The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lawyer

  • Lawyer seeks review, enforcement of tax laws

    The Managing Solicitor of TRIAX Solicitors, Moses Oruaze Dickson, has called for the review of the legislative framework for tax and taxation in the country.

    Dickson spoke at the annual 20th tax conference with the theme: Institutionalising a Tax-Paying Culture, at the Nigerian Air Force Conference Centre in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    The lawyer recalled that the last time there was any legislative review of the nation’s tax laws was in 1976.

    He said this makes the tax laws to be obsolete for a progressive society like Nigeria.

    Dickson noted that even though Nigeria is not a tax haven, it is easy to do business in the country without paying tax, as required.

    The lawyer said while businesses operating in Nigeria are willing to pay taxes to protect their reputation, the loopholes in the tax laws create opportunities for such companies to evade taxes without being penalised.

    Oruaze also emphasised that if solid legislations are put in place and enforced, they will impact on the tax-paying culture of Nigerians and companies operating within its territory.

     

  • Lawyer slumps, die during cross-examination

    An Aba based lawyer identified as  Obinna Onuoha has reportedly slumped and died during a court session at High Court I in Obingwa Local Area of Abia State.

    Information about the incident at the time of filing report was sketchy, but our reporter gathered that Onuoha slumped while cross examining witness to the opposing party.

    The incident sources said caused a pandemonium as people who were at the court scampered for safety when the incident occurred.

    It was learnt that Onuoha died due to the impact of a fall in an undisclosed hospital where he was rushed for medical attention.

    But a source close to the family told our reporter that the legal practitioner from a medical report died of cardiac arrest.

    A lawyer who pleaded not to be mentioned lamented the death of Onuoha whom his life, he said could have been saved if there was any medical or Para-medical staff to administer first aid treatment on the spot when the incident happened.

    “I don’t really know the man too well. But I was told that the man is an Ngwa man. It is a pity that such a thing could happen. It could happen to anyone. Lawyers are human beings after all.

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    “I suspect that it could be stress or something related to heart attack which could have simply been dealt with if there were any medical personnel or even a Para-medic around to attend to him.

    “I believe that we should always check our health status frequently which I am sure that will help to reduce incidence of such because constant checkup and visit to our physicians would help to reveal some of the hidden things in our body system.”

    Another lawyer however said that they suspected that the colleague died because of an internal head injury as, the “man was said to have landed, hitting his head on the ground.”

    The chairman, Aba branch of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Bob Ogu in a telephone confirmed the incident and lamented the loss.

    Ogu stated that late Onuoha was more than a colleague to him.

  • Lawyer, six others arrested for N250m fraud ‘plot’

    A lawyer, Kayode Oshiyemi, has been arrested in Ogun State for alleged plot to extort N250 million from a businessman, Alhaji Shakirudeen Olufowobi.

    Also arrested are: Adeborode Ogunlaja, Sodiq Owolabi, Abolaji Alabi, Mukaila Abolaji, Abiodun Adebayo and Abolaji Adebola.

    The arrest of the lawyer followed a petition by Alhaji Olufowobi, the Chief Executive Officer of Al Amin Farm at Imagbon, Ijebu-Ode, to Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu, that the suspect and others were after his life.

    In a statement yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital, police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, an Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the businessman accused the lawyer of making him part with millions of naira on several occasions.

    The statement said Oshiyemi allegedly planned a connivance with some hoodlums to achieve his aim of defrauding Olufowobi.

    The suspects’ plan, according to the police, was to either rope the businessman in for a case he knew nothing about or get him kidnapped for ransom.

    The police added that on the strength of the petition, the officer in charge of the Federal Special Anti – Robbery Squad (FSARS), Mr. Uba Adam, and his team investigated the lawyer’s activities and allegedly caught him on tape planning with others to make the businessman cough out N250 million.

    The statement said one of the suspects narrated how Oshiyemi lured him into the alleged plot to defraud the businessman.

    It added: “On interrogation, Mukaila Abolaji narrated how the lawyer, in collaboration with Adeborode Ogunlaja, lured him into the plan to fraudulently extort money from the complainant and how the money will be shared among them. The suspect said he reluctantly keyed into the plan because of the amount of money involved.

