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Tag: Lawyer

  • Ebola: Lawyer urges caution at NBA conference

    Ebola: Lawyer urges caution at NBA conference

    Lagos  lawyer, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke,has advised the  leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to take steps to prevent the spread of Ebola virus at its Annual National Conference (AGC) in Owerri, the Imo State on Sunday.

    In a statement  titled: “Ebola: NBA should take steps to guard participants and others”, he urged the NBA leadership to assess the threats the conference may pose to lawyers and efforts of local and international stakeholders to stem the spread of the disease.

    He noted that the AGC is reputed as the largest gathering of lawyers on earth, with as many as over 10,000.

    “In consistent with the mode of transmission of the Ebola virus, which include direct physical contact with body fluids of an infected person such as blood, saliva, urine and sweat or contact with objects contaminated by these fluids, I urge the NBA leadership not only to put measures in place to

    safeguard participants at the week-long event, but to also critically assess the adequacy of emergency health care measures aimed to protect lawyers, exhibitors and visitors.

    “This is the least that can be done under this grave national emergency. No effort should be spared to contain this potential pandemic that is already affecting the socio-economic and religious life of the nation”, she pleaded.

    Nwadioke stressed: “If the NBA leadership comes to the view that the risk of Ebola virus spread cannot be adequately managed at this time due to inadequate health care facilities and personnel and the inherently electric nature of AGC activities, perhaps a postponement of the conference may be a valid option.”

    He expressed doubts on the ability of the incoming executive to cope with the potential danger posed by the virus on the grounds of negligence by its wilful endangerment of life.

    Nwadioke recalled:”A Nigerian staff of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) died of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), becoming the third victim of the dreaded virus since its emergence in Nigeria. The latest victim, Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, a Protocol Assistant at the ECOWAS Liaison Office in Lagos, was among those who assisted the Liberian diplomat, Patrick Sawyer, the index case believed to have brought the disease to Nigeria.

    ”Sawyer exhibited symptoms of the disease on arrival in Lagos on July  20 for an ECOWAS Conference, and died on July 25 at a private hospital in Lagos. This latest incident again gives vent to the highly fatal nature of the Ebola virus disease.

    “The Ebola virus has no known cure and up to 90 per cent fatality rate. There is no vaccine or specific treatment for Ebola. Outbreaks can spread rapidly, with an incubation as brief as two days. Therefore, preventing the Ebola virus from spreading remains the best option.”

    He described the virus manner of spreading “as the largest and worst in history, with the death toll now at 1,014 from 1,848 cases. “In Nigeria, 177 primary and secondary contacts of the index case have been placed under surveillance, with nine having developed EVD, bringing the total number of cases in Nigeria to 10. “Of these 10, three have died while seven are  quarantined in Lagos. Further tracing of contacts is ongoing,” she said.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO), she noted, has declared the  outbreak an International Health Emergency requiring extraordinary response in an effort to contain the pandemic and that the organisation has also taken the unusual step by declaring as ethical the use of ZMAPP, an untested and unproven drug, to try and contain the scourge.

    He added: “Though the role of the Federal Government in preventing the emergence of the Ebola virus disease in Nigeria remains questionable, it was heart warming to note that the government has followed the WHO example by declaring its outbreak a national emergency.”

    Nwadioke stressed that the Ebola threat is real and the development has explained why many countries have put their health care and ports personnel on the highest alert.

    He recalled that barely a week ago, Ken Isaacs, the spokesman for Samaritan’s Purse, whose two American staff contracted the virus while treating patients in Liberia, warned the United States Congress that Ebola is going to emerge with a fury in Nigeria in about three weeks due to Sawyer’s case.

    The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Adekoya said, also issued a ‘Level 2 Travel Alert’ on Nigeria, warning travellers to take precautionary measures to minimise their risks of contracting the disease. She pointed out that the above scenario paints a grim picture of the serious hazards posed by the current pandemic in the face of weak healthcare systems and scarce national resources, emphasising that even with less than 15 EVD cases, Health Minister, Onyebuchi Chukwu, raised an alarm on the shortage of care-givers to treat Ebola victims by asking for more volunteers.

