The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice

  • Dickson identifies bane of justice

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has identified the absence of non-functional prison services as one of the factors militating against the quick dispensation of justice in the country.

    He spoke yesterday when the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, visited him.

    The governor blamed the delay in dispensation of justice and congestion of the prisons on inadequate facilities.

    Assuring the minister of his administration’s support, Dickson said the presence of a functional prisons service in the state would ensure the speedy administration of justice and reduce the cost of litigation.

    “The delay in the dispensation of justice to inmates in the state was occasioned by the absence of a federal prison as inmates had to be transferred to the Ahoada Prisons in Rivers State, which posed challenges for litigation and transportation.

    “Without a federal prison, the infrastructure of a justice administration system particularly that of the criminal justice system is not complete.

    “So I want to thank the Federal Government for the decision to establish a federal prison here.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Leaders, justice and legacies

    Leaders, justice and legacies

    I use anecdotes and personalities to dilate on the topic of today. I start with the premise that leaders in what ever walks of life must aim to be just and fair in whatever endeavour they pursue, and their legacies must be measured by that immutable yard stick, at all times and in all seasons. Let me state that the death of the Iron Lady of Britain Baroness Margaret Thatcher this week provided the prodding for a topic of this nature. Secondly an interview I read about former Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku who turned 80 recently provided another impetus. Thirdly a lecture I attended last Tuesday at the prestigious Island Club, given by the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, together with the news of the cleaning of the Augean stable of our judiciary by the helmsman of the system, the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Mariam Alooma Mouktar came in to complete the jigsaw puzzle on this topic. My approach to this analysis will include making passing comments and in some cases leaving hanging statements to enable readers to reach their own conclusions.

    Starting with Baroness Margaret Thatcher – 1925 – 2013 – there is no doubt that a great woman of substance has passed on. The time of her death however deserves some comments even more than her legacies, which are monumental and historical. She has died during the tenure of her party -the Conservative Party, leading a coalition government, and as such British PM David Cameron will be the best chief mourner Thatcher could have wished for. Thatcher’s main legacy economically was that her policies on privatisation, free market economy and cutting the powers of trade unions on strikes were not changed but adopted by her successor opposition Labour Party government under Tony Blair. In diplomacy her main achievement was in collaborating with Ronald Reagan in bringing down the communist rule and hegemony of the former USSR under Gorbachev. Thatcher visited the Soviet Union and declared that she could ‘do business’ with the new Soviet leader and that business was giving freedom to the 15 former Soviet States to go their separate ways .In this regard Eastern Europeans loved her just as Argentines hated her for launching an armada across the world to defeat the Argentina over the Falklands Islands . For her feat, the Argentines tried and sent to jail the military president who led them during the Falklands war – General Galtieri for taking Argentina to war unprepared . Although one could say Thatcher could not have died at a better time some, would say she couldn’t have died at a worse time. If you saw in recent times, the riots in European capitals in the euro zone, offshoots of the adoption of Thatcherism in these European nations –Portugal, Ireland. Greece and Spain – the PIGS nations of the EU- then you could say that Thatcher has died while her legacy of Thatcherism is in tatters in Europe and has led to the London riots in recent times.

    That would explain why some people were reportedly celebrating her death in Glasgow, Bristol and London and were reported to have said rather cruelly that she should be buried in private, but they would like to know her grave, so that they can go and dance on it. In addition, the Argentines may have had the last laugh as the new Pope in the Vatican is one of them and Pope Francis has already used the word Malvinas, Argentina’s name for the Falklands, to refer to the Falklands, much to the chagrin and consternation of the British who have not invited Argentina’s President Katherine Katchener to Thatcher’s elaborate burial on April 17. All the same, I think Thatcher has earned her ceremonial burial and her chequered place in British history and this is shown by the fact that the Queen will be attending the funeral, only the second of such Her Majesty will be attending, since the funeral of the great Winston Churchill, Britain’s war time PM. Personally, even though I disagree with some of Thatcher’s anti welfare policies I cannot but admire her leadership credentials of firmness, focus, guts and grit no matter how grudgingly I give that admiration or salute. May her great soul rest in peace Amen.

    As I was pondering on the Emeka Anyaoku interview, I heard the radio news that the Lagos State government of Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has named a new housing estat, the Millenium Estate after the former Commonwealth DG. Really I do not think that has stolen my thunder on the contents of that interview. In the interview Chief Anyaoku narrated how he was able to remain the Commonwealth DG after Nigeria was suspended when the late General Sanni Abacha killed Tsaro Wiwa and co in spite of late appeals from world leaders including the great Nelson Mandela. He was also able to show how he resigned from the Nigerian diplomatic service during the civil war in protest against the pogrom during the civil war and he was still able to keep his job as a Nigerian diplomat working at the Commonwealth Secretariat. After the civil war he came over to the Nigerian side to help with the Gowon’s post war 3Rs of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation and again he was able when asked why he did not support the Nigeria war effort to insist that he could not do so because of the pogrom against his people.

