Some lawyers at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Tuesday expressed concern on the challenges they encountered in obtaining the Nigeria Bar Association’s (NBA) stamp and seal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the NBA introduced the stamp and seal to be affixed on all the documents filed in courts by lawyers throughout the federation.
The Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007, empowers the NBA to issue the stamp and seal and ensure compliance accordingly to all lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar.
Some of the lawyers on Tuesday expressed concerns on the challenges they were facing in obtaining the stamp and seal.
Mr Shaka Awaliene, a legal practitioner, applauded the policy, but noted that like any new policy it had its own initial challenges.
Awaliene, however, said these challenges had far reaching implications and might slow down the process of legal practice for a while.
“This is a new policy and it would take some time for every lawyer to key into it and what this means is that any lawyer without the seal will not file any process in court.
“Secondly, it has a monetary implication the national dues must be paid as well as the branch dues before the seal is paid for and obtained.
“With the harsh economic situation private legal practitioners are facing, this may constitute a problem for them,’’ he said.
The lawyer said that the new seal policy was one of the measures that could reduce the incidences of fake lawyers in the country.
He said the policy would strengthen legal practice and brings about professionalism as only genuine lawyers would likely engage in legal practice.
Awaliene also advised that the policy needed to be extended to corporate practice, particularly with the Corporate Affairs Commission as accountants and chartered secretaries.
Another lawyer, Christie Nwaka, complained of the time it took before the seal and stamp could be issued after the requisite payments had been made.
“When you apply for the seal it is not issued immediately, it takes a minimum of three weeks to be issued and that keeps on hold whatever process the lawyer wants to file.
“For the new lawyers, it is also a big challenge because they are yet to get started and will need some money to satisfy the financial requirement.
“It appears that adequate arrangements were not put in place before the commencement of the scheme,’’ she said.
Mr. Dan Nwobodo, former NBA Publicity Secretary, Abuja branch, noted that people found it difficult to switch over to any new policy.
“In this case, the policy is to sanitise legal practice and should be embraced by any well meaning lawyer.
“The Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners Section 10 (1-2) provides that a lawyer acting in his capacity as a legal practitioner, legal officer or adviser of any government; Department or ministry or any corporation, shall not sign or file a legal document unless a seal and stamp approved by the NBA is affixed on such document.
“For the purpose of this rule, legal documents shall include, pleadings, affidavits, depositions, applications, instruments, agreements, deeds, letters, memoranda, reports, legal opinions or any similar documents,” he said.
He said once you paid the Bar practising fees, and called to the Nigerian Bar and your name and number were verified from the Supreme Court Roll and NBA database, you would be issued the stamp and seal.
African Bar Association (AFBA) president, Mr. Hannibal Uwaifo has faulted the idea that foreign lawyers are better than their African counterparts.
According to him, it is wrong to give important briefs to foreign firms when local ones can do better, saying very good Nigerian lawyers can match the best abroad.
Uwaifo, who noted the excellent performance of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the International Bar Association (IBA) conference which held in Vienna, Austria, said: “I want to thank our hardworking President Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) for the beautiful admonitions he gave at the breakfast meeting of the African regional forum in Vienna.
“He touched on the need not only to upgrade our skills, but to join forces in order to benefit from the huge investments we make into IBA conferences without corresponding benefits.
“It is obvious that most of the sessions at each succeeding conferences are not relevant to our practice in Nigeria and Africa.
“I, however, do not believe that our skills are poor in Nigeria. I do not also agree that we can only fit into global legal practice by sharpening skills whatever that means.
“Nigeria has always played at the world stage. In the World Court, in the International Criminal Justice system and practice. “
All jurisdictions, Uwaifo said, have their peculiarities, culture and style. “However, successful legal practice is tied to good governance, the rule of law, economic wizardry and technology breakthrough and unfortunately, these are mostly lacking in Africa. “Lawyers join politicians to break the law and shop for judges to help validate these shameful conducts. They take advice from clients instead of offering them advice advice professionally,” he said.
He continued: “Lawyers collect huge sums of money from political clients not in any way commensurate with the regime of legal charges, knowing that these funds were drawn from public funds meant for the commonwealth to tare roads, fix hospitals, schools, electricity and fund technological advances.
“The Economy remain stagnant, unemployment becomes rife. There are serious security problems, the entire society is dysfunctional. The prosperity of the profession is blocked.
