The Nation Newspaper

Tag: LAW

  • Singapore kicks off parliamentary hearings to battle fake news

    Singapore’s parliament held its first public hearing on ways to crack down on the proliferation of fake news on Wednesday.

    The move came after a number of fake news reports in recent years in the nation state.

    According to a Green Paper published by the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Communications and Information in January, some resulted in wastage of state resources and incitement of racial and religious tensions.

    One instance in 2016 involved the widespread circulation of a photo of a residential building that had reportedly collapsed, prompting civil defense forces, town council personnel and government officials to rush to the scene, only to discover that the building was intact.

    Another fake news account emerged in 2015 when a Filipino family had reportedly lodged a complaint with the police about the noise emanating from a traditional Hindu ceremonial procession, leading to a scuffle between police officers and Hindu followers.

    Read Also: Anti-graft war: Lessons from Singapore

    The story was found to be fabricated, but not before a slew of xenophobic comments directed at Filipinos appeared online.

    According to the paper, the debate has also been sparked by larger global concern about the influence of fake news online.

    The ten-member Select Committee, during the hearings, will examine motivations behind the spread of fake news, consequences on democratic institutions and processes, and possible legislative measures.

    Slated to take place over eight days, the hearings will receive testimony across a range of voices, including journalists, academics, religious groups and legal experts, from both Singapore and abroad.

    NAN

     

  • Kudos, Ambode on Yoruba language law

    Kudos, Ambode on Yoruba language law

    SIR: A few weeks ago, the amiable and unassuming governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode signed into law Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law. With the signing of the bill, Yoruba language is now a compulsory subject for all students in Lagos State, both in private and public schools. Besides, Yoruba language has been inculcated into the General Studies in all tertiary institutions in Lagos State.

    The multiplier effects of the action of Ambode are many. First, it will make Yoruba language to regain its enviable position among world languages. This is a language of over 25 million Yoruba people in Nigeria and another 25 million in the Diaspora. Secondly, the language, at least in Lagos State, will be saved from going into extinction as being predicted by scholars because of its disuse. Thirdly, it will provide jobs for teeming Yoruba language graduates who were roaming the streets because of the travails of the language.

    Furthermore, the action of Ambode proves that the Lagos State sobriquet, Centre of Excellence is not a misnomer. Aside, as the USA is called God’s Own Country, Lagos State is Nigeria’s God’s own state. There is no doubt that providence rather than other factors bestowed the state with forward looking administrators having their eyes on history. From Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson to the action man original, Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, Gbolahan Mudashiru, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Gen. Buba Marwa, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola and Ambode, all are God’s gift to Lagos State.

    The humility of Ambode in spite of his brilliance academically and accomplishments in life and as a governor showed that you cannot purchase in the market place the fact that you are born great. As a matter of fact, I envy Ambode and Lagos for setting the pace in indigenous language rejuvenation, promotion and preservation not only in Yorubaland but Nigeria as a whole. The late sage, Obafemi Awolowo had in the past set up Yoruba Historical Research Council under the leadership of the nationalist historian, late Professor Sabiru Biobaku. How happy would I be if Oyo State which is the epicenter of Yoruba civilization is credited with this feat? Obviously, Yoruba language, the pure and undiluted, being used in writing, as means of communication by the media houses etc, originated in Ogbomoso zone, precisely, Orile Igbon, before it spread to other part of Yorubaland. Is it therefore not an irony that Oyo’s looking the other way when the language is going into extinction?

    Posterity will be generous with Ambode for his lofty strides by preserving Yoruba language. Nonetheless, he should please do the same for history as a discipline in Lagos schools. May be other governors in the region will emulate it. Yorubaland is too sophisticated and enlightened beyond not to have history as a subject or a course of study in our schools. We know the usefulness of history more than our neighbours that are misguiding us to jettison history under a warped federalism. Unless history is equally repositioned, Ambode’s giant strides may pass into oblivion.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    ayekooto05@gmail.com

  • ‘I didn’t want law, now I love it’

    ‘I didn’t want law, now I love it’

    Law was not in Ozioma Ikedimma’s plans, but his father, a priest and lawyer, had other ideas.The Nnamdi Azikiwe Univesity, Awka 2015 alumnus shares his story with ROBERT EGBE. 

