AFAM OSIGWE LEADS 2023 NBA-AGC C’TE

Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN has been appointed by NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN as the Chairman of the 2023 NBA Annual General Conference Planning Committee.

A statement made available to CITY LAWYER noted that the appointment was made “pursuant to Section 13(2) of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association, 2015 (as amended in 2021), subject to ratification by NEC.”

The 45-member high-level committee has all the chairmen of NBA sections as Ex-officio members, even as Maikyau charged the committee to deliver “a memorable 63rd Annual General Conference for members of the NBA.”

He noted that the Committee “has the liberty to co-opt additional members as the need arises. The theme, venue, and other details of the Conference will be announced in due course.”

Below is the full text of the press statement.

NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION (NBA) 2023 ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE (AGCPC)

My Dear Colleagues,

You will recall that the 2023 Annual General Conference (AGC) is scheduled to hold from 25 August to 1 September 2023 in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as approved by the National Executive Council (NEC) at its Quarterly Meeting held on 15 December 2022. In furtherance thereof, I have constituted the 2023 Annual General Conference Planning Committee (2023 – AGCPC), pursuant to Section 13(2) of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association, 2015 (as amended in 2021), subject to ratification by NEC.

The Committee comprises the following:

  1. Mazi Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN – Chairman
  2. Mrs Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya – Alternate Chairman
  3. Olawale Fapohunda, SAN
  4. Abdul Rafindadi Mohammed, SAN
  5. Beatrice E. Jedy-Agba, OON, mni
  6. Lawan Kaka-Shehu
  7. Rhoda Prevail Tyoden
  8. Dr Agada Elachi
  9. Friday Ramses Onoja
  10. Mrs Amaka Uzuegbu
  11. Salman Alhaji Salman
  12. Mr Isaiah Bozimo (AG Delta)
  13. Laura Alakija – Secretary
  14. Dumo Ambie Barango
  15. Uchechukwu Humphrey Onyekachi
  16. Eva Amadi
  17. John Iyene Owuboki
  18. Mohammed Tajudeen Mohammed
  19. Dr. Banke Alogba
  20. Huwaila Ibrahim Muhammad
  21. Rashidat Mohammed
  22. Abdulrauf Tijani Aboki
  23. Tongshishak John Jude Danjuma
  24. Chika Eucharia Okorie
  25. Ada Ahubelem
  26. Afolabi Olayiwola
  27. Gloria Etim
  28. Deborah Usman
  29. Rotimi Olorunfemi
  30. Rex Erameh
  31. Matthew E. Osume
  32. Amina Suleyman Kaoje
  33. Sani Moyi
  34. Tosin Amadi
  35. Naomi Bankyu
  36. Augustine Ajineh
  37. H. Osayande Bazuaye

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

  1. NBA General Secretary
  2. Chairman NBA-SLP
  3. Chairman NBA-SPIDEL
  4. Chairman NBA-SBL
  5. Chairperson NBAWF
  6. Chairperson NBA-LWDF
  7. Chairman LOAN

The AGCPC is charged with the responsibility of delivering a memorable 63rd Annual General Conference for members of the NBA. The Committee has the liberty to co-opt additional members as the need arises. The theme, venue, and other details of the Conference will be announced in due course.

I thank the members of the Committee for accepting this call to serve our noble Association and enjoin us all to accord them the cooperation needed to deliver on their mandate.

Best regards,

Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, OON, SAN
PRESIDENT

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

FALANA, OTHERS LAUD SPIDEL ON PRISON DECONGESTION PROJECT

PRESS RELEASE

NBA/SPIDEL AND PRAWA TRAINING ON SECTION 12 (4-12) OF THE NCoS ACT 2019 HELD VIRTUALLY ON MONDAY 13th FEBRUARY, 2023

The training on Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 was organized by Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA/SPIDEL) and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) on 13th February, 2023.

The training was targeted at building skills of members of NBA, SPIDEL towards implementation of initiatives targeted at activation of section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service 2019 in partnership with PRAWA. The workshop was attended by 98 participants drawn from the NBA – SPIDEL from across the country, Ministry of Interior, Nigerian Correctional Service, PRAWA, and Journalists.

The Chairman of NBA, SPIDEL, Dr. Monday Ubani welcomed participants to the training and highlighted the importance of the training and urgent need for the decongestion of correctional centers in Nigeria.

Mrs. Omotese Eva, Director, Legal Services, Ministry of Interior in her special remarks, communicated the commitment of the Ministry of Interior to reverse the nagging trend of congestion of Correctional Centers and lauded the partnership of PRAWA and SPIDEL on implementation of activities targeted at achieving this.

Dr Uju Agomoh, the Executive Director of PRAWA, made the presentation on “Decongestion of Custodial Centers & Strategies for Effective Implementation of Section 12 (4-12)) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019: The Role of NBA, SPIDEL.” Using statistics of Custodial Centers in different states in Nigeria, she was able to illustrate the enormous challenges of over-crowding in some custodial centers in Nigeria and highlighted strategies that can be utilized to address this focusing on Section 12 (4-12) of the Act.

Renowned human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana SAN made a presentation on “Activating & Sustaining the Reforms – A call for Action to Lawyers.” He observed that what is happening in Nigeria is prison mismanagement, observing that the low population of inmates in custody is not a true reflection the population of Nigeria when compared to other nations in terms of population/ inmates ratio. He noted incessant loss of inmates’ files as one of the hiccups and cited a case of an inmate who was set free by a legal opinion which stated that he had no case to answer but had to spend additional six years in custody due to loss of case file.

The interactive programme saw participants asking questions and making contributions on sundry issues.

Mrs. Ezenobi Blessing Azorbo, Director of Legal Services/Legal Adviser, Nigerian Prison Service reflected on the discussions and commended NBA-SPIDEL and PRAWA for the great work they are doing and for the initiative targeted at decongestion of custodial centres.

Ubani and Agomoh made presentations on “next steps” following the deliberations at the workshop.

The following recommendations were made at the workshop:

  1. There should be synergy between the police, courts and the correctional service so that all will appreciate what is required by law.
  2. There is the need to engage the judiciary on the project.
  3. NBA-SPIDEL needs to sensitize its members to know the importance of the project.
  4. The media should be deployed to give visibility to the project.
  5. There should be designated SPIDEL groups in every state to coordinate activities at that level.
  6. In terms of the appointments by the president and minister, there is need to ensure the activation of all mechanisms as stated in the law.
  7. There should be a centralized database for all detention centres in Nigeria.
  8. Members of NBA human rights committees in all the branches should liaise with magistrates to visit detention centres and secure release of deserving inmates.
  9. Advocacy should be directed to the chief magistrates/judges in states to key into the project.
  10. To resolve the disagreements that occur between the police and magistrates on visitation to police detention centres, there should be an engagement with the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for a smooth working relationship.

The participants commended the Ministry of Interior, NBA-SPIDEL and PRAWA for the steps taken towards activating the implementation of Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019).

The vote of thanks was delivered by NBA-SPIDEL Council Member, Mr. Emeka Nwadioke.

To volunteer for the NBA-SPIDEL project on decongestion of correctional centres, click here to fill the form.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

SHASORE TO ASK COURT TO QUASH EFCC CHARGE

Embattled former Lagos State Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Olasupo Shasore SAN will today ask the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to quash the four-count charge of money laundering brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report noted how a four-man team of Senior Advocates battled to secure bail for Shasore following his arraignment last October. The defence team is led by Mr. Charles Candide-Johnson SAN. Others in the team are Mr. Wale Akoni SAN, Dr. Muiz Banire SAN, Mr. Segun Ajibola SAN, and Mr. Chijioke Okoli SAN.

The matter is filed as Charge No. FHC/L/447C/2022, Federal Republic of Nigeria and Olasupo Shasore, SAN. Shasore was the Chief Law Officer during the administration of former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN.

An impeccable source who is familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that the defence team has filed a motion to strike out the charge for want of jurisdiction.

In the alternative, the defence team would pray the court for an order for the Prosecution to avail it with all relevant documents in their possession not disclosed or absent from the proof of evidence and needed for a robust defence of the matter.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the absence of EFCC Prosecutor, Mr. Bala Sanga had scuttled the trial at the last adjourned date.

When the matter came up, the Lead Defence Counsel, Akoni had told the court that the anti-graft agency had not complied with the order to deposit Shasore’s international passport with the court’s registry.

He also noted that the defence team was in receipt of a letter by the prosecutor requesting an adjournment of the case as it conflicted with another criminal matter that he had in an Abuja court.

Following the abortion of trial, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke adjourned the matter to today for trial.

Though Sanga had during arraignment prayed the court to remand Shasore in custody, the court had ruled as follows: “There is no doubt that the court must strike a balance based on the evidence before it, between the constitutional rights of the defendant to liberty and presumption of innocence and the rights of the state to prosecute its erring citizens,” the judge held.

“The defendant’s application for bail succeeds and the bail is accordingly granted in the following terms:

“Defendant applicant is admitted to bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety in like sum. The surety must be a serving director or a permanent secretary in the service of the federation or the Lagos state government. Surety to produce two copies each of his or her recent passport photograph and evidence of payment of tax or tax clearance.

“The defendant’s international passport with the complainant shall be deposited with the registrar of this court pending trial. This is the ruling of the honourable court.”

The four-count charge reads:

Count one of the charge reads: “That you Olasupo Shasore, S.A.N. on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court induced Olufolakemi Adelore to commit an offence, to wit accepting cash payment of the sum of US100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) without going through a financial institution which such exceeded the amount authorised by Law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 78(c) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16(6) of the same Act.”