    “Also, Abiodun Adebayo, who regretted knowing the lawyer, in a statement, accused Oshiyemi of using him once to profess a fake miracle in a crusade organised by one of his pastor-friends, where he was asked to tie a life tortoise on his chest and come out while the crusade was going on to confess being a strong member of a cultist group and to say he was disturbed by the pastor’s prayer. The lawyer was unable to deny the allegation.”

     

  • Abaribe arrested for gun running, aiding IPOB, says his lawyer

    — DSS seizes 27 items during house search

    The Department of State Security (DSS) is detaining former Deputy Governor of Abia State, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, for alleged gun running and aiding and supporting the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), his lawyer said yesterday.

    Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN) told reporters in Abuja that the search warrant procured  by the DSS to  search Abaribe’s Abuja residence on Thursday allowed it to “focus and search for arms and ammunitions and any other incriminating document, while the alleged crime was aiding and supporting a proscribed body, i.e. IPOB.”

    The search came moments after the Senator representing Abia South was picked up by security agents at Transcorp Hotel, Abuja, where he had gone for a haircut.

    The search warrant was dated June 2, 2018.

    Ume said the ‘excruciating search of all corners and every item’ in the house lasted from about 5pm till 11:15 pm Friday.

    He also said 27 items were taken from his client’s home none of which was a gun or ammunition.

    His words: “but unfortunately, two of the 27 items include the two handsets of two USA citizens found in the house.

    “One of the laptops taken included that of an educationist containing examination questions slated to be set for students on the 25th of June 2018.

    “All pleas for these questions to be copied were refused.”

    Ume said he was worried at the turn of events because when the leader of IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, was due to appear in court on October 2017, his house was brutally shut down in September.

    “Senator Abaribe, the surety to Nnamadi Kanu, is to appear in court on 26th June 2018, but on 22nd June 2018, Senator Abaribe was arrested and detained incommunicado,” he said.

    Giving the background to the arrest, Ume said: “Yesterday (Friday)  in the forenoon hours, our Senator Enyinnaya Harcourt Abaribe, a high ranking senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was arrested by officers of state security services.

    “The articulate senator who has contributed a lot to our nation building effort is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “His arrest was as shocking as it was curious.

    “As his counsel, I have, long ago, complied with DSS stipulation for meeting with its detainees.

    “I have also requested for a meeting with the D.G of the service to know the reason for his arrest.

    “All fell into refusal ears. At about 4:45pm, I was alerted that officers of the services were heading to the senator’s residence.

    “I had to break my long wait at the DSS Headquarters and rushed to the senator’s residence.

    Ume claimed Abaribe’s arrest was motivated by his opposition to the federal authorities.

    He said: “this man is a known strong voice of the Igbo nation; hence this is a clamp down on the region.”

    Ume also said that Abaribe’s revelation that N30 billion was smuggled into the budget of the Power Ministry without the knowledge of the Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy may have also been one of the reasons for his arrest.

     

  • A lawyer and his client

    From the beginning, someone should have told Lagos lawyer Olukoya Ogungbeje: don’t start what you can’t finish. Perhaps someone did, but he rejected the wisdom.

    Ogungbeje should have anticipated the reason he gave for withdrawing from the case involving self-confessed big-time kidnapper Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, alias Evans. The sensational case is currently before the Lagos State High Court.

    Ogungbeje said his withdrawal was based on “personal reasons.” Did he use the expression “personal reasons” euphemistically?  He also said in a statement:  “For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that we have fought a good fight this far despite repeated and sustained threats to my life and my co-defence lawyers; I dare say we have no regrets whatsoever having conducted the criminal charges involving our client this far.”

    Ogungbeje exhibited irrationality when he said: “For the sake of history we have been able to enrich the basic principles of our Criminal Jurisprudence, especially the principle premised on an accused person being presumed innocent until the contrary is proved, no matter the public opinion and the criticism.”

    Evans, a native of Umudun, Nnewi, Anambra State, was arrested on June 10, 2017, at his classy home at Magodo, Lagos, about three weeks after the announcement of N30m bounty by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for information that could lead to his arrest. He had been on the wanted list of the police in three states, Edo, Anambra and Lagos, for over four years; and police interest in him was renewed by his alleged involvement in the kidnap of Innocent Duru, the owner of a multi-national pharmaceutical company in Ilupeju, Lagos.