    I state these events to show the leadership virtues of fairness, justice and respect for human dignity inherent in this distinguished diplomat’s actions while in office in spite of great constraints and challenges of his posting and office In addition Chief Anyaoku identified the present problems facing Nigeria as first the high cost of running our government involving 36 states, 36 bureaucracies and 36 legislatures leading to our spending 75% of our resources and revenue as running costs. The second he called negative politics in which people go to politics not to serve but to enrich themselves. The third problem he traced to the failure of our federal system due to military intervention and the foistering or imposition of the military’s unitary command structure and line of command on our federal constitution.

    To me what the distinguished Nigerian diplomat is saying is that we have been running a federation with weak states and a strong center which is more like a unitary state and is anything but a federal system which can not lead to growth and prosperity of the federating units. This however is in sharp contrast to the position taken by the Oyo State Governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi in his brilliant Business Lecture at the Island Club last Tuesday . The Governor held the view that the 36 states provide opportunities for development and investment at the grassroots for the three tiers of government. This to me tallied with what the Governor of Oshun State Ogbeni Aregbesola said at a different forum that the ACN states will use the needs of the people they govern to drive economic growth. Governor Ajimobi went on to say that the ACN states are driven by efficiency and effectiveness in contrast to the large and unwieldy size of the ruling party which lacked both virtues. The Oyo State governor then highlighted the challenges of state development in our federalism which included the lopsided revenue allocation formula which gives the FGN 52.8 % of revenue and the 36 states 26.72% and 774 local governments share 20%; the delineation of responsibilities in the Concurrent and Legislative Lists. According to the governor, the FGN controls 68 legislative items under the Exclusive List and shares 24 with State governments on the Concurrent List; and the issue of security being ceded to the FGN as well as agriculture and the Land Use Act which he criticized.

    However it was in the manner of the delivery of his lecture that the Oyo State governor stole the heart of his audience. He displayed great mastery of the subject and even during the Question and Answer session that I anchored, he was witty, and quite knowledgeable in the simple and disarming way he answered questions . Indeed when the question was put that Nigerian politicians are lawless he was able to react that the masses benefit more from politicians than soldiers in that politicians distribute the largesse of office, whilst soldiers in government hoard the national patrimony to their family. He blamed Military intervention for the pervading culture of corruption in the nation and noted that the politicians must keep shouting wolf when even there is none at least to keep the military at bay and avert military intervention by all means. He then went on to market the achievements of his government in Oyo State which was quite easy and effortless on his part as he was an oil Marketing Guru before he went into politics.

    Lastly the news that Nigeria’s first female Chief Justice has given the red card to fraudulent judges has shown that the Nigerian judicial system is determined to play its role as expected in our constitution. Indeed I recall that the statue of justice is that of a blindfolded woman wielding a sword to show that justice will be done blindly and without favors, no matter whose horse is gored. To me Justice Alooma Mouktar is a ‘Daniel Come to Judgement ‘as in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, when the young lady lawyer asked the wicked Shylock to take his pound of flesh without the loss of any pint of Blood from his hapless debtor. The Nigerian CJN has reportedly said that any judge found to have given a biased judgement will face the full wrath of the law. Already she has set up 23 Committees to investigate allegations of judicial malfeseance against as many judges. She has said that judges will be judged on their performance by the report of the Performance and Evaluation Report set up by the National Judicial Council. Especially, judges who are found guilty of selling judgements will be shown the exit, disgracefully from the judiciary.

    What this boils down to is that Nigeria is now about to experience real rule of law. For when judges dispense justice impartially, according to the law, the citizens feel safe and confident to seek redress from the courts as expected in an effective democracy where the courts are the final arbiter in any disputes in the polity. This has a way of stabilizing any political system and Nigeria cannot afford to be an exception. In a nation being terrorized in the North by Boko Haram for whom the Northern leaders have asked for amnesty – which the leadership of Boko Haram has rejected, saying it has done nothing wrong and that it should be asked to give pardon instead to the Nigerian state for killing its members, a just and honest judiciary is an urgent and much needed institutional relief to adjudicate on issues of amnesty and terrorism and give direction to avert the present trend and drift towards political mischief, confusion and anarchy in our governance structure. Justice Alooma Mouktar has my support and admiration and she reminds me again of the late Margaret Thatcher and I wish her all the best in the daunting and salutary goal she has set herself of purging corruption in our temple of justice as the Iron Lady of the Nigerian judiciary. For the sake of the Nigerian nation and all of us I say – Best of luck, Iron Lady , God Speed and Protection Amen.

  • Will there ever be justice?

