‘MY BLUEPRINT TO PROMOTE LAWYERS’ WELFARE,’ BY LIMAN SALIHU

As part of my vision if elected as 1st VP, I will assist the next President of NBA to Promote Rule of Law which is the cardinal objective of NBA, enhance capacity building programs together with continuous legal education for lawyers with emphasis on IT and related global best practices in the legal profession.

There will also be a special internship program with prestigious law firms both within Nigeria and abroad for mentoring young lawyers which will be code named “Bringing up smart lawyers or Smart lawyers project.”

I will also give special attention to welfare of lawyers to earn decent means of livelihood.

There will also be the need to resuscitate and revitalize the Human Rights Institute of NBA for greater efficiency and to achieve the objectives of NBA.

As a team player, I am best suited for the position of 1st V.P because I am ready to bring in more innovations into NBA that will impact positively on Nigerian lawyers and by implication that of the administration of the next President of NBA.

I humbly refer you to my manifesto as the details of my project are contained in it.

“Together we can make our NBA great”

To view my complete Manifesto, please click here.

Liman Salihu
Candidate for NBA First Vice President

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‘IMPUNITY, MY EFCC TRAVAILS AND ROLE AS NBA SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR,’ BY UBANI

KEY NOTE ADDRESS PRESENTED BY CHAIRMAN, NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION SECTION ON PUBLIC INTEREST AND DEVELOPMENT LAW (NBA-SPIDEL) AT THE OPENING CEREMONY OF NBA BADAGRY BRANCH LAW WEEK HELD ON 22ND JUNE, 2022.

LAWLESSNESS AND QUEST FOR NATIONHOOD: WHITHER NIGERIA? – My EFCC experience and my task of investigating the invasion of the home of Hon. Justice Mary Odili JSC (Rtd.)

Protocols!

Having suffered military rulership for great number of years after independence, Nigeria under civilian regime is yet to imbibe the basic principles of democracy. Despite returning to democratic governance, rule of law and rights of citizens are still being breached at will and often with impunity.

If the military regimes before our nascent democracy were regarded as bad, our experience under our present democracy is worse than what was obtainable under the military regime.

The signs for such brazen disregard to the rule of law and rights of the citizens were quite early under this present regime of President Muhammadu Buhari. As lawyers we could recall the first NBA conference that took place in Abuja after President Buhari became president in 2015. He came in person with his Attorney General Mr Abubakar Malami SAN and when given the opportunity to speak did not hide his feelings in letting the whole world know the direction of his government whenever the rule of law clashes with an alleged national security.

According to him the rule of law and the rights of the citizens will be subsumed to the notorious national security whose description and meaning are known only to those at the helm of affairs of the State.

To the amazement of some of us in that Hall in Abuja, we were shocked to see some lawyers in the hall gave the President a standing ovation for such a dangerous statement that eventually became the fulcrum of his governance.

Rule of law took a terrible back seat under this present democracy.

It is very painful for me as a person because I was one of those who marketed the candidacy of President Buhari for solid 3 years under several platforms including a well known radio station in Lagos before he was chosen as a candidate of APC in 2014.

The present lack of observance of rule of law and the trampling of the citizens’ rights have taken us several years backwards for a nation that is in quest of nationhood.

We have advanced to nowhere, and even the little progress made by the judiciary during the military regime have been wiped away by the reign of pervasive lawlessness all over the place.

My experience with EFCC under Mr. Ibrahim Magu, then Chairman of the Agency is apposite here.

My patriotic zeal to see that an accused person is given a fair hearing having being accused of taking so much out of the system landed me into efcc cell for 23 days without any trial or conviction. What happened is like those fairy tales you watch in Nollywood. A certain lady who was part of President’s Jonathan’s regime was accused of taken 69 billion and later reduced to 1 billion from the Nigerian Social InvestmentTrust Fund NSITF while she was the Chairman of the Agency. She screamed that she was innocent but was abroad while claiming innocence. She was introduced to me as one seeking for a human rights lawyer for her defence. I convinced her to come back from abroad and she did and I presented her to efcc for inestigation and prosecution. Instead of investigation and prosecution, efcc was interested in intimidation, detention and harassment. Having detained her for 14 days without any charge, I proceeded to court to enforce her fundamental human rights against unlawful detention without a charge. They reluctantly agreed to grant her administrative bail on the grounds that since i was the person that brought her back I was in a better position to stand surety for her temporarily pending her formal arraignment.