    The Ebola virus, according to her, poses a serious threat to care-givers, some of whom have died in the process of treating patients adding: “It is, therefore, better imagined than described if the current state of the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria is allowed to exacerbate.”

    H said it is expected that all concerned will act in a manner that aids a speedy containment of the Ebola outbreak, saying it was against this backdrop and the forthcoming NBA Annual General Conference (AGC)  that made her to urge the NBA leadership to critically assess the threats posed by the AGC to lawyers.

  • Lawyer wants Nyako reinstated

    ALagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to reinstate the impeached  Adamawa State Governor Muritala Nyako.

    He claimed he filed the suit in public interest. Ogungbeye is asking the court to declare as “unlawful, unconstitutional, illegal, null and void” the impeachment proceedings and Nyako’s  eventual removal.

    Joined as the first to sixth defendants  are the Acting Governor of the state, Ahmadu Fintiri; the state House of Assembly; the outgone Chief Judge of the state, Ambrose Mammadi; Chairman of the impeachment panel, Buba Kajama; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector-General of Police.

    In the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/1180/14, Ogunbeje is seeking a relief among others, an order of the court to compel Fintiri to vacate office with immediate effect and reinstate Nyako.

    It would be recalled that following the adoption of the report of a seven-man investigation panel, which indicted Nyako of 16 counts of gross misconduct, he was impeached on July 15,  by the state House of Assembly and the  speaker, Umaru Fintiri, was sworn in as the acting governor.

    Ogungbeje contended that the process that led to Nyako’s impeachment was unconstitutional as the ousted governor was not  served with the impeachment notice.

    According to him, the failure of the Adamawa State House of Assembly to serve Nyako with the notice was a violation of Nyako’s fundamental right to fair hearing as enshrined under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.

    Setting up the investigation panel after a court order had restrained the House of Assembly from doing so, the lawyer argued, amounted to contempt of court and a display of defiance and flagrant disobedience to the court.

    He also allegd bias on the part of the former Chief Judge, Justice Mammadi, who set up the investigative panel while his order restraining the House from setting up the panel was still subsisting.

    No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

  • Lawyer becomes Labour Party chair

    Labour Party (LP) Federal Capital Territory chapter  has elected Comrade Ashimole Felix Chukwuma as its  chairman   and 19 others to pilot the affairs of the party in the next three years.

    Ashimole, a graduate of the Faculty of Law, Lagos State University(LASU), was called to the Bar in 2003 .

    He was a member of NBA Abuja branch, the (Unity Bar) before he transferred to Bwari Bar.

    He is a partner, Che Oyinatumba & Associates, a labour law, human rights and public interest litigations firm.

  • Lawyer seeks electoral reforms

    The outgoing Assistant National Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr John Austin Unachukwu has urged the incoming executive, led by Mr Augustine  Alegeh (SAN) to reform the electoral process to make it seamless, less rigorous, transparent and credible.

    Unachukwu,  a candidate for the Publicity Secretary, was disqualified on the eve of the election because he was yet to clock 10 at the Bar. The Electoral Committee said he would be 10 at the Bar in October to be eligible to contest as provided for in the NBA constitution.

    This was after the NBA Lagos Branch, where he belongs, had asked him to pay dues as required of one who is 10 years at the Bar, which he did since last year. He, therefore, wants a clarification on how the year of call is calculated.

    Unachukwu, in a statement, described the situation as “disqualification  by ambush”, adding: “Results of screening were not made known to candidates, only for  some of  them to be  told  of their disqualification on the eve of the election when they came for accreditation and presentation of their manifestoes. No formal or prior information of  disqualification  was given  to  the affected candidates

    “Some other contestants  were disqualified and nobody  told them anything except that they did not find their names on  the  list of qualified candidates .