    Nigeria is at war. The war is between the forces of light and darkness; the intellect and the retrogressive. The force of hatred against humanism. – Prof Wole Soyinka, Nobel laureate and foremost human rights activist.

    I have had cause to ponder on the value placed on human life in Nigeria and I find it hard to come to terms with all the inhuman activities that are unblushingly perpetrated in a nation, which is, undoubtedly, religious, given the places of worship in every nook and cranny.

    Crimes being committed against humanity include kidnapping, sexual molestation, child theft, human trafficking, torture, terrorism and armed robbery to mention a few. In recent times, all these vices have flourished even as the nation continues to display helplessness.

    However, there were times when Nigeria knew peace. Recalling such days with nostalgia; era, which the late writer, Prof Chinua Achebe, termed the “lucky generation”. Achebe wrote in his last work There was a country that “we were standing figuratively and literally at the dawn of a new era…things were simpler and safer in those days, and there was never a story of child abductions or any unsavory incidents that I recall.”

    So much has been said about insecurity and mass murder in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region, and so little has been done to combat it. Our worst fears and nightmares are now with us. The authorities in whose hands powers lies to take preemptive measures have ostensibly taken an oath of silence; an oath to do nothing in the face of clear danger; while the plunderers loot our barns disturbing impunity.

    Just recently, after a lull in security breaches and inaction on the part of government, the murderous group struck again; this time, in Sabon Gari, Kano. Twin bomb explosions in a garage ripped the intestines of travellers apart as they prepared to leave Kaduna State to their southern destination. Innocent people were dispatched to the great beyond.

    Accusing fingers have been pointed in the direction of Boko Haram sect. The reasons behind their despicable act remained unclear but one thing is sure: members of the group forces of darkness, who have lost all vestige of humanity in them. In a nation like Nigeria, which is famous for mass amnesia, given our legendary resolve to always consign such unforgivable crime to oblivion, after the public outrage, nothing will be done to apprehend the perpetrators of this heinous crime. Of course, it is needless to say justice will never be done to pacify the souls of the innocent victims.

    Not long ago, a gory incident, which attracted public outcry and sent shivers down the spine of the nation, happened a few kilometers away from my university. Residents of the Amansea community woke up to a disturbing sight: dozens of decomposing bodies were floating on their river. Who killed the people? Who are their families? How did they die? All these and more are questions have not been answered.

    However, we are all dead sure that those bodies did not fall from the skies. Nothing was done to unravel the killers of the victims. What is shocking is that accusing fingers were pointed at security agencies – Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and Anambra State’s anti-kidnap squad, which ironically are agencies saddled with the task of protecting and preserving human lives and property.

    What happened to the perpetrators of the dastard Mubi massacre of 40 students? After long years of investigation, what happened to the murderous gang behind the infamous Apo-six incident? What about the devils behind the barbaric Aluu-four killing? And the most recent, gruesome murder of Damilola Olaniyan, an upcoming music artiste butchered at Lagos State University gate?

    Truth be told, we recover from the shock easily. We have learnt to weep, to lament, and to forget with haste. However fast we forget and discard such scandalous events to the bin of history, however hard we pretend that all is well, one thing is certain: there is fire on the mountain to use the phrase of the soul singer Asa.

    Justice, in the words of a Roman philosopher, Alpine, is “a constant and perpetual will to render to everyone, that which he is entitled”. Justice in a case of murder among other things includes bringing the perpetrators to book, and preventing future occurrence. If justice exists, must we tarry until the vengeful dead come and obtain it themselves? Or are they not entitled to justice?

    Injustice anywhere, said Martin Luther King Jr., is a threat to justice everywhere. Life is precious; it is sacred. Yet, past events have shown the kind of value government and criminals place on human life. Enough is enough! This is time for government and citizens to stop marauding criminals that mock the sacredness of life. If justice exists, then we must stand up against extrajudicial killing, security breaches, mass murder and other atrocities. If justice exists, then we must insist that the evil hands and minds behind these atrocities, whether lowly or mighty, are urgently investigated, and, if found guilty, are subjected to the heavy hands of the law.

    Truly, Nigeria is at war; but this war can only be won if the people and government stand and maintain that justice be done regardless of status of the culprits, time and cost.

     

  • Aregbesola urges Acting CJ to promote justice

    Aregbesola urges Acting CJ to promote justice

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has urged the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Adebola Adepele Ojo, to promote justice at all times.

    He spoke yesterday in Osogbo, the state capital, at the swearing in of the Acting CJ.

    Speaking on the oath, Aregbesola said: “Some have taken this oath with levity and to their eternal regret. We are not unaware of the development where retribution has come to judges who violated their oath.

    “The quest for justice is the central pursuit of every man, which is why the court has been described as a bulwark of the people. If a place is peaceful and progressive, it is because justice is dispensed unhindered there.

