple of justice! Indiscipline! Contempt of court!”

    “Who did they want to intimidate? The culprits should be fished out, tried and if found guilty, punished accordingly so as to deter similar occurrences in the future. Security at the courts/tribunals should henceforth be beefed up and their members protected,” he said.

    Nwobike said he could not imagine “this extent of institutional failure in Ekiti”, while calling on the Acting Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of the State Security Services “to investigate and punish all those responsible for the ugly development.”

    Ofuokwu described the incident as judicial terrorism, adding that the perpetrators must be severely punished to serve as a lesson to others.

    “The perpetrators of this act of judicial terrorism and their sponsors no matter how highly placed they are must be investigated, tried and severely punished if found guilty. Failure to do this would breed anarchy which we will have to live with as a nation for a very long time,” Ofuokwu said.

    Otteh said any attempt to interfere in the judicial process through such “crude, deplorable, and treacherous” means “must be repelled and rebuffed with all the power of the state” to prevent a very dangerous precedent.

    Abdulazeez said: “This is the worst we should be willing to accept as a nation. Let’s watch and see how this Federal Government will treat this great act of desecration of the hallowed temple of justice. We are doomed in this country. God help us.”

    Chukwuocha described the attacks as “the height of contempt in the face of the court,” adding perpetrators of the mayhem “should be arrested and prosecuted, and if found guilty, should be prosecuted according to the law.”

    Titiloye urged the IGP to arrest Fayose. “We must remind the IGP that nobody is above the law. Fayose has no immunity from arrest and prosecution, having not taken oath of office as the governor of the state. His utterances are clear acts depicting his complicity in the criminal attack on the High Court. He must be brought to book in the interest of protection of institution of justice in Nigeria and protection of law and order in Ekiti State,” he said.

  • Justice is no more with us

    Today, we are lamenting the departure of our best friend, Justice, who has been our beloved one for many decades. There is no official record of his family or his age, because of changing the office from Bharat to Hindustan and ultimately to India. He will be credited for his contribution to the nation especially for using precious language and advocating for economic equality such as it was my mistake, please forgive me, I am so sorry, pardon me, can I help you, and it is my pleasure.

    Justice followed and lived by straightforward and good financial policies (e.g., don’t take or give any bribe; and don’t misuse public fund or property). And also he developed honest plan and philosophy (e.g., don’t exploit the poor; and the strong must serve the weak).

    His body began to decline speedily when ancient socio-ethos and ethic of India seem to change from corruption-free land to quick service policy of using easy tips method. His wife’s, Love, reports of taking money for just a signature in application; wealth became medium for winning election; and developmental projects are only in file. This gave another additional factor for the immediate deterioration of his health.

    Justice’s foundation was shaken when ‘Have’ and ‘Have-Not’ increased in every towns and villages. He thinks that rich by getting material benefits deprives even the qualified candidates. It further reduced him when his own son’s, Genuine, points were rejected in the meeting and was dropped from the leadership position. Even Justice lost the will to live as he found that the number of religious places is becoming a professional businesses centre; and few hippocratic spiritual leaders getting better treatment than the godly people. Further, his mother, Righteous, informed that she was now witnessing only small trade like wall between religious and secular leadership style.

    Justice’s heart was beating fast when his daughter, Mercy, could not defend her civic rights from a muscle and money power. She told him that wealthy people often override the decision of the meeting, since they are the main donors of the colony, where Mercy lived.

    At last, Justice gave up courage and the will to live after he realised that the dogs owned by many rich Christians are getting better facilities than handicapped relatives of the said dog owner. While he showed that washing soap and polish used for cleaning the vehicle owned by the elite are more costly than the daily wages of a poor widow who lives in that vehicle owners’ house as maid servant. Therefore, ultimately, Justice gave his last breath. In his mortal, Justice was heralded by all his kith and kin.

    He is survived by his five renounced cousins, who always opposed his views. And they are still working in the country and saying I don’t know, I am busy, mind your business, I am your boss and come tomorrow & bring some gift.

    According to his father’s, Truth, word, only a few people attended the funeral service, since no one knows when he departed from us. However, on the funeral day, his dad requested the entire participants ‘if we love and remember him, kindly pass this news to his other friends also.’