“Everybody is accusing each other and the profession is now Thomas Hobbes’ contraception of nasty, short and brutish. You cannot meet global skills when you take bribes and promote corruption.”
According to Uwaifo, AFBA will work towards improving lawyers’ fortune.
His words: “We intend to bring about some of these changes by encouraging individual lawyers and national associations to imbibe attitudinal changes by organising frequent interactions and acting as watchdog.
“The present NBA executive has done excellently. They have shown that things can be done right. They are bringing about orderliness transparency and professional etiquette.”
The next Exco, he said, has to fight corruption, influence peddling, compromising judicial officers, accepting monies stolen from public coffers to pay professional bills for personal political cases.
“Be bold to take on judges who ridicule our profession and our country by making ridiculous orders and granting bogus injunctions that will make even the market women reel with laughter.
“Injunctions stopping security agencies from investigating corruption and other crimes against the Nigerian people should not be granted,” adding: “The bar and the bench must know that the average Nigerian, whose public funds is misappropriated daily is also entitled to injunctions against these mindless crooks and deserves the protection offered by the rule of law.”
International Bar Association (IBA) president David Rivkin has urged lawyers to intensify the fight against corruption in the the judiciary.
He spoke at a showcase session on judicial corruption during the IBA conference in Vienna, Austria.
According to him, corruption is often viewed as the biggest obstacle standing in the way of peace, stability and human rights.
He said corruption can be detrimental to an individual or organisation’s reputation and credibility.
Rivkin said when corruption has spread so far as to infect even the judicial system, then its fundamental role to be fair to all is compromised.
To him, a judge who has taken a bribe or has in any way obstructed the course to justice for any party, cannot be considered independent or impartial.
“The problem is worsened when the manipulation comes from a higher power, such as the government. This creates an environment which fosters further corruption.
“Objectivity and neutrality, the two most central principles to the rule of law itself, no longer exist and fundamental human rights are, by definition, violated.
“The IBA has a particular responsibility to combat judicial corruption. It can be effective in ways that others cannot.
“It has done a lot over the years in the wider fight, but we have not focussed on the government side before, and that’s especially important.
“With 55,000 individual members and 195 bar associations and law societies around the world, the IBA has a unique grasp on the global legal community,” he said.
He said the association is also making efforts to rid the judiciary of corruption globally.
In February, IBA launched the Judicial Integrity Initiative as one of the key priorities of Rivkin’s two-year tenure.
It has been working with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Basel Institute of Governance and various other anticorruption committees.
In London in February and Singapore in March, the IBA organised a series of high-level discussions with prosecutors, civil society organisations, leading lawyers and business executives.
Rivkin said: “Other countries are also taking action in the fight against judicial corruption.
“Several Ghanaian judges at both high and lower court level, are being investigated over allegations of corruption.
“China’s Central Politics and Law Committee is set to relaunch a programme to recruit judges from the top ranks of lawyers and academics to improve its judicial system, which has been criticised in the past.
“The National Judicial Council (NJC) of Nigeria has taken severe action in recent years against those found guilty,” Rivkin said.
According to him, corruption in the judiciary is not limited to developing countries.
He said: “While manifestations of corruption seem to be most common in developing countries, judicial corruption remains a global problem.
“Research by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) suggests that causes of judicial corruption include low remuneration and far-reaching discretionary powers, twinned with weak monitoring of how those powers are executed.
“In these environments, where the accused individuals sit at the highest echelons of the system, whistle blowing is especially unlikely.
“The research also found that a lack of comprehensive and regularly updated computer systems is one of the main causes of such crimes.
“The IBA’s role is important in that it can, and must, set an example to its members which promotes the highest standard of judicial integrity.
“Alongside its Judicial Integrity Initiative, an additional objective of the IBA is maintaining the bar and the courts’ independence from the government.
“If corruption compromises judges, who are among our most important protectors of the rule of law, rule of law throughout society is put at risk,” Rivkin said.
The four branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos have set a 17-point agenda for the state judiciary, stating the challenges confronting the justice system and proffering solutions.
Speaking at the Bar and Bench Forum as part of activities to mark the new legal year, NBA Ikeja branch chairman Mr. Yinka Farounbi, said a discussion of the challenges is fuelled by the desire to get things right.