    “I urge the Acting CJ to promote substantive justice over technicality. I urge her to let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

    “The CJ, under oath, has pledged an affirmation of oneness with the universe in the pursuit of the universal purpose. With this oath, we expect her to deliver justice untainted and without inducement, in satisfaction of the universal purpose and in accordance with the laws of the land.

    “It is a universal principle and it is scientifically established that the amount of peace and prosperity in a place is directly proportional to the justice obtained in that society.

    “One of the reasons there are so many problems in this country is because there is so much injustice in the land, including electoral injustice. We must all work for the enthronement of justice.

    “The need to promote justice is paramount to our administration because ours is a direct beneficiary of justice in its undiluted form. I will not cease to let people know that I am a beneficiary of justice. I am here today directing the affairs of our state because justice came our way through the God-fearing judges of the Ibadan Court of Appeal.

    “Why then won’t I promote justice? If justice is good for me, it is also good for others. However, we all have roles to play in the administration of justice. In our little corner, we must strive to enthrone justice and eschew all forms of injustice.”

    Aregbesola described Justice Ojo as a God-fearing judge, who has paid her dues. He said he is confident that she will discharge her duties creditably well.

    Justice Ojo pledged to be fair in her duties and called for the support of stakeholders.

    She said: “The task before us is to remain steadfast on the path of justice. I promise our people that with the oath I took, I will promote justice and equality.

    “I urge all lovers of justice to support and cooperate with me, so that we can succeed in the enthronement of justice in the state.”

  • Mimiko, please do justice to me

    Mimiko, please do justice to me

    Sir: I was employed as class teacher by Ondo SUBEB in September 2006. I was posted to St. Peter’s Anglican Primary School, Bolorunduro. However, barely a month later, my appointment was withdrawn on the ground that I am an hearing-impaired person.

    The board was aware of my physical disability before it employed and posted me. I did well in the interview which was conducted twice and fully merited my appointment. Thereafter, I was informed that I will be re-posted to the School For the Deaf in Akure through the Ministry of Education.

    However, one morning, the Education Secretary came in and ordered me to follow him to the Board office in Akure. There, I was informed that my appointment had been terminated. When I reminded them the promise made to re-post me, I was told to go to the Ministry of Education myself as that was none of their business.

    Ever since, I have gone from one office to the other in an effort to regain my job.

    During the administration of former Governor Olusegun Agagu, I appealed to different quarters without any positive response. And for the past four years, I have being trying to reach Governor Olusegun Mimiko without success.

    The hardships that I face daily as a result of the loss of my job, coupled with the stress of trying to regain my job over the years have been too much me. I have been jobless since then and this has led to depression.

    It is on this premise I am appealing to Governor Mimiko to have mercy on me and use his good office to reinstate into teaching.

    • Oladipo Blessing

    Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State.

  • Justice, interventions and revolutions

    Justice, interventions and revolutions

    As the French Sahel Assault is on course in Mali, Nigeria, at a donors conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia told the audience it had spent $34m on deployment of Nigerian troops in Mali – while in the same newspaper that carried the report on the expenditure, there was another report that two weeks after the deployment of Nigerian troops to Mali , the troops are yet to leave Nigeria because of lack of funds. In the Middle East, Israeli planes were reported to have bombed a defence research facility in Syria, a fact that the Russians decried, while warning it could escalate the Syrian war. This is because Iran, an implacable enemy of Israel, had declared earlier that any attack on the Assad regime would be treated as an attack on Iran.

    In Egypt, youths and demonstrators waged violent demonstrations in Egyptian cities against an Islamist president they say had hijacked the revolution that overthrew the regime of Housni Mubarak two years ago – and the Egyptian army, standing on the sidelines ominously warned that the state of Egypt is under threat. Again in Nigeria the judgement in the case of a former pensions director who who stole 27 bn naira but was sentenced to just two years and fined 750,000 naira by a court caused such public outrage that the accused has been re arraigned while some groups have called for the probe of the judge that gave the initial verdict.

    In all these issues – which I admit albeit grudgingly, are enough for today- the common bonds are the quest for justice, order, security and stability. It is obvious that in some cases the socio political institutions and apparatus for achieving set goals and objectives of society have failed to live up to their billings and ad hoc or impromptu alternatives have had to come in, occasionally violently, to create some form of social, political or even regulatory equilibrium or balance.

    In some instances the law has been made an ass while in other cases or instances, regulatory or supervisory oversight has just turned a blind eye. Which really shows that interventions, if they are to be successful have to be decisive, fast and smooth like the French Intervention in Mali – he Sahel Assault – or as expected of regulators’ intervention in times of financial crisis in banks or financial institutions, to avoid panic or bank runs.