     

    Yumri Taipodia

  • Abia 2015: Let justice prevail

    At last, grapevine indications that some powerful forces in Abia have vowed to scuttle gubernatorial ambitions of some ‘endangered specie’ is gradually coming to reality. The timing is understandably strategic, and appreciating the enormity of the self-given task, laden with moral burden; lots of nocturnal scheming and thief-in-a-night calculations have been on the cards for several weeks.  Rebuttals of serial exposure of the behind-the-scene manipulations, to prosecute the agenda in a seemingly populist fashion, have been commonplace.

    Indeed, the most vexed issue in Abia political landscape today is the issue of the purported zoning, chorused by a negligible few of suborned wheel-dealers who prefer being kings in hell to servants in paradise. Of a truth, Abians are still at loss with the recent rubber-stamping of the purported zoning of the 2015 governorship position to Abia South Senatorial Zone. It is a typical case of ‘voice of Jacob, hands of Esau’. In fairness, there is nothing wrong with working out an acceptable power sharing framework to ensure stability and minimize acrimony in pursuit of power in any socio-political milieu. On the face value, it is appealing. But that is not the case with the newest grandstanding by those who are desperate to re-write history and transmogrify the cultural bond of Ukwa/Ngwa people.  It is indeed a conspiracy to distort our history. Right from the defunct East Central State, when Late Dr. Michael Okpara held sway as the Premier, Ukwa/Ngwa or the old Aba Division had shared a common destiny in terms of allocation of political offices and largesse. Even in the old  Imo State, Ukwa/Ngwa constituted a formidable and united bloc during electioneering and strategic calculations in socio-political balancing. In the present Abia State, they have been consistently made to serve as deputy governors in the persons of late Dr.  Chima  Nwafor, Enyinnaya Abaribe who is now a serving Senator, Hon. Eric Acho Nwakamma and presently, Col. Austin Ananaba (Rtd). Agitations for Abia governorship seat had been along the two recognized blocs of Old Bende and Old Aba Division or Ukwa/Ngwa. The contiguity of the area even makes Ugwunagbo/Obi Ngwa/Osisioma federal constituency to cut across the Abia Central and Abia South Senatorial  Districts. Besides, Isiala Ngwa has remained the head of Ngwa ancestry and exploiting political leanings and interests to put them by the side, when the issue of common interest of Ngwa people are discussed,  is tantamount to a traditional sacrilege. Again, the Abia Charter of Equity written before the creation of Abia State recognized power sharing along the two blocs of Old Bende and Old Aba or Ukwa/Ngwa. So, zoning the Abia gubernatorial post along senatorial zones is unacceptable. It is like a poisoned chalice with chauvinistic considerations. The psychological pressure and the intended moral burden to whip non-conformists to line is preposterous, and geared towards putting the hitherto loving brothers and sisters  at daggers-drawn, over who gets what.

    Except the likes of late Jaja Anucha Wachuku, Dr. Paul Ogwuma, Senator Adolphus Wabara and presently, Chief Emeka Nwogu, virtually all strategic and national positions  that came to Abia had been the exclusive preserve of Old Bende , and Ukwa/Ngwa did not begrudge them, knowing that one day, the most prized seat in the state will equitably get to them. Old Bende has produced iconic personalities whom their past positions are not factored in, in the present political equation yet it counted for them. At the dawn of new democracy in 1999, Ukwa/Ngwa still supported the emergence of their two sons as governors in the persons of  Orji Uzor Kalu and Chief T.A.Orji, and now that it is the turn of Ukwa/Ngwa, external forces have aligned with home quislings to balkanize a historically-united people. A look at the list of these Old Bende icons is instructive here: Late Gen. J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi  – Former Head of State; Okpara – former Premier of Eastern Region; Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kalu(rtd) – former Military Administrator (MILAD) old Imo / Lagos States;  Gen. Ike Nwachukwu – former MILAD old Imo State/ Minister; Dr. J.O.J. Okezie- former Federal Commissioner of Health & Agriculture; Amadi Ikwechegh- former MILAD old Imo State.

