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Tag: LAW

  • ‘Review Health Insurance Law’

    A call has been made for the review of the law establishing the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to enable Nigerians benefit from it.

    National President, of Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN) Dr Adenike Olaniba,  said though the scheme is commendable, “the enabling law that brought it into existence is limiting more Nigerians from having any form of health insurance coverage.”

    She spoke during the association’s 10th  anniversary in Lagos.

    According to her, there is a clause in the law that established the scheme that makes it optional for Nigerians to have health insurance.

    Dr Olaniba said: “We believe that the clause should be reviewed for it will create an avenue for all Nigerians to apply for health insurance. If reviewed, every Nigerian will have a form of health insurance coverage. About 96 percent of unreached Nigerians are in the informal sector.

    “As we are agitating for the uploading of all facilities in Nigeria unto the scheme, we also point out that the N400 Capitation under Mobile insurance is not acceptable. We should maintain the status quo of N750 per enrollees, in the face of fuel increament and other factors.”

    She said members want the decentralisation of both  certification and inspection of facilities. Because some facilities, though inspected have not been issued cerificates, NHIS does not have enough capacity to do both.

    “HCPAN commends the scheme for its extensive coverage for ensuring the provision of qualitative healthcare to federal civil servants; pregnant women and children less than five years of age,” said Dr Anibaba.

    She called for a structured health care delivery system to make funds and resources available for the benefit of citizens. She said though the health care providers were ready to deliver services to the best of their ability, primary health care centres were still substandard.

    Urging the government  to equip primary health centres  to make them perform optimally, Dr Anibaba said: “When these facilities are upgraded to meet global standards, health workers will be more dedicated to improve the health status of their patients and community by providing accessible, affordable, quality health care services to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. The NHIS under the leadership of the Executive Secretary, Dr. Femi Thomas had gone to higher levels, but much still needed to be done  to truly make health care delivery universal.”

    Mrs Olaniba said the advent of the NHIS had depleted the resources of many private health care centres, instead of boosting them; urging the Federal Government to spread funds and enrollees between the private and public health sectors to make for balance and proper care.

  • Media, law and good governance

    Media, law and good governance

    Text of a paper presented by Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) at a Lawyers in the Media (LIM) of the
    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) forum.

    One other significant element of the press at that time is the establishment of printing as an industry, profession and trade. Naturally, this new techno-economic and professional activity became rooted in the South West of the country before other areas such as Onitsha. It should also be acknowledged that the target audience and market forces for the press together with journalism as a new profession propelled and fostered by western education became dominant in the South West7.

    During the colonial era, certain laws were incorporated and one of such was the Official Secrets Ordinance8which was adopted from the Official Secrets Act of the United Kingdom. Also, the Seditious Offences Ordinance 1909 was a clear transplantation of an Indian legislation. However, in the post-independence era, media or press laws were enacted or promulgated by indigenous political authorities. While some were enacted by democratically elected officials representing the various constituencies of the electorates, some others were brought to life by successive military governments.

    One of the first press laws was the Newspapers Ordinance No.10 of 1903 which required prospective newspaper proprietors to make, sign and swear affidavits containing their addresses and that of printers and publishers before embarking on newspaper production. They were also required to execute a bond of 250 pounds with two sureties. This was as a result of the heightened tone of press criticisms which characterized political opposition of the last years of the nineteenth century, particularly the eve of the First World War.

    Broadcasting media started proper in Nigeria in 1936 when the first Radio Distribution Service (Re-diffusion) was established in Lagos and distributed the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC London) programmes. Then in May, 1960, the former Western region established its own radio station and on August 28, 1961 witnessed the passage of a bill which gave the Federal Government complete control of theNigeria Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).The Federal Government Many decrees were promulgated by the Federal government including the one which forbade the Federal Government from establishing radio stations outside the four national stations and that the State owned radio stations’ transmitters should not exceed 10 kilowatts in capacity. This however was not the case as the rule was violated with many State radio stations acquiring powerful transmitters which could be picked beyond their territories; they also established more radio stations especially the FM stations.

    As the awareness for press freedom and mass communication began to gain momentum in the early 1990s, many private radio stations were established, including RayPower 100.5 FM which happened to be the first private radio station to go on air in 1993 and which blazed a trail that has since led to the establishment not less than 30 private radio stations across the country.

    Television broadcasting was also not left out. OnSaturday, October 31, 1951, the Western Nigeria Television (WNTV) was commissioned and began transmitting from the grounds of the parliamentary building with its slogan as first in Africa.

    In May 1977, when the Nigeria Television Authority was inaugurated and saddled with the sole responsibility of undertaking Television Broadcasting in Nigeria, individuals were not allowed to operate television stations as the government believed that it could be dangerous for individuals to run them.This was understandable given the far reaching capacity of television and the rather parochial, regional outlook of the average Nigerian at that time.