Count two reads: “That you Olasupo Shasore, S.A.N on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, in a transaction without going through a financial institution, made cash payment of the sum of USD 100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to Olufolakemi Adelore through Auwalu Habu and Wole Aboderin, which sum exceeded the amount permitted by Law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to sections 1(a) and 16(1)(d) the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as Amended) and punishable under section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.”

Count three reads: “That you Olasupo Shasore, S.A.N., on or about the 18th November, 2014, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this honourable Court, induced one Ikechukwu Oguine, to commit an offence, to wit: accepting case payment of the sum of USD100,000.00 (One Hundred thousand United States Dollars) without going through a financial institution, which such amount exceeded the amount permitted by Law and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c) of the Money Laundering Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16 (2)(b) Of the same Act.”

Count four reads: “That you Olasupo Shasore, S.A.N on or about the 18th day of November 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, without going through a financial institution and made cash payment of the sum of USD100,000.00 (One Hundred thousand United State Dollars) to one Ikechukwu Oguine which sum exceeded the amount permitted by Law and you thereby committed an offence contrary sections 1(a) and 16(1),(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition Act, as amended) and punishable under section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that Shasore was in January last year invited by the anti-graft agency to shed light on his involvement in the Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) case. The former Lagos attorney-general had represented Nigeria on the P&ID case.

The Federal Government had told a UK court that Shasore colluded with P&ID to pervert justice in the controversial gas supply purchasing agreement (GSPA) contract. Shasore has consistently denied the allegation.

The P&ID had won a $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria in a British court, claiming that it entered a contract to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River State. The company stated that the deal collapsed because the Federal Government did not fulfil its side of the bargain.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

‘JUSTICE AJILEYE WAS A WISE, INCORRUPTIBLE JUDGE,’ SAYS GOV. BELLO

Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has extolled the virtues of Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, describing him as wise, professional, erudite, and incorruptible.

Bello spoke at a book launch in honour of Ajileye who recently retired from the Kogi State Judiciary as a High Court judge.

Represented by the state’s Deputy Governor Edward Onoja, Governor Bello said: “I testify that His Lordship is one of those jurists of whom you have no qualms whatsoever in classifying as professional, erudite, wise, upright (even incorruptible) and a fierce Defender of the Independence of the Judiciary as an arm of Government.”

The full text of Bello’s speech is below.

REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO OF KOGI STATE, REPRESENTED BY THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF KOGI STATE, HIS EXCELLENCY, CHIEF DR. EDWARD ONOJA AT THE LAUNCH OF A BOOK BY HONOURABLE JUSTICE ALABA OMOLAYE-AJILEYE ON FRIDAY 17TH FEBRUARY, 2023 AT SHEHU MUSA YAR’ADUA CENTRE, ABUJA

I welcome each and everyone of us who have made the herculean effort to come out today in honour of our own Honourable Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye. I use the word ‘herculean’, because it takes an inordinate degree of suspense to leave where you are to go anywhere else in these days of contrived fuel and cash shortages in order to be with anyone, anywhere outside your comfort zone.

It also requires an atrocious amount of expense, and you often have to spend money you went through hell and high water to acquire. I am therefore further persuaded in my assessment of His Lordship, the Author, as a good man by this crowd of quality people who have turned out in support of him. Especially when you have been invited, not to wine and dance, but to spend more of your hard-earned money (hopefully) in launching his book.

I am here in a dual capacity – as the Governor of Kogi State, albeit represented by my able Deputy, His Excellency, Chief Edward Onoja but also as Yahaya Bello, who dares to presume himself a friend of the author (I do hope the feeling is mutual, Milord!).

For those of you who may not know, His Lordship, Honourable Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye retired from our Judiciary in Kogi State this week. In fact, we held his valedictory court session in Lokoja just 2 days ago. I testify that His Lordship is one of those jurists of whom you have no qualms whatsoever in classifying as professional, erudite, wise, upright (even incorruptible) and a fierce Defender of the Independence of the Judiciary as an arm of Government.

My Lord’s commitment to the loftier ethos of his profession was very evident at his aforesaid valedictory court session where he walked the audience through a well-considered speech which, in my opinion, could even pass for a judgment – or at the very least a timeless obiter dictum! In it, he x-rayed the process of appointing judicial officers in Nigeria and identified four main systemic evils embedded in it, to wit:

One, that the entire process is shrouded in sinful secrecy and avoidable clandestineness. Two, that the objective recommendations of candidate jurists by peers knowledgeable about their professional expertise and even authorities which scrutinize them for offices which they have earned do not count.

My Lord further said the third evil is that the process has become so marred by cronyism that who a candidate knows or does not know matters more to his chances. Fourthly and finally, that nepotism, especially where a person comes from and how he worships tends to count more than what a candidate truly merits or deserves.

I have gone into His Lordship’s speech in detail because I want to concur that it is nothing but the truth, while raising a lament that these systemic evils have permeated, not just the judicial fabric but the entire textile of our national existence.

One of the most grievous ills under the sun in Nigeria today is that good men and women who have served their nation faithfully and for long are routinely subverted to make way for less qualified and less committed opportunists who are better connected or have the accidental benefits of what they call the right tribe or religion.

I am however of the opinion that Change Begins With Me. My Lord and the entire Judiciary in Kogi State will bear me witness that I do not rank among the leaders who have traded in nepotism, cronyism, religionism, tribalism or any of what the late sage cum musician, Bob Marley, called ‘ism-schisms’, that is, the ‘isms’ that cause ‘schisms’ in any society.

I have had the privilege of working with 5 Chief Judges since I took over as the 4th Executive Governor of Kogi State with the current Chief Judge of the State, my Lord, the Honourable Justice Josiah Majebi as the 5th. In each and every instance we made sure that the process of succession was seamless and that the former Chief Judge is succeeded by the next most senior judge of the High Court of Kogi State as required by law.

This underscores my belief that a man should be judged by the content of his character and his personal accomplishments rather than by such parochial and shameful sentiments as where he comes from, what language he speaks or how he chooses to worship his Creator.

We have not interfered to undermine or exclude any candidate for any reason at all as long as it has been his meritorious and professional due. ‘Emilokan’ is a more respected principle with us when determining the equity, fairness and justice of the situation, as long as the factual and prevailing circumstances also support it. It is therefore not a surprise that we have enjoyed excellence and support from our Judiciary in both the administration of justice and overall good governance in our State.

This is why I firmly I believe that if I were to stand trial before milord, but more importantly, before my God, for the ills which I have outlined herein from the Author’s valedictory speech two days ago, I shall be discharged and acquitted – not because I have been perfect but because I have made all the efforts known to me to lead Kogi State away from the horrible miasma of tribal, religious, gender, and class divides which I inherited on 27th January, 2016 when I was first sworn in as the Governor of Kogi State.

It is my duty today to inform this audience and by extension Nigerians at large, and in particular the younger demographics which are coming up and wondering how they will thrive in the cesspits of corruption which the older generations of Nigerian leaders and citizens have nurtured, that things cannot continue this way. We have our eyes on the emergence of a Nigeria built on Security, Unity, Prosperity, Egalitarianism and Reconciliation (SUPER). I call it the ‘SUPER NIGERIA’ and it is what we are working for with all our strength, even now.

Of course, I am committed to be the Change that I want to see and I am certain that Justice Omolaye-Ajileye will bear me witness that in my little corner in Kogi State, I have done things differently.

I want to add that the New Direction Agenda which I have championed in Kogi State is beautifully on display here today. Our Chief Judge, His Lordship Justice Josiah Majebi is an Ebira man from Okene LGA and he has led a pantheon of lawlords to this memorable event. This book launch is organized by a Committee chaired by my brother, Barrister J.S Okutepa who is an Igala man from Idah, the traditional headquarters of the Igala Nation in Kogi State.

All of us are here to honor and support Honourable Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, an Okun man from Ekirin-Ade in Ijumu LGA of Kogi West Senatorial Zone. This is the Kogi state my team and I have worked so hard to build in the last 7 years and we are still hard at work. It is a yet emergent Kogi State, but I am intensely proud of it already.

I conclude by commending to our Judiciary all over Nigeria, the words of Justice Ajileye that it can be a healthy judicial system again, and a positive changemaker like in the days of yore, with a reputation for integrity and competence. According to him:

‘They can do this if they exhibit, at all times, requisite judicial character. The qualities of courage, firmness, integrity, uprightness, patience, open-mindedness, understanding of the law, compassion, humility, and courtesy should be inseparable from the (judicial persona or) personality.’ NB: The words in brackets are mine.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here for Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye’s book launch. His Lordship’s book, In The Interest of Justice – Excellence In Writing Judgments is no doubt a quantum leap forward in legal scholarship and juridical practice in Nigeria. Be rest assured that as a State we shall definitely support him handsomely to put it into the hands of lawyers and judges across the country and beyond. I also urge all of us here to do so too.

We thank my lord again for his transformational service to our people and State on the benches of the Kogi State Judiciary.

Thank you!