I felt obliged to her, having been the one that convinced her to come back to face her trial in Nigeria. Secondly since she was to to be arraigned shortly, my suretyship will be discharged and she will get her reliable surety while I will defend her during the trial.

All these permutations did not materialise as Efcc and Magu had a different sinister agenda. Instead of arraigning her as agreed, the agency was interested in tormenting and engaging in psychological warfare. From December to May no charge until one day I learnt that efcc invaded her home, searched the whole house for a period of 12 hours, harassing and intimidating the woman to confess to a crime that was purely a civil issue and which was not the reason why she came back. The new matter which arose from Enugu was that she borrowed money from a fellow politician who felt that he has long legs with efcc and used them to intimidate the poor lady. When she got a reprieve from the invasion she bolted out of the country back to her base abroad citing the fact that the agency was no longer interested in investigation but to eliminate her. I have no reason to doubt such assertion as their search for 12 hours corrobated that fact.

Having driven her back abroad, Efcc suddenly woke up one day that they were ready to charge her. They demanded her from me as her surety. I made them realise that (1) they were the one that drove her back to abroad without letting me know the reason why they did that (2) the matter for which they came for her was a purely civil case for which they had no reason to meddle into and (3) they had over 5 months to have charged her but was foolishly delaying the charge purely out of malice and sheer intimidation to satisfy their overbloated ego and evil machinations.

Despite what I consider EFCC stupidity, I still went after the woman through INTERPOL and got the woman to be placed on Red Alert, meaning that she can be arrested anywhere she is seen in any of the countries that have mutual covenant on INTERPOL matters with Nigeria.

Having discharged my obligation as a surety to show cause why I cannot be held liable for her disappearance, efcc in their lawlessness and brigandage felt otherwise. I was hurled into their cell for clear 23 days despite a court order obtained on my behalf by my lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN that I should be charged for offence, if any, or be released from detention.

Notorious with disobedience to lawful court orders, Mr Ibrahim Magu refused to accept the order let alone obey it. Magu in his glory felt that he was above the law especially when he knew that he was kept as Acting Chairman for years despite non-confirmation by the Senate as required by the constitution and Efcc Act. He felt untouchable as he knew his master, the President does not believe in the rule of law and has no respect to the rights of the citizens.

To cut a long story short. After my release I went back to court and sued the Agency for violating my right as a patriotic citizen who did no wrong. Recently the judgement was delivered in which I was awarded the sum of 12 million for the wrongful detention. Up till now the said sum has not been paid but I am believing that the last has not been heard about that case. The day of reckoning is coming especially when a government that respects the rule of law is enthroned.

My second experience with this government which I am asked to share is my investigation of the invasion of the home of Hon Justice Mary Odili, the just Retired Justice of the Supreme Court.
Recall that NBA appointed me as the Sole Special Investigator of that invasion that got the entire nation infuriated because of the brazen manner of the said invasion by alleged security agents of the present government. On October 30, 2021, security operatives made up of soldiers and police officers had stormed the Abuja residence of the Supreme Court Justice over an allegation that illegal activities were going on there.

Hon Justice Mary Odili, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court and a wife of former Rivers State governor had her Abuja residence raided by a team of security agents headed by one Lawrence Ajodo, a fake police officer.
Amid the outrage triggered by the raid on Mrs Odili’s abode in the upscale Maitama area of Abuja , the Supreme Court condemned the incident which it said “depicted a gory picture of war”, *appearing like a mission to kill or maim the jurist”

NBA condemned the brazen raid and appointed me as the SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR to unravel the circumstances that led to the incident and which government officials authorised it.