    When he was arrested, Evans painted a picture of how he started kidnapping, which added colour to the thriller: “I was into auto spare parts importation but lost all my money (over N25m) when Customs seized my goods. From there, I relocated to South Africa, where I started peddling drugs. But along the line, my business partner shot me and passed me off as dead. I recuperated, returned to Nigeria and decided to start kidnapping rich men for ransom.”

    Evans expressed remorse after his arrest: “I am feeling bad. People who are still into kidnapping should quit. They should learn from what has happened to me. ”

    This is the character Ogungbeje tried to defend in court. In other words, the lawyer tried to prove the innocence of a self-confessed criminal. Was that reasonable?

  • Lawyer expresses worry on maltreatment of suspects

    An Ikorodu based legal practitioner, Mrs Christy Elekwachi, has urged security agencies in Nigeria to desist from acts tantamount to maltreatment of suspects.

    Elekwachi told our reporter on Thursday that reforms were still needed to ensure prompt arraignment of suspects in Nigeria.

    She was of the view that unusual detention of a suspect amounted to gross violation of the criminal justice procedure of Nigeria and constitutionalism.

    Elekwachi added that such detention was also against the rule of law and the rights of the affected suspects.

    “It is ultimately anti-society for security agencies to detain a suspect for a long time and bring them before a competent court of jurisdiction over a week after their arrest.

    “But many of our security agencies are actually guilty of this because of not doing a thorough investigation.

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    “It is even more annoying in cases that the suspect was caught with the evidence; like in drug peddling cases and yet will languish in detention for weeks before being arraigned in court,’’ she said.

    The lawyer urged judges in criminal cases to frown more at the time suspects were kept in detention so as to further discourage the practice.

    “I also urge the high commands of our security outfits to reprimand their officers that detain a suspect more than the duration allowed in law,’’ she added.

  • Don’t force Buhari to confirm judges, says lawyer

    A former Ikeja Branch chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Dave Ajetomobi has faulted those who criticise President Muhammadu Buhari for delaying the confirmation of judges.

    He said the president should be allowed to take his time so as to get the appointments rights.

    NBA President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), speaking at the association’s quarterly National Executive Committee (NEC), had threatened that the association would sue the President for not confirming the judges.

    He said more than six months after the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended 13 judges for elevation as Court of Appeal, and others for appointment to high court benches, the President was yet to act.

    “Acting on the recommendations of the NJC is not a matter of presidential discretion to be exercised whenever the President deems fit. It is a constitutional duty. While the President is not bound to accept the recommendations, failure to act is a breach of the Constitution …

    “I, therefore, wish to give notice of the intention of the NBA to take legal action should this constitutional dereliction continue,” Mahmoud said.

    But Ajetomobi believes the President should be given time to double-check on the nominees.

    “This government’s main agenda is that of anti-corruption, and a vibrant and efficient judiciary is needed for a successful prosecution of the anti-graft war. A sincere watcher of our justice sector will agree that that sector has not particularly impressed many people of late.

    “I believe that, contrary to the position held by the NBA and NJC, the President has power to double-check on any nominee of the NJC. We have to concede that NJC is not infallible!”

    He recalled that the NJC had in the past recommended a person who plagiarised other’s judgments, gave a judge a clean bill of health before later sanctioning him, and transferred a judge it found guilty of misconduct to another division instead of dismissing her.

    Ajetomobi added: “The Eso Report mentioned a particular person in Delta State who became a branch chairman of NBA and later became a judge. It was later revealed that the man did not even attend university talk less of being a lawyer. How was the man able to pass through NJC screening?

    “Recently, a candidate from Lagos was considered for appointment to a federal court. He happened to be one of the magistrates dismissed in Lagos when the Vice-President was the Attorney-General.

    “There are other instances where NJC has shown some fallibility. After all, it is a body composed of humans who are fallible!

    “I want to believe that Mr. President’s men are doing due diligence on the list to ensure that only the right people are picked.

    “It is all part of the checks and balances provided for in our Constitution. I believe that the Federal Government has a better machinery to carry out thorough background checks than the NJC, which is made up of judges and lawyers.”

  • Lawyer wins at quiz contest

    An associate at Perchstone & Graeys, Temidayo Adewoye, has won N250, 000 at the maiden Babalola’s Law Dictionary Quiz Competition.

    Adewoye beat nine others in a keenly contested event for young lawyers which held at the Onikan Youth Centre, Lagos.