    “It has become imperative for the NBA National Executive Committee (NEC)  to pass a resolution on how the number  of years of call to the  Bar is computed in the association. Does it include the year of call? This will reduce or completely eliminate the ambiguity  surrounding  the interpretation of the years.

    “ A situation where candidates travel to all the nooks and corners of the country on campaign,  only to be told that the  list of candidates was just posted and their  names were not listed  as  contestants, with no opportunity to appeal, is highly undemocratic,  condemnable, dictatorial and amounts to disqualification by ambush

    ‘’The time for NBA elections are provided for in the constitution. Elections should be properly planned and electoral time table and guidelines released, so candidates for  the  elections should be screened on time and  given opportunity to appeal and be heard by the NEC before elections, in the spirit of fair hearing and democracy.

    “This will also reduce the tension and spate of law suits that trail the  association’s activities.  A situation where lawyers stand on a queue  for almost four hours in the sun before casting  their votes is not too good and should be improved upon.”

  • Lawyer, others held for alleged burglary

    Operatives of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested a lawyer and nine other suspects for allegedly burgling a warehouse in Amuwo-Odofin area of the metropolis.

    Police sources said the suspects, allegedly went to the warehouse and carted away goods worth millions of naira.

    They alleged the lawyer was the mastermind of the illegal act, adding that investigations were ongoing to expose the reason behind his alleged action.

    The sources said the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of FESTAC station, Shehu Alao, a Chief Superintendent (CSP), received a tip-off that some suspected thieves had invaded the warehouse and carted away plasma television, imported chairs, jerks, and other items.

    It was gathered that the Alao, through additional information, arrested one of the suspects at Abule-Ado. His arrest led to the apprehension of two others at the popular Alaba International Market, Ojo.

    The confession of the arrested suspects, said the sources, also led to the arrest of others, including the lawyer in Ajah area.

    Polices sources said operatives are still on the trail of other members of the gang, adding that the matter would be charged to court soon.

  • Lawyer presents book on mortgage law

    Lawyer presents book on mortgage law

    To bridge knowledge gap in banking law and legal aspects of mortgages, a lawyer, Pat Anyadubalu has launched the book:  Banking Law and Mortgages in Nigeria.

    Anyadubalu said he wrote the book due to the absence of a banking law book written by a core legal practitioner. He said most of the books available on the subject were written by academics, who do not write for the laymen.

    He said: “The book is out to sensitise the government to encourage private mortgage, where property owners would look at issues of rent in which its constant payment should be able to equal to mortgage.”

    At the presentation in Lagos were House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, represented by Dayo Bush-Alebiosu, Chief Judge of Anambra State, Justice Peter Umeadi, and Senator Chris Ngige.

    Others are House of Reps Deputy Chairman on Information, Hon. Afam Ogene, who chaired the event, former governor of Enugu State, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, represented by Mr. Ben Akah, Mr. Philip Balepo, Mr Taiwo Taiwo, who reviewed the book, among others.

    Senator Ngige said Anyadubalu has left a trail after his stint as a lawyer in banking industry, describing the lawyer as a professional banker and legal practitioner.

    Justice Umeadi, who praised author for the “brilliant work”, said there were a few lawyers that had sufficient knowledge about mortgage law. He said he would make copies of the book available to all judges on the Anambra State bench, promising to also extend to lawyers, who may want to know more about mortgage law.

  • Lawyer, other fire victims count losses

    A lawyer and some traders are still counting their losses in separate fires.

    The law firm of Kachikwu, Ukefu & Co, Surulere, Lagos Mainland, and The Arena, a shopping mall in Oshodi, a Lagos suburb, were gutted by fire. The fire destroyed properties worth millions of naira.

    The firm’s principal partner, Mr Emeka Jude  Kachikwu, is urging the government to take urgent steps to prevent fires.

    Fighting back tears while narrating his ordeal to The Nation yesterday, he said apart from the millions of naira he spent to establish the firm, he lost over 60 per cent of important documents, law reports and books and electrical appliances.