    Son of a lawyer-priest

    I am Ozioma Kasie Ikedimma, from Owerre-Ezukala in Orumba South Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State. I’m the first of four children.

    My father is an Anglican priest and a lawyer while my mother is an education officer.

    Education

    I am an alumnus of Nnamdi Azikiwe Univesity Awka (UNIZIK) where I obtained a Diploma in Law and an LL.B in 2011 and 2015. I was called to the Nigerian Bar on November 30, 2016, after obtaining my B.L. from the Nigerian Law School, Abuja. I am a Member Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, Member African Bar Association, Member Section on Business Law of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). I sit on the boards of Vitoso Oil and Gas Ltd, Askinda Ltd and Andul Legal consults.

    How dad cajoled me into law

    I wanted to study Mass Communications but dad wanted me to choose Law. He warned that should I study any other course, he would transfer the responsibility of paying the tuition fees to me. (Laughs). When that didn’t work, he began cajoling me, until I agreed. I’m glad I did, because I have never had any reason to regret studying Law. Thank you, dad. Meanwhile, unknown to him, I took up a job as a sports presenter with UNIZIK 94.1fm Awka (campus radio) during my undergraduate days because of my passion for broadcast journalism.

    Call to Bar

    My Call to Bar was really a big thing for my family and I. Special thanks to my dear uncle, Dr. Okechukwu Chukwunonso Obi (Chief Medical Director, Nigerian Law School, Abuja) who hosted my Call to Bar party and my boss, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah (CEO Capital Oil and Gas LTD) who sponsored my Call to Bar souvenirs and graced the occasion with his presence. After the ceremony in Abuja, we had a thanksgiving service in Anambra State.

    Coping with Law School pressure

    Law School was a wonderful experience. I lived in the hostel and met so many people from all parts of the country, some of whom inspired me. I was exposed to the full academic life and classes became really demanding. It got to a point that I decided to move at my pace – stop comparing myself with any person – and it made so much sense. I also had great roommates and intellectual friends that helped make learning fun. Chapel of Grace (chaplain & members) on campus helped in no small measure. Whenever I was overwhelmed with work – and I always was – the chapel was a place of solace, encouragement and spiritual strength. Of course, I was very active in church there.

    Why bright students don’t always excel at Law School

    One of the big issues with Law School examinations has always been the marking scheme. Although they officially deny it, the grading system is such that you are graded in accordance with your least result. For instance, if you made four Distinctions or As out of the five courses but made a Pass in one, you’ll graduate with a Pass. Also, someone who makes four As and one C at the university, gets a GPA of 4.5 (First Class). By contrast, that result at the Law School leaves you with a Pass. I know a lot of very smart folks who went to the law school full of hope and expectations. At the end, they barely passed Law School while some even had to re-sit the examinations. Not because they were not good.

    Grading system ‘amusing’

    While excelling at the Law School raises a presumption in favour of a person that passes, an average or even a poor result is by no means an indication that the person is not good. Unfortunately, however, it raises such a presumption and the person is left to carry the burden of proving himself for the rest of his life. It is common knowledge that grades are of great essence in any educational adventure. The marking scheme and the grading system of any educational institution are the two basic elements that define the grades of students. In a system that has a strong predilection for grades over competence, getting a poor grade is a bad omen for career pursuits. The grading system employed by the Council of Legal Education in Nigerian Law School is, to say the least, amusing. One struggles to see how such a system can be justified in the name of ‘old time practice,’ given how retrogressive it is.

    Most memorable day in court

    I have had series of memorable days, which are as well dramatic in this profession. I can’t forget a particular encounter with less than six months post-call; I argued and got an Anton Piller injunction against a very senior lawyer. (An Anton Piller order is a court order that provides the right to search premises and seize evidence without prior warning.)

    Challenges

    Challenges with growing the practice, such as getting new briefs, frustration with the court system and managing some very difficult clients, among others.

    Why I can marry a lawyer

    Why not? Lawyer or not, if you cannot accept her for who she is, her profession, her trouble and everything positive and negative about her, you have no business marrying her.