    Starting with the AU Donors Conference, President Goodluck Jonathan was reported to have told the audience at the 20th Ordinary Session of the African Union in Addis Ababa that ‘Nigeria has commenced the deployment of 900 combat soldiers and 300 Airforce personnel as part of AFISMA.

    Nigeria has so far provided about $32m for the immediate deployment and logistic support for the troops.’ Nigeria he also reportedly said would give additional $5m for helping the Malian defence forces as part of a Security Sector Reform Intervention Fund. Undoubtedly Nigeria’s intention on Mali is laudable and is good for regional stability. Nigeria is also living up to its billing as a force to be reckoned with in the West African sub region. But something seems to be wrong in the way and forum that the expenditure has been announced and the situation in Nigeria itself.

    In the report mentioned earlier which said Ni gerian soldiers are stranded at home it was also written that ‘the deployment was hurriedly done because of the deployment of French troops in Mali and the need to ensure that Nigeria does not lose face as the big brother in the sub region. Obviously the Nigerian authorities need to reconcile the Presidents lofty and ready statements of commitment in Addis Ababa with the disturbing news at home on the deployment of our troops in Mali.

    The report also went on to state that Nigeria would spend about 10bn naira on the Mali intervention noting that if half that had been spent at home Boko Haram would have been sent packing long ago. That really is making fun of Nigeria’s regional diplomacy. The consolation, if any, in that however may be found in the fact that Boko Haram was reported to have issued a statement that after a meeting with the Borno State government it has started a ceasefire. I expected the Nigerian authorities to cash in on that and say the thrust of its intervention in Mali has made Boko Haram to kow tow and see reason just as the Islamists in Mali melted into the Sahara or thin air at the approach of French troops.

    But a security spokesman in Lagos was reported again to have said that we will have to wait for a month at least to ascertain if Boko Haram would keep its ceasefire or not. That really creates a huge balancing problem for the Nigerian government not only in terms of expenditure announced in Abuja and its accounting in terms of Boko Haram and stranded troops in Nigeria, but more importantly on the international credibility of our regional diplomacy on the Mali Intervention.

    Many reasons have been proffered as the motive for Israel’s aerial intervention in Syria’s bloody civil war and the ever taciturn Israelis have not helped matters by keeping mum. But the more credible sources say the Israelis have acted to prevent arms and chemical wapons being made at the Syrian facility from getting into the wrong hands namely that of Hizbollah – the Party of God – based in Lebanon and a staunch supporter of the Assad regime just like the Russians. But the Russians and Israeli bring to these unfolding Middle East saga different types of reputation on the way and manner they have entered the fray. The Israelis are renowned for swift and efficient intervention while the Russians have a policy of docility towards their allies in the area. Two examples will suffice.

    During the Israeli premiership of Menachem Begin, the idol of the present PM of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israelis put out the nuclear facility of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein just like they did this week with the Syrian facility. The assignment was top secret in Israel such that Begin did not tell members of his cabinet he had summoned at midnight until the Israeli jets had hit their targets in Iraq and were on their way back to Israel. Such was the speed and efficiency of the assignment that even Saddam did not know what had happened till some days later.

    In the case of the Russians they promised support for Muammar Gaddafi during the presidency of Ronald Reagan when Gaddafi promised to stop US military exercise in the Mediterranean over a dispute on international waters. The Russians had their naval fleet in the Mediterranean promising support for Gaddafi like they are doing now for Assad. However on the night US fighter jets came calling and killed Gaddafi’s baby even in his underground bunker in Tripoli, the Russian navy had its full lights on in the Mediterranean so as to avoid any mistaken identity problems with the blazing US jets overhead. So much for Russian support for Gaddafi and even now for Assad – as the Russians are making plans to evacuate Russians from Syria in anticipation of retaliation for Russian prolongation of the war while blocking any outside military intervention in the Syrian crisis.

    Egypt’s situation is a sorry democratic dilemma in which there is a political situation begging for military intervention and yet the military must watch its steps in making such a move, if ever. The military boss recently appointed by President Mohammed Morsi has already issued a veiled threat but it remains to be seen how and when he will intervene . This is because the Egyptian street revolution of 2011 was supposed to have put paid to military rule or diarchy in Egypt. The army played its role in the revolution and bowed to public opinion. It supported and supervised the trial of its icon and leader -Housni Mubarak and his two sons all three of who are still in prison for corruption in Egypt while a popularly elected president was sworn in just last year.

    Now President Morsi, after demonstrators have been shot over his ploy to have even more powers than Mubarak, is as unpopular as the leader ousted by the popular uprising two years ago. Is Egypt in the throes of a second revolution so soon after the first, just two years ago? Is the Egyptian army bold or stupid enough to intervene and prevent a descent to chaos and instability inevitable if the army stands by and does nothing? Really there are no clear answers to the political situation or equations in the land of the Pharaohs as the inputs are changing so fast that it is even dangerous to hazard a guess on what defines stability or its antithesis and when or how military intervention can be the solution.