    Others are, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe-  Ex- VP and MILAD Lagos/Niger states; Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu- former  Minister of Finance; Comrade Uche Chukwumerije – former Secretary of Information; Dr. Ihechukwu Madubuike – former Ministers of Health/Education; Prince Vincent Ogbulafor- Former Minister, Presidency and PDP chairman; Ojo Madueke- former minister of Transport and Foreign Affairs; Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – Minister of Finance, and Chief Onyema Ugochukwu -pioneer chairman of NDDC.

    Without equivocation, if this  zoning is pursued with the exclusion of Umunneato brothers, it will pose a big threat to Ukwa/Ngwa solidarity.

    The inescapable truth is that the senseless phobia for Ukwa/Ngwa people is being exploited by their enemies to instigate  irreconcilable acrimony among a people whose legendary unity of purpose in pursuing a common agenda usually sends shivers down the spine of their oppressors in the other divide. And one of the most unifying factors among Ukwa/ Ngwa people is the deprivation of the plum position of governor from them for years. Though there have been efforts to actualize the dream, like in 2003 when ‘Otu Onu’ mantra, meaning a Single Term; pervaded the landscape like a battle cry to assuage the ill- feelings and marginalization in Abia politics, yet it has not materialized. Now that the chicken is gradually coming home to roost,  vested interests are out to destroy Ukwa/Ngwa so that the spoils of victory would be ashes in their mouths; while the sponsors of internal implosion will retire to their home stead  to pop champagne, thinking that the Pyrrhic victory would save them in the day of reckoning.  Ukwa /Ngwa people should know that “when the vanes are removed from an arrow, even though the shaft and the tip remain, it is difficult for the arrow to penetrate deeply”.

    One of the critical measures to ensure the survival of Ukwa/Ngwa, now and in future, is to guard jealously the opportunity which the present circumstance presents, with their legacy of commonality and brotherliness. Relying on the pittances from the front row operators and bandwagons without  dispassionately subjecting the far-flung implications of today’s actions would mar the gains of Ukwa/Ngwa affinity built from the time immemorial.

    This is a trick to put us asunder to enable them install a stooge.  Ukwa/Ngwa people should view the unfolding events as they are, not as their emotions colour them. Passivity and indifference at this time is very costly. Some erroneously think that one or a few aspirants are the ready targets of the purported zoning, but underlying the agenda is to subtly discredit Ukwa/Ngwa with our orchestrated internal squabbles, as an alibi. In a game with loaded dice, a player must have a temper of iron, with armour proof to the blows of fate, and weapons to make his way against men. According to Ralph Emerson, “Nature  has made up her mind that what cannot defend itself shall not be defended”. Already, there strong aspirants on the wings, waiting to harness the timely opportunity if it slips away from our hands. Men of goodwill from Ukwa/Ngwa and indeed Abians should look eyeball to eyeball to those calling the shots, to avert murdering the truth. It has cataclysmic consequences. The argument that Isiala Ngwa, Isiala Ngwa South and Osisoma LGAs should not contest the Abia 2015 Governorship based on the purported zoning to Abia South is unsustainable. It is rooted on a defeatist platform and a ploy that would shock the today’s promoters when the real intentions are unravelled. By then, handshake would have gone beyond the elbow (apologies to Chinua Achebe). It would be too late to start a face-saving battle, when the cause or the rallying point has been guillotined by short-sighted and divisive interests.  A stitch in our decision today, may save nine!

     

    • Hilary writes from Umuahia, Abia State
  • Final push for efficient criminal justice administration

    Final push for efficient criminal justice administration

    Members of the Panel on Implementation of Justice Reform (PIJR) and other stakeholders met in Abuja to put final finishing touches to a Bill meant to reform the nation’s criminal justice system by also merging the Criminal Procedure Act and the Penal Code. Participants agreed that the future of effective criminal justice administration is secured in the country with the Bill’s passage by the Senate, as already done by the House of Representatives. Eric Ikhilae reports.

    If all goes as planned, the setback suffered by the prosecution in the trial of former Managing Director of the now defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, Erastus Akingbola, among other hindrances to swift disposal of criminal cases in the country, would become history.

    The then trial judge in the Akingbola case, Justice Habeeb Abiru was close to concluding the case – he had adjourned for parties to adopt their final written addresses, preparatory to judgment – when he was suddenly elevated to the Court of Appeal.