YAHAYA BELLO
Governor of Kogi State

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

DPP FORUM PLOTS CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ROADMAP AT LEDAP PARLEY

The DPP Forum held last week at the exquisite Timeoak Hotel & Spa in Lekki, Lagos. Organised by the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) with MR. CHINO OBIAGWU SAN as the Convener, the programme was attended by DPPs and heads of legal departments at the ICPC, NDLEA, Police and Special Fraud Unit (SFU). The intensive two-day programme was moderated by CITY LAWYER’s EMEKA NWADIOKE, formerly a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Criminal Justice Reform Committee, erstwhile Chairman of NBA Lagos Branch Police Duty Solicitors Scheme (PDSS), and currently a member of the Governing Council (Committee) of NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL). The programme was hosted by LEDAP in collaboration with the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee and with the support of MacArthur Foundation. CITY LAWYER reports.

The 9th edition of the Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Forum held under the uncertainties of a planned protest in Lagos on Day 1 of the programme over the cash crunch occasioned by the Naira Redesign scheme. The massive turn-out of DPPs from across the length and breadth of the country was therefore a pleasant surprise.

The intensive programme dwelt on criminal justice reform, with special emphasis on ways of more effectively implementing the innovations in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and Laws.

DPPs came from such far-flung states as Zamfara, Borno, Kano, Sokoto, Osun, Anambra, Enugu, Cross River, Akwa-Ibom, and Ogun, to name a few. Heads of legal departments in the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and Nigerian Police Force formations across the country also attended the explosive sessions.

Kick-starting the sessions, Obiagwu, adjudged by many jurists as the “Godfather of ACJA” because of his seminal work on the subject, took the participants on a tour de force in relation to the key provisions of ACJA. He spoke on “Innovations in Administration of criminal justice Act/Law – focus on 21 Minimum standards.” His address opened a floodgate of interventions by the elite audience during the Question & Answer session.

Having distilled the key sub-themes for the two-day round-table through his kaleidoscopic review of ACJA and its equivalents in the States, the stage was set for an x-ray of the plea bargain regime in Nigeria by the cerebral Dr. Babajide Martins, the DPP in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. Given that Lagos State has often led the way in justice sector reforms, the participants could not have asked for a better speaker. He spoke on “Plea bargain as a prosecutor’s case management tool: Sharing Lagos State experiences under ACJL Lagos State.” He later shared copious literature on the subject to guide participants in kickstarting the plea bargain regimes in their various states.

The next session on “Police-prosecutor relations: Pre-conviction forfeiture of properties and recent developments” was facilitated by the highly experienced Mr. Chukwu Agwu, a ranking officer in the Legal Department of SFU. He was formerly Head of Legal Department at the Lagos State Police Command and also held the same position at Zone 2 of the Nigerian Police Command.

Day Two of the programme took off with a recap of the previous day’s sessions by Rosemary Agbede, a Project Officer with LEDAP. The first session then dwelt on “Understanding the provisions of gender equity and social inclusion under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015/Laws: The task of investigators and prosecutors to promote fair administration of criminal justice in Nigeria.” The session was facilitated by Ozioma Izuora, a fiery gender rights advocate and Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Baze University, Abuja. The session threw up issues pertaining especially to the protection of women and children under the criminal justice system.

This opened the floor for Mrs. Bunmi Adesomoju, the Director of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender (OPD) to speak to the issue of “Fair hearing in criminal justice administration in Nigeria: Understanding provisions for legal defence and the protection of suspects and defendants under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act/Laws.” Her incisive treatment of the topic opened yet another floodgate of interventions on the thorny issue of free legal assistance for suspects and defendants in the criminal justice system.

The participants had the uncommon opportunity to take a second bite at the plea bargain discourse, as experienced criminal trial prosecutor, Mr. Tunde Sunmonu again dissected the plea bargain framework from a trial lawyer’s perspective. A Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Sunmonu again x-rayed the topic, “Plea bargain as prosecutor’s case management tool: Sharing Lagos State experiences under ACJL Lagos State.” The participants were especially excited that the hard-nosed prosecutor provided them with a draft Plea Bargain Agreement to adapt in deploying the framework in their states.

Sunmonu’s presentation set the stage for the eagerly awaited address by Lagos State High Court judge and former Lagos State DPP, Justice Olabisi Ogungbesan. The respected jurist spoke on “Timelines under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015: Has the provision for time limits under the Act/Laws reduced delay in the administration of criminal justice in Nigeria?” The explosive session saw the participants engaging the jurist on sundry issues relating to ACJA and its equivalents in their states vis-à-vis techniques and tools for obviating delays in criminal trials.

The paper on “Electronic criminal evidence under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015: Dissecting the rudiments of recent developments in electronic evidence in criminal justice administration in Nigeria” by the recently retired judge of the Kogi State High Court, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye was deemed as presented due to connectivity challenges.

Delivering the vote of thanks, Obiagwu encouraged other states to emulate Lagos State by establishing facilities that promote criminal justice administration, saying: “If you pass the law without putting in place the facilities, it is as good as not passing the law.” Such facilities include the Witness Support Unit in the DPP’s Office, Gender Unit, and Family Support Unit both in the police, among others.

The leading human rights advocate urged DPPs to train and mentor prosecutors to enable them develop professionally. He urged the participants to engage in peer learning and exchange programmes especially with model criminal reform states to improve criminal justice administration, urging them to improve their Information Technology skills as criminality gets increasingly technology-driven.

He stressed the need to harmonize and oversight the prosecuting agencies, and called for designation of some magistrate’s courts as Family Court to divert children from the criminal justice system as well as extensive use of plea bargain by the states.

He decried the vandalization of Statement Taking Rooms set up by LEDAP for some police formations, adding that while the MacArthur Foundation has provided some resources to support states in their reform programmes, such states must provide matching grants to show commitment to the reforms.

While the participants were treated to Reception Cocktails as well as a picnic to round off the programme, the no-holds-barred sessions and attendant interventions by the leading lights in Nigeria’s criminal justice administration system threw up sundry innovative models which are bound to ensure a more effective criminal justice system, even as stakeholders eagerly await the communique from the forum.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

CRITICISM: ‘LET YOUR JUDGMENTS SPEAK FOR YOU,’ BEN NWABUEZE CENTRE TELLS SUPREME COURT

The Ben Nwabueze Center for Constitutional Studies and the Rule of Law has called on the Supreme Court not to be unduly worried by criticism of its judgments, saying it should be self-evident if such judgments pass muster.

The centre also described as “misguided” the warning by Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN to lawyers to cease criticizing the judgments or face disciplinary proceedings.

In a statement by its Coordinator and former NBA Lagos Branch Chairman, Mr. Chijioke Okoli SAN, the centre noted that judgments in some high-profile political cases “have generated understandable controversy.”

According to the statement made available to CITY LAWYER, such controversy is “Understandable because some seemingly settled principles of law have been made by the decisions to appear not so settled and also challenged many people’s sense of justice.”

Below is the full text of the statement.

COURT JUDGMENTS ARE OPEN TO CRITICISM: STATEMENT BY BEN NWABUEZE CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL STUDIES AND THE RULE OF LAW

It is obvious that some of the recent judgments of the Nigerian courts, especially the Supreme Court, in high profile political cases have generated understandable controversy. Understandable, because some seemingly settled principles of law have been made by the decisions to appear not so settled and also challenged many people’s sense of justice. It is equally not in doubt that some of the criticisms are beyond the pale, degenerating in some cases to personal vituperative attacks on individual judges. Some of the disagreements, especially by some lay persons, undoubtedly appear to have been disagreeably expressed.

Against this backdrop, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association [NBA] reportedly issued the misguided warning to lawyers criticizing the judgments that they would be subjected to disciplinary proceedings. There then followed the unprecedented move by the Supreme Court of recourse to a press statement joining issues with critics of its judgments. The Ben Nwabueze Center has thus felt the need for its present public intervention on this matter of critical importance to administration of justice, constitutional propriety and overall good sense in the public space. Perhaps all concerned may be better guided in future and avoid recurrence of the unedifying distracting public spectacles.

It is straightaway necessary, it does appear, that the Nigerian public and the legal community in particular need the reminder that criticism of judges has a long recorded history, at least since the biblical times. St. Paul in Acts of the Apostles (chapter 23, vs.3) trenchantly criticized the judges who subjected him to punishment for acting contrary to the law in his view, and unflatteringly lampooned them as “whited sepulchers”. Even judges are known to criticize themselves in their judgments, sometimes quite trenchantly. Lord Denning in frustration at his conservative predecessors and their ilk sitting with him on the case, and who were unwilling to toe his unabashedly liberal line, famously dismissed them as “timorous souls” in Candler v. Crane, Christmas [1951] 1 All ER 426. This was a fanciful way of calling them cowards. There were no hard feelings beyond the riposte from his brother justice on the panel, Asquith L.J., that he would bear the condemnation with all the fortitude he could command. Lord Denning was himself at the receiving end of Lord Simmonds ringing denunciation in Magor and St. Mellons RDC v. Newport Corp. [1952] A.C. 189 for engaging in “naked usurpation of legislation function under the thin guise of interpretation.”

The issue, however, is fundamental and goes beyond the rarefied intellectual climes of appellate court judgments and law journals, contrary to the suggestions of some people. Apart from the critical need for public accountability of all facets and institutions of the state apparatus, including the judiciary, criminalization of criticism of judges is not consistent with the fundamental right to freedom of expression enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. The contrary suggestion is erroneous on many fronts. This position, from general principles, is so axiomatic as to not require validation by judicial authorities. Nonetheless, it may be useful out of abundance of caution to advert to juridical lodestars from other common law jurisdictions, especially United Kingdom and United States.

