The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lawyers

  • Ekweremadu to lawyers: help sustain democracy

    Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu has urged lawyers to help foster development, integration and sustainable democracy.

    He spoke while delivering a keynote address at the yearly law week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja branch.

    Its theme was: The legal profession as a catalyst for national development, integration and sustainable democracy.

    Ekweremadu recalled that Chile, a South American country, once found herself in similar circumstances as Nigeria.

    He said lawyers, led by the likes of Gabriel Valdes, rose to the occasion in the 1980s to reunite the country.

    “They rallied good men and women from various political divides and came up with a new code of political conduct, instituting a permanent government of national unity,” he said.

    Ekweremadu also recalled that at the end of the World War II in 1945, West Germany was torn apart by sectarian disagreements between the Catholics and Protestants, especially over alleged roles played by each under Hitler’s Third Reich.

    “The lawyers and other like minds also rose to the occasion by bringing the two religious communities together to form one political party, the Christian Democratic Union. They firmly stabilised not only West Germany, but also the Republic of Germany,” he said.

    He noted that lawyers were the only set of professionals that refer to themselves as friends.

    “Importantly, this appellation comes with responsibilities- knowledge, integrity, research, patriotism, hard work, commitment, and indeed, an all round excellence. It comes with obligations to the society, court, and client.

    “The lawyers deploy their learnedness to the full advantage of the client to ensure he or she obtains justice and to the court to do justice by laying bare the facts and putting the other party on notice. Lawyers are torchbearers of rule of law and fortresses of democracy and democratic values,” Ekweremadu said.

    He said the NBA had shown capacity to resolve internal crisis to ensure fairness and justice, which he described as very critical to national integration.

    Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN), who was represented by Mr. Pius Imoistikeme Oteh, believed lawyers were leaders by virtue of their training.

    Malami said lawyers were privileged to live in an era of Nigeria’s political evolution where old assumptions of untouchable privileges as well as immunity from the law and due process were increasingly being challenged “as we take steps to gradually cleanse our country and steer it away from the old ways of doing things”.

    “The implication is that legal practitioners must equally elevate their individual and collective standards of discipline and accountability in order to rise above the new standards of societal scrutiny,” he said.

    According to him,  a disciplined and properly regulated Bar ensures greater prosperity for all through better remuneration and increased patronage by clients who seek not only quality work, but also high ethical standards.

    “As we gradually inch towards the 2019 general elections, let me use this opportunity to remind us all that our individual and collective actions as professionals, either in the advice we give to our clients; in the manner in which we pursue our matters before the courts and the tribunals as well as our public comments on topical issues of the day, will have significant bearing on the growth and sustenance of our democracy,” Malami said.

    The branch chair, Princess Franchesca Frank-Chukwuani, said the law week was an annual tradition of every NBA branch.

    “It is time when branch members come together to interact and proffer possible solutions to national issues,” she said.

    She thanked NBA President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) for his support and commitment to the Branch and for accepting their invitation to chair the event.

    The showcase session with the theme: Achieving best practices within the confines of the law was chaired by  Chris Uche (SAN), with Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS) Director-General Prof. Adedeji Adekunle (SAN) as lead speaker.

    Justice Chima Nweze of the Supreme Court chaired the session in honour of the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello. Its topic was: Emerging issues and challenges in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

    The law week ended with a dinner at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

  • Children’s Day: Lawyers call for inclusion of legal education in school curriculum

    Legal Practitioners in the Federal Capital Territory on Sunday, stressed the need for the inclusion of legal education in school curriculum to keep students abreast of the laws of the country.

    Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria,(NAN), on the occasion of the 2018 Children’s Day, the lawyers said that there was need to introduce elementary knowledge of legal education particularly the constitution.

    Mrs Vera Ojodua said that the constitution which was the grand norm of the land should not be treated as a secret document, it should be introduced early to the children.

    “A lot of Nigerians have never ever set eyes on the document called the Nigerian Constitution, which in my opinion is wrong.

    “As Nigerians, we don’t have to leave studying of the laws of the land to the lawyers alone, they are the laws of our land and we should all have knowledge,of what the laws of our land say.

    “If this is introduced at school level, it will make it easier for people to understand laws that guide such aspects of life like fundamental rights, their responsibility to the country as citizens and what the government owes them and demand for these in the right way.”

    Mr Kehinde Aluko said it would help if some of the laws were reduced to nursery rhymes for the younger children noting that children hardly forgot rhymes.