    Lastly, let us look at the case of pension theft of a huge sum of 27bn naira from a regulatory perspective that calls for the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the matter. Surely the culprit and his accomplices must have bank accounts and must have laundered the huge sums of money in various projects or shell companies. The CBN should intervene by sending its examiners to the banks in which these culprits are customers by using its Know Your Customer –KYC- policy and CBN limits on Money Laundering Declarations.

    Surely some bank managers operated these accounts which must have brought juicy bank earnings at the expense of Police Pensioners. It is the duty of the CBN to bring such banks and bankers to book. If they had followed the KYC rules from the CBN and made requisite money laundering returns these culprits would have been found out and arrested long before they could wreak such huge financial damage. The ball in terms of intervention rests with the CBN more than our courts which can only decide on evidence brought forward from the banks . We hope the CBN lives up to its responsibilities.

  • Amnesty International: case shows justice is possible

    Amnesty International: case shows justice is possible

    YESTERDAY’S decision by the Dutch Civil Court relating to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) liability for pollution in the Niger Delta has shown that justice is possible, Amnesty International (AI), said in its reaction to the landmark judgment.

    It, however, noted that justice is extremely hard to achieve in a case involving a massive multi-national company.

    “Clearly, it’s good news that one of the plaintiffs in this case managed to clamber over all the obstacles to something approaching justice,” AI’s Africa programme director, Audrey Gaughran, said.

    He said: “The court found Shell had a duty of care when it comes to preventing tampering with its pipelines.

    “However, the fact that the other plaintiffs’ claims were dismissed underscores the very serious obstacles people from the Niger Delta face in accessing justice when their lives have been destroyed by oil pollution.

    “Given the really serious difficulties of bringing these cases at all, the significance of today’s ruling is that one plaintiff prevailed and will get damages.

    “It is clear that governments need to look at the formidable obstacles claimants face especially when taking massive oil companies to court.”

    AI has documented widespread oil pollution in the Niger Delta that seriously undermines the human rights of the people there.

  • Justice for Odah

    Justice for Odah

    •Court ruling is a wake-up call for labour to live up to its ideals

    For John Odah, victory could not have been sweeter after nearly two years of battle to return to his plum job as scribe of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Last week, the National Industrial Court, Abuja, ordered the NLC to withdraw its letter of May 24, 2011 terminating his appointment. It further directed his reinstatement as general secretary of the congress with full rights, benefits, and privileges appertaining to it from June, 2011.

    The ruling was explicit: “the Claimant (Odah) is deemed to have maintained unbroken record of service with the 1st Defendant (NLC) since his employment in 1987 until his ultimate disengagement as hereinafter provided.

    There is however a caveat: Odah will upon resumption of office serve a three-month notice of his voluntary retirement and “on the same day proceed or deemed to have proceeded on retirement leave” with his salaries and emolument as well as terminal benefits paid up to, and including the last day of his pre-retirement notice. The NLC was directed to arrange a befitting and widely publicised sen- forth party for him, in appreciation of his services while he, in turn, is expected to hand over the affairs of the office and any property of the congress.

    For a case that threatened to split the labour movement down the middle, it is both a timely and well-reasoned judgment.

    No doubt, the development had a tinge of irony while it lasted. The first part is that the NLC had to be dragged to court over an alleged violation of the same principles of fair and equitable treatment over which it had dared other employers in the past. The second part is that an activist and veteran of such pitched battles would be its direct victim.

    The main thrust of the judgment is its affirmation of the sanctity of the claimant’s employment contract and the rights pertaining to it; the other leg is its recognition of the prerogative of the employer to dispense with the services of an employee, but then only in a manner consistent with the rules of natural justice.

    Great credit must go to Justice B.A. Adejumo, the president of the court, for encouraging the parties to resolve the dispute amicably. Both the NLC and Odah also deserve commendation for demonstrating good faith and large-heartedness in fashioning out the terms of settlement. That the matter had to be taken to court at all is unfortunate; but the bitterness it engendered among the rank and file of the labour movement would seem far worse. What the judgment has done is steer the parties from a losing course to a win-win one.

    What are the lessons? First is the need for employers to scrupulously respect the rights of the individual whenever it becomes necessary to determine his/her employment. In other words, just as there can be no such thing as short-circuiting the rule of due process, there is also no room for a party in contract to willfully extinguish the rights of the other party. Although belatedly, the NLC appears to have appreciated this important point, hence its amenability to the settlement.

    The judgment is a wake-up call for the NLC to put its house in order. For a movement that earned a reputation for the defence of the weak and the powerless, its cause is ill-served by such unfortunate distractions. It is as needless as it is avoidable.

