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Tag: SAN

  • SAN seeks caretaker committee for NBA

    Former Lagos Branch  of Nigerian BarAssociation (NBA) Chairman, Mr. Chijioke Okoli (SAN) has urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen to set up a caretaker committee to run the affairs of the association.

    In a June 9 letter, Okoli noted that Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had “unequivocally and pointedly” nullified the amended 2015 NBA Constitution “and everything done or purported to have been done thereunder”.

    Justice Tsoho, in his judgement, in a suit filed by Olasupo Ojo against the Incorporated Trustees of NBA, invalidated the constitution because it was not registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

    Okoli slleged that by virtue of the verdict “the NBA leadership under A. B. Mahmoud (SAN), having been ushered into office on the basis of elections conducted under the said constitution, has unquestionably lost legal validity”.

    He noted that rather than comply with the dictates of the judgement, “Mr. Mahmoud has been treating the otherwise binding judgement with scorn and derision. This is as dangerous as it is unacceptable for a multiplicity of self-evident reasons.”

    Okoli recalled that on May 24, 2017, he wrote Mahmoud to draw his attention to these anomalies, adding that the crisis “requires decisive intervention by leaders of the Bar and all those primarily concerned with the administration of justice in our country”.

    He specifically urged the Body of Benchers, of which the CJN is chairman, to redress the situation.

    To buttress his request for a caretaker committee, the former branch chairman said it was “informed by the fact of the total incapacitation of the officers of the NBA by the said court’s judgment against the backdrop of some provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act…”

    According to Okoli, Section 10(2) – (5) of the LPA empowers the Body of Benchers to set up a Caretaker Committee “to manage the affairs of the NBA for a period not exceeding 12 months. The Caretaker Committee appears to be sorely needed to save the Association and the machinery of administration of justice in the country from other disputes.”

    Okoli intimated Mahmoud on why it would be honourable to vacate office, saying: “Even more disconcerting, however, has been the nonchalance, if not disdain, which underpin the reactions of the office of NBA presidency under your watch to the judgment. It has proceeded as if nothing has happened.

    “As weighty as they are, the untoward practical effects of your stance regarding the judgment as discussed in this letter probably pale into secondary importance in comparison with the damaging effect on the concept of rule of law. The NBA rightly professes rule of law as an article of faith, but its current stance under your watch is the antithesis of the sacred concept.”

  • Nigerian Law School releases Bar exam results as 28% fails

    Nigerian Law School releases Bar exam results as 28% fails

    The Nigerian Law School has released the summary of the final examination results conducted from April 22 to 28.

    The Director-General, Nigerian Law School, Mr Olarewaju Onadeko, (SAN), made this known in a statement on Saturday in Bwari, FCT.

    He said that 2, 125 students participated at the examinations while 1,393 were successful.

    According to him, candidates with conditional Pass are 196 while 596 failed.

    A further breakdown of the results showed that candidates with Pass accounted for 65.6 percent, those with conditional Pass represented 6. 4 per cent, while those who failed were 28 per cent.

    Onadeko said that the ‘Call to the Bar’ ceremony for the successful candidates will hold on July 13 in Abuja.

  • Lawyer tasks the bar on protection of vulnerable people

    Lawyer tasks the bar on protection of vulnerable people

    Legal luminary, Professor Ernest Ojukwu, SAN, has tasked the bar to do more to protect the vulnerable people in the society against abuses.

    Speaking at Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch of Human Rights Committee, with the theme protecting the rights of vulnerable citizens in our society, Professor Ojukwu who was the keynote speaker at the one day seminar in Lagos noted that the Bar has not done much is this area.

    Ojukwu said if the Bar can cure its problem, it can cure the nation.

    He said there is no bar initiative on HIV discrimination, stressing that the bar needs to even protect its vulnerable young members from the wolves in the universities.

    He cited the Human Rights Commission report on abuses in Nigeria in 2015 which put the number of cases of abuse at 47,000.