    “There are some nursery rhymes and memory verses that have been engraved on my memory and I will never forget them

    “So I can imagine, let’s say if the chapter which talks about human rights is made into a rhyme and taught. It will remain on the minds of the children.”

    Mr Vitalis Alumodu also noted that legal education should be made a subject like Mathematics or English saying it would open the minds of Nigerian children to the rule of law at an early age.

    According to him, the constitution is a very important document to every Nigerian and what better way to ensure that Nigerians read it than introducing it as a subject in schools.

    Children’s day is a day set aside to recognised and celebrate children, it is celebrated on various dates in different countries and in Nigeria, it is May 27. (NAN)

  • Why Cabotage Act can’t be implemented, by lawyers

    Maritime lawyers and stakeholders have explained why the Cabotage Law cannot be implemented.

    They said the Federal Govern-ment’s failure to assist shipowners, banks’refusal to support indige-nous shipowners to buy sufficient vessels and the conspiracy by some importers and clearing agents to deceive security agents at the ports were affecting the execution.

    At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, a maritime lawyer, Mr Mohammed Usman, described the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, 2003 as a protectionist law to create exclusive areas in the coastal trade for indigenous operators. Indigenous ship owners, he  said, had complained that the waiver clause has made the implementation of the law difficult.

    Mohammed urged the  government to support the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in executing its mandate.

    “This is the time for the Federal Government to give the necessary support to NIMASA and see to the implementation of the Cabotage Act.

    “There is no doubt that some powerful individuals in government are trying to frustrate the implementation of the law.

    “Nigerians are waiting to see the government that will see to the quick implementation of the law. Any government that is ready to enforce the law would make it compulsory that every ship that calls at our port should first declare its arrival to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeran Customs Service (NSC), NIMASA and the Navy. By doing so, it would become easy to implement the law,” he said.

    Usman said the implementation should not be a problem. “NIMASA does not even need to get to the jetty to arrest a vessel. It can ask a vessel to tell her its point of loading. So, if it is offshore Lagos or offshore Cotonou, the agency can then verify if it is on the list of Cabotage registered vessels. Therefore, implementation should not be a major issue. From all indications, there must be a kind of conspiracy between the operators and people that grant approval for foreign vessels to come into the country,” he said.

    He said the shipowners must be supported by the government and banks to buy sufficient vessels to carry out coastal trade.

    ”Much as it is estimated that marine transportation offshore alone has a potential annual revenue profit of millions of naira as against coastal trade in commodity and products, it is believed that harnessing the opportunities of effective implementation of Cabotage will provide a springboard for indigenous operators to acquire requisite capacity and expertise to launch themselves into global shipping.

    “The target is for Nigerian carriers to have a share of about $4 billion per annum gross value of freight in and out of Nigeria. Only 20 per cent share of the market will stimulate the local economy to the tune of about $600 million gross per annum,” Usman said.

    Another operator, Olive Venture Chairman, Mr Samson Ojikutu, said the Cabotage regime covers ship building, ship ownership, manning and registration. Unlike the Cabotage Law in other maritime nations, he said Nigeria’s Cabotage law provides for waivers.

    Ojikutu said the government should stir maritime development in the country by using its agencies to coordinate and regulate the industry.

    Felix Ogomoju also agreed with them.

  • State police can curb insecurity, lawyers

    Lawyers have advocated that states should be allowed to set up and operate their own police force, saying it was the only panacea to the prevailing insecurity in the land.

    The lawyers under the aegis of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Eket Branch said collaboration between Federal and State police would rid the country of needless bloodshed.

    Prof. Ernest Ojukwu (SAN) gave the remarks in his keynote address titled: ‘Prevailing Security Challenges in Nigeria: Is state police the answer?’ during the 2018 Bar Week.

    According to Ojukwu, personnel of state police are likely to do better intelligence gathering and rapid response actions because they know the terrain, speak the local languages and probably know the criminals.

    “Implementation of criminal reforms of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act will be difficult or impossible without a state controlled police,” he said.

    Read Also: State police can curb insecurity, lawyers

    Ojukwu said that state police would enhance the federal system of government, adding that a state police should not be watered down by the little challenges its implementation may pose.

    “The challenges is how to fashion out a good model for the implementation of the state police model.

    “The 2014 National Conference has proposed a workable model and this model must be critically reviewed to get the best.

    “All states must be allowed to take their destiny in their hands and this is the best way for state to blossom,” he said.

    Ojukwu added that the courts should be alive to their responsibility of safeguarding the Constitution and all citizens must be ready to abide by these constitutional provisions.