    Babalola’s Law Dictionary Editor, Olumide Babalola, said it was organised to deepen the culture of reading among young lawyers, especially as it pertains to legal/procedural words and terminologies.

    Adewoye won the ultimate prize of N250,000, courtesy of the firm of Olumide Babalola LP and LawPavillion electronic report.

    Morisola Alaba emerged the first runner up with N150,000; Omowunmi Akinmuleya came second – she got N100,000 courtesy the firm of Esher and Makarios.

    The judges included managing partner of Abdul Salam & Co Faruq Abbass, Mofesomo Tayo-Oyetibo of Tayo Oyetibo LP, former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja Branch Young Lawyers Forum Chairman Issa Adedokun, and a legal officer at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mrs Ope Odejayi.

    Others were Omolade Lawal of LawPavilion, LegalNaija blog publisher Adedunmade Onibokun, a legal officer at 9Mobile Busola Ajala and a “blockchain and crypotcurrency” lawyer Faith Obafemi.

    The contestants also got FWLR Law Reports and practice books donated by Mr. Bimbo Atilola of Hybrid Consult, Mr. Taiwo Kupolati of Renaissance Publishers and Mr. Lere Fashola of Legal Blitz Ltd.

    The event is billed to hold yearly.

  • Lawyer identifies 4 causes of rape

    A Port Harcourt based lawyer, Mr Kingdom Ifedichukwuezi, says alcohol and drug abuse are responsible for the increasing incidences of rape in the country.
    Ifedichukuwuezi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Friday that most of the time rape suspects were on drugs when they committed the offence.
    According to him, “provocative (indecent) dressing ‘’ by some ladies is accountable for the increasing wave of rape in the society.
    “Indecent dressing by some ladies can seduce some men who cannot contain their desire.
    “If ladies dress decently, it will reduce the rape of young ladies,” he said.
    The lawyer noted that the rampant incidences of rape in recent times remained an indication of lack of social values on how women should be treated.
    Ifedichukwuezi regretted declining societal values; hence some members of the public could misbehave without the fear of being sanctioned.
    He added that peer group influence was another factor in incidences of rape.
    Ifedichukwuezi blamed religious institutions for not condemning the crime in churches and mosques.
    He said rather the clerics preached materialism.
    “Churches and Mosques have failed to preach against rape in our society,” he said.
    Ifedichukwuezi noted that rape victims did not speak up or report to the police for fear of stigma by the society.
    “Most men wouldn’t like to marry a lady that was raped for fear of contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs),’’ he added.
    The lawyer, a staff member of Nigeria Legal Aid Council, Rivers branch, said the court process in the country could be long and cumbersome.
    He attributed the seventh causative factor unemployment and advised youths who were more prone to the crime to engage themselves in meaningful ventures. (NAN)

  • Lawyer gets bail for ‘land grabbing’

    A lawyer, Segun Adenrele, was yesterday brought before an Igbosere Chief Magistrates’ Court for partaking in land grabbing at Bogije Town in Ibeju-Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA).

    Adenrele, 54, was arraigned alongside Ashimiu Korede, 65, by the Federal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID) Alagbon-Ikoyi, before Chief Magistrate Afolashade Botoku.

    They are standing trial on a six-count charge of conspiracy, felony, land grabbing, unlawful and forcible entry into land and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.

    According to the charge, marked B/41/2018, the defendants and others at large, conspired and committed the offences between 2002 and 2018, at Bogije Town.

    They allegedly forcibly and unlawfully entered into the land which was in possession of the lwajoba Chieftaincy family of Ibeju-Lekki.

    According to prosecuting counsel Morufu Animashaun, the offences contravened sections 52, 411 and 168(d) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and sections 2(3), 3(3)(b), (4)(a)(b)(1) and 7 of the Properties Protection Law of Lagos State, 2016.

    Adenrele and Korede pleaded not guilty.

    Their counsel, S. O. Isanume and Samuel Meadol, applied for their bail “on the most liberal terms.”

    They urged the court to grant Adenrele bail on self-recognition, considering his status as a lawyer.

    The prosecutor did not oppose the request.

    Chief Magistrate Botoku upheld their application in part and released Adenrele on self-recognition.

    But Korede, who was granted N250,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum, was remanded in prison, pending the fulfilment of his bail terms.

    Their trial begins on June 26.