    “This is the 2015 reports of the Human Right Commission. I know that the human right commission is working, doing community outreach programmes and dealing with this particular report,” he said.

    Ojukwu explained that the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA can come into these cases through evaluation of initiatives, assessment of initiatives and monitoring initiatives.

    On how to protect the vulnerable people in our society, the Don explained that the first step is to perfect the legal framework that can back up any defence mechanism.

    According to him: “Once we have a proper framework, then is for us to force the system to implement the laws, in some cases we don’t have the proper frameworks, for example there is no special law on discrimination against women, even though everybody is protected under the constitution but does not give you the real frame work as how to punish those that infringe on that rights. So for women, we don’t have, for children we have, but only in some states, only 24 states have Child Right Act so we need to get others to get the proper frameworks”.

    In her welcome address, the vice chairman/ chairperson of Human Rights Committee, NBA, Ikeja Branch, Caroline Ibharuneafe stated that since the inauguration of the committee, they have taken some steps like offering of free legal services to the indigent in the society, including visits to Ikoyi prisons with the support of Ikoyi prison’s DCP and offering of free legal services to the indigent ones.

    Mrs Ibharuneafe explained that with the United Nation’s declaration of Human and people rights in 1948, humanity began her accent towards universal brotherhood when man will become his brother’s keeper, adding that since then; national governments and the world all over have made conscious effort to ensure that the protection and enforcement of human rights are made their constitutional duties.

    She maintained that civil societies the world all over have complemented the efforts of the government’s by acting as watch dogs or social conscience.

    “Nigeria has not been exception in this regard as evidenced by section 36 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended. It is pertinent to point out that even the era of the military rule in Nigeria, the preservation and enforcement of human rights of citizens have always been in the front burners. It does my heart good to observe that the nation’s prime internal security outfit, the Nigerian police Force, has Human Rights Desk in her stations throughout the country,” she said.

    In her remarks, the acting director Institute of Humanities, Pan Atlantic University and one of the speakers, Ifeanyinwa Awagu, who came on invitation of international division of women lawyers, Lagos state branch observed that the society needs to work on empowerment of its citizens first.

    Is not just the vulnerable alone, the perpetrators also need help, because if we have fewer perpetrators, we have fewer victims, so there has to be a holistic approach to the whole thing which is working on the base, which is the dignity of the human person, she said

    She emphasised that the society has to go back to the drawing board to find out what is to be done, “so that the society becomes conscious of the fact that we are human beings”.

    Mrs Awagu added that “It could start from the homes, the parents to do their jobs, it could start from faith based organisations, the curriculum, curriculum, education system, I have signed it for so many years integrating character in the curriculum of the school. Recently the Civic education is like it has improved, but then children have to be thought that to be happy in life,   need to identify whom you are, Identifying whom you are is that you are a special creature, you can’t give what you do not have, if a male child knows that he’s a special creature from God and that he deserves the dignity, he will be able to respect the woman and rape cases will be reduced.”

    Speaking also, one of the speakers at the event, Taiwo Akinlami stressed the need for human capacity development to protect the vulnerable citizens in the society.

    He gave the example of Lee Kuan Yew who paid attention to human capacity development in 1965 when Singapore got her independence.

    He said: “Lee Kuan Yew focused on human capacity development, understanding that human capacity development starts from the kind of education we give our children. All of these are the issues, until we query our present dominant value system which creates who all of us are today. You treat children the way you see them, you see them the way you were seen growing up, until we query all of that and begin to do a lot of re orientation, I don’t think we are going anywhere and if we are not going somewhere, I think the future of Africa is bleak because what we are doing is what our children are going to be doing if our children are going to be consumers like us.

    “I speak for children, I don’t believe the children are vulnerable, what you call child’s vulnerability is simply adult irresponsibility, adult needs to take responsibility, there are18 categories of orphans, vulnerable children, all the 18 categories are human creation not God’s creation”.