    According to him, this will reduce conflicts on constitutional issues.

    Also speaking, Barrister Emeka Obegolu, in a keynote address, entitled ‘Democratic Rule in Nigeria 1999-2018: Lessons and Challenges’, said that democracy works when holders of Executive or Presidential powers respect the decisions of courts.

    He said the objective of the paper was to appraise democratic rule in Nigeria from 1999 to 2018, examination it’s benefits as well as challenges and proffer suggestions for a better democratic Nigeria.

    Obegolu listed the challenges faced by democratic government as lack of enthronement and respect for rule of law, challenges in the conduct of free and fair elections, non-abiding to the rule of separation of power and corruption.

    “On the corollary, the weakest link of the sort of distorted democracy that is practiced in Nigeria is the lack of obedience and compliance with court judgements and orders,

    “Perhaps, due to the absence of strong institutional mechanisms for compelling the executive arm of government to play by the rule of the democratic norms.”

    Justice Abraham, the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom, said the theme of the Bar week, ‘Law, Politics and National Development: The Role of Lawyers’ , was apt and most appropriate in view of the challenging times the people are passing through as a nation.

    He said that the growing threat to the fundamental existence of the country often calls for a radical and pragmatic intervention by our judicial process.

    Also speaking, Udoh Imeh, Chairman, NBA Eket Branch, said Eket Bar has produced the number two lawyer in the country, adding that a member of the General Council of the Bar and several members in different National Committee.

  • SystemSpecs chief urges lawyers to brace for competition

    With the increasing rate of technology adoption sweeping across the globe, non-lawyers, aided by technology, would begin to offer services hitherto reserved for learned men, an indigenous software powerhouse, SystemsSpecs, has warned.

    Its founder and Chief Executive Officer, John Obaro, who spoke at a panel discussion on: Technology and Innovation during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch Annual Law Week, said some of the things lawyers do could be automated, adding that competition in the legal profession has moved from the local to the international arena.

    SystemSpecs is the firm that produced Remita, the software that is driving Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative that has helped mopped up trillions of naira from Federal Government ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs).

    Obaro said robots are increasingly gaining traction, adding that what is seen as disruption today would not be so in the foreseeable future.

    He recalled that 10 years ago, there was no financial technology (FinTch). He said today, FinTech is now assuming a full life of its own, making financial transactions, both payments and receipts, easy. He added that it was practically impossible for bank account owners to check their balances without first going into a physical banking hall, joining the queue and taking ‘tally number’ before doing so. Today, he said things have changed as people that could be done on the go via the mobile phone any time within the comforts of people’s homes.

    Obaro lamented that the policy environment was stultifying the growth of the industry, stressing that regulations and policies would always lag behind technology.  This, he blamed on ignorance. For instance, he said the needless controversy that greeted the full implementation of TSA was largely borne out of ignorance, adding that a lot of things would be happening soon in the FinTech space.

    Also speaking on the panel, President Fintech Association of Nigeria, Dr. Segun Aina, said technology is an enabler and not necessarily a disruptor. According to him, the rise of the internet has fundamentally changed the way business is run, adding that the association wants to make Nigeria the hub of financial technology.

    According to Aia, banking would required while banks will not, adding that lawyers will no longer be needed in future.

    He said lawyers in the United States are jobless because of the rise and adoption of technology. He therefore urged lawyers to see themselves as people offering services with the use of technology.

     

  • Why Cabotage Act can’t be implemented, by lawyers

    Maritime lawyers and stakeholders have explained why the Cabotage Law cannot be implemented.

    They said the Federal Govern-ment’s failure to assist shipowners,   banks’refusal to support indige-nous shipowners to buy sufficient vessels and the conspiracy by some importers and clearing agents to deceive security agents at the ports were affecting the execution.

    At a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, a maritime lawyer, Mr Mohammed Usman, described the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, 2003 as a protectionist law to create exclusive areas in the coastal trade for indigenous operators. Indigenous ship owners, he  said, had complained that the waiver clause has made the implementation of the law difficult.

    Mohammed urged the  government to support the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in executing its mandate.

    “This is the time for the Federal Government to give the necessary support to NIMASA and see to the implementation of the Cabotage Act.

    “There is no doubt that some powerful individuals in government are trying to frustrate the implementation of the law.