    In 1992 however, the government of General Ibrahim BadamosiBabangida bowed to the cries of proponents of private broadcasting in Nigeria, who had repeatedly clamoured for the chance for private broadcasting stations. They had argued that more jobs would be created, and that an additional source for the public to express themselves would have been created. More importantly, since the broadcasting stations were all government owned hence, the criticism of government was not allowed on the government owned stations. After all the agitations, General Babangida bowed to the public yearnings and when Decree 32 of 1992 was promulgated, it brought an end to about sixty years of government monopoly of broadcasting in Nigeriaand in 1994, Daar Communications and Silverbird Communications were issued licences.Notably, the Decree made it the prerogative of the President of the Federal Republic to sign such licenses.

    Today, we have privately owned Television stations, privately owned radio stations and of course, privately owned Newspaper companies. Even more interesting, is the fact that access to the internet has enabled individuals to set up private blogs where their views are expressed to the public. Social media has also played a major role in ‘shrinking’ the world. The phrase ‘the world has become a global village’ more than aptly describes the role played by the media in the course of our development as a country.Despite the success story recorded by the mass media in Nigeria over the years under consideration, the sector has not been so smooth without some hitches and setbacks, especially, the private media. These and others shall be critically looked at as we progress.

     

    2.The Media and the military

    One cannot do justice to this paper, without mentioning some of the difficulties that early media practitioners faced at the hands of theMilitary. Some Military Regimes and their treatment of the media shall be analysed

     

    (i)         The General Yakubu Gowon Regime

    General Yakubu Gowon promulgated the Emergency Decree of 1966which made arrest and detention of Citizens without warrant lawful. By virtue of this decree, offices or premises of Newspaper companies could be searched without warrant or notice. The administration also promulgatedanother the Newspaper Prohibition of Circulation Decree 1967 which empowered the Head of the Federal Military Government to restrict the circulation of any newspaper in Nigeria. Finally, the Regime promulgated the Trade Disputes (Emergency Provision) Amendment Decree No 53 of 1969 which made it an offence for any person to publish anything inprint or electronic media, which was likely to cause public alarm or industrial unrest.

     

    (ii)        The General Muritala Mohammed/ General Olusegun Regime

    This administration further promulgated the Newspaper Public Official Report Decree which prohibited the publishing of any statement or report alluding to the corruption perpetrated by any public officer in Nigeria. Anyone who violated the provisions of this decree was guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years without option of fine.

     

    (iii)      The General Muhammadu Buhari  Regime

    The General Buhari led Military Government introduced a series of well-known Decrees.  In 1984, Decree No 2 (Detention without trial) and No.4 of 1984 (Public Officers Protection against False Accusation)were introduced.  Decree No. 2 enabled the government to detain without trial, those suspected of having committed offences. Decree No. 4 made it an offence for any form of Print or Electronic to publish or transmit any report or statement which was false. What would determine a ‘false’ report was anybody’s guess. The Decree also prohibited the circulation of any Newspaper that may be detrimental to the interest of the federation and empowered the Federal Military Government to revoke the license granted to such Wireless Telegraphy Stations under the provision of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1961. The Military Government also reserved under the Decree, the power to order the closure or forfeiture of such Newspaper.

    Two journalists, Mr. NdukaIrabor and Tunde Thompson of the Guardian Newspaper were jailed based on Decree No. 4and the paper was ordered to pay N50, 000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) as fine.

     

    (iv)       The General Ibrahim Babangida  Regime

    The administration repealed Decree No 2 of 1984 and re-introduced another Decree titled the State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree 2 of 1984.

  • Media, law and good governance

    Text of a paper presented by Chief Joseph-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) at a Lawyers in the Media (LIM) forum of the  Nigerian Bar Associaition (NBA) event.

    This topic could not have been any more apt than it is now, given the recent national and global happenings as it provides an opportunity for all of us, lawyers, journalists, public officials and other professionals, to dispassionately assess the pivotal role played by the media not only today, but in the development of Nigeria from the Colonial days to the First, Second and Third Republic, naturally with the sporadic Military interventions in-between (one of which lasted for 13 unbroken years), and finally, the advent of our current nascent (one must never fail to use that word) democracy.

    Throughout these aforementioned periods, our ‘gentlemen of the media’ were there. Some of them were detained for donkey years without trial and it looked as though they would never again see the light of day; others disappeared mysteriously and were never heard of again. Still some others were battered and bruised but despite these obstacles, the media has always performed its primary duty; informing Nigerians.