     

  • Don’t force Buhari to resign, says SAN

    It is wrong to put pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to resign on health ground, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), has said.

    According to him, the decision to resign or not should be made personally by the president.

    Idigbe believes the president can perform his duties while managing his health issues as long as he is not incapacitated.

    The SAN spoke after his induction into the Third Degree of the Order of the Knights of St Mulumba (KSM) at the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration in Victoria Garden City, Lekki, Lagos.

    His wife, Elizabeth, a lawyer and Managing Partner of Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, was inducted as a Lady of St Mulumba.

    On calls for President Buhari to resign, Idigbe said: “It’s a personal decision. It’s up to him to decide. In the Catholic Church, we had a similar experience where a pope on his volition felt it was in the best interest of the church to resign. So, it’s a very personal decision. It’s not what anyone should pressure or stampede him into doing.

    “In any event, the fact that someone has some medical challenges doesn’t mean the person can’t work. There are lots of facilities nowadays. So, the decision to resign is very personal. Nigerians should give him that privacy and allow him to consider his situation.”

    Idigbe praised the Federal Government on the release of 82 Chibok girls, saying their liberation through negotiation was a welcome development.

    “Everybody is glad that that has happened. We really need to do much more in our country to maintain rule of law. But I’m happy that at least there’s progress being made.

    “Particularly, I was happy to hear that the girls’ release was as a result of negotiation, and not through a battle or forceful capture. It gives me an idea that there is some discussion going on, and I think we need to engage more in our system.”

    The SAN said he was elated at the honour of being invested with the Third Degree of the KSM.

    “It’s a much higher spiritual responsibility in terms of the objectives of the KSM which is to defend the catholic faith, propagate the religion and to do charity. I love the charity aspect,” he said.

    Lagos Metropolitan Grand Knight, Dr  Charles Mbelede, said those admitted into the third degree category the church’s honoured order were examined and found worthy.

    On the significance of the knighthood, he said: “A Knight of St Mulumba is a practising Catholic with reasonable education and financial resources who is willing to volunteer his talent and energies for the service of God, the church and fellow men.

    “He aspires towards a high sense of Christian discipline and cooperates with other Christian denominations without compromising Catholic doctrines and principles.

    “He lives an exemplary Catholic life making use of the sacraments to grow in the Grace of God. He defends the Catholic faith and gives succour to the disadvantaged, the poor and the oppressed in the society. He is a man of prayer. The Ladies of St Mulumba are the wives of Knights of St Mulumba.

    “The Order for the Knights of St Mulumba Nigeria is a national private association of Christ’s faithful, modeled on the Sacred Order of Catholic Knighthood. It is founded upon the principles of Catholic action. Knights loyally submit to the ecclesiastical authority.”

    Mbelede urged Nigerians to pray for the president’s quick recovery.

    “For me as a Christian, I’ll pray for his health, but the country has to move forward. I think we should go by what the Constitution says regarding when the President is sick. The Constitution should serve as a guide for what is right and wrong,” he said.

  • First Lady SAN is 85

    First Lady SAN is 85

    Nigeria’s First Lady Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief ’Folake Solanke, on Wednesday, March 29 this year, celebrated her 85th birthday in Ibadan, Oyo State. The well-attended celebration brought out the academic, legal, cultural, sartorial, royal, etc elegance of the celebrant and her distinguished guests.

    I have, since Chief Solanke’s 75th birthday, being a visible participant (Master of Ceremonies or Coordinator) of her public celebrations. And I, like many others, attest to the fact that the First Lady SAN (FLS) is a stickler for promptness, etiquette, protocols etc. Everything must be in place, elegant place. And I admit that those values of hers have rubbed on well with one and others.

    On Friday, March 29,  2009, when she celebrated her 77th birthday, my birthday tribute to the FLS published in the Sunday Tribune issue of March 29, 2009 was titled: “The First Lady SAN and the Baroness”. The  following is the tribute.