    “Nigerians are waiting to see the government that will see to the quick implementation of the law. Any government that is ready to enforce the law would make it compulsory that every ship that calls at our port should first declare its arrival to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeran Customs Service (NSC), NIMASA and the Navy. By doing so, it would become easy to implement the law,” he said.

    Usman said the implementation should not be a problem. “NIMASA does not even need to get to the jetty to arrest a vessel. It can ask a vessel to tell her its point of loading. So, if it is offshore Lagos or offshore Cotonou, the agency can then verify if it is on the list of Cabotage registered vessels. Therefore, implementation should not be a major issue. From all indications, there must be a kind of conspiracy between the operators and people that grant approval for foreign vessels to come into the country,” he said.

    He said the shipowners must be supported by the government and banks to buy sufficient vessels to carry out coastal trade.

    ”Much as it is estimated that marine transportation offshore alone has a potential annual revenue profit of millions of naira as against coastal trade in commodity and products, it is believed that harnessing the opportunities of effective implementation of Cabotage will provide a springboard for indigenous operators to acquire requisite capacity and expertise to launch themselves into global shipping.

    “The target is for Nigerian carriers to have a share of about $4 billion per annum gross value of freight in and out of Nigeria. Only 20 per cent share of the market will stimulate the local economy to the tune of about $600 million gross per annum,” Usman said.

    Another operator, Olive Venture Chairman, Mr Samson Ojikutu, said the Cabotage regime covers ship building, ship ownership, manning and registration. Unlike the Cabotage Law in other maritime nations, he said Nigeria’s Cabotage law provides for waivers.

    Ojikutu said the government should stir maritime development in the country by using its agencies to coordinate and regulate the industry.

    Felix Ogomoju also agreed with them.

  • SystemSpecs chief urges lawyers to brace for competition

    With the increasing rate of technology adoption sweeping across the globe, non-lawyers, aided by technology, would begin to offer services hitherto reserved for learned men, an indigenous software powerhouse, SystemsSpecs, has warned.

    Its founder and Chief Executive Officer, John Obaro, who spoke at a panel discussion on: Technology and Innovation during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch Annual Law Week programme, said some of the things lawyers do could be automated, adding that competition in the legal profession has moved from the local to the international arena.

    SystemSpecs is the firm that produced Remita, the software that is driving Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative that has helped mopped up trillions of naira from Federal Government ministries, agencies and departments (MDAs).

    Obaro said robots are increasingly gaining traction, adding that what is seen as disruption today would not be so in the foreseeable future.

    He recalled that 10 years ago, there was no financial technology (FinTch). He said today, FinTech is now assuming a full life of its own, making financial transactions, both payments and receipts, easy. He added that it was practically impossible for bank account owners to check their balances without first going into a physical banking hall, joining the queue and taking ‘tally number’ before doing so. Today, he said things have changed as people that could be done on the go via the mobile phone any time within the comforts of people’s homes.

    Obaro lamented that the policy environment was stultifying the growth of the industry, stressing that regulations and policies would always lag behind technology.  This, he blamed on ignorance. For instance, he said the needless controversy that greeted the full implementation of TSA was largely borne out of ignorance, adding that a lot of things would be happening soon in the FinTech space.

    Also speaking on the panel, President Fintech Association of Nigeria, Dr. Segun Aina, said technology is an enabler and not necessarily a disruptor. According to him, the rise of the internet has fundamentally changed the way business is run, adding that the association wants to make Nigeria the hub of financial technology.

    According to Dr Aia, banking would required while banks will not, adding that lawyers will no longer be needed in future.

    He said lawyers in the United States are jobless because of the rise and adoption of technology. He therefore urged lawyers to see themselves as people offering services with the use of technology.

     

  • N30milion car loan for lawyers in Delta

    The Delta State Government says it has included N30million car loan in the 2018 budget for legal officers.

    It said it was to enhance the personal security and transportation needs of legal officers in the Ministry of Justice.

    The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Peter Mrakpor disclosed this yesterday while receiving in audience the newly elected executive members of the State Chapter of Law Officers Association of Nigeria, led by its Chairman, Barr. Thomas Anigara.

    According to the Attorney-General, the new head in the 2018 budget which has a provision of N30 million was different from the amount captured for general car loan for civil servants in the state domiciled in the Office of the Head of Service.

    Mrakpor while explaining the rationale for the special provision, said it was aimed at supporting legal officers to purchase their personal vehicles to ease their movement to court.

    Earlier, Chairman of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria, Delta State Chapter, Mr. Thomas Anigara told the Justice Commissioner that the visit was to formally introduce members of the new executive of the body to him.