    I would, therefore, be stating the obvious if I stressed the importance of the Media to the world at large. Without information dissemination through the media, whether through radio, television, social or print, the entire society would no doubt be in the dark and members of such a society would be deformed for not being informed. Our world’s age is so mass media-oriented that we learn almost everything we know today through some media of mass communication -radio, television, newspapers, social media, magazines, community media, traditional media, books, films and so on and so forth, among a host of other media of communication1.

    Imagine a country without information; a country where you are pathetically oblivious of all that happens around you and where you travel to the next state not knowing that people have been told to stay off the road in that other state because there has been massive flooding for the past 3 days. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that one would not survive for very long in an environment without information.The media is certainly a lot more developed than it was 100 years ago. We now have a high number of outlets; the internet has of late, become a very strong media tool and news spreads much faster.

    In the past, you had to wait for the papers, watch the news on television or tune in to a radio station. Now, a status message on a person’s Blackberry Messenger Page, shared in ignorance, spreads faster than wild fire and may send half the nation into a panic induced frenzy within minutes.

    In assessing the development and impact of our media in the last century, I have taken a look at its history as well as the long journey towards press freedom in Nigeria (By press freedom, I refer not only to the press but to all those who have retained their right to publicly express their opinion). Some of the pertinent questions to ask are these; After 100 years, can we say the Nigerian media is better off? Can we say that this is what we fought for? Are we satisfied with what we have? If not, how can we improve it? If we can find answers to these questions, then we will be able to say that we have successfully assessed the journey of the Nigerian media after 100 years.We would naturally refer every now and then, to Law, which is an instrument of social engineering, and which has authorised the operation of the media in Nigeria. Freedom of expression and the press which has been made one of the Fundamental Human Rights in our Constitution2 is a clear manifestation in this regard. The recently passed Freedom of Information Act 2011 is another giant step in this direction.

    It would not be out of place to state that the law hadin the past, been found to serve as a two edged sword for and against the media in the struggle to influence governance positively in Nigeria. The “law”, during the colonial era and more predominantly during the military era was used to checkmate, whittle down, or cripple the smooth running of the media at one point or the other. This, no doubt accounts for the late emergence of privately owned Radio and Television outfits in Nigeria. As we celebrate the Nigerian media at 100 therefore, we would do well to remember some of these incidents which are deeply steeped in our history.

    Once again, I must express my profound gratitude to the Lawyers in Media Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association for affording me this very rare opportunity to assess one of the strongest and most important components of the Nigerian State. It is my belief that our media will only improve after this.

     

    Conceptual definitions

    (a)Mass Media:

    The Mass media is a term that will be used often in this paper. It may be used interchangeably (albeit loosely) with the “Media” and the “Press” but it is far larger than both as it comprises all means of communication to wit; the Press, Entertainment (Magazines ,Comics, Television and Cinema) and other means of communication which reach large heterogeneous audiences and in which there is an impersonal medium between the sender and receiver3.It basically describes a situation in which information is sent to a large audience at roughly the same time. Comics and magazines are sold en masse and News is beamed live and to billions of people globally for example.It is also possible for one to influence people’s attitude and thinking through the mass media. An anti-semitic blog for instance would generally whip up sentiments against Jews on a large scale due to the sheer number of innocent people who read what is posted daily.

     

    (b) Journalist

    The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines a journalist as a person whose job is to collect and write news stories for newspapers, magazines, radio or television4. In carrying out his job, he disseminates information on a grand scale.

     

    (c) The Press

    The name encompasses the editors, the news reporters, paparazzi (who are also the photographers), the media hounds and the members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm.  They aptly epitomize the old saying that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. Saddled with the task of reporting the daily news, interview people, take pictures, make video recordings and write reports.

    They are also referred to as the Fourth Estate of the Realm.

     

    1. Brief history of the media in Nigeria

    Under this discussion, we shall look at the history of Nigerian media under the colonial era which is the period marked by the British colonialism and the post-independence era comprising both the military and the democratic governments in Nigeria. In 1859, the first newspaper in Nigeria, “IWE IROHIN” was established published by Reverend Henry Townsend who reportedly stated “my object is to get the people to read; and get them to inculcate the habit of reading”55The Media and the Democratic Process in Nigeria (1)

     By Professor Sam Oyovbaire

    culled from

    The Guardian Online – http://www.ngrguardiannews.com

    , .It was written in the Yoruba language of the South Western part of the country.

    IweIrohin was published by missionaries who had at least two objectives namely; to influence the traditional government they found in Egbaland whose mode of operation did not conform to their idea of “good” governance; and to further educate their Nigerian converts who had been taught to read and write as a means of promoting the assimilation of religious information6.

    Other newspapers followed IweIrohin not only in Yoruba, but also in English Language; and their locations were mainly in Abeokuta and Ibadan areas.

    The newspapers of the period, however were short lived as most of them lasted between six months and two years only.