    The Yoruba generally believe that Olodumare (Almighty God) creates human beings in ‘pairs’. This belief is different from reincarnation, as the ‘pairing’ under reference connotes a belief that, for every living man/woman, there is also in existence either far or near him/her someone with similar features, characteristics, achievements, tastes, etc.

    I shall cite two examples in this write-up, if only to buttress the Yoruba ‘pair’ theory. First, was the case of the late Elvis Aaron Presley and Muhammad Ali (now late), both citizens of the United States of America (USA). Even though one was white and the other black, the two gentlemen were Kings of their different professions. Elvis was the ‘King of pop’ and Ali was the ‘King of boxing’ as the first man in history to win the world heavy weight boxing title thrice. The two gentlemen were friends and were equally talented. Elvis’ hands and feet (remember his stage moves?) were as swift on stage as Ali’s (gloved) hands and footworks were in the boxing ring. Ali and Elvis were interwined by intelligence, creativity, beauty, humour and charity. May their souls rest in peace, Amen.

    Now, to the First Lady Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) (1981) and the Baroness. I believe you know who they are. The First Lady SAN (hereinafter referred to as FLS) is no other person than Chief ’Folake Solanke, who is 77 years old today, Sunday, March 29, 2009, while the Baroness was Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of Britain (1979-90). FLS and the Baroness were equally intertwined by intelligence, mathematics, law, teaching, chemistry (Baroness was a research chemist, while FLS’s revered father, PA Jacob Odulate alias the “Blessed Jacob”, founded the popular Alabukun Chemist) savvy, drive, strong character, integrity, patriotism, and an all-round beauty.

    My first public reference to the ‘sisterhood’ or is it pairing now, of these two remarkable ladies was sometime in 1990 at a luncheon in Mrs. Solanke’s honour by the Zonta Club at Bodija, Ibadan, where I was the Master of Ceremonies. With due deference, Baroness Thatcher, was older, but both women fit well into the Yoruba pair cell.

    Better known as the “Iron Lady”, Baroness Thatcher was born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. Educated at Somerville College, and Oxford University, she held the B.A., B.Sc., M.A degrees and was mathematics teacher and research chemist before studying Law, specialising in tax law. Her foray into politics as a Conservative led her into entering the British Parliament, the second woman ever to become a cabinet minister under the late Prime Minister Edward Heath. She succeeded Mr. Heath as leader of the Conservative Party in 1975 and became Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990; Britain and Europe’s first woman prime minister and longest serving PM of Britain since 1827. She received the Order of Merit in 1990 and two years after, was made a baroness, qualifying to become a member of the House of Lords.

    The celebrant of today, FLS, Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, B.A., Dip.Ed., B.L., LL.B. LL.D(h.c) FNIALS, D, Litt (h.c), former Latin and Mathematics teacher, who trained and taught in England and Nigeria, ‘Queen of the Bar’, whose “Alabukun Chambers”, according to one high court judge, is noted for decency, holds among many others, the following firsts.

    First lady state commissioner in the former Western State Nigeria, 1972; First Lady Chairman of the Board of WNTV-WNBS, 1972; First Lady Senior Advocate of Nigeria, 1981; and First non-Caucasian to be elected international president of Zonta International, 1992.

    A full view of Mama Solanke can be obtained from her magnum opus, Reaching for the Stars…the autobiography of Folake Solanke, launched two years ago, during her 75th birthday lecture/book presentation in Ibadan. I was honoured to be the compere of the birthday/lecture/book presentation where the Nobel laureate, Professor ’Wole Soyinka, was the guest speaker.

    Please allow some glances of the amazing woman who has become an icon for cerebral dexterity and uncompromising honesty in the legal profession as I quote some of her reasons for writing the autobiography.

    “First to acknowledge, with immense gratitude, the unquantifiable grace of God in my life. In all humility, all I can do is to continue in monumental thanksgiving for copious blessings, which it has pleased Him to bestow upon me and my family.