Lord Denning who was criticized as an “ass” after one of his judgments without countering with any threat illuminated the matter thus in R. v. Commissioner of Police [1968] 2 QB 150:
“Let me say at once that we will never use this jurisdiction to uphold our own dignity. That must rest on surer foundations. Nor will we use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it. For there is something far more important at stake. It is no less than freedom of speech itself. It is the right of everyman, in parliament or out of it, in the press or over the broadcast, to make fair comment, even outspoken comment, on matters of public interest. All that we ask is that those who criticize us should remember that, from the nature of our duties, we cannot reply to their criticism. We cannot enter into the public controversy. We must rely on our conduct itself to be its own vindication.”

Justice Frankfurter of the U.S. Supreme Court in Bridges v. California, 314 U.S. 252 [1941] had also insightfully observed that “Judges as persons, or courts as institutions, are entitled to no greater immunity from criticism than other persons or institutions. Just because the holders of judicial office are identified with interests of justice they may forget their common human frailties and fallibilities. There have sometimes been martinets upon the bench as there have also been pompous wielders of authority who have used the paraphernalia of power in support of what they called their dignity. Therefore judges must be kept mindful of their limitations and of their ultimate public responsibility by a vigorous stream of criticism expressed with candor however blunt.”

A military historian of the American Civil War made the point, in eulogizing the Confederate Supreme Commander General Robert E. Lee, that the greatest spiritual asset of an army is the belief of the ordinary soldier in the invincibility of the commanding general. For the Court which has neither arms nor soldiers at its behest, there is even a more absolutist need for spiritual strength; a moral authority, founded upon well nigh unshakeable conviction of not only lawyers but the general public that its essence is pursuit of justice. The same way war is too important to be left to generals alone, law and its effects are too important to be left for judges and lawyers only to contemplate and comment upon.

Indeed, administration of justice is a social good and of which the general public are the consumers. How could the consumers conceivably be denied an opinion on the product, especially one which they are forced to purchase in the circumstances? Lest we forget that the people of Imo State, and neighbouring Anambra State, are having to endure the consequences of an apparently deeply loathed politician occupying the position of Governor courtesy of a Supreme Court judgment. Can they justifiably be denied the right to criticism of the otherwise insufferable position they have been boxed into, and as has found expression in their denial of the occupier’s legitimacy with the cynical term “Supreme Court Governor”?

Truth be told, these consumers and their advisers have had cause for serious worry with the trend in the recent past. For many areas of law and procedure the Nigerian legal practitioner is routinely confronted with conflicting decisions of the superior courts, including the apex court. This makes the lawyers’ job almost impossible bearing in mind that in many significant ways the law, according to the legal philosopher Wendell Holmes, is nothing more pretentions than “the prophecies of what the courts will do in fact”. It is clear that there would be nothing short of crisis of the rule law if the Court becomes afflicted with recurring schizophrenia.

This state of affairs should worry more all concerned stakeholders especially the NBA whose motto is promotion of the rule of law. Aside the befuddling conflicting decisions of the apex court, there is its undue attachment to technicalities which is clearly at variance with the magisterial intellectual gravitas of such courts in other jurisdictions. It would for example be difficult for an intelligent lay person to understand the sense in the Supreme Court making a fetish of whether a court process was signed in the name of a person or a law firm, and nullifying otherwise meritorious cases notwithstanding that issues of life and death may be involved.

Adverting to the APC v. Machina case, one of the surprises is that some informed persons are apparently surprised that the populace was bestirred into raising pointed questions. It was most curious for the Court to focus on the sterile technical issue of the form of action and avoided the substance which involved issues fundamental to not only to the understanding of the extant Electoral Act 2022 but also the architecture and nature of Nigerian democracy. The Court, it must be borne in mind, has whilst standing on technicality seemingly circumscribed the choice of voters in the Yobe North senatorial district regarding their representative. And this was notwithstanding that the Court had many times in the past cited with approval the almost century old Lord Atkin’s celebrated criticism of placing undue importance on forms of action in United Australia v. Barclays Bank [1941] A.C. 1, 29:
“When these ghosts of the past stand in the path of justice clanking their mediaeval chains the proper course of the Judge is to pass through them undeterred.”

It is noteworthy that this latter day elevation of obeisance to technicality into an article of faith by the Nigerian Supreme Court has sadly occasioned the loss of attention which its pronouncements used to enjoy in the international academic legal community, particularly the Commonwealth. It would have been more tolerable if the problem of the unflattering overall image of administration of justice in Nigeria stopped with the overseas academic community, but it does not. Foreign nationals and entities with disputes otherwise determinable before Nigerian courts avoid them like the plague, and recourse to anti-suit injunctions in foreign jurisdictions (to forestall their adversaries commencing proceedings in Nigeria) has become a standard operating procedure for lawyers to such entities. The humiliating picture painted of Nigerian courts abroad is that of Charles Dickens’ fictional ‘Court of Chancery’. Beyond national pride, the negative effect on foreign direct investment and the Nigerian economy in general is catastrophic.

In the final analysis, the court speaks for and defends itself through its judgments, the strength or lack thereof of which – intellectual and moral – is almost invariably self-evident. As Lord Denning said, let the judge’s work speak for him. And the judge, imbued, as he should be, with great learning, character and wisdom whilst noting criticisms should be so self-assured as to waive aside misguided and ill-informed criticisms, appropriating for himself the position of Shakespeare’s Brutus:
“There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats,
For I am armed so strong in honesty
That they pass by me as the idle wind,
Which I respect not.”-Julius Caeser, Act 4, sc. 3.

In an article, ‘Criticism is not contempt’, by Karan Thapar published in Hindustan Times of March 11, 2008 reference is made to the following pertinent views of an Indian judge, Justice Katju, in a lecture:
“If a person calls me a fool, whether inside a court or outside it, I for one would not take action as it does not prevent me from functioning, and I would simply ignore the comment, or else say that everyone is entitled to his opinion. Afterall words break no bones…. Either the criticism was correct, in which case I deserved it, or it was false in which case I would ignore it…. Sometimes an honest and learned judge is unjustifiably criticized. But for one such person criticizing an upright judge, one hundred people will immediately rush to his defence…. why then should judges get upset or be afraid of criticism, particularly when we live in a democracy?”

As for those inclined to criticize the judges, whilst it is their right to do so, such should be done as fairly and constructively as possible. Moreover, malicious criticisms of judges are not immune from the strictures of the law of defamation. Again, even if Justice Katju would do nothing to anyone calling him a fool, nobody – lawyer or lay person- should say that to or about a judge, or indeed make recourse to other forms of vulgar abuse in criticizing a judge. Vulgar abuse would detract from the inherently serious business of rigorous interrogation of judicial conduct and pronouncements in a democracy. All other considerations apart, simple decency requires that restraint must be applied in attacking a person who, by the nature of his job as Lord Denning reminded us, is not allowed to respond to criticism.

Signed: CHIJIOKE OKOLI, SAN
Coordinator,
Ben Nwabueze Center for Constitutional Studies et al.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

‘APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES LACKS TRANSPARENCY, SAYS JUSTICE AJILEYE

The National Judicial Council (NJC) and other entities saddled with the appointment of judicial officers have come under scrutiny following allegation by a retired judge of the High Court of Kogi State, Justice Alaba Omolaye Ajileye that the appointment process is fraught with undue influence and lacks transparency.

Justice Ajileye, who x-rayed the judiciary last Wednesday in Lokoja during a valedictory court session in his honour, said the process of appointing judicial officers in Nigeria is shrouded in secrecy and clandestineness.

Citing what he called ‘evils associated with appointments’, Ajileye said: “Another evil is that recommendations of Honourable Judges and Honourable Justices don’t count. The act of calling for recommendations looks to me like a ritual, exercised merely to fulfil all righteousness. Those who would be appointed would still be appointed with or without recommendations.

“The number of recommendations a candidate receives guarantees nothing for him. The third evil I have seen is that the person a candidate knows matters a lot. And that person must carry a lot of ‘weight.’

”The fourth evil is that the place where you come from also counts. In Nigerian parlance, it is called the federal character or quota system. There is nothing evil on the face of the principle of federal character. What is evil in it is the way the principle is applied by the functionaries of government. This underscores the point that it is the human being that makes or mars an institution.”

He recalled that the Nigerian judiciary at the apogee of its glory withstood military tyranny, stressing that today’s Judiciary has succumbed to the corrupting influences of moneybag politicians.

Ajileye said: ”It was a healthy judicial system in the days of yore, with a reputation for integrity and competence. This was mainly attributable to a fair system of appointment of judges in the superior judiciary wherein appointments were generally made on merit alone. The puzzling question here is, at what point did we get it wrong?”

While admonishing judges to free themselves from every form of influence except law, Ajileye said judges must liberate themselves from self-imposed shackles and fetters that inhibit independence.

“They can do this if they exhibit, at all times, requisite judicial character. The qualities of courage, firmness, integrity, uprightness, patience, open-mindedness, understanding of the law, compassion, humility, and courtesy should be inseparable from the personality” he added.

He appealed to lawyers to protect and strengthen the independence of the judiciary by being vigilant and prepared to resist any external pressure, forces and interference in the judiciary.

The respected jurist is reputed as one of the most cerebral judges on the High Court bench. Controversy has trailed his lack of elevation to the Court of Appeal, moreso as he is renowned as perhaps the foremost authority in the judiciary on electronic evidence in Nigeria.

Click here for a full text of the valedictory address.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL DG IS NEW ‘CHIROMAN MUBI’

The Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma SAN, has been turbaned as the ‘Chiroman Mubi’ in Adamawa State.