    In view of the judge’s elevation and the provision of the Criminal Procedure Act, the trial had to start afresh. Today, owing to some fresh issues raised by the defence, parties are now stuck at the preliminary stage, about a year after the trial, which had lasted over two years before the former judge, started again before a new judge.

    The development in the Akingbola case is a common occurrence in most criminal cases in the country, particularly those involving well-off individuals, with the financial capacity to manipulate the pliable court system, by engaging the best qualified and most influential lawyer in town, and in most cases, the Senior Advocates.

    This however, will soon be a thing of the past should the Senate, before the end of the tenure of this session, passes into law a new Bill which seeks to ensure for the country, a criminal justice system that is fast and efficient while delivering justice and fairness to all parties irrespective of one’s status.

    The Bill titled: “Administration of Criminal Justice Bill 2013,” already passed by the House of Representatives, and now awaiting its final passage at the Senate, was put together by the Panel on Implementation of Justice Sector Reform (PIJR).

    The group constituted by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), is consisted of brilliant legal minds, including Justice Ishaq Bello of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (as Chairman), with Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) as the coordinator.

    Aside seeking to merge the two extant laws guiding criminal trial – the Criminal Procedure Act (applicable only in the Southern part of the country) and Penal Code (used in the Northern part), – the Bill provides a bouquet of measures intended at eliminating all existing barriers to effective and speedy criminal trial in the country.

    The PIJR said it is working at an Act to ensure that “the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim.”

    When passed, the law will only be applicable in the trial for offences established by an Act of the National Assembly and other offences punishable in the Federal Capital territory, except in states where it is adapted, as had been done by Lagos, Anambra and Ekiti States.

     

     

  • Taking risks to enhance life, justice and human dignity; taking risks that waste human potential, create suffering and perpetuate insecurity

    Taking risks to enhance life, justice and human dignity; taking risks that waste human potential, create suffering and perpetuate insecurity

    [Being an expanded version of remarks at a banquet for Wole Soyinka, Government House, Port Harcourt, July 30, 2014]

    As we gather here tonight in celebration of Wole Soyinka’s 80th birthday, his first major play written when he was in his mid-twenties, A Dance of the Forests, is being rehearsed for performance in Tel Aviv in a Hebrew translation. About two weeks ago, the U.S.-based Nigerian theatre director who is in charge of the production, Segun Ojewuyi, sent an email to Soyinka and myself in which he gave a gripping account of life in Tel Aviv at the present moment and equally important, how this very early play of Soyinka had found a new and unbelievable relevance to the unfolding human tragedy in the struggle between the Palestinians in the Gaza strip and the state of Israel. A Dance of the Forests is a complex play whose theme or “message” cannot be rendered in one sentence, one paragraph even. But it is safe to say that at the heart of the drama of the play is a visionary projection of the tragedies and the suffering that a people – any people in the world – can expect that choose to ignore the lessons of their history. Soyinka wrote and staged this play over half a century ago and now in Gaza and Tel Aviv, in the West Bank and Jerusalem, it turns out that the play might have much to teach the Jewish and Palestinian peoples as they grapple with the disregarded lessons of their history. It is likely, tragically very likely, that another fifty years from now, in another part of the world, this same play will be performed under similar circumstances. Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Nigerians, that is the quality of the artistic vision in many of the works of the man whose 80th birthday anniversary we are marking at this state banquet tonight.

    As excited as I am that A Dance of the Forests has found a new if poignant relevance in Tel Aviv and Gaza, that is not the primary reason why I use this fact to highlight the power of Soyinka’s artistic vision in this tribute. On the contrary, I cite the play and its current production experience in the Middle East for a completely different reason. Let me state this simply: almost more than any other literary work of Soyinka, A Dance of the Forests marks perhaps the most outstanding thing about WS as a dramatist, thinker and activist and this is the fact that he has a propensity for taking great risks, artistic and political. All his greatest works in drama, poetry and fictional prose are nothing if not works of considerable experimentation with form, ideas and modes of expression.