    “Second, to pay a lasting tribute to my father, Chief J.S Odulate, alias “The Blessed Jacob”, otherwise known as ‘Alabukun’, for all that he did to protect and nurture me as a motherless child. I was only two years old when my mother died. Also, to express my deep gratitude to the entire Alabukun Family for my survival.

    “……to demonstrate with my own life experience, that the home is the bedrock of the society. Thus, home training and discipline are a sine qua non for moulding the character of every child. Discipline is not a swear word, it may be old, but it is still valid and relevant today for the welfare of the society. Regrettably, the  words ‘home training’ and ‘discipline’ do not sit comfortably with many of the younger generation. Nonetheless, I am profoundly grateful to my father for my disciplined upbringing. My father taught me to be of good conduct. He also admonished me to pursue excellence in all my endeavours, and never, to be satisfied with mediocrity. I was in my early teenage years when he told me “The sky is the limit”. I have tried all my life to follow that paternal admonition by always reaching for the Stars. I continue so to do – Deo Volente…

    “….and last, but certainly not the least, to pay a heart felt tribute to the love of my life – Toriola Feyisitan Solanke – who rested in the Lord in my arms, on Tuesday, the 18th day of September, 2001. In that regard, I hereby confirm what I wrote and published about the King of Surgery in the obituary titled: “Tribute from the Heart. (Reaching for the Stars.. 2007, ppxvii-xx)”

    Dear Ma’am, please overlook my ‘shyness’ in describing you as God-fearing, intelligent, cultured, dainty, kind, thorough, blessed and well-loved.

    Happy 85th birthday. We look forward to 2022 when, Deo Volente, you will celebrate your 90th birthday in good health, joy, honour and contentment. At least, everybody present at the Civic Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Wednesday, 29th March, this year heard you publicly declare.  

  • Ijaw group hails FG’s directive for oil companies to relocate to N/Delta

    Ijaw group hails FG’s directive for oil companies to relocate to N/Delta

    The Ijaw Professionals Association (IPA) has described as a step in the right direction, the Federal Government’s historic directive that oil companies must relocate their corporate headquarters to the crude oil and gas-rich Niger Delta region.

    It noted that the directive, which was conveyed by the then Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on March 2 this year, during his equally-encouraging stakeholders’ consultation tours to all states of the Niger Delta, would ensure a lasting peace in the region.

    IPA, in an online statement on Tuesday by the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Maj.-Gen. Paul Alaowei-Toun; President of Homeland Chapter (Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta States), Iniruo Wills; and President of Lagos Chapter, Elaye Otrofanowei; described the directive as the strongest signal in many years that the Federal Government had sincerely begun to address the age-old challenges of the Niger Delta region from the roots, rather than the usual cosmetic approach of trying to dust off the symptoms on the surface.

    It said: “The presidential directive answers one of the cardinal demands of petroleum host communities over the last half-century. For the oil producing and heavily oil-polluted communities and states in the Niger Delta, this might be the most authentic evidence of the Nigerian local content policy that was recently enacted into law but is yet to be of much practical value to our people’s lives and local economies in the region.

    The effects on the water of an oil spill which occurred in mid 2007, near the community of Goi, Ogoniland, Nigeria, photo taken 28 January 2008.

    “Hopefully, the directive will also mark a departure from the mutually counter-productive tactics of seeking to suppress agitation and its regrettable ramifications by military might.

     

    “Although the Federal Government’s directive, even upon complete implementation, will not be the final solution to the Niger Delta question, it will be of tremendous benefit to Nigeria and to the Niger Delta, due to the significant impact it will have on the region in terms of social and economic empowerment, restoration of the crucial peaceful atmosphere for smooth oil and gas operations and the consequent sustainability of the substantial national revenues flowing from the region and its coastal treasures.