    Day judge called me ‘Okirika’

    My most embarrassing day in court was the day a judge mispronounced my initials O.K. (Ozioma Kasie) as OKIRIKA after I announced my appearance.

    (Okrika is a port town in Rivers State. Second-hand clothes are also informally called Okrika or Okirika in Nigeria.)

    What I would change about law

    I would leverage Information Technology to achieve paperless filing of cases, crime scene reconstruction through animation in all courts, set up a think-tank for nurturing ideas to reduce pendency of cases across courts, develop infrastructure in courts, impose heavy costs on frivolous litigation and abuse of court process.

    My future

    I will be part of a team that has successfully built a top tier law firm and thereafter, I will take up other challenges outside law practice, preferably the highest and most important sports law forums, such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), United Kingdom Anti-Doping and many others. To this end, I’m currently pursuing an LL.M in International Commercial and Sports Law.

     

     

     

     

  • Lagos language law: giving federalism a soul

    If Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan state can see the wisdom in encouraging children to learn in their mother tongue, other Yoruba states have no reason not to borrow a leaf from the Lagos State government.

    Today’s piece is dedicated to the memory of Akinwumi Isola, a man of high knowledge and culture who devoted a great deal of his intellectual energy to promotion of learning that takes advantage of the role of mother tongue and other languages in the acquisition of knowledge in a modern world that has provided so much to facilitate bilingual and multilingual education in a multicultural world.
    Every two weeks, one of the world’s languages disappears, along with the human history and cultural heritage that accompany it….A language is far more than a means of communication; it is the very condition of our humanity. Our values, our beliefs and our identity are embedded within it….It is through language that we transmit our experiences, our traditions and our knowledge. The diversity of languages reflects the incontestable wealth of our imaginations and ways of life.—UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azouulay at the 2018 Mother Language Day: Mother Language Day with the theme “Linguistic Diversity and Multilingualism Count for Sustainable Development.”

    The recent signing of the Lagos State Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law (LSYLPPL) calls for congratulations to both the legislature and the governor of the state. The law has been long in coming but it is gratifying that it has come before self-imposed cultural anomie comes to the state because of the erosion of cultural values and identity in a state that has become a laboratory for multicultural literacy in the country. Lagos State is one state that has sacrificed so much of its resources and identity for the unity of Nigeria, having served first as a political capital of the country and ever since as the country’s commercial and cultural capital. Enacting a law that can sustain the state’s identity, improve cognitive development of its youth, create a pedagogy that nurtures innovativeness while also developing a huge cultural economy in the state is a welcome development.

    LSYLPPL has come to address many educational practices in the state that hitherto had been driven by misconceptions birthed and nurtured by parents under the influence of ungrounded theories about the role of mother tongue learning in academic achievement and confidence building of the child. Governments in a state comprising Yoruba-speaking Lagos Island, Badagry, Epe, Ikeja, and a huge population of people from other parts of Nigeria who have chosen to make Lagos State their home have responsibility to promote bilingual literacy. For long, governments in the state have had to focus on other pressing problems: making sure all children can attend school during the day rather than in the afternoon; providing adequate learning infrastructure for millions of children of school age; training and retraining of teachers; and increasing the number of schools in a city-state with a population estimated to be about 20 million. It is commendable that LSYLPPL has come at a time that physical infrastructure has stabilised in the state, after many years of positive intervention by various governments in the state.

    Lagosians have for too long condoned or ignored parents’ misconception that denying children   opportunity to use their mother tongue in school is a primitive thing that has no benefit. To many parents, restricting their children to use only English in school and at home is not only a sign of sophistication but also a means of preparing such children for a life of eminent success, which parents erroneously believe can be aborted if such children learn in their mother tongue. While private schools may get away with this untested theory that grew largely among illiterate parents and parents who are first-generation middle-class members in a social and economic context in which their academic credentials have given them noticeable social mobility, public education should not be encouraged to do so. What the new law has done is to de-program parents and guardians who have chosen the wrong route of educating a child in a post-colonial country like Nigeria. It is cheering that the new law has come to rescue children from problems of access, ease and quality of learning, general cognitive development, and academic achievement of children in Lagos State. This is the kind of law that should be emulated by other states across the federation.