Even though my report exonerated the government officials for lack of verifiable evidence linking them directly to the invasion, there is an aspect of my findings that were not emphasized and brought to the attention of the members of the public. In that report I said this and I quote ” Persons in the Federal Ministry of Justice have an inkling of the illegal activities of Mr Lawrence Ajodo(the fake policeman) and his collaborators and perhaps they have one way or the other consented or collaborated with him in some of his illegal activities”. I revealed further ” Some persons in the Federal Ministry of Justice may have benefited directly or indirectly from the illegal activities of this syndicate that hangs around the Ministry while using its name to create an official toga in their nefarious activities. The Federal Ministry of Justice officials cannot completely deny that they do not know some members of the syndicate”. However the absence of any shred of documentary or oral evidence linking the culprits exculpated the initial suspects like Abubakar Malami SAN and the Efcc officials. Even if Abubakar Malami SAN was exonerated, the officials of the Ministry were not exculpated. They were implicated by implied evidence generated from my findings.

RECOMMENDATIONS

My Recommendation therein were emphasized. Having interfaced with several persons and institutions in the cause of the elaborate investigation, I came up with some of the recommendations which if applied or enacted into law will go a long way in the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria.

1. I suggested that substantive and procedural laws with elaborate processes and procedures for the issuance of search warrants, arrest warrants, detention orders, extension of detention orders amongst others be enacted into law for the States and the Federal Government.

2. The independence of the Judiciary should not be a matter for negotiation. It is either we have an independent judiciary or we choose not to have it. The advantages of an independent judiciary cannot be over emphasized. The independence of the Judiciary should not be only on paper but should be practicalised. The administrative, operational and financial autonomy of the judiciary should be total and exhaustive. The Federal and State Government should not be allowed to pay lip service to the independence of the Judiciary and the welfare of the members of the Bench.

3. Government Agencies or Security Agencies that tolerate or harbour criminal gangs, touts, or law-breakers in and around their offices should be made to answer to their illegal activities by being summoned by the various committees that superintend over them in the legislature.

4. Ensuring obedience to Court Orders and respect for the rule of law should remain the eternal pursuit of NBA and other professional bodies until these become principles by which every government in Nigeria should abide.

For me the last recommendation makes the day for me. Obedience to court orders and rule of law should be a directive principle of state policy.
Absence of law is anarchy and no meaningful development will ever take place in Nigeria if the government derives pleasure in encouraging lawlessness and wanton disregard to the rule of law and rights of the citizens.

CONCLUSION

NIGERIA quest for nationhood must be one based on respect to rule of law and enthronement of democratic principles in the polity. As we approach the 2023 General Election, Citizens are urged to participate in the civic responsibility of choosing their leaders who they know will pursue the primary purpose of government which is the protection of lives and property and the provision of welfare services to the entire citizenry. Observance of rule of law and respect to rights of citizens come with good governance. Good governance is a product of good and quality leadership and quality leadership can only be given by leaders carefully chosen by the people who know the antecedent of these leaders before voting them in.

It is a foundational issue. Except the foundation is right, we will continue to doubt the soundness of the building. If the foundation be destroyed what can the righteous do? I am afraid not much!

I want to thank the Chairman, the Executives and the entire members of the Badagry Branch for this great opportunity to share this brief thought on this topical issue in our nation today. I am grateful.

Dr. M. O. Ubani
Chairman, NBA-SPIDEL

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‘I WILL ASSIST NBA PRESIDENT TO FOSTER RULE OF LAW,’ VOWS LIMAN SALIHU

FEATURED

The cardinal objective of the N.B.A is to promote the Rule of Law. I will at all times assist the NBA President in ensuring the promotion of the Rule of Law, Good Governance, Equity, Fairness and Justice prevail in our society.

Thus, the primary responsibility of the 1st Vice President is to assist the NBA President and any other role that may be assigned by the President.

My vision if elected as the 1st Vice President while working with the President of the NBA is:

 To uphold the standard and reputation of the legal profession while entrenching global best practice as the core values of any lawyer in Nigeria.

 To create a National Data Base for lawyers in Nigeria and all human Rights cases in Courts across the Country

 To resuscitate and re-engineer the NBA Human Rights Institute for greater efficiency.