    With regard to political activism, we know that he was charged, tried and acquitted for the radio incident of 1965 and so we cannot try him all over again, but we know he was the gunman! Compared to other risks he has since taken, that was indeed, only the beginning and rather small compared with other risks he went on to take. Anyone who has read the last three out of his five books of memoires, The Man Died; Ibadan, the ‘Penklemes’ Years; and You Must Set Forth at Dawn, knows what I am talking about here. Indeed, if Soyinka is one of the greatest avant-garde writers of African and world literature in the second half of the 20th century, this is largely because of the artistic risks he was always willing to take. Similarly, the risks he took as one of our continent’s great political activists and human rights campaigners have been nothing short of legendary.

    But if WS was always naturally predisposed to taking artistic risks and making political gambles, the most important thing to note is that he took risks and made gambles for justice, equality of opportunity for all, and human dignity. This is the heart of my short tribute tonight. And so let me repeat it: the great artistic and political risks that Soyinka has taken in his 80 years have been in the cause of and for the advancement of justice, equality and human dignity. I say this, indeed I emphasize it deliberately and strongly, because human beings and communities take risks all the time. As a species, we are fundamentally predisposed to take risks all the time, small risks and huge risks. However, unfortunately, most of the risks that we take as individuals, groups and collectively as the human species are taken in the pursuit of selfish or petty interests that place us above others, siblings, relatives, friends, and co-workers.

    More grandiosely, within the nations of the world, the rich and the powerful take risks in order to secure and consolidate their domination or even enslavement of their fellow men and women. In all these myriad cases of taking risks to secure unfair and immoral advantage or power over others that is a big part of human individual and collective life, the risks always come back to haunt the risk-takers. That is the big irony between taking risks for human progress and taking risks to perpetuate human suffering. Very few countries in the world show ample and graphic illustration of this point as does Nigeria.

    It is not usual in the analysis of the terrible crises that bedevil our country at the present time to see these crises as the products of taking risks, not for justice, equality and human dignity but for entrenching suffering, insecurity and injustice. But we must start to see and fight these evils as the products of risk-taking of the most alarming and calamitous kind. Trillions of naira are looted with total impunity – what is that if not taking the risk of generating suffering for the generality of Nigerians? Billions of petrodollars are squandered – what is that if not taking the risk of a dire and bleak future for our youths and those yet unborn? In place of rational, enlightened and civilised discourse, what we get from both the official and unofficial megaphones of the powers that be is the tendency to rationalize and explain away the retrograde policies and actions of our rulers – what is that if not taking the risk of creating and maintaining bitter, self-destructive divisions between the ethnic and regional communities that make up this country?

    Nobody is safe, nobody is protected from the suffering, injustice and insecurity that such negative and foolish risk taking creates, not even the wealthy and the powerful themselves. The Boko Haram insurgency is perhaps the ultimate proof of this. But there are legions of other “proofs” confronting us in this country. Don’t we all, rich and poor, face the same hazards of roads that are death-traps? Don’t we all face the shame and disgrace before the international community and the world caused by what foreign visitors in our midst see of the quality of life for the vast majority of the people in our country? Who is protected from the belief that Nigeria is one of the most corrupt and unregenerate countries in the world in spite of its oil wealth, indeed because of its oil wealth?

    And yet this country has not been without women and men willing to take risks to make things better for their communities and all of us. In this very state where this banquet is being held tonight we have the supreme examples of Isaac Adaka Boro and Ken Saro Wiwa. In the colonial era, many radical politicians, labour leaders and intellectuals took risks to win our freedom from foreign rule. This tradition is even truer of the postindependence period. Gani Fawehinmi went to jail innumerable times in defense of the rights of the masses of ordinary Nigerians to a decent life and a secure future. I have mentioned the examples of Isaac Boro and Saro Wiwa. Bala Mohammed gave his life in the fight against the forces of reaction and misrule in our country, especially in the North. To the end, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was unrelenting in his war against military autocracy and its civilian collaborators.

    This profile is consistent with what obtains in other parts of the world and throughout human social and political history. I state this fact in order to underscore the need not to isolate the extraordinary case of WS, the need not to idolize him. He is part of a great tradition in our country and our world. At the heart of his turbulent life and career is the fact that he has always taken risks, as an artist, thinker and activist, for justice, equality and human dignity. He has been extraordinarily lucky to have survived the dire possibilities of many of those risks, so much so that one colleague, Professor Itse Sagay, has said that death is afraid of him. Well, I hope so. And I hope that 10 years from now, death will still be afraid of him and when we gather to celebrate his 90th birthday, the risks that WS has taken in his life and career for human progress and human dignity will be far more evident in the lives of most Nigerians, Africans and human beings all over the world than the risks that our rulers continue to make in the perpetuation of suffering, injustice and insecurity.