     

  • ‘We’ve made progress in administration of justice’

    Lagos State is a trail blazer in justice administration. It was the first to review its Criminal Laws. Its Civil Procedure Rules are reviewed yearly. The state is setting another record with its establishment of a Court of Arbitration to look into cases mediated by its mediators, which do not have to go into litigation. In this interview with Adebisi Onanuga, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, speaks on the propriety of ADR and the reasons for the introduction of weekend sittings for magistrates, among others.

    How would you rate administration of justice in the state in the last one year?

    We are making steady progress. Improved cooperation within the sector and dedication of key stakeholders yielded a safer and fairer Lagos in 2012. Crimes take place, but the important thing is that they are being detected and the criminals are being prosecuted. At the moment, about 650 prosecution cases are being handled by the ministry in various courts. In addition to that, a lot of cases are prosecuted daily by the Police at the Magistrate courts. Seven hundred and fifty-three reports of various investigations reached us for legal advice in 2012 and we have exceeded the 70 per cent mark in dealing with those. In 2013, we shall be stepping up our prosecution capacity to ensure Lagosians that criminals will not go unpunished.

    What are the key achievements in the administration of justice?

    There is so much to talk about. Our Civil Procedure Rules, which had already become a model in the country has been further revised and the High Court will start applying them this year. Apart from the courts, the Lagos State Citizens Mediation Centre dealt with over 18,000 disputes last year. Can you imagine a Lagos without that unique avenue to resolve disputes free? Of course, we also have the Multidoor Courthouse, the Office of the Public Defender, Public Advice Centre, Consumer Rights Protection Unit, etc. All more active than ever towards making our society fairer. On the criminal aspects, we have now an increased co-operation in the sector with the activation of the Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, which has the Chief Judge, Attorney-General, Commissioner of Police and Comptroller of Prisons as members. We meet quarterly to consider prison decongestion, criminal prosecutions and monitoring of detainees, among other issues of mutual concern. We have also established a sub-committee where representatives of all the concerned agencies meet more regularly to discuss and resolve problems. You have seen already what is going on with prison decongestion with the Chief Judge and the Ministry of Justice taking active parts.That is clearly unprecedented. With the establishment of Community Service as a sentencing option, the gains are enormous.

    You were reported to have said that magistrate courts would start sitting at weekends from next year. What are the situations that informed the idea?

    It is all about access to justice. People arrested on Friday would spend the weekend in prison or police custody, just because there is no magistrate sitting to hear their case or grant them bail. For instance, on environmental sanitation Saturdays, it is not unusual for defaulters to end up in custody. With Saturday sittings, such cases can be processed immediately. By doing that, we decongest the prisons, we decongest the police cells and we lighten the weekly cause list of these Magistrate courts. To that extent, we speed up the administration of justice. Most importantly, we promote justice and give the arrested person a fair chance to vindicate himself or herself as early as possible.

    What are the offences they would be adjudicating on?

    All cases they normally take. They will have exactly the same jurisdiction on Saturday as they have during the week. I expect that they will be taking a lot of bail applications though.

    What are the impediments in the implementation of the new Lagos Traffic Law 2012 in spite of the high level of enlightenment?

    I must say first that we are seeing a remarkable level of compliance and this has improved the traffic situation as well as the security and safety of Lagosians. You would be surprised at the number of arrests made daily. If you know where we were coming from, you should realise that we are making steady progress. For instance, as we have few motorcycles on the road, it becomes easier to identify and arrest defaulters. However, I must say that we do not have enough policemen out there. That is a general problem, not peculiar to traffic law enforcement.   And, unfortunately, we still see some policemen and military personnel violating the restrictions. This is, however, being dealt with. We have the commitment of their superior officers that the Law will be enforced on all and they are doing their best.

    Reports quoting Police Commissioner Umar Manko indicated the seizure of 6,972 motor cycles between September when the new traffic Law took off and as at date. There has been this great debate on the crushing of such motorcycles. What is the official position?

    We are obliged to hold them for a while as the defaulters may be prosecuted and the machines may be required as evidence. Also, whether we intended prosecution or not, any alleged defaulter who says he has a defence must be given the opportunity to come before a judge or magistrate. We cannot dispose of the machines unless we have given a reasonable opportunity to the owner or rider to make his case or to face prosecution as the case may be. When the machines are well and truly abandoned, the state reserves the right to dispose of them in the most reasonable manner. Crushing is just one of the options that may be considered.

    The world marked the Human Rights Day last week. How would you access the human rights situation in Lagos State?