    The important point however, is that between the 1850s and the late 1920s, the Christian press acquired some status of not only discharging the responsibilities of proselytising religion but also questioning the emergent colonialism and its multiple oppressive practices in Nigeria.

  • When OAU’s old law students meet

    Thirty years after they left the Faculty of Law, University of Ife, IIe-Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), the 1984 class met in Lagos for a reunion dinner, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE.

    Most of them are in their late 50s, but when the 1984 law graduates of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife met in Lagos at the weekend, the scene was like a group of undergraduates having a good time.

    It was a happy occasion; they met at the Radisson Blu in Victoria Island to mark the 30th anniversary of their graduation with a reunion dinner.

    The array of exotic cars, flowing traditional attires (agbada) by the men and gorgeous wrappers (with headgears to match) by the women bore witness to the status many of them have attained.

    Among them are judges, business owners, professors, managers of big law firms and directors in banks and other companies.

    It was an informal occasion as the members recalled their days in schools, and were called by the nicknames they were known. There was dancing and exchange of banters.

    The Coordinator, Prof Bolaji Owasanoye of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), said being alive 30 years after graduation was worth celebrating. He remembered departed colleagues, which he said is a reminder that “life is a game of cards that deals us many hands”.

    “It is most gratifying that after 30 years of work, we can afford the luxury of dinner in a world class hotel, especially in such trying times when insurgency and terrorism have declared total war on formal education in the Northeast.

    “These happenings are sober penalty for long years of neglect by the political leadership of the region with the complicity of the central government and the rest of us. Having unleashed the demon of insurgency, we are further impairing our ability to deliver education as we use our scare resources to prosecute an avoidable civil war,” he said.

    He recalled the days when meals in school cost 50 kobo and students had ice cream on Sundays, saying: “Getting education is no longer what it used to be and the standards have simply declined.”

    He urged alumni to do their bit to enhance the quality of education in the faculty and sustain the legacy they received and handed over.

    The Dean, Faculty of Law, OAU, Prof Olu Adediran, urged the old students to help with re-equipping the faculty’s furniture. “We’re still using the 1984 long, collapsible seats,” he said.

    Besides, he said they could provide support by financing prizes for outstanding students, establishing fellowships which will be named after them, and donating professorial chairs.

    National Programme Manager, DfiD/British Council J4A Project, Dr Bob Arnot, who gave the dinner speech entitled: Driving in Nigeria, drew a correlation between the mode of driving in the country and corruption.

    He said it is common to see people drive on pavements, grasses, speed on slow lanes, text while driving (apart of from receiving calls), avoid queues at junctions and create multiples lanes, overtake without signaling, park in churches and mosques without consideration for others and allow children to stand in vehicles.

    The lawlessness exhibited by most drivers, he said, is part of the impunity in the system where people commit crimes and get away with them, just as they get away with corruption.

    “Nobody is held to account. The crazy driver is never held to account,” adding that due not inadequate records, law enforcement agents cannot even trace a person to his home. According to him, there is also a lack of social contract between the public and government, which he said leads to a disjointed relationship between leaders and the citizens. The solution, he added, requires “a massive change in social consciousness.”

     

  • Law to criminalise torture coming

    With a sustained commitment on the part of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Presidency, perpetrators of torture and related degrading and inhuman treatment will soon be made to stand trial in addition to civil remedies already provided for victims under the laws.

    The Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC), a body headed by former Governor of Edo State and Professor of Law, Senator Oserheimen Osunbor, has proposed a Bill for a law to criminalise torture and related inhuman acts.

    Last week in Abuja, the NLRC subjected the “draft Bill on prevention and prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other related matters,” to the scrutiny of Law experts and representatives of rights advocacy groups and others at a two-day national workshop which held between November 3 and 4.

    The workshop, which was also intended to seek ways of ensuring the reform of the powers of the Police to arrest, search and detain, was held NLRC under the “support to justice sector in Nigeria project being executed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with funding from the European Union (EU).

    Participants, who made series of  contributions on how to improve on the proposed Bill, were unanimous on the fact that the nation cannot delay any longer in enacting law that criminalises torture and related practices as investigative tools by security agencies and others in the country.

    The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), Prof Osunbor, Prof Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) and former Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, Ade Omofade, said this in Abuja.

    They observed that while the nation’s Constitution and laws frown at the torture and view it as degrading and inhuman treatment, it is not criminalised, therefore making it impossible for perpetrators to be prosecuted.

    They argued that in view of the global condemnation of the continued application torture as investigative tool by security agencies in the country, the civil remedies provided for in the nation’s statute books were no longer adequate.

    Adoke, who was represented by an aide, Oteh Pius Imoistikeme, argued that the prohibition of torture and related practices by the Constitution was insufficient. He said the civil remedies provided under the nation’s legal system, will be better aided by the enactment of law that criminalises torture.