    With signing of a law that encourages teaching and learning in mother tongue (L1) without any prejudice to acquiring simultaneously knowledge of and in L2 and L3 in multilingual and multicultural Nigerian federation, Lagos State government has another feather to its nest of problem solving governance. This is a good complement or reinforcement of the National Language Policy: ensuring that children acquire literacy in their mother tongue, one other Nigerian language in addition to English as the lingua franca. Such policy is in sync with language in education policy in communities that are multilingual: Canada, Belgium, Singapore, Switzerland, Nicaragua, Scotland, and many others. Nobody can thrive in the EU today without being bilingual. Bilingual or multilingual education in Hausa, Arabic, and English had existed in most of the states in the North since the amalgamation of Nigeria.

    Similarly, most of upper and middle-class people in the old Western Region and Lagos studied under the model of bilingual education. For example, most of the people  who have been stellar performers in knowledge-driven careers in the Yoruba region of Nigeria, like their counterparts in other regions: the father of Nigeria’s decolonization, Herbert Macaulay, top politicians like Obafemi Awolowo, Ladoke Akintola, top civil servants like Simeon Adebo, Tejumade Alakija, Nigeria’s only Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, and other stellar writers: Akinwumi Isola, Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare, Daniel Fagunwa, and top academics/vice chancellors like Hezekiah Oluwasanmi,  Ifedayo Oladapo, Ojetunji Aboyade, Oladipupo Akinkugbe, and all recipients of National Merit Awards in Western Nigeria, Sylvester Adegoke,  J.F.A. Ade-Ajayi, and many top achievers within and outside Nigeria, too numerous to mention in this short essay, are products of bilingual or multilingual education. The theory that it is when students do none of their learning in L1 that they can achieve is patently false. It is thus laudable that Lagos State government has chosen to take the bull by the horn.

    As expected, criticisms of the law have started to grow within the few days of the governor’s signing of the legislation and should be expected to grow further. As mordant as such criticisms may be, it is important for the state’s governor and legislature to rest assured that they have courageously thought outside the box of unplanned monolingual learning in a growing ethos of local and global multilingualism. Parents and guardians are certainly going to worry about the requirement for a Credit in Yoruba for admission to Lagos State’s higher education institutions. Such parents do not need to call for an end to the law because of this requirement. All they need to do is to appeal to the government to delay enforcement of that item for three years during which students currently in JSS3 can enrol for Immersion Yoruba course for the next three years, if their preference for tertiary education is for Lagos state institutions.

    With the Lagos State Yoruba Language Preservation and Promotion Law, the government of the state is a trailblazer for other states in Western Nigeria interested in saving their language, culture, values, and identity while connecting their learning to global civilization via English. The government of Lagos State should be proud of its prescience in respect of disappearance of languages every two weeks, acknowledged by the UNESCO a few days ago. It is also fitting that the law was ready for signing before the BBC took a bold step to make sure that at least three Nigerian languages: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba are promoted through such a global news network.

    Certainly, citizens who have gotten used to teaching and learning only in L2 need to make major adjustments, just like their children and wards who have been victims of such choice by their parents in the past. And the government of Lagos State ought to do its best to make the transition smooth for those currently experiencing a philosophy and practice of education that shouldn’t have occurred in any part of post-colonial Nigeria. If Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan state can see the wisdom in encouraging children to learn in their mother tongue, other Yoruba states have no reason not to borrow a leaf from the Lagos State government. Congratulations to the government of Lagos State.

    • Roposek@msn.com

     

  • Emmanuel signs N646.65b 2018 Budget into law

    Emmanuel signs N646.65b 2018 Budget into law

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has signed into law the 2018 Appropriation Bill with a total outlay of N646.65billion from N651 billion estimates presented to the House of Assembly last year.

    Emmanuel, who performed the ceremony at the Government House, Uyo yesterday, commended the Speaker, Mr. Onofiok Luke and members of the assembly for painstakingly going round the projects sites to ensure due process was followed before passing it into law.