     

    Biodun Jeyifo

    Port Harcourt, July 30, 2014

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • ‘My battle to get justice for my daughter’

    Ms Grace Ese caused a stir in Warri  when she accused the management of Delta Career College of attempting to cover up the alleged rape of her nine-year-old daughter . Six years after, the teacher has been found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in prison by an Effurun High Court. SHOLA O’NEIL met her. 

    Six years ago, a rape report that shook this city, but finally you have gotten justice or something close to it; how do you feel?

    These past years it is been hectic with the file vanishing twice. At the police station it vanished, I had to go to the Commissioner of When they invited us after five years that the case had been recalled, DPP said they still hadn’t got the original file. It took some time with prayer and all before they found the file. I would say it is God that fought the battle.

    Did you find out why the files kept on missing?

    I feel that someone must have bribed them to take the files away. The OC Legal at ‘A’ Division, told me to my face that if I didn’t give him N5,000 the file would not get to Asaba. I had no money because I was running from hospital to hospital taking care of my daughter. Where will I get the N5,000?

    Everybody withdrew from us because of the stigma associated with the case. I told them that I would get justice so that if anybody wants to attempt it (rape) it will be on record that someone who did it is in jail. I did it to protect her and to protect other children from men like that.

    Six years after, to the glory of God, the criminal has been convicted. The penalty is not as much as I would have liked. I am happy because nobody would have thought it would go to this extent. Everybody gave up on me; everybody was against me, some said the battle was too much and that I should just forget it.

    Where did you find the will to keep going?

    There are a few reasons: One, the girl is my only child, I pray to have others and for now I have not and I am not getting younger and I have to look after my child and get the best for her. I put in my best in whatever I have to do; I have done that for my daughter but now when I look at her each day, I do not get what I expected. Before the incident, she was the best child. Wherever we were, people look at her and say ‘what a child!’. Every reasonable parent wanted to be her friend. They wanted the child to be their children’s friend. After the incident, everything changed. I used to protect my child from evil children, but now I feel I need to protect people’s children from my child. She changed; her character and attitude changed. She has become withdrawn and all the things she used to like she no longer likes them. She became rebellious. Here was a child who read all the books of Psalms and came up with reasons why a child should be disciplined and obedient to parents. Sometimes she is so angry and broody; when you ask her to do anything, she would rather do the opposite of what you asked. The difference in my daughter after the incident is too much. That incident has scarred her, I hope not forever. One day I sat down and cried that these people have killed my child and killed me. For over two weeks, I walked on the streets crying nonstop when it happened.

    How did she tell you the rape happen?

    I couldn’t bear to hear the story from her, because of my condition. It was at the court when they were reading her statement that I found out the whole story.

    Why are you so certain that it was the teacher and not one of the students?

    No student would have the heart to do that inside that school without being found out. When I went to look for her, the first thing the gateman told me was that she had not come to the school today.  He said she entered but had not come to the gate. So, the students are ruled out completely. If you know where that office is you would believe what I am telling you. The office is at the extreme end.

    What was the reaction of the school’s management?

    After everything we went to hear from the school authority and we met the PRO. He invited us to his office; he made a statement that annoyed me. He said if I hadn’t gone to the police they would have given me money. I said, ‘To hell with your millions. I am not after your blood money’.

    If the school had wanted to defend its integrity the best way to do that would have been to push the offender out and fight the crime and show that the school does not condone such.

    At the time of the incident a statement credited to the school accused you of attempted blackmail and probably extortion…

    They also said it in the court. Whom did I ask for money? From the date the incident happened till date the proprietor, who is the principal of the school, has not spoken to me. Did I ask the teacher for money or was it the PRO that I asked for money? The teacher said the DPO asked for money and because they refused to give him that is why he took it up. So, who did I ask for money or was it the police I asked to tell them to give me money?