The event was attended by many dignitaries from all walks of life who came to honour the cerebral jurist, including the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN and the Chairman of Council of Legal Education (CLE), Chief Emeka Ngige SAN.

The respected jurist was born on 13th April, 1963 in Mubi, Mubi North Local Government of Adamawa State. He attended Mubi I Primary School from 1970-1976, Government Secondary School/Government Technical School, Mubi from 1976-1981. He holds LL.B. (Hons.) Degree, Second Class (Upper) from University of Maiduguri (1986), LL.M. (1991) and Ph.D. in Law (2005) from University of Jos.

Chiroma was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in March 1988 and joined the Faculty of Law, University of Maiduguri same year as Assistant Lecturer. He rose through the ranks to the rank of a Professor of Law in 2005. He was at various times Head of the Department of Shari’ah, Public Law, Deputy Dean, Dean of Law and Director, Consultancy Services Centre, University of Maiduguri. He was the Founder and Coordinator, Clinical Legal Education Programme as well as member of the University Senate and various standing and ad hoc committees at various times.

While in the university, he taught Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Islamic Jurisprudence, and Islamic Family Law at the undergraduate level. He also taught Human Rights, Environmental Law and Policy and Humanitarian Law at the postgraduate level. He has supervised a substantial number of Masters and PhD candidates. His research interest includes Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, Environmental Law and Policy, Access to Justice, Ethics in the teaching and practice of Law and Law and Development.

Chiroma is a member of many professional bodies including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), International Bar Association (IBA), African Law Association of Germany, Society for Corporate Governance, Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE), and Nigerian Institute of Mediators and Conciliators. He is a Fellow of the Institute Management Consultants and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also a Notary Public.
Chiroma has attended several trainings and conferences including Intensive Training Course on Environmental Law and Policy organized by Centre for Environmental Management and Planning held at Aberdeen, Scotland (1997); The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Training Programme in Environmental Law and Policy held at the United Nations Environment Programme Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya (1997); the University of IOWA WiderNet Project (Technician Training Workshop) for National Universities Commission, organized by the University of IOWA WiderNet Project, Abuja (2001); First African Clinical Law Teachers Training Workshop organized by University of Kwazulu-Natal, Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) and Open Society Institute (2004); Workshop on Management and Leadership Development for Good Governance of Nigerian Universities (2006); Third African Clinical Legal Education Teacher Training Workshop organized by University of Kwazulu-Natal and Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), held at Durban South Africa from 20th -24th November 2006.

Others are the 1st All African Clinician Round Table held in Cape Town, South Africa (2007); Conference on Human Rights organized by the Danish Institute of Human Rights in Rwanda; Commonwealth Legal Education Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, (2007); World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Regional Workshop on Intellectual Property and Technology Management for Universities, organized by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and Federal Ministry of Science and Technology of Nigeria, held at (2008); All African Course on International Humanitarian Law (IHL), organized by International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Pretoria, and Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria (2009); Certificate Course in Basic MS Office 2010 Application and Internet Productivity Tool organized by the African Centre for ICT Innovation and Training, American University of Nigeria (AUN), 2013 and Certificate Course in Research Paper Writing, organized by the African Centre for ICT Innovation and Training, American University of Nigeria (AUN), 2014.

He also attended a Certificate Course in IPad Basics organized by the African Centre for ICT Innovation and Training, American University of Nigeria (AUN), December 2014; Legal Writing Course (Learned Writing) organized by the Write House (Legal Writing Consultants & Trainers), 2015; Executive Certificate in Information Management (Information Project Management, Computer Application for Managers and Executives, System Dynamics, Internet and E-Commerce organized by the African Centre for ICT Innovation and Training, American University of Nigeria (AUN), 2015; Global Alliance for Justice Education (GAJE) Conferences and Trainings in India, Philippines and Turkey.

Chiroma is a member of Editorial Boards of many peer review academic journals and has served on accreditation teams of both National Universities Commission (NUC) and Council of Legal Education (CLE) to many universities. He has also served as External Examiner and Professorial Assessor to many Universities within and outside Nigeria. He has published widely; he is a co-author of Handbook on Prison Pre-Trial Detainee Law Clinic; a contributor of “Islam, Islamic Law and Human Rights in the Nigerian Context” in Islam and Human Rights, published by Peter Lang, Frankfurt, Germany, and “Making Justice Available to the Poor through Development Cooperation: A Case Study of University of Maiduguri Law Clinic,” published in Administration of Justice in Africa: Effectiveness, Acceptance and Assistance by Rudger Koppe Verlag Koln, Deutschland; Human Rights under the Military Rule in Nigeria, published in the Review of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights by the African Society of International and Comparative Law among others.

In addition to his teaching and scholarly activities, he served as a Legal Consultant to the Federal Ministry of Environment on Integrated Ecosystems Management Project in the Trans-boundary Area between Nigeria and Niger Republic (Legislation); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Environmental Law and Policy; Legal Research and Resource Development Centre (LRRDC) on Reproductive Health and Rights; National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Review of NAFDAC Laws on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Products Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) 2010, and Consultant to the Nigerian Law School on Legal Education Capacity Building Projects (IT Infrastructure Standards Assessment of the Campuses). He was a member of Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy from 2005-2009; Member, Council of Legal Education; Member, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS), and Member, Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee for the Selection of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) from academics. He was a member of Committee for the review of Legal Education in Nigeria, Commonwealth Legal Education Representative in Nigeria, and member of Vision 20: 2020. He is currently a Member of the Governing Council, Federal Polytechnic, Mubi.

Chiroma was the founding Deputy Director-General and Head of Yola Campus of the Nigerian Law School from 2011-2016. He is happily married with children.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

LEDAP HOSTS DPP FORUM ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM FEB 16

The Legal Defence & Assistance Project (LEDAP) will on Thursday and Friday host the ninth edition of the elite Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Forum.

The intensive programme will dwell on criminal justice reform with special emphasis on “ways of more effectively implementing the innovations in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and Laws,” a statement made available to CITY LAWYER noted.

The forum will also dwell on criminal case management, plea bargain, 21 minimum standards of ACJA, gender and social inclusion in criminal justice administration, and police-prosecution relations among other pressing justice sector issues.

LEDAP is hosting the eagerly awaited signature event which has become a permanent feature on the criminal justice administration calendar in collaboration with the Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee and with support of the MacArthur Foundation. The inaugural forum held in 2021.

Below is the full text of the statement.

HOPE OF IMPROVING CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA RISES AS DPP FORUM HOLDS IN LAGOS 16-17 FEB

The Directors of Public Prosecutions in all the 36 states and federation, as well as heads of prosecutions at specialised agencies and legal departments of police will converge in Lekki Lagos on 16 and 17 February, 2023 to discuss ways of more effectively implementing the innovations in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and Laws.

The meeting will open with a special delivery on emerging issues on electronic Criminal evidence, to be delivered by the cerebral jurist, Hon. Justice Alaba Ajileye of Kogi State Judiciary. Other papers will cover Criminal case management, plea bargain, 21 minimum standards of ACJA, gender and social inclusion issues in criminal justice administration, police-prosecutions relations, etc. Experience sharing sessions on the implementation of ACJA and laws across the states will also be part of the forum.

Hosted by Legal Defence & Assistance Project LEDAP and Federal Justice Sector Reform Coordinating Committee with support of the MacArthur Foundation, the forum is the 9th in the series of DPP Forums that first held in 2001.

“We are glad the DPPs who manage prosecution of offences in the States and the heads of police legal units are resuming their experience sharing sessions” says Pamela Okoroigwe, Director at LEDAP. “As 33 of 36 States have passed ACJ laws, and some have made more progress than others in implementing the laws, this meeting is important to share best practices, identify challenges and work together to overcome those challenges”

Other resources persons lined up for the forum are Hon. Justice Olabisi Ogungbesan of Lagos High Court and former DPP of Lagos State, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George SAN of the Center for Socio-Legal Studies; Chino Obiagwu SAN of LEDAP; Olawale Fapohunda SAN, former two-term Attorney-General of Ekiti State; Dr. Jide Martin, DPP of Lagos State; Mrs. Bunmi Adesomoju, director of the Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State; Ozioma Izuora of Faculty of Law, Baze University; Tunde Sumonu, Ministry of Justice, Lagos State; Mr. Chukwu Agwu, former OC Legal, Force CID Zone 2, Lagos and current Head of Legal Department at Special Fraud Unit of Nigerian Police, and other invited panelists. The forum will hold at Timeoak Hotel & Spa, Lekki, Lagos on 16 and 17 February 2023.

Rosemary Egbede
Project officer
LEDAP
Info@ledapnigeria.org

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

‘DON’T LET MY SON DIE OF KIDNEY AILMENT,’ LAWYER CRIES OUT

A senior lawyer, Mr. Osondu Ajuzie has urged public-spirited individuals and corporate bodies to come to the aid of his family in saving their son who is critically down with kidney disease.

In a Save-Our-Soul appeal made available to CITY LAWYER, Ajuzie, who is also a text writer, stated that his son, Chinonso needs about N15 Million to undergo kidney transplant at St. Nicholas Hospital, Lagos.

The medical procedure is scheduled to take place on Monday, subject to availability of funds. The family has had to contend with huge medical bills for onshore and offshore confirmatory tests as well as dialysis treatment.

His words: “My son Chinonso has been down with Kidney failure condition since February 2022. He has been on twice weekly dialysis since then.