    Highlights of the Act shows that recurrent expenditure was raised to 94.65 billion from 92.657billion  earlier proposed while the capital expenditure was however reduced from N437.674 billion to N431.14 billion with consolidated revenue was kept at N120.86 as proposed.

    Emmanuel noted that his administration would continue to seek the cooperation of the Federal Government in the release of funds due the state to enable the full implementation of the Act.

    He expressed appreciation to the Head of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the cooperation they accorded the House of Assembly Appropriation Committee which contributed to the timely passage of the law.

    Commissioner for Finance Linus Nkan, who spoke with reporters shortly after the budget signing ceremony, said government was comfortable with the oversight role played by the assembly.

  • ‘No anti-open grazing law in Nasarawa’

    Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura has said his administration will not enact the anti-open grazing law.

    The governor spoke at the Government House when he received skill acquisition items for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).

    The items were donated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migration and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRMIDP).

    Al-Makura, who was represented by his deputy, Silas Agara, said the constitution allowed citizens to settle in any part of the country.

    He lamented that over 25,000 persons were displaced because of anti-open grazing law in Benue State.

  • Akeredolu signs 2018 Appropriation Bill into law

    Akeredolu signs 2018 Appropriation Bill into law

    Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) yesterday signed the 2018 Appropriation Bill into law.

    The governor also signed into law the Contributory Health Insurance Bill and the Social Protection Law.

    The House of Assembly, last year, approved the N181 billion budget.

    Signing the budget and the bills into law at the Governor’s Office, Akeredolu said the laws would enhance development, if properly implemented.

    The governor said his intention was to take governance to residents through people-oriented programmes to take care of their needs.

    He said his administration would concentrate more on capital expenditure to abridge huge infrastructural deficit.

    Akeredolu, who decried the huge concentration of budgets on recurrent expenditure, noted that the rate of development in Ondo State was worrisome.

    The governor said he was prepared to develop the state and make it the envy of others.

    The capital expenditure for the fiscal year is N80 billion; debt service N13.600 billion and statutory transfers to local governments N8.307 billion.

    On the Contributory Health Insurance Scheme law, the governor said it would ensure that every resident has access to good health care services.

    He said: “The bill will ensure that all residents of Ondo State have financial protection, physical access to quality and affordable health care services. It will also protect families from the financial hardship posed by huge medical bills and regulate the rise in the cost of health care services.

    “It will ensure that the poor and vulnerable are guaranteed the basic minimum package as defined under the National Health Act.”

    Akeredolu said the bill would bring equitable distribution of health care costs across various income groups and maintain a high standard of health care delivery in the sector.

    According to him, the bill will provide efficiency in health care service delivery and improve private sector participation in health care services, among others.

    The governor was accompanied by House of Assembly Speaker Bamidele Oleyeloogun and other top officials.

    Also, Akeredolu approved the constitution of the State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC).

    The seven-man electoral commission is headed by Prof Yomi Dinakin.

    Other members are: Dr. Soji Omowole, Oladele Akinyelure, Tunde Adeleye, Mrs. Stella Omotosho, Taju Ibrahim and Rotimi Olorunfemi.

    The names will be sent to the House of Assembly for confirmation.

  • Bad law

    •This is what the gas flare penalty is and should be amended immediately

    THE Federal Government may have finally found the answer to the riddle behind the flaring of associated gas despite the so-called penalty imposed on international oil companies. In an interview published by Bloomberg, Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun was reported to have said: “In the legal framework for the gas-flaring penalty, it was drafted as a charge. A charge is tax deductible.

    “So, what do the international oil companies do? They flare; they pay the charge on which they get tax relief. That’s just bad drafting.”

    She let it be known that the Federal Government is approaching lawmakers to amend the law and have the word “penalty” replace “charge” even as she stressed that – “Just that one word has potentially cost us billions of dollars.”

    Interpreted: the difference between the payment defined in the legal framework as a “charge” (and hence tax deductible), and “penalty” (which is non-tax deductible) is equal to what the flawed gas policy grants with one hand being taken away by the sloppy legal draftsmanship of the justice ministry, with the other.