    Kachikwu, who said he recently spent about N2 million to renovate the office lamented that he would have to start all over again to put it back to shape.

    While packing the salvaged items into his car, he explained that he was called around 4 pm on the fateful day. On getting to his office, he found that there was nothing he could do as the whole building was on fire.

    “We have been trying to see those who live at the back flat to tell us what happened. We don’t live here and we don’t work on Saturdays. I can’t quantify what we lost yet; it is devastating,” he said.

    Mr Testimony Olumufunshere, who was on the scene said: “At about 3.35 pm, I was at a wedding reception at Ideal Girls High School, Randle Avenue, when we noticed a thick black smoke coming from the direction of the house. The elderly ones at the reception started coughing; a few of us went to the scene. Youths in the area started throwing stones at the windows to break them to let out the smoke from the house as there was no immediate response from the Fire Service. We had to restrain a man who rushed to the scene and attempted to rush into the burning building as he was shouting: “my documents, my documents.”

     A woman, who lives nearly, said the fire torched a house, which shares a fence with the firm, adding that part of its roof and ceiling were burnt.

    The occupant of the back flat where the fire was suspected to have started was not available for comments when The Nation visited on Saturday.

    Debunking the allegation that firefighters did not respond promptly, an official from the Iganmu Fire Station, Mrs Obede Faramobi, said they got a call at 15.44 hours and the officers got there at 16.18 hours because of the traffic. With four fire-fighting trucks – three from the Lagos State Fire Service and one from the Federal Fire Service – she said they prevented the fire from causing more damage.

    At The Arena, some of the affected traders said they lost goods worth several millions of naira to the inferno which burnt a structure housing about 10 shops.

    A shop attendant, who identified herself as Helen, said: “If the Arena Fire Service was not on standby, all our goods would have gone with the fire. However, it was a great loss.”

    An official of the market, who spoke under anonymity, said they were yet to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    To prevent fire-related losses in the state, The Arena traders urged government to establish mini fire stations around major markets and heavily populated areas.

  • Why we are inaugurating children’s lounge

    Why we are inaugurating children’s lounge

    Lagos State has again blazed the trail in the judiciary with the inauguration of first ever children’s court and as required by the Child’s Rights Act. The lounge is intended to care for children, who most of the time, bear the consequences of divorce. The state Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips and head of the Family Court, Lagos Judicial Division, Justice Yetunde Idowu spoke on this issue and other sundry ones in an encounter with Adebisi Onanuga.

    Lagos State judiciary inched forward in the implementation of Child Rights Act 2007 with the inauguration of a lounge for the children in family courts last week.

    The lounge was equipped with children’s story and toy books; exotic toys and children games of different kinds; couches and other electronic items such as television; water dispenser; cookies and candies.

    Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips described the lounge, established by virtue of Section 150 of the Child’s Right Act, as novel and the first of its kind in all the 19 states that have adopted the law.

    Justice Phillips, who was represented by the Head Judge, Justice Funmilayo Atilade said the lounge would remove the children from the psychological influence they would have suffered if told the divorce story of their parents.

    The head of the Family Court, Lagos Judicial Division, Justice Yetunde Idowu explained that the purpose of creating children’s lounge is in accordance with the Child Rights Act, which forbids anyone from having a child where issues concerning adults are being discussed. “Normally, when you have a matter, for instance, custody matter in a matrimonial court, when you talk about issues in divorce, you would expect some funny and dirty details. That is not good for the upbringing of the child and is also not good for the psyche of the child to be present when these things are being said,” she said.

    She continued: “So, while we are tackling that, the child will be brought to the lounge and taken care of. We don’t want to expose our children to all these dirty things being said in the matrimonial court. So they are here and are taken care of and when their parents are ready to go, they would take them.”