  • ICPC chief accuses lawyers of glorifying corruption

    independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Acting Chairman Dr. Musa Usman Abubakar has accused lawyers of glorifying corruption rather than joining the fight against it.

    He said some lawyers serve as mouthpieces to those accused of corruption contrary to the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners.

    Abubakar said it was “disheartening” that such lawyers have become clogs in the wheel of justice.

    He backed calls for the establishment of a special anti-corruption court, but said it would not solve the problem of delays if lawyers do not change their attitude.

    The ICPC chief spoke at the Fifth Criminal Justice Reform Conference in Asaba, the Delta State capital. It was organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Criminal Justice Reform Committee chaired by Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN).

    Abubakar said: “In as much as the ICPC subscribes to the establishment of special court, I make bold to say that there would hardly be any difference if the defense lawyers maintain their usual tactics of frustrating the smooth administration of justice.”

     

     

     

     

  • Magu to lawyers, judiciary: stop frustrating cases

    Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu has criticised some lawyers “who specialise in frustrating cases”.

    He said the judiciary also contributes to delays through frequent transfer of judges who are forced to abandon cases.

    Magu accused lawyers of filing frivolous applications to stall cases and intimidating judges with “groundless petitions”.

    To the EFCC chair, such factors have made the prosecution of suspects “extremely challenging”.

    Magu spoke at the Fifth Criminal Justice Reform Conference in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

    It was organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Criminal Justice Reform Committee chaired by Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN).

    Magu, represented by EFCC’s Head of Legal, Gbolahan Latona, said: “It is extremely challenging in Nigeria today to prosecute defendants, particularly in corruption, economic and financial crimes.

    “Some defence counsel pride themselves in their ability to stall prosecution of cases by endless and sometimes frivolous interlocutory applications and appeals; blackmailing and intimidating judges who do not yield to their gimmicks with groundless petitions; and encouraging their defendant clients to malinger etc.

    “To those lawyers, what makes a good lawyer is his ability to use every means available to prevent or frustrate the trial, weary the anti-corruption agencies and their witnesses so that the case would not be determined on its merits but rather on technicality.”

    According to Magu, other challenges faced by EFCC in prosecuting corruption, economic and financial crimes include high cost of investigation and prosecution, constitutional constraints, jurisdictional, procedural and evidential issues; international co-operation issues, socio-cultural challenges and delay in the judicial process.

    “Undue delay in the judicial process has been identified as one of the most daunting challenges in the prosecution of corruption, economic and financial crimes in particular and others in general. It has become an albatross of the entire criminal justice system of Nigeria.

    “However, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act now has provisions that attempts to curb some of these excesses,” he said.

    In Magu’s view, delays are aggravated by the congestion of cases, slow pace of proceedings occasioned by insufficient number of judges, the manual recording system and frequent transfer of Federal High Court judges.

    He said: “A transfer of a Federal High Court judge poses a great challenge in the prosecution of corruption related crimes. Although fiats can be granted to judges for the conclusion of part-heard cases, it may be burdensome for the concerned judges, given the heavy caseloads in their new divisions.

    “Some of them who showed strong determination to conclude such cases sometimes become wearied or discouraged by the negative attitude of counsel, particularly the defence.

    “Several cases have been started de novo or afresh because of the transfer, retirement or elevation of the presiding judges. This entails bringing the witnesses to court afresh for their testimonies with the attendant challenges in terms of their availability, willingness; and incidental financial costs.

    “This above scenario necessitated major players in the criminal justice sector to question the effectiveness of extant provisions such as Section 19 (3) of the EFCC Act aimed at expediting criminal trials.”

    “Calls were therefore made for a paradigm shift which included the enactment of new procedural rules and creation of special courts to try corruption related offences,” the EFCC chair said.

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) regretted that Nigeria still labours under ineffective administration of justice, with recent events putting undue stress on the system.

    “In the Northeaast, the justice system is for the most part near collapse; in many other parts, there is a steep decline to near anarchy. In Zamfara State, for instance, the killings and absence of law and order has become worrisome.

    “In many states across the North Central, Benue, Taraba, Plateau Kogi, the strife and killings have put huge stress on the justice sector.

    “In other states in many parts of the country, including Southeast and the Delta region, kidnappings, robberies and various forms of criminality are becoming more and more common occurrence.

    “All these underscore the continuing urgency for reforms for a more effective administration of criminal justice. We should be prepared for even more radical reforms to address these challenges,” Mahmoud said.