    “The speed and commitment with which the directive will be implemented and facilitated by all stakeholder segments are matters of critical national importance and urgency. The momentum must not only be maintained but maximised as well.

    [quote font_size=”18″ bgcolor=”#e8e820″ arrow=”yes”]”It is highly incumbent on all key stakeholders and drivers to act promptly and decisively towards immediate implementation of the Federal Government’s directive.”[/quote]

    The Ijaw professionals also looked primarily to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Kachikwu, in his usual energetic manner, to drive an accelerated process for the relocation of all oil and gas companies to their areas of operation.kachikwu

    IPA noted that the relocation should affect the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), its various subsidiaries (NAPIMS, NETCO, HYSON, IDSL, etc.) and the relevant regulatory/monitoring and capacity building agencies such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) and the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), which it said had all curiously remained at a dysfunctional distance far from the geographical centres of their operations and mandates.

    It said: “We trust that the industry operators, especially but not restricted to the multinational oil companies, will cooperate fully and swiftly on this declared thrust of the Government of Nigeria.

    “It is also our minimum expectation from the indigenous operators that they will follow suit, moreover as they are all beneficiaries of the petroleum industry indigenisation or Nigerian-local content policy and in particular recent divestments of oil mining leases and marginal fields.

    “The people of the Niger Delta region and the rest of Nigeria look forward to this.”

    IPA also admonished home governments of the oil companies to take all measures to actively encourage their corporate nationals to comply with this directive of the government of Nigeria.

    The oil firms were asked to start to address the grave and intolerable hardships and losses they had continuously inflicted on the people and communities in the Niger Delta region for about sixty years.

    Ijaw professionals said: “We urge, as a matter of urgent responsibility, the governors of the affected states in the Niger Delta, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, the Niger Delta Development Commission and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs to seize the moment now and work together and with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and the Minister of Budget and National Planning, to facilitate the actualization of the directive.

    “This should include an immediate and mutually coordinated short to medium term infrastructure and amenities plan, with clearly defined stakeholders’ commitments on funding and other enablers. Such a strategic facilitation plan will be of immense value towards bringing the Federal Government’s visionary directive to quick fruition.

    “Our governors and other key actors, including leading professional bodies and genuine stakeholder platforms, should commit themselves to this opportunity and challenge, with the target of ensuring that the relocation of all oil and gas companies is consummated within the next six to twelve months, while arrangements for perfecting their settling down continue for such further time as may be expedient.

    “IPA commits to collaborating with these vital governmental and non-governmental institutions and mobilising its wide membership, expertise and leverages towards the fulfilment of this potentially-redefining and transformative-presidential directive.”

    Members of the association also stated that they were studying with keen interest, the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) that had just been released by the Federal Government, in its bid to revitalise the Nigerian economy.

    IPA added that part of the proceeds of the planned divestments should be to fund and underwrite the critical infrastructure needs of the Niger Delta.

  • Court grants ex-Gov. Shema, three others N1bn bail each

    Court grants ex-Gov. Shema, three others N1bn bail each

    A Katsina State High Court on Tuesday granted a former governor of the state, Ibrahim Shema and three others N1 billion bail and one reliable surety each.

    Others standing trial with the governor are former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Sani Makana, former Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government Affairs, Lawal Safana and former ALGON Chairman, Lawal Dankaba.

    The accused persons are standing trial for alleged conspiracy, forgery and diversion of public funds amounting to N11 billion.

    Justice Ibrahim Bako granted bail to the accused person in a ruling he delivered at the resumed hearing of the trial.

    The judge also held that the court has jurisdiction to try the case.

    He said that the state’s Attorney-General has the right to initiate criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law.

    Bako also held that EFCC as a federal government agency has the right to try any financial crime related cases in any court in Nigeria.

    He adjourned the case to March 28 for the continuation of hearing.

    Earlier, Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN), the counsel to the accused persons urged the court to grant bail to his clients.