    Justice Idowu said sometimes, there could be a need for the family court magistrate or judge to have a talk with the children and would want to have it in a conducive atmosphere. She said in such situation the court room is not a friendly place. “We don’t want to expose the children to that and with this kind of environment, you know children, when they are comfortable, they tell you the truth so that you know the way to go forward. That is the essence of setting up a place like this,” she said.

    Justice Idowu disclosed that the children’s lounge is the first to be inaugurated by the Lagos State judiciary and each family court would have a place like that attached to it.

    According to her, there are 10 family courts manned by Chief Magistrates and two by judges in Lagos State are spread around different areas in the state.

    On cases of child defilement, which are on the increase of late, she said a place like the children’s lounge would help to take evidence from victims, who sometimes may view the court as a hostile place.

    “If they are brought to court to testify, I think this would be an ideal place to take their evidence rather than take their evidence in court,” she said.

    The state, according to her, has a similar place for victims of child abuse, child rape or defilement and others. “I am aware there is a centre where the victims can be taken to, where a psychologist can have a session with them. We are not psychologists, they are. So while we are handling the hard core cases, children can be brought here, we can have a chat with them and they would tell you what happened and that would help in the prosecution and adjudication of the matter,” she said.

    Justice Idowu does not see any need for a review of the criminal law to make the punishment for child defilement stiffer and curb the increasing trend. According to her, what is in the criminal code is stiff enough to deter a potential child rapist.

    “I think the present punishment we have is enough, but that is my own personal opinion. But I think we should tackle more, the fundamental things that are wrong. It starts from the home. A girl must be told that nobody has the right to touch her without her consent. Mothers must be told that they must protect their children from all these people. For instance, if you ask me, a man of 20 years or an adult going after a young girl, we need to tell them that girl child marriage is not something we should encourage. I think the punishment is enough. If someone is convicted, that punishment is ideal”.

    Justice Idowu disagreed with claims by lawyers that absence of witnesses to acts of rape makes conviction difficult. She said this does not happen in all cases as there are other evidences that are considered. She, however, emphasised: “In a situation where somebody was there, that person can come to court and give evidence on what he or she saw. Most of the time, these things are committed in camera, not in the open. If I am in the open, I don’t think any normal being would come and want to defile a child near me. I would of course shout.

    “So in most cases they are not done in the open and they create fear in the mind of these children that ‘if you tell anybody, I would do this to you; I would do that to you’, that is why children need to take their parents into confidence. Parents too must be close to their children so that if anything is happening to a child, the child would feel free to talk to them,” she said.

     

  • Lagos to get commercial court

    Lagos to get commercial court

    The Lagos State government  would soon build a special court to adjudicate on  commercial disputes in the state in order to attract foreign investors.

    The Chief Judge of  Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Phillips disclosed this  last week while speaking at one day Stakeholders’ Forum on Fast Track Rules and Procedure by the state Judiciary held last week at City Hall.

    It was organised by the state judiciary in collaboration with Justice for All, a project of the British Council and Human Development Initiatives(DHI).

    Justice Phillips said the commercial court would  adjudicate in matters relating to revenues, mortgages and other commercial disputes.

    She said the peculiarity of the state as the hub of the nation’s economy has made a commercial court more imperative and in reality with developments around the world.

    The Chief Judge said the court would be located at Tapa area of Lagos Island, adding that the architect has completed the design as the take off awaits the governor’s consent.

    The main objective of establishing the court, she said, was to reduce the time spent on litigations to a period not exceeding nine months from the commencement of the action till final judgment.

    “This fast-track court is what the social economic climate of Nigeria requires now as the world is fast moving towards arbitration in dispute resolution. Nigeria cannot sit on the fence and watch all these developments around her. We have to be part of the development around the world,” she stressed.

    She appealed to stakeholders in the judiciary to partner towards making the initiative a success.

    The state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye said speedy resolution of commercial disputes was important for economic development.

    “Investors are looking for a justice system that works. They are looking for where they can confidently invest with the expectation that when there are disputes, those disputes can be speedily addressed,” he added.

    Ipaye urged practitioners to ensure that the initiative works by changing those things done wrong in the course of practicing their profession.