    Were our country not one where anything can happen, the demand citizens ought to be making of the Federal Government is that those behind the scandal be unmasked as a first step towards investigation and possible prosecution. It should ordinarily embarrass all concerned that a law which purports to fly in the face of the clear intendments of the government’s anti-flare policy could pass undetected before its signing into law.

    The minister is right to raise the alarm about something that serious – involving potential losses of billions of dollars in revenue. However, we see the issue far more broadly than the dollars and naira losses being raised by the minister. The revelation, in fact, raises troubling questions about the competence of those individuals charged with the duty of crafting our laws on the one hand and their fidelity to the public cause on the other. Is it that the officials could not see the big picture of the devastation caused by the practice on the environment and the imperative to stop it? Could it be a case of the lucre playing a good part in its making? Or, is it simply a case of the drafters not knowing better?

    To the extent that none of these casts the justice ministry in good light, the least the Federal Government can do at this time is to move swiftly to get the National Assembly to amend the law. Although that would not necessarily translate to an immediate flare-out, it would certainly be an additional disincentive to the environmentally deleterious practice.

    But then, the above is only one half of the picture. The other half is the scandalously low gas flare penalty charge imposed on the operators. The National Gas Policy, approved by the Federal Government last year, admitted that much when it acknowledged that the charge, currently fixed at N10 (approximately US $0.03) per 1,000 standard cubic feet of associated gas flared has “made gas flaring a much cheaper option for operators compared to the alternatives of marketing or re-injection”.

    If, as the government has made clear its intention in the National Gas Policy, to “increase the gas flaring penalty to an appropriate level sufficient to dis-incentivise the practice”, now seems the best time to do it.  As for the “other measures to encourage efficient gas utilisation” enunciated in the policy, the measures, in our view, will most certainly benefit from closer consultation and collaboration between the government and the oil companies, particularly in the area of investments in gas utilisation infrastructure.

  • Buhari signs eight bills into law 

    Buhari signs eight bills into law 

    President Muhammadu Buhari has signed eight bills into law, including the National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2018.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Ita Enang, briefed State House correspondents yesterday.

    According to him, the National Senior Citizens Centre Act, 2018, establishes the National Senior Citizens Centre in the country to cater for the needs of the senior citizens.

    Other bills signed into law are Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges), 2018; National Institute of Legislative Studies (Amendment) Act, 2018; and Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Spain (Domestication and Enforcement ) Act, 2018.

    Others are Rail Loan (International Bank) (Repeal) Act, 2018; Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (Establishment) Act, 2018; Chartered Institute of Local Government and Public Administration Act, 2018; and Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (Establishment), Act, 2018.

  • Overview of administration of criminal justice law

    Overview of administration of criminal justice law

    Introduction

    Lagos State first introduced the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2007 and the Law was reenacted in 2011 (ACJL) to govern criminal proceedings in Lagos State.

    This Law brought radical changes into the administration of Criminal Justice in Lagos State with several provisions aimed at improving the administration of Criminal Justice in the state.

    In the words of Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), one of the best lawyers around these climes in “Promoting a pace-setting and productive judiciary in Lagos State”, a keynote address the doyen of the bar delivered recently on the occasion of the Opening of the 2017/2018 Legal Year of the Lagos State Judiciary:

    “The ACJL has introduced several innovations aimed at fast-tracking justice delivery, with a concerted effort at the preservation of rights of accused persons. For instance, under Section 9 of the ACJL, the confessional statement of an accused person must be captured via the use of video technology or video recording. In the absence of such video recording, such confession must be in writing, in the presence of the accused person’s legal practitioner. Failure to comply with the mandatory provision of Section 9 of the ACJL would render any such confession inadmissible in Court. This position has been affirmed by the Court of Appeal in Zhiya V. People of Lagos State. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Federal Government promptly adapted almost word-for-word, the ACJL, and enacted same as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, although without acknowledging Lagos State as the initiator! A classical display of federal might indeed!!”

    If this is so, it accords with common sense to focus primarily on the Lagos Law and draw comparisons with the federal Act (ACJA) wherever necessary in this treatise and I intend to do that.