    He argued that by virtue of their positions, the accused persons deserved to be granted bail and the offences they are charged with are bailable.

    Daudu also challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the trial.

    The prosecutor, Mr Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), opposed the application for bail of the accused persons and urged the court to hold that it has the jurisdiction to entertain the trial.

    He said that the offences allegedly committed by the accused persons contravene Sections 312 and 364, Cap 96 of the Penal Code, Laws of Katsina State, 1991.

    Okutepa urged the court to remand the accused persons in prison custody.

  • SANs disagree on Magu

    SANs disagree on Magu

    Senior lawyers yesterday disagreed on the implications of President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-nomination of Ibrahim Magu as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Last Monday, the president sent a letter to the Senate requesting it to confirm Magu saying there was no evidence linking the acting chairman of EFCC to any act of corruption.

    Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Seyi Sowemimo and Abiodun Owonikoko offered divergent views on the renomination.

    Sowemimo said from what he had read in the papers, the president had said there was no evidence to back the allegations against Magu.

    He said: “You will realise too that some foreign governments, especially the American Embassy with its Ambassador and officials have visited Magu and their impression is that there is nothing damming against him and that it’s an attempt to frustrate the anti-corruption crusade.

    “If the Presidency comes out and says it has looked at the DSS’s concerns and gives him a clean bill of health, I don’t think the DSS will contradict the president.

    “The Senate too, the last time they considered the matter, said if the DSS comes with a different finding, they would consider him. I think that is what has been done now; so, I don’t really think there should be more problems concerning Magu’s confirmation.

    “The scenario is being painted that those who are opposing Magu are those who want to kill the anti-corruption drive, especially with the support given by the foreign bodies.”

    But Owonikoko’s sentiments differed. He said that the appointment of te chairman of the EFCC is governed by “divided” authorities, meaning that the president nominates; the parliament confirms.

    “Each of these two arms of government has its own exclusive role under the EFCC Act. So, the president, having done his bit, is not in a position to dictate to parliament how it will carry out its own function, which is confirmation.

    “Confirmation is a prerogative of parliament and it can be assisted but cannot be dictated to in coming to a decision.

    “In a properly functioning constitutional government once parliament rejects a candidate, while the law does not prevent, it is no longer appropriate – if there should be harmonious and reciprocal respect for both arms of government – for the president to continue to nominate the same person as if the country is short of materials.

    “So, the dilemma we have is that the department of government that is saddled with the responsibility of conducting checks on potential nominees to public offices has given its own verdict. The National Assembly has accepted its verdict. I think the only option left is for Mr Magu to challenge the DSS report in court to dispute what they have said.”

    He advised the Presidency not to personalise the issue, “otherwise we are going to have ourselves in a legal logjam”. “Other members of the commission were, from my recollection, cleared by the Senate. Will they now be holding meetings of the commission to be chaired by a person that the Senate has rejected as chairman?

    “And can the acting chairman whose nomination has been rejected still continue to perform the functions of that office in defiance of the clear provisions of the law that you can only occupy that office if you are confirmed?”

  • SAN advocates laws for protection of women

    SAN advocates laws for protection of women

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria Arthur Obi Okafor has called for laws to curb gender violence.

    He was delivering an address at the International  Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria Week/Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja.

    Okafor said though violence against women is a global problem, some advanced countries have reduced it through laws and well intentioned policies.

    He said: “The news media, both online and offline, were awash with the story of a man, Mr. Lekan Shonde, who reportedly beat his wife, Ronke, to death in Lagos on the suspicion of infidelity.

    “A similar incident occurred in Ekiti State. This time, the culprit, Mr. Josiah Johnson, was alleged to have beaten his wife to death for refusing him sexual intercourse.

    “Gender-based violence is not peculiar to Nigeria. Whereas some countries, especially those in the western world, have made considerable progress towards eradication of such violence through systematic legal reforms and advocacy, Nigeria, and indeed many countries in Africa, on the other hand lag behind, thereby giving rise to a prevalence of violence against women.”