    Are you worried about the stigma?

    I am and that is why I have moved from many places. We were living in Warri, I moved and changed her school. It is like after sometime people would find out and I would be forced to change her school again. Right now we have found ourselves in another town. I have made all these sacrifices and I would continue to do it. I told my daughter, ‘if it is the will of God that I sacrifice my life for you, I will do it.’

    The school believed that the man is innocent and you insist that he did it; do you have doubt that an innocent man could be suffering?

    I am very sure that he did and the court says he did it. They had all the opportunity to prove his innocence; they had people, students and the woman that they could call to confirm or deny my daughter’s story; they refused to do it.

  • Ministry seeks justice for children

    The Federal Ministry of Justice has inaugurated a sub-committee under the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC) to drive reforms in the juvenile sub-sector. ERIC IKHILAE reports

    As part of its justice sector reforms efforts, the Federal Ministry of Justice,through the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee (FJSRCC) has inaugurated a body of experts to help drive needed changes in the juvenile sub-sector of the judiciary.

    The body, named the FJSRCC’s Sub-Committee on Child Rights and Juvenile Justice, with members drawn from about nine agencies, is tasked with ensuring implementation of the Child Rights Act, beginning with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Members are drawn from the Nigeria Prison Service, the Police, the FCT Judiciary, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Bar Association/ Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, United Nations Children’s Funds  (UNICEF) and the Federal Ministry of Justice.

    Inaugurating the sub-committee on July 2 in Abuja, Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Abdullahi Yola said the body is intended to serve as a catalyst for state-level justice sector reform on child rights, by supporting the adoption of justice sector reforms and ensuring compliance with the Child Rights Act.

    “The sub-committee, in broad term, is to lead the reform of justice sector, with regard to child rights in Nigeria, through a coordinated cross-sector approach, with the aim of improving the capacity of all relevant institutions to deliver on their mandates, and promote the wellbeing of the child.”

    Yola said the sub-committee will, in discharging its responsibilities, expected to identify areas requiring reforms, develop a well thought out action plan for implementing the identified reforms, influence and encourage relevant institutions to implement the reforms; monitor implementation of such reforms and evaluate their impacts and outcomes on the sector.

    As it relates to the Child Rights Act, Yola said the sub-committee will serve as the forum for the development, promotion and monitoring of an all-inclusive reform strategy under the Act; coordinate the development and implementation of policies and reforms aimed at improving the delivery of justice services and achieving higher operational standards.

    He added that the sub-committee will also be required to provide a forum for resolving cross-institutional problems, and help improve skill and build capacity in the sector for effective implementation and enforcement of the Act.

    The sub-committee’s Chairman and a judge of the High Court of the FCT, Justice Abba Mohammed said efforts to reform the juvenile justice sector and ensure effective implementation and enforcement of the Child Rights Act should go beyond mere enunciation of policy frameworks.

    He noted that aside the initial problem of a countrywide implementation of the Act as enacted in 2003 by the Federal Government, on account of the federal nature of the country, the law could still not be implemented in the FCT due to lack of the needed institutional structures to drive the existing framework.

    Justice Mohammed noted for instance, that the Child Rights Act (Enforcement) Procedure Rules developed to serve as the impetus for the Act in the FCT is currently not applicable due to the absence of critical institutional structures.

    He said as against the requirement that proceedings in a Family Court (meant to handle juvenile cases) be conducted by a panel consisting of a judge and two social workers, particularly a Child Psychologist, “we still sit as individual judges.”

    UNICEF’s representative, Mrs Jean Gough regretted the continued abuse of child rights in the country and the non-implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child despitethe nation’s enactment of the Child Rights Act since 2003 and the subsequent passage of the Act by some states.

    Mrs Gough, who is UNICEF’s Resident Representative in Nigeria, cited the case of a 17 year old mother who was sentenced to five years imprisonment or a fine of N85,000 upon her conviction by a High Court in Cross River State for stealing N10,000.

    She said because the juvenile convict was unable to pay the fine, she is currently serving the jail term in a conventional prison with her child.

    Mrs Gough said aside the case she cited, there are many gaps in the country’s justice sector for children. She condemned the frequency with which children were thrown into detention in the country. She advised that “detention should be a last resort for children.”