Mr Farounbi, who spoke on behalf of Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Ikeja branches, listed the issues lawyers face to include lack of notification when courts would not sit, delay in delivering judgments, difficulty in obtaining copies of judgments, stringent bail conditions which defeat the purpose of bail and late sitting of courts.
On the appointment of judges, he said: “Information to the Bar comes very late, leaving the Bar with no time to scrutinise the list.” According to him, the Bar should be notified on time.
“The Bar proposes that the Lagos judiciary website be upgraded to include a link that will host judgments of the various High Courts as well as seminar papers and notable speeches,” he added.
The association further requested for a periodical review of High Court Rules, the commissioning of the Badagry High Court and the relocation of the Ojo Magistrates’Court from Apapa to Ojo because of the chaotic traffic situation in the area.
The NBA canvassed continuous training and legal education for judicial officers as well as courteous treatment of NBA members by judges and magistrates, while bemoaning the dilapidated state of some courtrooms.
“More Judicial Divisions are needed in the state,” Mr Farounbi said, adding that the welfare packages for Magistrates needed to be enhanced.
The NBA lamented the difficulty experienced by lawyers and litigants in the course of executing judgments, “particularly from the angle of procurement of police assistance.”
“We urge the authority of the Judiciary to liaise with the Commissioner of Police with the view of having, at least, a Police Post within the High Court premises both in Lagos and Ikeja,” the NBA chief said, adding, “The Bar decries the attitude of Court Sheriffs who continue to extort lawyers and litigants before effecting service of court processes.”
“The Bar urges the Chief Judge to immediately license courier companies and law firms to undertake service of processes as prescribed in Order 7 of our Rules.”
Other items highlighted by the Bar include reform of the Probate Registry, review of the E-Filing System, implementation of the NBA seal project and review of Order 2 Rule 3 of the Magistrates’ Court Civil Procedure Rules which makes a summons void if not served within three months.
The Bar and Bench Forum is organised every year as part of the new legal year activities of the Lagos State Judiciary. This year’s event had in attendance Judges and Magistrates of the Lagos State Judiciary, including the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, as well as lawyers, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).
Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun has urged judges and lawyers to support the executive in ensuring the success of the war against corruption.
Amosun, who spoke during a religious service to mark the beginning of the new legal year, said the executive alone cannot successfully pursue the war against graft.
He said the active support of the bar and bench is needed.
The governor assured judicial officers in the state of his administration’s determination to improve on their welfare in order to nip corruption in the bud.
A church service was held at the Cathedral of St. Peters, Ake, while a Moslem service held at the Central Mosque, Kobiti in Abeokuta.
Amosun, while praising the Chief Judge, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade, for the judiciary’s support, said his administration would continue to improve on judicial officers’ welfare despite the current economic situation.
“A lot would be done to improve on the welfare of our judicial officers in the state. Government alone cannot fight corruption to a standstill. We need the active support of the Bar and Bench to nip the cankerworm in the bud.
“There is no better time for you to rededicate yourself than now that the new administration at the Federal level is trying to kill what I call corruption.
“So, we need the judicial staff – both the judges and the lawyers to assist in that process to have a new Nigeria,”the governor said.
Speaking with journalists after the church service, Justice Olopade urged judicial officers to be steadfast in administering justice.
She said they should ensure fairness and equity in the dispensation of justice at all times.
Justice Olopade said the state would embark on renovation of all the courts, provide tools for workers andfocus on measures at decongesting the prisons, such as community service.
Delivering a sermon, the Lord Bishop of Ijebu Southwest, Rev. Babatunde Ogunbanwo said judicial officers should endeavour to administer justice with truthfulness, righteousness and the fear of God.
He added that they should be humble despite the enormous powers they posses.
Prof Hafis Oladosu of the Department of Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan praised the state government for placing Ogun on the path of development.
He urged the governor to complete all on-going projects.
As the face-off between the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) continue to generate interest across the country, some legal practitioners who spoke to The Nation yesterday said the third citizen goofed when he failed to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal but preferred to file an application before the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking to stop the scheduled trial at the tribunal.
Explaining the development and the position of the law on this matter to The Nation, Idahosa Anthony, a lawyer, said, “The ex-parte application is the most frustrating avenue through which justice is frustrated and judicial process abused in our country’s courts of ‘justice’. The fact that the number three man in our political hierarchy chose this route to circumvent justice is profoundly disappointing.