    He advised participants at the workshop to examine issues relating to “what to do with evidence procured through torture, investigating acts of torture, protection of witnesses and persons reporting acts of torture,” and their possible inclusion in the actual Bill.

    Osunbor, who is the Chairman of the NLRC, explained that the workshop is meant to produce “a proposal for a law on prevention and prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment and other related matters in Nigeria.”

    He noted that the enactment of a law on torture will enable the country’s government fulfil its international obligations including compliance with the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

    Osunbor said the project, which was conceived by his commission about a year ago was not influenced by the recent damning report by the Amnesty International, detailing cases of torture by security agencies in the country.

    Omofade, who is the Project Coordinator, UNODC, Nigeria’s Justice Sector Reform, said the inadequacies contained in existing provisions informed the need for a law to prohibit torture and related practices.

  • Court directs Jonathan to produce disability law

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has directed President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to produce any law which protects the rights of persons with disabilities.

    A physically challenged lawyer, Mr Daniel Onwe, is seeking an order mandating them to enact forthwith the necessary laws to protect persons with disabilities.

    Onwe, in the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/1766/13, claimed that the non-existence of any federal disability legislation violated the fundamental rights of over 20 million people with disabilities.

    The respondents, in their counter affidavit, said contrary to Onwe’s claim, there exists a law which protects the rights of persons with disabilities.

    Onwe said the law, if indeed it truly exists, should be exhibited before the court. He prayed Justice Mohammed Yunusa to direct the respondents to produce the law.

    The judge then directed counsel for the respondents, Mrs Uzoamaka Onugu, to produce the gazetted copy of the law at the next adjourned date.

    Onwe also adopted his written address on the issue of whether he can sit in the bar and argue his case as both the litigant and lawyer.

    Justice Yunusa had urged counsel to address the court on the propriety of Onwe representing himself from the bar fully robed. He will rule on their submissions on December 19.

    Onwe, a notary public, prayed the court to hold that the inaccessibility of public buildings and the environment to persons with disability as a result of architectural barriers violated their freedom of movement, freedom of association and the right to dignity of human person.

    Besides, he said the non-use of sign language at national public functions and on national television programmes was a violation of the freedom of expression of persons with hearing disability (the deaf) guaranteed under Section 39 of the Constitution.

    Onwe noted that the non-use of Braille materials at national public functions was a violation of the freedom of expression of persons with visual disability (the blind) guaranteed under Section 39 of the constitution.

    In a supporting affidavit to the fundamental rights action, Onwe said he was suing as a person with a physical disability having suffered polio myelitis at the age of one, which had left him with partial paralysis and deformity of the lower limbs.

    He said he had been dependent on crutches to move about and was impeded by architectural barriers in public buildings, such as the Federal High Court.

    The lawyer said there abound other persons with physical challenges, such as visual, speech, hearing and intellectual disabilities, adding that the 2011 World Disability Report states that persons with disabilities constitute about 15 per cent of the population of each country of the world.

    According to him, since the Nigerian population has been estimated by the National Population Commission to be over 160 million, by extrapolation, there are over 20 million Nigerians with one type of disability or the other.

    The President said besides the existence of the law, the Federal Government has set up institutions and special schools to cater for the needs of persons with disabilities.

    The President said even the Constitution, such as Chapter 2 of it, contains provisions which protect the rights of persons with disabilities.

    He denied the plaintiff’s claims, and is urging the court to dismiss the suit.

     

  • ‘Jonathan must act within law’

    ‘Jonathan must act within law’

    The Nigeria Leagues of Democrats (NLD) has charged President Goodluck Jonathan to stop all acts of impunity against the opposition in the build up to 2015 elections.

    At a conference in Lagos, the National Coordinator of NLD Otunba Omoniyi Adebanjo said the misuse of power by the Federal Government is frightening, noting that it will truncate democracy.

    He warned President Jonathan of the dire consequence of withdrawing the security details of the Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal.

    He added that the level of insecurity in the country is already a burden on government and should not embark on any undemocratic journey in order not to escalate the situation.

    He said: “The Presidency should as a matter of urgency restore the security details of the Speaker of the House that was withdrawn in commando-like manner.

    “The implication is that the number four citizen of the country is exposed to danger, his life is not secure and, if anything untoward happens to him, we will hold the government responsible.”

    Adebanjo maintained that government should not do anything undemocratic to heat the polity, stressing that Nigerians were warming up to elect credible democrats who will save the country in 2015.

  • OAU law students win contest

    OAU law students win contest

    The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, has lifted the 4th edition of the Chief Wole Olanipekun National Moot & Mock Competition.

    The two-day competition organised annually in honour of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), a former President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), featured intense stages of Moot, Debate and the grand finale, Mock Trial.