     

    Administration of Criminal Justice In Nigeria

    Criminal Law is an aspect of Public Law which is a specialised body of rules on treatment of conduct which the statutes seek to punish, prevent and or control. The state, as representative of society acts positively to ensure enforcement. For this purpose, the state employs the police, judges and magistrates, prosecutors and prisons.

    Even though the Lagos Law did not specifically state the ACJL the purpose stated in ACJA clearly dovetails with the intention of the ACJL. Section 1 of ACJA made it clear that the purpose of the Act is “to ensure that the system of administration of criminal justice in Nigeria promotes efficient management of criminal justice institutions, speedy dispensation of justice, protection of the society from crime and protection of the rights and interests of the suspect, the defendant and the victim”. See the case of Zubairu v. The State (2015) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1486) at 524 Paras. B; where the Supreme Court noted  “Let me start with the two fold aim of criminal justice: that the guilty shall not escape or the innocent suffer. See Berger v. US 1942 cited in US v. Nixon, President of USA 418 US 683.” – PER NGWUTA, J.S.C.

    The point to note though is that prior to the enactment of these forward looking legislations, the operations of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) had been fraught with numerous challenges. For example issues like coerced and involuntary confessions, court congestion, delays in trial, detention of awaiting trial suspects and accused persons standing trial without legal representation, inefficient and ineffective prosecutors and corruption of the system gave everyone involved a lot of concern.

    Lawyers are also very important in the complicated business of administration of criminal justice as almost everyone in the process were first and foremost Lawyers. It amounts to little that they have become Judges, Magistrates and Prosecutors. The defence counsel is also part of the critical core. The point to take away from this is that if we must have an efficient criminal justice system as the ACJL and ACJA tries to entrench in our polity, the men on the chain all along the line must be men who are willing to birth the dream of the ACJL and ACJA.

     

    Critical provisions of the ACJL/ACJA

    The ACJL deviated from the norm. It made provisions that are alien to the Criminal Procedure Law which hitherto governed the administration of criminal justice in Lagos State. The ACJA which followed later made many similar provisions repealing by the provisions of Section 493 the Criminal Procedure Code and the Criminal Procedure Act which hitherto governed criminal prosecutions in the Southern and Northern States respectively.  Any proceeding now commenced under these laws from the date of the commencement of ACJL/ACJA, irrespective of the date of gazetting will be void. See Akingbola v. FRN (2012) 9NWLR (Pt. 1306) 511, C.A. where the Court of Appeal held that any proceeding in Lagos State under the Criminal Procedure Law, repealed by the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2007 was void.

    The ACJL in section 374 repealed the Criminal Procedure Law long before the Federal Government repealed the equivalent federal law in 2015.

    We will now proceed to briefly consider some of these salient provisions that should aid speedy and efficient administration of criminal justice in Lagos State in particular and Nigeria in general.

     

    Abolition of Arrest in Lieu

    Section 4 of the ACJL provides that “no person shall be arrested in lieu of another person”. This was a regular practice of law enforcement agents akin to ‘hostage taking’ which has been widely condemned but has now been prohibited. No longer can the Police arrest a spouse or other relation to smoke out a suspect.

    Section 7 of ACJA has a similar provision. See African Continental Bank Limited v. Okonkwo (1997) 1 NWLR (Pt. 48) 197 for a judicial reprimand of the police who arrest others in place of a suspect.

     

    Prohibition of Arrest in Civil and Contractual Cases

    Section 8 (2) of ACJA makes a very laudable provision to the effect that “a suspect shall not be arrested merely on a civil wrong or breach of contract”. It has become the past time of many Nigerians with the connivance of law enforcement agents to use their powers to harass citizens where contracts fail or loans remain unpaid. The Court held in A.C (O.A.O) Nig Ltd. v. Umanah (2013) 4 NWLR (Pt. 1344) 323 that “the statutory duties of the police under the Police Act is to maintain peace, law and order in the society. Debt collection or loan recovery is not within the purview of the statutory duty and powers of the police”.