“Perhaps due to ignorance of what really transpired in court, a section of the media reported that the application was granted. That would have been in manifest error of trite law.
“In the first place, no court of law has the powers to interfere with, or in any way restrain the exercise of the judicial powers of another court of co-ordinate jurisdiction. In this case, the Federal High Court and the Code of Conduct Tribunal are courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction: appeals from the decisions of the Code of Conduct Tribunal lie to the Court of Appeal (s.23 (4) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act) and appeals from the decisions of a Federal high Court lie to the court of Appeal (s. 243, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999).
“In the second place, an injunction restraining the Code of Conduct Bureau will be misdirected and therefore, futile. The Code of Conduct Bureau is not a prosecuting authority; under section 3 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, it is merely an administrative and investigative authority and its role in the prosecution of defaulters under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act is limited to recommending persons for prosecution. The prosecuting authority in respect of offences under the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act is the Office of the Attorney-General. Thus section 24 (3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act provides the Attorney-General or any one nominated by him may bring charges in respect of offences under the Act.
“In the third place, it is incorrect for Saraki to hinge the basis of his ex parte application on the fact that there is no incumbent Attorney-General capable of instituting actions against him or any criminal action whatsoever. This line of legal reasoning, once regularly cited, has since been discredited by the Supreme Court in a number of cases and, most recently, in the case of Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Senator Adewunmi.
The decent course for an accused, if he has concerns, is to raise preliminary objection(s) before the tribunal where he has been charged.”
On CCT’s issuance of a bench warrant for the arrest of the Senate President on September 18, 2015, following Saraki’s failure to appear before it, Idahosa Anthony said, “this power is inherent in any tribunal having the full powers of a court of law, such as the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”
Two other legal practitioners, Dr Sony Ajala and Chief Maxi Okwu, who commented on the development in a telephone chat with The Nation yesterday agreed with Anthony’s views.
Dr Sony Ajala, a legal practitioner in Abuja, told The Nation that the position of the law would not support Senator Saraki’s actions in this matter. According to Ajala, “The straight forward question is, does the Federal High Court have supervisory or power of appellate review over the decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal? The answer by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution is ‘no.’
In other words; the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the Federal High Court are of coordinate jurisdiction. But then, the politics of litigation over and above the legal philosophy of litigation is often the overriding consideration of our time.
“Again, the law is not that there must be an incumbent AGF for officers of the Federal Ministry of Justice or even officers of any other agencies with statutory fiat to initiate criminal proceedings such as EFCC, NDLEA, DSS, etc to sign and to charge.”
Chief Maxi Okwu, another lawyer and top politician also told The Nation yesterday that the Senate President’s actions is not in tandem with the position of the law, when he said: “The Supreme Court ruling, which is today the position of the law on the issue of having or not having an incumbent Attorney-General, is that it is the office of the Attorney-General that is considered the legap person who has the authority.
My personal opinion on the Supreme Court’s ruling notwithstanding, that is the position of the law today. So, in my view, Saraki goofed by running to the High Court when he would have gone to the tribunal to raise any objection he has. He also goofed morally and politically by failing to go to the tribunal. Although some SANs hold the view that the High Cout he ran to is superior to the tribunal, in my view, as athe third citizen in the country, he should have set a better example by going to the tribunal to raise his objections to the charges instead of running to the High Court. He should have known that this is politics. That is why I hold the view that the Senate President goofed morally and politically.
Labour is pushing for death penalty for treasury looters. But lawyers think otherwise. To them, there are better ways the Buhari administration can fight corruption other than capital punishment. ROBERT EGBE writes.
The hangman’s noose? A firing squad? Stoning? Have your pick. You steal public funds, you die. This is the penalty the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) want for looters.
Their demand, made last Thursday at a joint press conference in Abuja by NLC President Ayuba Wabba and TUC President Bobboi Kaigama – as radical as it seems – was not arrived at lightly.
Only 39 of the world’s 175 countries were more corrupt than Nigeria last year, according to the Transparency International global corruption index.
In a paper titled: “Corruption, national development, the Bar and The Judiciary” presented at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2012, former Vice President of the World Bank for Africa and former Minister of Education Dr. Oby Ezekwesili said $400 billion of Nigeria’s oil revenue has been stolen or misused since independence in 1960.