 To hold National Summit for Young Lawyers in Nigeria on Matters Generally affecting our Practice, Opportunities in the Legal Profession, Human Rights, Gender Based issues and remuneration of Young Lawyers.

 To ensure that NBA partners or collaborate with Civil Societies for the promotion of Human Rights in Nigeria and by so doing strengthen the Human Rights posture of the Association.

 There will be Continuous Legal Education and Capacity Building Programmes for lawyers with more emphasis in ICT

 To introduce National Pro bono Project to assist the indigent and less privileged in our society in civil and criminal matters for access to justice and speedy dispensation of cases in Nigeria.

 NBA intervention programs for young lawyers.

 Endowment programs for lawyers and above all empowerment of lawyers to have decent means of livelihood.

 To move the NBA to initiate voluntary six (6)months to one (1) year internship program for young lawyers with prestigious law firms in Nigeria and abroad which will be code named Bringing Up Smart Lawyers in Nigeria or the Smart Lawyers Project

Thanks

Liman Salihu Esq

Former Chairman, NBA Lokoja

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ISAAC OGBAH ACCLAIMS EBF FOR PROMOTING RULE OF LAW

FEATURED

Isaac Omuta Ogbah felicitates with the Governor, Governing Counsel and members of the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) and congratulated them on the success of their Calabar June Quarterly Meeting.

He admonished the entire members of the EBF and NBA at large to be great advocates of the Rule of Law, which NBA stands for, bearing in mind the times and seasons that this great nation, Nigeria 🇳🇬 presently is in.

He further admonished lawyers nationwide to ensure that both the current and incoming Bar leadership, both at the Branch and national levels keep alive the momentum that the present Olumide Akpata led leadership of NBA has taken the bar to, for with great and fearless leadership at the Bar we will have a better nation.

DEBORAH YAKUBU: ‘RULE OF LAW IN ABEYANCE,’ SAYS TAIDI

A presidential aspirant in the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections, Mr. Jonathan Gunu Taidi has decried the absence of rule of law in Nigeria, adding that the security agencies have failed to protect lives and properties.

Speaking as a discussant at the NBA Ikorodu Branch Bar Week, the immediate past NBA General Secretary said the situation “confirms our inability to evolve a workable template that suits our religious and cultural diversity.”

Below is the full text of his remarks.

REMARKS BY PAST GENERAL SECRETARY OF NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION JONATHAN GUNU TAIDI AS DISCUSSANT AT NBA IKORODU 2022 LAW WEEK

Protocol

It is a great honour to be asked to give a few remarks on the occasion of the Ikorodu Law Week. Although this event is an annual event, it is no less critical for the opportunity it provides for national soul searching, improving jurisprudence and elevating the bar and the practice of law in this country.

Everyday seems to bring  with it new challenges and even more invidious assault on the constitution and the laws we we pledge to uphold and defend.

The recent gruesome murder and decapitation of Ms Deborah Samuel within the premises of Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto is a sad reminder that the rule of law is in abeyance and our security apparatus has failed – assuming there was ever any to speak of. It also confirms our inability to evolve a workable template that suits our religious and cultural diversity.

More disappointing, in a catalogue already filled with disappointments, is the comment by the Nigeria Police that some of the perpetrators of this heinous act were not even Nigerians but foreigners from Niger Republic. This is first an indictment on the Nigerian Immigration Service particularly, and the opportunistic and visionless leaderships which over the years have successfully superintended over failure in every facet of our affairs as an “independent” nation where impunity has become our coat of arms. As I write this the papers are awash with news of the arrest of the nation’s accountant general for allegedly perpetrating an N80 billion fraud.

We have made corruption a byword for governance and abominable violence is the new normal. This attitude of just condemning the vile actions of criminals by our leaders, without any deliberate strategy or action to check the menace, has not and will not redress our regression into anarchy.

It is unacceptable that our security agencies are always caught sleeping on duty.  It is time to invest more in intelligence gathering than on weapons especially in the face of scarce resources.