    The OAU edged out the University of Ilorin and four others – University of Abuja, Lagos State University, Babcock University, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, to win the prize.

    The six schools were the ones that scaled through preliminaries of the competition nationwide.  Of these, four schools progressed from the Moot Stage to the debate stage. Two schools were further eliminated at the debate stage leaving the last two, the host school – OAU and the University of Ilorin – to slug it out at the grand finale which was a mock armed robbery trial in a fashioned court setting.

    The representatives of the Obafemi Awolowo University eventually proved too much for their UNILORIN counterparts and the former were unanimously declared winners of the competition by the panel of judges that presided.

    The event, organised by Radiant Justice Chambers, a student body in the university’s Faculty of Law, was graced by seasoned legal professionals, including the Executive Governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by his Senior Special Adviser on Legal Matters, Dr. Anwo J.O; the Acting Chief Justice of Oyo State, Hon. Justice L.M. Abimbola; Dean Faculty of Law, OAU, Prof. M.O Adediran; Justice Adebusoye from the Ondo State Judiciary and a host of others.

    The Mock Trial was presided over by sitting judges: Hon Justice D.O. Afolabi, Hon. Justice O.F. Oloyede, Hon. Justice Siyanbola from the Osun State Judiciary and Hon. Justice Ganiyu from the Oyo State judiciary.

    Speaking at the event, Chief Olanipekun praised his former classmate and friend, Dean of the Faculty of Law, OAU, Prof. M.O Adediran for his top-notch administration of the faculty as manifested in the quality of its graduates.

    He praised the brilliant display of the competing students at the mock trial and urged them not rest on their oars as it would eventually pay off in future.

    The Chairman of the Day, Hon. Justice L.M. Abimbola, praised Olanipekun for his immense contributions to the advancement of the legal system and legal education in the country.

    Abimbola also praised the Radiant Justice Chambers for the ingenious initiative behind the annual hosting of the programme.

    The event rounded off with the presentation of laptops and cash prizes to the representatives of OAU and UNILORIN by Olanipekun.

    Three students, Samuel C. Chukwu (UNIABUJA), Zuqulnain Muhammed Dayo (UNILORIN) and Olugbemi Kayode (OAU), who emerged as Outstanding Counsels from the Moot Stages were given with monetary prizes for their performances. Delegates of Babcock University and OAU were tied for the Best Moot Memorial prize.

     

  • ‘NBA to probe mass failure in Law School’

    ‘NBA to probe mass failure in Law School’

    Following the release of the immediate past President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Okey Wali,  by kidnappers  after 12 days in captivity, NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) in this interview with Legal Editor, JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU, bares his mind on the security situation in the country, the alleged arms deal between Nigeria and South Africa and why he dissolved the Section on Legal Practice (SLP) governing council.

    your predecessor, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), who was abducted by kidnappers in Port Harcourt, has been released. What does it say about the security of members of the legal profession?

    It was a very sad, harrowing and traumatic experience for the entire Nigerian Bar. It shows the vulnerability and the level of insecurity of lawyers.

    Okey Wali is a man of peace; a man who has served this country and the legal profession. Sadly, we have also received the news that a lawyer has been kidnapped in Sapele Branch. Lawyers in other parts of the country are being kidnapped, even judges and magistrates. But the kidnapping of our past president showed the level of insecurity the nation has descended.

    It is shocking that we now have people in this country, who believe that the only way they can make a living is to toy with the lives of other people, inflicting pains and hardship on fellow Nigerians. It’s very disturbing. Additional, one starts to wonder if all these years we have had these kidnappings, will the crime ever come to a stop? We heard that’s some states have enacted laws providing for the demolition of suspected kidnappers, while some states have passed legislations prescribing death penalty. Yet, kidnapping is everywhere and even assuming alarming proportions.

    Some people said ‘Okey Wali is so high up there, why didn’t he get police security?’ But I tell you this, there was a business man in Benin City who had six policemen protecting him. But when the kidnappers came, they took out the policemen and kidnapped him. It shows where we have reached, where kidnappers can now confront armed policemen. They know the person is being protected by armed police men, and yet confront them, shoot the policemen and kidnapped their victim.

     Why were you absent at this year’s International Bar Association conference?

    I had made arrangements to be at the IBA Conference in Tokyo. I had bought tickets for me and my wife, paid for hotel accommodation and concluded every other arrangements. But, it would have been irresponsible of me to travel out of the country when the immediate past president of the Bar was in captivity. I needed to be on ground to monitor what was happening.

    I was in contact with members of his family and with the security agencies and I needed to be physically present in Nigeria to do that. So, I could not travel to Japan for that conference.