The severity of the problem was acknowledged by President Muhammadu Buhari during his trip to the United States, when he declared: “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”
The president has since set up a seven-man Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption headed by eminent lawyer Prof Itse Sagay (SAN). The committee will advise the government on the prosecution of the war against corruption and the implementation of the required reforms in the criminal justice system.
All Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to maintain a Treasury Single Account (TSA); the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have stepped up their investigation of corruption cases.
But, labour is not satisfied. It feels that a harsher penalty is needed to combat what it sees as problems of weak laws, especially the granting of perpetual injunctions stopping corruption cases. To labour, the way out is to make corruption a capital crime.
Crimes, such as armed robbery, murder, treason, conspiracy to treason or instigating invasion of Nigeria, are already subject to the death penalty. But the use of death penalty usually generates mixed opinions and for seven years between 2006 and 2013, there were no executions in Nigeria. Things changed in 2013 when four condemned robbers were executed.
Lawyers disagree with labour
Lawyers do not seem to share labour’s enthusiasm for capital punishment.
Alegeh
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Augustine Alegeh (SAN) said death penalty is against global trends and won’t help efforts to recover stolen funds.
He suggests the encouragement of proactive steps that will prevent looting or make it difficult, if not impossible.
Alegeh said: “With respect to labour’s views, what we think we need to put in place are more measures that will ensure that stealing is made impossible or very difficult for people to pillage treasuries; that way, we secure ourselves so that money is not taken away.
“Current efforts by this government are in line with modern practices. If we kill them and we don’t get the money, what have we gained as a country?
“Even in capital offences, there is an increasing trend against the death penalty, so, I don’t think we should be in the opposite direction at this time of our national history.’’
He added that NBA encourages the strengthening of institutions and systems in the fight against corruption.
“Our position at NBA is that there should be more measures to strengthen the system, and ensure that pillaging of the system is reduced to the barest minimum, and we see that the steps the government is taking are along the same lines; single treasury, single account, etc.
“These measures will significantly take care of the loopholes through which looting could occur. These are proactive measures that saves the country from the cost of litigation, cost of prosecution, loss of revenue, the time lapse between when the money gets into the wrong account and when it is recovered.”
Ubani
According to a former chairman, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Onyekachi Ubani, death penalty by itself is not the solution to the problem of corruption.
He said though capital punishment for looters appears to be having the desired effect in China, Nigeria’s problem is not the absence of penalties for offenders.
“If you take into cognisance what corruption has done to the nation’s growth, you’ll tend to agree with anyone that is calling for the death penalty for offenders,” Ubani said, adding: “but I tell you that the death penalty alone cannot deter corruption in Nigeria.
“Our problem is actually the willpower to implement the laws even as enacted. Enforcement is difficult and as long as we don’t enforce our laws, even if we make death the penalty for corruption, you’ll find out that the institutions will not even apply it.”
For Adetokunbo Mumuni, director of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), death penalty is a complete no-go area. Mumuni is an advocate for the cancellation of the death penalty for all capital offences, let alone corruption. He also feels killing people for stealing public funds would be tantamount to allowing them to escape.
He said: “Once someone is killed for looting, you have more or less allowed him to go without experiencing the shame that is associated with what he has done. I would prefer that the person be given life imprisonment.
“What he has made from the corrupt practices should be recovered, including even what he has legitimately acquired. That will ensure absolute deterrent and that person will now live a life of penury. Unlike when you kill the person and the family will begin to benefit from his loot.”
Although NBA Ikorodu Branch Chairman, Adedotun Adetunji, feels labour’s call for death penalty is in order, he believes the National Assembly would be reluctant to pass such a law.
“This country is so complex that I don’t see the legislature agreeing to enact such law,” he said. “I think such law would actually be the best, because it would serve as a serious deterrent.
“When one or two people are caught and executed for corruption, all of these incidents of people storing huge amounts of stolen dollars in rooms and the craze for illegally amassing wealth will stop.”
Activist-lawyer Ebun Olu Adegboruwa also feels that resorting to death penalty is retrogression.
Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa
“I think it will be retrogressive for us as a nation, because of the frustration of corruption, to be moving backwards, to be activating what others are doing away with,” he said.