    Okafor said there was the need for women to be aware of their fundamental rights and to defend them.

    “The Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules can be used to challenge some provisions of statutes and cultural practices which run contrary to some of the fundamental rights provisions of the Constitution,” he said.

    According to him, help desks and standing committees should be created by women interest and advocacy groups at their various branches for the purposes of receiving reports of gender based violence from the victims, some of whom may be shy or constrained by financial difficulties from reporting directly to the police.

    “When such reports are received from the victims, the women interest and advocacy groups will take up the issue by reporting to the police and ensuring that the crime is thoroughly investigated and prosecuted,” he said.

    Okafor said a special unit in the police should also be created, which will be dedicated to gender based violence.

    “This sub-unit will receive training from time to time to update the knowledge and experience of the personnel which in turn will aid effective investigation and prosecution of gender based violence.

    “Family courts should also be established which will be charged with trying gender based violence. This will accord privacy to the victims of gender based violence and encourage them to report the incident to the police

    “The law should also be reformed to include payment of compensation to the victims of gender based violence. This will motivate them to go through the ordeal of trial, knowing that at the end of the day, they will not go home empty handed. The women interest and advocacy groups should also be assisted financially to enable them carry out their functions of combating gender based violence. It is hoped that with the implementation of the suggestions proffered above, gender based violence will be considerably reduced, if not eradicated,” Okafor said.

  • ‘I applied seven times for SAN’

    A former Lagos Branch Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Chijioke Okoli (SAN) has said he applied for the prestigious silk rank consecutively for seven years before he got it.

    He called for a review of the process, such as the publication of names of shortlisted applicants.

    Okoli said he was shortlisted for seven times, with his name published in newspapers on each occasion, yet no petition was written against him.

    According to him, not being conferred with the rank after being shortlisted and one’s name published may create the wrong impression about an applicant.

    This, he said, is because the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), which confers the rank, does not offer any explanations as to why some people were left out.

    He said there was “so much emotional investment” in the application process, adding that there was always a “collateral damage” when an applicant does not get the rank after their name have been published.

    Okoli spoke in Lagos during a dinner/lecture to mark his conferment with the rank. It was organised by “Friends of Chijioke Okoli” in collaboration with NBA Lagos Branch and an association of Igbo lawyers, the Otu Oka-Iwu (Law Society).

    Recalling his experience,  he said: “For seven years I was shortlisted. I would be ‘called’ in terms of being shortlisted, but not ‘chosen’. For nearly 10 years I was in the ‘wilderness’, but I didn’t quit. One of the most tasking things in life is to apply for SAN.”

    While he would love to see some changes made in the process, he urged lawyers Ayet to get the rank not to give up.

    He said it sometimes requires the “tenacity of not giving up” to get the rank, adding: “Don’t be bitter. If God says you will get it, you will.”

    A partner at Ajumogobia and Okeke, Mr Chris Okeke, who chaired the event, described Okoli as a man with “clarity of thought and superior intellect”, adding that “Nigeria needs the Chijiokes”.

    He urged the celebrator to do more to contribute to the society, saying: “The journey does not end here. There is so much you can accomplish.”

    Okoli is a 1987 graduate of the University of Jos. He holds two Masters Degrees – an LLM in Sports Law and Practice from De Montfort University, Leicester, England, and a Masters in Political Science from the University of Lagos.

    A specialist in commercial litigation, he is also renowned as a pioneering sports lawyer.  He was the first General Counsel for Team Nigeria over a decade ago.

    Besides serving as Chairman of NBA Lagos Branch, Okoli also served as a prosecutor for NBA’s Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers.

    Among guests at the event were former Anambra State Governor Mr Peter Obi, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Ade Ipaye, who delivered the lecture, Justices Christopher Balogun and Oyindamola Ogala, Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Head of Legal, Mr Anselm Ozioko, who represented the acting chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, among others.