“He has been booked for URGENT surgery for Monday, 20th February, 2022 as his condition has deteriorated to the extent that he cannot make urine. He already has a Donor, his Uncle, but about N15 million for the transplant surgery on both Donor and the Recipient.

“The family does not have the money and appeals for donations and support from kind-hearted individuals and organisations in order to SAVE HIS LIFE.

“Please be counted among philanthropists that God will use to save the life of this promising young man. May the Good Lord bless you as you do so.”

Donations can be made to his father’s account as below:

NAME: OSONDU AJUZIE CHIZOBA
ACCOUNT NO: 2004962146
BANK: FIRST BANK

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

MAIKYAU WANTS JUSTICE AJILEYE ELEVATED TO APPEAL COURT

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN has urged that all efforts be made by the relevant authorities to ensure that Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye of the Kogi State Judiciary is elevated to the Court of Appeal before his retirement. Justice Ajileye is billed to retire on Wednesday.

Maikyau stated that the plea is to ensure that the nation’s judiciary is not robbed of the depth of the jurist’s knowledge especially in electronic evidence.

His words: “This is part of the retirement process of My Lord in the Kogi Bench, but I pray that My Lord is elevated to the Court of Appeal between now and the 15th of February so that we would not be robbed of the knowledge we get from his experience in electronic evidence. The help of God is not far from you and all of this is a show of grace of God in your life.”

Maikyau made the plea in a goodwill message he delivered at the Public Lecture organized by the Rule of Law Development Foundation (ROLDF) in honour of Justice Omolaye-Ajileye.

Continuing, he said: “I first met My Lord Ajileye in 2015 at a training. The humility and simplicity of his lordship struck me and since then I became his younger brother. I sat beside My Lord at the training but it took me two days to know that he was a judge of the High Court. I realized that with the depth of knowledge My Lord possessed, he should have been the resource person, in my view.

“I recall the book My Lord wrote on electronic evidence and I made a comment on it as providing the required refreshment to the fundamentals of the law of electronic evidence. I am sure the refreshment was present today when My Lord delivered his talk on electronic evidence.”

He noted how Justice Ajileye applied the law in the judgements he delivered and commended his sense of justice, adding that “We have to share the knowledge in the work that My Lord has brought to improve on the administration of justice.”

Maikyau charged legal practitioners not to denigrate judges in their comments, saying: “A legal practitioner lives for the advancement of his people and course of this nation. Our reputation as lawyers is motivated by the fees we charge and that is why we have failed in providing the leadership this nation requires. My charge to all members of the legal profession is to stand for our course. If we lose the confidence of the public in the administration of justice, we will not have a nation. “

He noted that the judiciary has some erudite jurists, adding that calling the judiciary names will not remedy any challenges. “When we talk about failure, I don’t exclude myself as President of NBA,” he said.

Former Deputy Director-General at the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Ernest Ojukwu SAN appreciated the NBA President for honouring their classmate, adding that Justice Ajileye has contributed to the legal profession especially in his specialty area of electronic evidence.

Ojukwu revealed that he prodded Justice Ajileye to write the second edition of his book within weeks of publishing the first book, saying: “I told him that section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011 has created more problems than it has solved.”

The law teacher said: “Our regret is that My Lord has not been elevated to the Court of Appeal. But we will still benefit from him despite his retirement.”

The chairman of the event and Chief Judge of FCT High Court, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf acknowledged all those who facilitated and participated in the programme. Also present was retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

FALANA LEAD TRAINING TODAY, AS NBA-SPIDEL, PRAWA PARTNER TO DECONGEST PRISONS

Fiery human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN will today lead the training of lawyers under the aegis of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) in the area of prison decongestion.

Other facilitators of the training are NBA-SPIDEL Chairman, Dr. Monday Ubani and the Executive Director of Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA), Dr. Uju Agomoh.

The training programme is a collaboration between NBA-SPIDEL and PRAWA.

Please see full text below.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF SPIDEL ON A FORTHCOMING TRAINING BY PRISONERS’ REHABILITATION AND WELFARE ACTION(PRAWA) ON EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 12(4) – (12) OF THE NIGERIAN SERVICE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ACT, 2019

Learned colleagues,

Pre-trial detention and overcrowding of many correctional centers (prisons) has remained a challenge in Nigeria’s criminal justice system. Pre trial detainees in Nigerian Correctional Centres accounts for about 70 per cent of inmates population.

Nigerian Correctional Service currently accepts all persons into their custody with valid warrants irrespective of whether their designated capacity of the correctional center (prisons) has been exceeded. This represents a clear breach of Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019).

To check overcrowding in the Correctional Centres, S12(4)-(12) of The Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, as an innovative provision has sought to correct the issue of overcrowding of correctional centres. This also includes a mechanism of activating an “early warning signal” by issuing notification to critical justice delivery stakeholders alerting them that the population of the correctional centers has exceeded or about to exceed the official designated capacity. The provision provides a window of 3 months for actions to be taken to address the overcrowding.

The section provides that:

Where the Custodial Centre has exceeded its capacity, the State Controller shall within a period not exceeding one week, notify the—
(a) Chief Judge of the State;
(b) the Attorney-General of the State;
(c) Prerogative of Mercy Committee;
(d) State Criminal Justice Committee; and
(e) any other relevant body. With regard to the Federal Capital Territory, the Controller shall notify the Attorney-General of the Federation and Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory.

Upon receipt of the notification referred to in subsection (4), the notified body shall, within a period not exceeding three months, take necessary steps to rectify overcrowding.

Without prejudice to subsection (4), the State Controller of Correctional Service in conjunction with the Superintendent shall have the power to reject more intakes of inmates where it is apparent that the Correctional Centre in question is filled to capacity.

A State Controller of Correctional Service shall be sanctioned if he fails to notify the relevant bodies when the Custodial Centre exceeds full capacity within the stipulated time frame as stated in subsection (4).

A Superintendent who fails or refuses to observe the procedure as stated in subsection (4) shall be sanctioned.

Despite the provisions of section 12(4) – (12), most custodial centers are in breach of the law and are currently interning above their carrying capacity.

PRAWA, with the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is implementing an initiative titled “Petty Offenders Out of Custody Project”. A key aspect of this project aims to increase awareness and enhance the capacity of key stakeholders towards effective implementation of Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019). One of the strategies PRAWA is adopting to ensure effective implementation of this project is to partner with SPIDEL towards creating awareness of SPIDEL members and other lawyers and justice sector stakeholders on section 12(4) – (12) and to undertake other relevant steps/interventions aimed at ensuring compliance of section 12(4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019) and reduction of overcrowding of correctional centres and release of inmates (including awaiting trial inmates) from custody.

Proposed Activities:

To actualize the objective above, the following activities are proposed;

Virtual training for NBA/SPIDEL members the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 with special focus on Section 12(4-12).
Project Planning Meetings with the SPIDEL members that will be involved in the implementing of the project accross the country to discuss the project implementation strategies.
Provision of seed fund to activate actions at the various States by SPIDEL representatives towards enhancing compliance of section 12(4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019. These may include advocacy visits, sensitization meetings, etc.

Expected Outcomes:

At the end of this project, it is expected that:

There will be:

Increased awareness of the provisions of section 12(4)-(12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.
Increased knowledge of the role of stakeholders in the implementation of the provisions of the Act.
Increased compliance of Section 12(4-12) Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.
Reduction in overcrowding of custodial centers.

Conclusion

This initiative will increase the awareness of Justice stakeholders on Section 12 (4-12) of the NCoS Act 2019, promote compliance on this as well as reduce overcrowding of correctional centers.

SPIDEL is expected to leverage on its network and professional expertise to engage relevant stakeholders towards effective implementation of the provisions of the Act in the project locations, while PRAWA with the support of OSIWA, will provide the resources to facilitate implementation. Every selected participant will be provided with logistic funds for the exercise.

Every participant will present a report that will show their findings and efforts towards the effective implementation of the Act.

The training will take place on the 13th of February 2023 between the hours of 4 and 6pm.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

LAGOS CJ TO PRONOUNCE SURULERE, ETI-OSA JUDICIAL DIVISIONS MARCH 1

Barring any last-minute change of mind, Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba will on March 1, 2023 pronounce Surulere/Yaba and Eti-osa as Judicial Divisions within the Lagos State Judiciary.

Justice Alogba made the commitment today when he led a high-powered delegation of the state judiciary on a working visit to the Christopher Segun Courthouse in Eti-osa.

Addressing members of the Eti-osa Lawyers Forum (ELF) who also accompanied the chief judge on the visit, Alogba noted the hardship caused by the lack of pronouncement on the matter, adding that that would soon be over.

CITY LAWYER recalls that though the Mr. Olumide Akpata-led Nigerian Bar Association National Executive Committee (NBA-NEC) had created “Surulere Branch” among others, the “branch” has remained inchoate due to the absence of a judicial division, a pre-condition for the creation of an NBA branch.

It is recalled that the ELF has also been clamouring for its elevation to a branch status. When contacted, the ELF Chairman, Mr. Adewale Sanni applauded the impending pronouncement, adding that “Our dream of birthing another NBA branch to serve the teeming lawyers in this axis has been given a huge boost by this cheering development.”

Meanwhile, the chief judge has stated that about 44 courtrooms are expected when the Igbosere Court Complex is completed, adding that the contractor has 18 months to deliver the edifice.