Adegboruwa also says some members of the unions are guiltier of the corruption they accuse politicians of. He suggests that the cleansing must start from within labour itself, especially its civil service arm, otherwise labour would have no moral grounds to condemn anyone.
He said: “Globally, the death penalty is becoming an anathema, whether it’s for corruption, drug trafficking, murder, or any other offence. The United Nations is making a campaign to abolish the death penalty.
“Secondly, I do not think that labour leaders, civil servants are in a good position to advocate for any penalty for corruption.
“Those who carry files, directors, permanent secretaries, they are the problems of this nation, beyond politicians who are just figures, who are expected today and leave office tomorrow.
“So, they don’t have the locus, it amounts to sheer hypocrisy; the unions have to clear the whole house first. To be pointing fingers at people for corruption is to be pointing it at themselves. Until that lesson is done, I think the blame in this game should go back to the civil servants.
He gave what happened with former Minister of Health, Mrs Alonge Gray, as an example.
“No politician can embezzle money without the connivance of civil servants. You remember the experience of Mrs. Gray Longe, the former Minister of Health that former President Olusegun Obasanjo disgraced?
“It was civil servants that told her ‘Mama, there is excess money, don’t return the money.’ And they were the ones that shared it; they gave her a formula for sharing.
“So, civil servants are the ones who put politicians’ hands in corruption. The war against corruption should start with the civil servants, when they’re making this clamour, they’re making it against themselves.”
Perpetual injunctions
The unions also kicked against the grant of perpetual injunctions in unjustifiable situations. On this issue, they find common ground with lawyers.
“It’s quite a challenge for us as lawyers,” said Adegboruwa, “we cannot out of blind patriotism cover up the rot in the judiciary, whether at the Bar or Bench.
“It is still painful to me today that the court gave a perpetual injunction in favour of the former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odilli, to the extent that up till today no one can take anything done by that administration. It’s painful for us at the judiciary.
“The EFCC refused to appeal against that, for whatever reason. If at all there should be such an order, it should be a temporary thing, when their positions are laid bare, and there is no persecution, no witch-hunting, the person should go and clear himself in the court.
“By giving such an injunction, the court is indirectly working against itself. I think the NBA will have a lot to do in this regard, in terms of the attempts to restrain courts and the police from investigating people.”
Mumuni agrees. He feels such injunctions ought to be challenged.
“You can’t give an injunction against somebody who has a legal duty to carry out,” he said. “So those kinds of orders are manufactured in mischief, conceived in mischief and delivered in mischief.
“What the EFCC would have done would be to challenge that type of terrible order before a higher court, and I believe that the higher court would not have agreed with that particular judge.
Declaration of assets
Labour’s call for office holders to declare their assets thrice; before swearing-in, while in office, and upon leaving office is already covered in a similar constitutional provision.
Section 11 (1) of the fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution mandates public officials to declare their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau at least twice; before and immediately after leaving office.
The declaration, which must be in writing, shall include all of the office holder’s properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his/her unmarried children who are under 18.
The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) has urged lawyers to help end corruption in Africa.
PALU said corruption thrives in the continent partly because, most lawyers, who represent parties to majority of business transactions lack knowledge of the nature and threats of corruption, making them vulnerable to, and complicit in acts of corruption.
The group, in a statement in Abuja by its Vice President, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN), said since every business transaction has a legal angle, requiring lawyers to act as intermediaries for either governments, private companies or citizens, they (lawyers) are well placed to prevent corruption, and could play a lead role in entrenching cleaner business transactions in the continent.
Kayode, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), said the need to equip lawyers with the requisite knowledge of the nature and threats of corruption will partly drive the PALU yearly conference scheduled for Abuja between September 22 and 24, which will feature a two-day conference as theme: Combating corruption: The role of the legal profession in Africa.
He said the conference, among others, aims to strengthen the role of African lawyers in the fight against corruption on the continent. He added that members will, at the conference, “officially adopt and sign the Code of Ethics on anti-corruption and professional compliance standards, and officially launch the interactive website and blog on lawyers-led anti-corruption initiatives on the African continent.”
Kayode, who is also Chairman of the conference’s Local Organising Committee (LOC), said President Muhammadu Buhari, the Legal Counsel of the African Union Commission (AUC), the General Counsel of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Chairperson of the African Union’s Advisory Board against Corruption (AU-ABC) are among dignitaries expected at the event.