I urge all participants here to fully contribute to the discussions on Nation Building: Our Collective Responsibility. As legal practitioners we must always remember that we are the light of the nation, and we carry the torch of enlightenment and progress.

I hope this particular Law Week helps spearhead a national rebirth that will lead us on the road to a more progressive and prosperous nation.

Thank you and God bless our fatherland.

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ISAAC OGBAH STORMS LAGOS, IKEJA BRANCHES

Former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ota Branch and Editor-in-Chief of Erudite Judgements of the Supreme Court (EJSC), Mr. Isaac Omuta Ogbah (FICMC) attended the monthly meetings of NBA Lagos and Ikeja branches which held on Monday, May 9, 2022.

The Bar Leader commended the leadership of NBA Ikeja Branch (“Tiger Branch”) for always being in the forefront in fostering the rule of law and the rights of citizens, even as he hailed NBA Lagos Branch for being a pacesetter among NBA branches.

Below are pictures from his visits to the two branches.

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‘WE MUST PROTECT, PROJECT RULE OF LAW,’ – ALEX MUOKA

The Rule of Law is sacrosanct in any democratic Society. Consequently, it must be protected and projected at all times. The entrenchment of the Rule of Law in Nigeria is in our interest because the Law and legal practitioners can only thrive where the Rule of Law thrives.

It is instructive that the motto of the Nigerian Bar Association is “Promoting the Rule of Law”. In line with this, the very first aim and objective of our great Association is the “Maintenance and defence of the integrity and independence of the Bar and the Judiciary in Nigeria”, and many of the other objects speak to the role of the Association in promoting the efficient administration of justice, law reform, legal aid and access to courts, and respect for fundamental rights.

The NBA is widely regarded as the premier non-state actor in the constant battle for the promotion of the rule of law, and it is important in 2020 to put forward a bar leadership that will help to restore our pride of place as ‘the bastion of hope for the common man’. I propose to ensure this by working with the NBA President, national officers and other stakeholders to:

a) Ensure that the Rule of Law is upheld by State actors;

b) Champion public interest litigation to protect the rights of citizens and members from abuse;

c) Support the advocacy for implementation of fiscal independence for the Nigeria judiciary;

d) Liaise with the judiciary and offer support to facilitate the efficient administration of justice in Nigeria;

e) Sensitize lawyers and the general public by organizing workshops, conferences and summits on human rights and the rule of law;

f) Offer leadership and a focal rallying point to all Nigerians and relevant institutions in defending and expanding the frontiers of the Rule of Law;

g) Strengthen the Pro Bono and legal aid programmes of the NBA to make their impact felt (especially) by indigent members of the society; and

h) Propose a “legislative desk” for the NBA at the National Assembly which shall be saddled with the task of legislative advocacy, monitoring and liaising with the law makers in the task of enacting laws.

The NBA must live up to its name and reputation, and I will like to play my part. If you elect me as General Secretary of the NBA, I Pledge to serve with the passion, integrity and efficiency for which I am well known, and to pursue this and five (5) other Core Pursuits which I have elaborated on in MY MANIFESTO to deliver a ‘Fit For Purpose’ Bar Secretariat. My Profile and Manifesto have been uploaded by the ECNBA and can be viewed at (or downloaded from) https://nigerianbar.org.ng/node/257.

I will place my time, energy, talents, experience and resources at the disposal of the Bar for the next two years, and offer the kind of premium stewardship which the Bar definitely needs at this time. The Bar needs a great scribe. I have been tried, tested and adjudged to be one.

I seek your mandate. Let’s do this together.

Alexander Nduka MUOKA
Candidate for General Secretary of the NBA

Rule of Law vs. National Security: What the Supreme Court Actually Said

President Muhammadu Buhari while giving an address at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) 2018 Annual General Conference, said: “Rule of Law must be subject to the supremacy of the nation’s security and national interest. Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that, where national security and public interest are threatened or there is a likelihood of their being threatened, the individual rights of those allegedly responsible must take second place, in favour of the greater good of society.”

The assertion has raised controversies. CITY LAWYER LAW REPORT details below what the Supreme Court actually said in DOKUBO-ASARI V FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA: Continue Reading