    Nigerians received with cheers, the news that a truce and ceasefire were reached with members of Boko Haram. What is your assessment of that truce, especially now that we hear that it has been broken?

    We were not involved in any way in the process of the ceasefire agreement. We don’t know the terms of the ceasefire. But like all other Nigerians we just heard the news. As peace-loving Nigerians, we welcome the truce. Anything that will end the hostilities in that part of the country is welcome.

    Are you concerned that Boko Haram has resumed attacks during the period of the ceasefire?

    We also heard that the Chibok girls would be released that same week, surprisingly this has not happened. So, I call on the government to please disclose to Nigerians the terms and the basis of this ceasefire. And we’ll encourage the cessation of hostilities that will assist in the final resolution of this crisis, which has lingered for too long.

    What do you have to say on the report of Boko Haram leader Shekau’s death?

    Again we do not have the full details of Shekau’s death or how he died. However, killing the leader of the insurgents does not stop insurgency. This is because any other leader can arise in the group. A new leader can emerge and they may have other commanders.

    The Federal Government purported attempted to purchase arms from South Africa, which led to the confiscation of $9.3million and another $5.6million by the authorities. What is your take on this?

    Whenever you are in a situation of war, which is what I think we are in right now, there is need to restock the armoury. This is to be expected and it’s understandable. But for me, the critical question is how do we restock our armoury?

    Do we restock our armoury by illegal action? That is where the issue of this $15million comes up and it is in my view a national embarrassment. We have descended to the stage where we are unable to buy arms from recognised agents.

    The whole world knows that we are fighting a war against insurgents. What nobody has been able to explain is why can’t we buy arms from recognised arms dealers? Why are we fighting insurgents and we can’t procure arms? It’s such a major question that begs for answer.

    Having to buy arms through unconventional means, which has now turned out to be against South African laws is indeed, a national embarrassment. It’s very sad that a country like Nigeria is involved in such an act. There are better ways the Federal Government could have bought arms.

     Amnesty International recently published a report alleging massive violations of human rights in the Northeast by the military. What is your assessment of the situation?

    We have always condemned human rights violations in any shape or form. Even in a situation of war, the rights of people must be respected. However, we have asked our branches in those areas to be on the watch and report such violations of human rights to us. Also, we have the Human Rights Watch, which has been monitoring rights violations for us in those areas. You can be rest assured that we’ll do our best to ensure the rights of persons in those areas are well protected.

    It must be further noted that those figures that Amnesty International has been parading are quite doubtful. One is not sure it’s as high as that.

     A few weeks after you were sworn in as NBA president, some lawyers sued you and Mr. Jide Koku (SAN), challenging his chairmanship of the Section on Legal Practice (SLP). The Section will hold its conference in Uyo in a fortnight. Would that not be sub judice?

    Firstly, I would say that as an association of lawyers we must practice what we preach. We preach due process and democracy. We preach obedience and observance of the rule of law. As I said in my inaugural address, SLP nominations and elections were scheduled to be held at the last NBA conference, but no elections held.

    Rather than hold elections, some people were allegedly coronated. Under the bye-law, there must be nominations and there must be an election before anyone can become the chairman of a section. But this never happened in SLP.

    In the NBA-Annual General Conference  programme of events in Owerri, the election was scheduled to be held on Tuesday, but that election didn’t hold accordingly. So, to prevent a lacuna and to prevent an illegality, I took a decision that we must have somebody to coordinate the activities of the Section until a proper election is held.

    I understand a case was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Another case was also said to have been filed in Owerri. Many more are preparing to file their cases  and I challenge all of them to speak truthfully to the issues. Was there an election? Where there was no election, it is a breach of the NBA Constitution and such illegality must not be allowed to stand.

    I had an overriding duty to protect the sanctity of our constitution by appointing a caretaker committee to oversee the affairs of the section until proper elections are held.

    The SLP conference is prescheduled and reorganised and all that they are doing is to see through the section’s programmes. Today, it’s SLP and we turn a blind eye, tomorrow it might be another section or even a branch.

    When the process of an election is started, it must be seen through. You can’t take some steps in the process of an election then truncate it halfway through and declare a chairman without the election. The steps that SLP took were strictly pre-election, and the proper election never took place.

    I am surprised that lawyers, who are trained in constitutionalism and due process, will have the courage to go to court and urge the court to uphold pure illegality.

    What many see as a shameful act occurred in Osogbo recently where lawyers were openly involved in fisticuffs at the election tribunal. Ekiti State also just witnessed the desecration of the temple of justice when a judge was physically manhandled by hoodlums. What is the NBA doing about this?

    I must confess that we have challenges. In any association there are touts and there are charlatans. In the case of the Osogbo incident, we have identified those involved and we have written to them. We are awaiting their responses, after which we’ll take the necessary actions.