There are strong indications that 20 courtrooms will be delivered at the completion of the first phase of the project, even as four High Court courtrooms will be attached to the JIC Taylor Magistrates Court Complex in Igbosere.

Alogba stated that the Lagos State Judiciary will go full throttle with electronic filing by the next quarter of this year, urging lawyers to brace up for the development.

The chief judge also hinted that the Commercial Division of the court would be moved to Tapa, adding that the division will house 10 courtrooms.

Among those who accompanied the Lagos Chief Judge on the tour were Justice Josephine Oyefeso, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay, and Mr. Tajudeen Elias (Chief Registrar).

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

7 HABITS OF A SUCCESSFUL LAWYER IN NIGERIA

INTRODUCTION

I am humbled and momentously surprised to have been bestowed the honour of delivering this speech at this august gathering. It is not an honour I take very lightly.

The topic I have been assigned to discuss is “the Seven Habits of a Successful Lawyer”. A topic which in itself presupposes that the person chosen to deliver it, is a successful lawyer! It is however my humble opinion that there are in this venerable body, in this esteemed company, many eminent lawyers and jurists who are much more qualified than my humble self, Kayode Ajulo, to mount this rostrum to do justice to this topic.

I am more than humbled by this honour and in accepting it, I stand upon the great and noble shoulders of those eminent men and I can only hope that by the time we are done, those solid and powerful shoulders upon which I stand would not have carried me in vain.

Let me quickly recognise those great and successful giants of our trade that the Akure Bar has been blessed with; Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, Olagoke Fakunle, SAN, Niyi Adegbonmire, SAN, Dr. Olatunji Abayomi, I.O.A Olorunfemi, Banjo Aiyenakin, and many others whose indulgence I crave to proceed.

Again, since the leadership of the Akure Bar has insisted that I present this speech, I crave the indulgence of all who is present to only listen to the message and discountenance any perceived inadequacies of the messenger.

As a lawyer, whenever one is privileged to deliver a speech, it is expected that one would speak from the position of knowledge and authority. And how does a lawyer get this knowledge and authority? It is usually from books. For example, if one is going to talk about Evidence, it is expected that one should read the Evidence Act, legislations, court decisions and books from great jurists who have espoused knowledge in the course over the years.

However, because of the peculiarity of this topic there would be no need to research on any statute or laws as all that needs be said must be from one’s experience gathered over the course of one’s practice as well as the examples laid by legal giants over the years. (Now you would understand my insistence that my noble seniors are much more qualified than myself!)

For the above reason, our authority therefore would be to a larger extent the styles and practice of the illustrious names I have earlier mentioned and many others. To fully and adequately deal with this topic therefore, it would make sense and would probably be downright unforgivable if one fails to mention the heroes past of this noble profession of ours; titans who achieved great success like FRA Williams, SAN, Richard Akinjide, SAN, G.O.K Ajayi, SAN, Ibrahim Abdulahi, SAN, Philip Umeadi, SAN, Okeaya-Inneh, SAN, Ajibola Ige, SAN, Bankole Aluko, SAN, Chike Chigbue, SAN, Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, Miskom Pueppet and a host of others, all of blessed memory.

Likewise, there are heroes present like Folake Sholanke, SAN, Afe Babalola, SAN, Ebun Sofunde, SAN, Gboyega Awomolo, SAN, Ebun Shofunde, SAN, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, J. B. Daudu, SAN, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Kanu Agabi, SAN, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, J. K. Gadzama, SAN, E. C. Ukala, SAN, Yunus Ustaz Usman, SAN, Adetokunbo Kayode, SAN, Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, D. D. Dodo, SAN, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Wale Babalakin, SAN, Emeka Ngige, SAN, K. T. Turaki, SAN, Chris Uche, SAN, Ajibola Aribisala, SAN, P. N. Ikwueto, SAN, Ifedayo Adedipe, SAN, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, SAM Ologunorisa, SAN, J. S. Okutepa, SAN, Dayo Akinlaja, SAN, Prof Akinseye-George, SAN, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, Femi Falana, SAN, Olumuyiwa Akinboro, SAN, Dame Priscilla Kuye, Dr. Olatunji Abayomi etc. These eminent personalities are those whose lifestyles and work ethics one should study if one is to become an effective lawyer.

Without sounding immodest, I must give myself a pass mark because of all these great names I have reeled out; I have made it a point to have good relationships with many of them either directly or indirectly. Some of them are my direct mentors, while some are indirect mentors because even from a distance at times, I have taken pains to watch and learn from them. I am also fortunate to have started my practice at the Federal Ministry of Justice which indisputably is the largest law office in the whole of Africa whereat I was quite lucky to have interacted with the best lawyers, which has aided my training in the profession.

My brief is to interrogate the station of a lawyer, and with respect, not just any lawyer but a successful lawyer and the habits that characterize the life of such a lawyer, The Cambridge Dictionary defines “habits” as something that one does often and regularly, sometimes, something done so routinely that it even borders on the unconscious.

Let me state at this juncture that the legal profession is one of the most prestigious professions in the world and although in the strict sense of the word, practicing Law encapsulates more than just litigation, as it expands to cover areas such as Corporate & Commercial, Oil & Gas, Investment & Finance, Real Estates and the likes. However for the purpose of this presentation, the focal point must be in tandem with the general circumstance of Akure Bar, the legal practice that involves litigation and Court proceedings.

With your kind permission, I would like to rephrase our topic of discussion and say that we should not be talking about being a successful lawyer, but rather an effective lawyer because an effective lawyer will, in due course, be a successful one.

Success is quite relative. And success is not a destination; it is a journey, a process. What one lawyer considers as success might be radically different from what another considers as success. For example, the idea of success to Eyitayo Jegede, SAN might be when he becomes Governor of Ondo State, while to another lawyer, it might be attaining the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

It is therefore best to talk about an effective lawyer, because effectiveness will keep you focused on characters required for utmost and quality productivity. And, to be effective is to be successful in producing a desired or intended result.

Becoming an effective lawyer in the profession may be quite an uphill task. It takes only a person who knows the secrets, qualities and skills required of a lawyer to become effective. The skills a lawyer needs for an ideal career are things he must be deliberate and intentional in working upon and diligently develop over time. As they say, practice makes perfect, and dedication makes dreams come true.

In my limited and humble experience, below are seven highly recommended habits a lawyer must possess if he aspires to be an effective attorney. I have however not listed them in any particular order of importance, as they are all important for an effective legal career.

GOOD COMMUNICATION

Theo Gold, an author said “Communication is your ticket to success if you pay attention and learn to do it effectively.” He further added that, “communication is one of the major keys to success. When one is able to communicate their position, their plan or their ideas effectively, one is able to achieve much more.”

I am sure we have all heard the popular saying that “language is the major tool of a lawyer”. There is no gainsaying that an ability to communicate clearly and unambiguously is a must-have skill for every lawyer. And this vital skill can be developed by engaging in public speaking.

A renowned Human Rights Activist and learned Silk is an example of a great orator with the ability to argue convincingly in the courtroom, even when he has a seemingly bad case. Frankly speaking, the way you communicate as a lawyer will go a long way to tell what you are capable of doing.

Additionally, in this era of front loading processes, lawyers must also be able to write clearly, persuasively and concisely, as they must produce a variety of legal arguments backed by legal documents. To be able to analyse what clients tell them or follow a complex testimony, a lawyer must possess good listening skills.

A lawyer will also have to convey important ideas in a variety of environments and settings, such as: private conversations, informal emails, phone calls, conference meetings, etc. This makes communication skill one of the most important habits a lawyer must cultivate if he really desires to get to the top of the legal profession.

Therefore, whatever means you have chosen to communicate, as a lawyer who wants to be successful, you must do it effectively.

DILIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE

“Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.” “He who labors diligently need never despair; for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor.”

Therefore, another non-negotiable quality of an effective lawyer is diligence. Diligence is the combination of hard work and consistency. To become an effective lawyer, you must not lack this quality because it takes time for a young lawyer to be noticed. An Indian Judge said that “the success of a lawyer depends upon himself”. And, just as Walter Elliot put it, and as similar to success “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”

Even studying to become a lawyer takes a great deal of perseverance and commitment – and that’s before you even start work.

When working on a case, you must be diligent and have the perseverance to complete a quality work, necessary to drive the case to a successful finish. Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, comes to mind when talking about a diligent lawyer who spends enough time on a legal problem until he finds a convincing solution.

This is not a profession for lazy people who wants to win without putting in the required works. Even the Good Book says “Seeth thou a man diligent in his ways, he shall dine with kings and not mean men”! What more can one add?

ANALYTICAL THINKING
Allow me to read this words of an educator, Neil Postman, to you on analytical thinking. He was, though, taking to readers but this cannot be truer for lawyers because it is what an effective lawyer should be.

“To engage the written word means to follow a line of thought, which requires considerable powers of classifying, inference-making and reasoning. It means to uncover lies, confusions, and overgeneralizations, to detect abuses of logic and common sense. It also means to weigh ideas, to compare and contrast assertions, to connect one generalization to another. To accomplish this, one must achieve a certain distance from the words themselves, which is, in fact, encouraged by the isolated and impersonal text. That is why a good reader does not cheer an apt sentence or pause to applaud even an inspired paragraph. Analytic thought is too busy for that, and too detached.”

This is simply to tell you that an effective lawyer cannot be lazy with his mind because the fate of many individuals (life and death, win or loss) depends on his thoughts. To win as a lawyer, your analytical skills must be top notch.