    “You can have the laws, you can have the judiciary, but using delay tactics is unfortunate. It makes a lot of people to lose faith in the judiciary and justice system,” he said.

    The Attorney-General appealed to legal practitioners to shun the habbit  of filing  frivolous applications, which often cause delays in the court system.

    According to him, filing of frivolous applications in order to frustrate trial was not the proper thing to do if lawyers believe they don’t have a solid case.

    He advised lawyers to embrace the paradigm shift of the fast track court adding, “this will guarantee investors’ trust in our judicial system”.

    “Investors are looking for a stable political and judicial system that works. When an investor is assured of getting justice in respect of disputes from commercial transactions within a reasonable time, he would feel secured to invest in the country,” he said.

    Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, Mr Monday  Ubani said lawyers must be dissuaded from employing delay tactics in fast-track matters.

    Ubani described the fast-track procedure as a welcome innovasion and procedure that would encourage commercial transactions of lending and burrowing, and give confidence to foreign investors that debt owed would be easily recovered using fast-track mechanism.

    Making a remark, National Programme Manager, Justice for All, Dr Bob Arnot said the relationship between justice and economic development cannot be over emphasised.

    Arnot, represented by Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), said this was the reason the British Council was supporting the initiative.

  • Lawyer calls for establishment of trade mark office in Lagos

    ALagos based legal practitioner, Denis Okhagba has called on the Minister of Trade and Investment to establish a zonal trade mark office in Lagos. This, according to him, will help in harnessing economic potentials and drastically reduce the suffering of teeming Lagos lawyers seeking to register trade marks. He commended the activities of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Yaba zonal office, for doing a great job.

    He said the present system of trade mark license registration is expensive, time consuming and a disincentive to prospective applicants. He appealed to the relevant authorities to put in motion the necessary legal and administrative machinery for the establishment of a trade mark office in Lagos to cater for the needs of the teeming population of legal practitioners therein.

    “I recall vividly that upon being called to the Bar in 1995, a corporate acquaintance of mine sought to know which area of legal practice I intended to “specialise”. In response, I told him I intend to embark on “general practice”, with the overriding philosophy of “putting a decent meal on the table from the proceeds of my effort.

    “The above approach stems from a realisation that majority of Nigerians believe that qualified legal practitioner should be able to handle any brief under the sun without giving excuses, although the clamour for specialisation is fast gaining a lot of converts,” he said.

    Okhagba said it is against the background of the foregoing thoughts that he reflected on the challenges being encountered in processing registration of trade mark certificates for interested parties; a process centralised in the Ministry of Trade and Investment, trade mark office, Abuja.

    He said the present scenario is that a Lagos based legal practitioner has to link up with a professional colleague based in Abuja, who will in turn liaise with a trade mark agent in order to set in motion the preliminary step of conducting availability of the trade mark for registration. “This may be done manually or electronically (on-line) and can take several weeks for the result to be known,” he said, adding: “If the name/mark is approved for registration the next step will be payment of the statutory fees and issuance of the acknowledgement form and acceptance form.”

    He continued: “In getting through the two stages enumerated above, the Lagos based Legal Practitioner will charge his professional fees and factor in the fees for his colleague and trade mark agent in Abuja, thereby increasing the total cost of the process.

    “The next stage will be to watch out for publication of the trade mark license in the trade mark journal and this will entail releasing funds to the legal practitioner in Abuja for transport and logistics from his own office to the trade mark office in Abuja not forgetting the fact that he has to link up (yet again) with a trade mark agent to facilitate retrieval of the information for onward transmission to the Lagos based Legal Practitioner and in the process a lot of valuable time is lost.

    “If we compare the foregoing scenario in the process of obtaining a trade mark license with what currently obtains in the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which has established functional offices in almost all the six geo-political zones of the country, then there is justification in the clarion call for the establishment of a zonal trade mark office in Lagos being the economic and commercial nerve center of Nigeria.”