    In the case of Ekiti, we have set up a high powered committee to investigate the incident and we’ll do all that is necessary to ensure that proper action is taken against whoever is indicted.

    The lingering crisis in the Rivers State judiciary has caused so much hardship for litigants, to the extent it is now in a comatose state. How do you intend to resolve this?

    Well, I will tell you for free that the problem in Rivers State is not over who is the Chief Judge or not. The NJC has a role to play and it’s doing just that.

    However, the courts in Rivers State are shut down as at today, not because of the imbroglio over who is CJ or not. It is rather as a result of the strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). I had a meeting with the leaders of JUSUN, because they had planned on going on a nationwide strike. Based on our appeal to them, they have agreed to shelve that strike. If the JUSUN was not on strike, I am sure the courts in Port Harcourt would have been sitting.

     Will observers be allowed at the forthcoming NBA NEC?

    Yes. I have promised to address that issue. I made it clear that we’ll allow observers at our NEC meetings but it will be on the basis of accreditation from branches. All those who would like to attend and observe NEC meetings should indicate through their branches and their names will be sent to the NBA National Secretariat for accreditation. Such lawyers will be issued with name tags that will enable them attend the meetings.

     What are your comments on the ongoing moves by the National Assembly to remove or modify the immunity clause?

    I have always said that immunity is for the office. The holder of that office shouldn’t be jumping from one court to the other defending cases against him at a time when he is supposed to doing the work he is elected to do.

    If you look at the number of people who have immunity, it’s just few. We have the 38 state governors and the president. If you multiply that by two, we have just 74. In a country of 170 million people, I don’t think 74 persons with immunity should be such a cause for worry. I believe immunity is not necessarily to cover up the office holder, but to enable him to do the work he was elected to do.

    What are your views on the provision of 180 days to conclude election petitions?

    Some have continued to criticise it – that it has occasioned injustice in many instances.

    I don’t agree with that position. I was involved in the Adam Oshomole petition and we went from trial to Court of Appeal, to Supreme Court within the stipulated time. The issue of dragging election petition interminably should be discouraged and stopped. It should be made a thing of the past!

    If you use your 180 days wisely, you can finish your petition. I was involved in another petition when after they gave judgment at the Court of Appeal, the petitioner waited for 42 days before returning back to tribunal. These are 42 days he could have used to start and finish the case. So, he went to the Court of Appeal and he was told that he was out of time and he still lost.

    It was reported that out of 6000 students of the Nigerian Law School who sat for Bar Final examination, only 2000 passed. Are you worried about this?

    I have looked at the results and done a campus by campus analysis. I must confess that it gives one cause for alarm, the failure rate is really high. I spoke with the Director-General and as soon as he comes back from the IBA conference in Japan, I will meet with him and find a way forward. I have been asking myself some questions. Is it that the lecturers are lazy or are  not doing what they are supposed to do? We will sit down with the law school authorities and find a solution to these problems, I assure you.

  • Criminal law made ‘easy’

    A lawyer, Sylvester Imhanobe, has written no fewer than seven books on various topics in law.

    Reviewing one of them (Administration of Criminal Justice) during its presentation, Mr. Anthony Agbonlahor said it can help students avoid failure in Bar examinations.

    He added that with the infusion of dexterity and currency, the author simplified the sujbect for both students and lawyers.

    His words: “If some of these books were launched before the students of Law School wrote the last examination, the school wouldn’t have recorded that level of failure.”

    Other books by the author are Civil Litigation, Law of Evidence, Principle for Legislative Drafting , Company Law, Legal Profession: Ethics and Lawyering Skills.

    The books, said the reviewers, could be of immense benefit to lawmakers, judges, students, businessmen and corporate organisations.

    Ex-Aide-De-Camp (ADC) to former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd), Maj. Mustapha Jokolo, said Imhanobe’s excellence transcended the Law School, where he once lectured.

    Jokolo, the 19th Emir of Gwandu, described the author as his reliable counsel who argues his cases excellently.

    He said Imhanobe had contributed greatly towards the development of the judiciary.

    According to the monarch, the author has been a talented counsel worthy of emulation since 2006 when he discovered him.

    He said that : “I engaged him as my lawyer after a lawyer from my place who I initially took into confidence betrayed me.

    “As my counsel, he defeated many Senior Advocates of Nigeria, some of whom are yet to recover from the shock of defeat in court.

    “In fact, some of those opposed to us ended up sacking their lawyers, so he is, to me, a reliable and talented lawyer who is worthy of emulation by others .”

    The Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ibrahim Bukar, said the books would become indispensable reference tool in legal research in Nigeria and beyond.

    Represented by Justice Adebukola Banjoko of the FCT High Court, he said: “The true and real legacies of these books will be realised when their readers surpass themselves.”