    Never better. All of the programmes I spoke of earlier, that is Office of the Public Defender, Citizens Mediation Centre, Public Advice Centre, Consumer Rights Unit, etc are all geared towards human rights protection or enforcement. Making their services free means that even the poor and the vulnerable are given access to justice. All our vocational centres are concrete institutions for the realisation of rights. People are given the opportunity of learning a trade and living a productive lives. Our free health screening, immunisation and health care programmes are also very relevant. The right to live must be interpreted to mean the right to live a healthy life. So are our programmes on the environment. Even where we clear illegal developments and take the hard decision to displace people sometimes, it is so that the great majority might have a functional drainage or a clean environment; or so that the displaced people would not unnecessarily endanger themselves, such as when they set up businesses and residence right under high tension power lines or when they dwell in totally unsanitary conditions. If you look at all these efforts and institutions, such as our Office of Disability, Child Rights Centre, etc., you will realise that this government is doing so much for human rights, hence our decision to commemorate the day along with our friends.  What level of success would you ascribe to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for justice delivery?

    Very high. I already told you that over 18,000 cases came up for mediation at CMC. The Multidoor Courthouse also achieved a lot during the last Settlement Week. The Lagos Court of Arbitration is coming up and, in Lagos State, we have one of the most modern Arbitration legislations. We really are very serious about ADR.

     

  • Mama’s only sorrow was that justice wasn’t done on Dele Giwa’s death, say her children

    Siblings of the late Dele Giwa, pioneer Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch, whose mother, Mrs. Elekhia Ayisat Giwa, died yesterday at Haruna Ogun Hospital, Ikorodu, Lagos, have said their mother suffered the effect of the versatile journalist’s death until her last moment.

    Mrs. Giwa who died at 87, was said to have suffered a stroke on December 22 last year. She did not recover.

    She is survived by five children, Tunde Giwa, Abiodun Giwa, Mrs. Veronica Omomole, Mrs. Fatima David and Mrs Habibat Giwa-Aboaba. There are many grand children.

    Mama, we gathered, may be buried on February 9, even as her children said her remains will be transferred to the morgue in Military Hospital today from the General Hospital, Ikorodu where they were deposited.

    The octogenarian was said to have developed hypertension after Dele Giwa was killed through a letter bomb on October 15, 1986. Her children said her last wish was that the killers of her son be uncovered and brought to justice.

    At her daughter’s house, Mrs. Giwa-Aboaba’s house where the deceased lived since 1999 till her death, sympathisers trooped in to commiserate with the family. Some of them signed the condolence register.

    Giwa-Aboaba told The Nation that her mother’s only sorrow was that the killers of her first child, Dele Giwa, were not brought to book.

    She said: “Mama was a very tolerant person, very admirable and always happy. She was always concerned about her children. She wanted to have us around her.

    “But all her happiness vanished after the terrible way her first son was killed. Mama became hypertensive after the incident.

    “She was not happy and the fact that justice was not done with the way her son was killed worsened her condition. You know that it was a very bad incident and very traumatic for her. And the way it happened, a letter bomb, she did not get over it until her last days because she cried over her son’s death everyday, especially because the killers were not found. She nursed this unhappiness and most times, she was moody.

    “But days before she passed on, she said she had forgiven the killers of her son and that she had prayed for Nigeria. She said her only wish remained that the killers of her son were brought to justice.

    “She said she had handed everything over to God. We were happy she was gradually letting go and very hopeful she would recover from the illness, but that did not happen.

    “Mama was not ill. She was a very strong woman and always took her medications. But on December 22, she suffered a stroke. We took her to the General Hospital, Ikorodu and later to a private hospital. She died there this morning (Tuesday).

    “The only sorrow I know my mother carried all through her life was the death of my brother and the fact that justice was not done. We really did not see her death coming. We were all sleeping in the hospital and before we woke up in the morning, she had died.”

    Aboaba recalled how late legal icon, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, championed to bring the killers of Dele Giwa to book.

    “Gani took the battle personally. In fact , I will say he died as a result of the struggle because it was when they were throwing him in one prison or another that he contracted the disease that eventually killed him.

    “Just like my mother did, I have handed over the death of my brother, which eventually led to the death of my mother to God. He is a righteous judge and the only one who can bring justice out even when men are trying to cover up.

    “It may take time, sometime we may even think it is all over, but God will surely bring the killers of my brother to justice.

    “I just wished there was justice before my mother passed on. Probably the pain she felt would have reduced. Although she handed everything over, maybe knowing that the killers of her son have been exposed would have given her inner peace.

    One of the deceased’s grandsons, who spoke with The Nation, Sunday Tiamiyu, said he would miss mama’s care and special love for him.

    He said: “Mama brought me up from childhood and she trained me up to university. She would not do anything without me. Even if she’s in somebody’s house and I am around, she will ask that I should be called to come and if she is going to sleep in that house, she’ll make me sleep there too.

    “In fact mama lived a fulfilled life. But for the death of her son, I doubt if she had any other regrets. She was a great woman.”