“Africa is one of the fastest growing economies in the world with significant multinational business transactions such as in mining, energy (oil and gas) and large infrastructure projects. The continent has however lost billions of dollars in these business transactions to corruption. This is money that could be used in socio-economic development on the continent.
“PALU has identified good economic governance as an essential pre-requisite for promoting economic growth and reducing poverty in Africa. Our 2014-2019 Strategic Plan has placed importance on building the capacity of our members to help in preventing and combating corruption in Africa.
“To that end, PALU is implementing a project titled: “African lawyers initiative on compliance in business relations”. The project aims at creating awareness on the legal and other anti-corruption instruments that exist, and the methods of ensuring compliance.
“It also aims at shifting part of the responsibility of fighting corruption in business from government agencies to the legal profession upon whom business transactions rely. “These aims will be achieved through a series of activities that aspire to share information with, train and assist lawyers, to adopt and implement anti-corruption and compliance standards. A key output of the project is the development of a Code of Ethics on anti-corruption and professional compliance standards,” Kayode said.
Former Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) president Mrs. Boma Ozobia has been appointed a member of the MNCapital Africa Advisors ( MNCAA) advisory board
MNCAA is a South Africa-based firm which offers corporate advisory, capital raising and market entry services, with partners in key African markets, including Botswana, DRC, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, as well as key financial centers across the globe.
Ozobia was the first woman CLA President in over 50 year. She was on the Board of Trustees of the Royal Commonwealth Society and also served as the Chairwoman of the Association of Women Solicitors of England and Wales between 2005/2006. She was awarded national honours of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) in September 2014.
MNCAA Managing Partner Mansur Nuruddin said: “Boma’s wealth of experience will enable us to provide a much higher level of service to our international clients looking to invest in Nigeria as well as our clients in Nigeria seeking capital and international partners.”
Ozobia said: “MNCapital Africa Advisers is well positioned to drive economic growth and employment in Africa through its expert advisory services and strategic partnerships. I am delighted to be a part of this and look forward to working with the team to achieve the corporate objectives.”
Lawyers in Abuja have requested the Department of State Service (DSS) to make public the report of the search conducted by its men on one of the guest houses of the Akwa Ibom State Government in Uyo.
The lawyer, under the aegis of Akwa Ibom Lawyers Forum, said releasing the investigation report would end the doubt over the DSS true intention.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State accused the DSS on Friday, of unlawfully invading Akwa Ibom State Government House.
The group, led by Leo Ekpeyong, made its position known in Abuja on Saturday. The lawyers condemned “the incessant attacks by the PDP on the DSS for performing its statutory responsibilities.”
Ekpeyong said the group’s findings showed that the DSS did not invade the Akwa Ibom Governor’s official residence, as alleged by the PDP and Fayose, but a guest house of the state government.
He said release of the search report would shed light on the actual intention of the DSS and what its men found in their investigation.
“We urge the leadership of the DSS, under the leadership of Mallam Lawal Daura, who has brought professionalism and expertise in the discharge of its duties, to expedite action in the course of this investigation.
“We urge the leadership of the DSS to complete its investigation speedily and let Nigerians know the outcome.
“The safety of the life and property of Nigerians cannot be negotiated. We urge the leadership of the DSS to make public the outcome of its investigation so that Nigerians will know the true state of affairs because it is clear that only the guilty are afraid.
“We condemn, in strong terms, the incessant attacks on the DSS by the PDP.
“Contrary to false media reports that the DSS invaded the Akwa Ibom Government House, which is the official residence of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, I make bold to say on behalf of the Akwa Ibom Lawyers’ Forum in Abuja that the DSS gained access to one of the guest houses of the Akwa Ibom State Government and not the official residence of the governor.
“This was as a result of the intelligence report of incriminating items found in one of the guest houses of Akwa Ibom State government.
“I want to say that these incessant attacks by the PDP against the DSS is one too many and it is a calculated attempt to obstruct and impede lawful execution of duties within the purview of the DSS?
“It must be clear that it is no more news in Nigeria that the security situation is becoming embarrassing to the nation, even in the international community.
“So every well meaning and patriotic Nigerian should be interested in giving support to security forces to stem the tide of recurring insurgency and insecurity,” Ekpeyong said.