     

    Inventory of Properties

    Section 6 of ACJL makes a further provision to protect the interest of the suspect as it mandates the police upon the arrest of a person to take the inventory of all items or properties recovered from the person arrested or about to be arrested. The police officer making such an inventory must sign same and the person arrested, his legal representative or any other person he chooses shall be given a copy of the inventory.

    Section 10 ACJA went a bit further than the Lagos Law to provide that the suspect must duly sign the inventory. However, where the suspect refuses to sign, it shall not invalidate the inventory. It permits the police to release such property on bond upon request by either the owner of the property or parties having interest in the property. The Court may decide whether to release the property or any portion of the property in the interest of justice to the safe custody of the owner or person having interest in the property.

    This provision is aimed at protecting the property rights of suspects and to make the police or any other law enforcement agency making the arrest transparent and accountable.

     

    The Duty of the Police to Ensure Video Recording of Confessional Statements

    In a radical provision to combat the often reported menace and human rights abuse whereby the police force confessions and torture suspects to confess to crimes they probably did not commit which may lead to conviction and time in jail as the best evidence in criminal proceedings especially in our clime where forensic evidence may not be available is the confessional statements, the Law placed a onerous duty on the police to ensure video recording of confessional statements.

    Section 9 (3) of the ACJL provides that “where any person who is arrested with or without a warrant volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police shall ensure that the making and taking of such statement is recorded on video and the said recording and copies thereof may be produced at the trial provided that in the absence of video facility, the said statement shall be in writing in the presence of a legal practitioner of his choice”.

    One can only begin to appreciate the great good this provision has done if one has ever been involved in criminal prosecutions where most of the evidence you have is the confessional statement of an accused person who continues to maintain that the statement was not voluntary and yet you have the police who swear that the suspect made a voluntary statement. Trial within trial is not really a pleasant affair for the defence counsel.

    The eminent justice of the Supreme Court Rhodes – Vivour, JSC in Owhoruke v. COP 15 NWLR (Pt. 1483) 557 at 570 empathized with defendants and the defence counsel thus: “it must be noted that most crimes are committed by people with little or no education, consequently they are easily led along by the investigating Police Officer to write incriminating statements which legal minds find almost impossible to unravel and resolve. Confessional statements are most times beaten out of suspects, and the courts usually admit such statements as counsel and the accused are unable to prove that the statement was not made voluntarily. A fair trial presupposes that police investigation of the crime for which the accused person stands trial was transparent. In that regard it is time for safeguards to be put in place to guarantee transparency. It is seriously recommended that confessional statements should only be taken from suspect if, and only if his counsel is present, or in the presence of a legal practitioner. Where this is not done such a confessional statement should be rejected by the court”.

    ACJA made a similar provision in Section 15 (4) as follows “where a suspect who is arrested with or without warrant volunteers to make a confessional statement, the police officer shall ensure that the making and taking of the statement shall be in writing and may be recorded electronically on a retrieval video compact disc or such other audio visual means.

    Note though that Section 8 (1) ACJA already provides that “a suspect shall be accorded humane treatment, having regard to his right to the dignity of his person and not be subjected to any form of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

    It does appear that compared to the provisions of the Lagos Law, ACJA does not make electronic visual recording mandatory. This is why Section 15 (5) is a provision that waters down Section 15 (4) of ACJA. It provides, “notwithstanding the provision of Subsection (4) of this section, an oral confession of arrested suspect shall be admissible in evidence”.

    At the time ACJL came into force in Lagos State, many thought this provision offended the rules of evidence over which only the federal legislature superintends as it was clearly incongruous with the provisions of Sections 28 and 29 of the Evidence Act. Thankfully the Federal legislature in enacting ACJA validated the forward looking and pragmatic initiative of Lagos State with ACJL in line with the reasoning of the Court of Appeal in 2010 when it became an issue of whether a lacuna in the Evidence Act can be positively resolved by a judicial pronouncement when it held in FRN v. Fani Kayode (2010) 14 NWLR (Pt. 1214) 481 at 492  “while judges must refrain from attempting to make laws from the bench, they must not shy away from adopting a proactive approach to the interpretation of the law. Judicial officers must not place on themselves, disabilities not imposed by the law.”