Reading large amounts of information, absorbing facts and figures, analysing material and distilling it into something manageable is a feature of an effective law career. Being able to identify what is relevant out of a mass of information and explain it clearly and concisely is vital.

At times, there will be more than one reasonable conclusion or more than one precedent applicable to resolving a situation. An effective lawyer must therefore have the evaluative skills in order to choose which is the most suitable. This skill can be honed by taking large documents or long news articles and making bullet points of the most important themes.

CLEAR SENSE OF JUDGEMENT
To become a successful lawyer, the habit of drawing reasonable, logical conclusions or assumptions from limited information is essential. You must also be able to consider these judgments critically, so that you can anticipate potential areas of weakness in your argument that must be fortified against.

Similarly, you must be able to spot points of weakness in an opposition’s argument. Decisiveness is also a part of judgment. There will be a lot of important judgment calls to make and little time for sitting on the fence.

This is the point where the emphasis on the analytical skills comes in. It is where your must be able to combine clear, undiluted and and deep instinct with relevant knowledge and experience to form opinions and make convincing decisions. You must be able to deploy this at an unconscious level to produce an insight or recognize a pattern that others overlook.

And let me state that what can guide you here is the value you are set to give and the goal you are set to achieve. Once you keep these two in mind, your sense of reasonable judgement will come to life.

RESEARCH
Two things that I love most about research are captured in the followings quotes.
“Research is formalized curiosity, it is poking and prying with a purpose.” says Zora Neale Hurston.
And according to Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, “Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.”

Diligent and efficient researches also play a huge role in a lawyer’s day-to-day job. This gives an inkling to whatever situation a lawyer finds himself and also helps to activate other necessary requirements to deploy when faced with a situation. Research is unavoidably important especially when doing the background work on a case, drafting legal documents and advising clients on complicated issues.

In the same vein, being able to research quickly and effectively is essential to understanding your clients, their needs, and to preparing legal strategies. In fact, what differentiates a good lawyer from a bad lawyer is the level of research they put into their work.

PRO-PEOPLE
I don’t know if this truth is popular or not, but I know it for a fact, through diligent studying, careful observation and detailed experience that you can’t go it alone if you want to establish a fruitful and fulfilling career as a lawyer.

Instead, staying connected to a robust network of your peers and definitely your seniors will help you have an edge in the field. Your network can give you advice, direct you to helpful resources, and even help you land new clients.

Almost anyone you meet can be a possible connection. From your law school classmates to your former clients, every professional you interact with can potentially provide insights, resources, and opportunities that could make a substantial difference in your career.

Law is not an abstract practice. Irrelevant of how well someone does academically, at the end of the day lawyers work with people, on behalf of people, and the decisions that are made affect people’s lives. They must be personable, persuasive and able to read others. In doing this, a lawyer in this present time must be conversant with the use of technology, particularly the social media as an effective tool for great networking.

CREATIVITY
In one of my researches on the importance of being a creative lawyer, I read this statement and I found it appropriate to introduce this last habit I want to share.

“Law isn’t always seen through a creative lens, especially when compared to more artistic sectors. It’s often perceived as rigid, academic, and perhaps a little dry. Law may be built on precedent, but the profession is ripe for change and is ready for an injection of all-important creativity.”

Sincerely, many people may think that the legal profession provides little outlet for an individual’s creative talent but this isn’t the case. No matter what aspect of the legal profession you choose, you will frequently have to think outside the box to get the job done.

The very top lawyers are not only logical and analytical, but they display a great deal of creativity in problem-solving. The best solution is not always the most obvious and in order to outmanoeuvre your challenger. It is often necessary to think outside the box.

In actual fact, creativity is highly sought after by clients, even if it remains somewhat unacknowledged by most within this legal profession.

Who is then being creative if not a lawyer, who can read a sentence and interpret it in many parts to give various logically convincing conclusions?

Effective lawyers understand the importance of flexibility and creativity. Innovation is vital when developing effective solutions, but it also allows you to serve your clients better by discovering cost-effective and efficient processes.

CONCLUSION
The great scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, said that “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Again, I implore any one that aspires to be an effective lawyer to study the lives of great lawyers not only in Akure Bar, but across the country. Listen to them. Read their books. And when the knowledge gleaned from studying their lives is combined with the seven habits enumerated above, such lawyer is on his way to becoming an effective lawyer.

Above all of these abovementioned habits, there is a G-Factor that I have observed working for every effective lawyer, even for these great ones I mentioned in this lecture.

Irrespective of your religion or belief, there should be an acknowledgement of a supreme being that has your back because there are many who have mastered the above stated habits as part of their daily living for decades but still struggle to call themselves successful.

Though, there is public acknowledgment of this notion in Islam, Christiandom and African Traditional Beliefs, I can bet that it does get to a point that even an atheist, in the corner of his heart, strongly desires to experience the guidance of a dimension that is higher than what he knows when his personal ability fails. That is nothing but a humble acknowledgement of a higher level-The God factor.

This I recommend highly to you as you sing the popular Yoruba gospel song to the Supreme One with me. He is the X-factor of my existence, my G-factor of whom I can say that if you walk with Him in faith, the world will hear the best of you:

“Gbemi Soke, gbemi dide
Fami lọwọ soke, ki n ga jù ayé lọ
Ògo ayé mi, jẹ kó yọ jáde
Fami lọwọ soke,
má ma jẹ kó pẹ”

Thank you for listening.

26th January, 2023.

DR. OLUKAYODE AJULO, FCIArb [UK]
*A Capacity Building Lecture delivered at Monthly General Meeting of Nigeria Bar Association, Akure Branch on Thursday, 26th January, 2023.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

JUSTICE AJILEYE, ELECTRONIC EVIDENCE EXPERT, RETIRES FEB 15

INVITATION TO A PUBLIC LECTURE IN HONOUR OF THE HONOURABLE JUSTICE ALABA OMOLAYE-AJILEYE PhD

On the 15th of February 2023, the Hon. Justice A O Ajileye PhD will bow out of the Bench after years of meritorious service to Nigeria and the Kogi State Judiciary in particular. In partnership with the Committee of Friends of the eminent jurist, the Rule of Law Development Foundation is hosting a Public Lecture titled: A-Z of the Regime of Electronic Evidence in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges; to kick-start a series of events organized by Committee of Friends of the Honouree to mark his retirement from the High Court Bench and his introduction into the next chapter of service to this nation and to the Judiciary.

The jurisprudence of Electronic Evidence cannot be discussed without the inclusion of the contributions of the Hon. Justice Ajileye in the subject area where my lord is reckoned as an authority. Therefore, on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, it is my pleasure to invite you to the above Public Lecture scheduled to hold as follows:

Date: Friday 10th February 2023
Venue: Conference Hall J B Daudu and Co, House 3, 16B P.O.W Mafemi Crescent Jabi Abuja
Virtual Venue: ZOOM
Time: 10:00am prompt

I have attached herewith a Concept Note, which explains the essence of the Public Lecture. For further enquiries, contributions or concerns kindly contact Rule of Law Desk Officers on 08027770035 and 08138172221 or email inquiries.roldf@gmail.com or roldfoundation@gmail.com

We look forward to welcoming your distinguished self and members of your delegation to the Lecture.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO REGISTER
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_e0VidXN5RqCH2Ide12rTGg

Yours Faithfully

Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

‘NIGERIA HAS STELLAR ARBITRATORS,’ SAYS TOLU ADEREMI

The International Law Association (ILA) Arbitration Committee (Nigeria) hosted its Rise To Professional Stardom Series (RPSS) on February 2, 2023, with its keynote speaker and renowned international arbitrator, Dorothy Ufot, SAN.

In his opening remarks, the Committee’s Chairman, Tolu Aderemi, noted with concern the not-too impressive active play of African arbitrators in the global space. According to Aderemi, there is the erroneous perception that some African arbitrators lack integrity and this is what accounts for parties to prefer foreign appointment into arbitration panels. He however made the emphatic point that this perception is wrong and must be corrected.

“Nigeria has some of the finest and best brains in arbitration, most of whom have been involved in landmark arbitration decisions. Do we have one or two cases of those who do not make us proud? Yes, like in other parts of the world. This infinitesimal number should not be a barometer for judging other brilliant ones”, Aderemi stated.

The Arbitration Committee Boss further admonished his colleagues that African arbitrators must not only demonstrate intellectual capacity of international arbitration laws, principles and procedures, they must also be seen to have uncommon integrity and be of unquestionable character. In his closing statements, Aderemi reiterated that the ILA Arbitration committee is committed to cutting-edge training on international arbitration and urged those interested in international arbitration to take advantage of the 2023 ILA, Arb Committee training calendar.

In a fireside chat anchored by renowned ChannelsTV Journalist, Shola Soyele (who is also the ILA, Arbitration Committee Publicity Director), the RPSS Honouree, Dorothy Ufot, SAN, encouraged arbitrators to always seek to achieve excellence and the only way to do it is by demonstrating intellectual capacity and not attracting attention by any means other than the intellect.

According to the renowned international arbitrator and member of the Inner Bar, she noted that arbitrators must ensure that they consciously live a balanced life; work with like-minded hardworking colleagues, ensure the home front is peaceful by marrying an understanding spouse but also not sacrifice the home on the altar of work.

Mrs Ufot also admonished aspiring arbitrators to embrace volunteering as Registrars or assistants as this is the only way they can learn. At the same time, Mrs Ufot encouraged that decent and commensurate remuneration should be given to deserving young arbitrators. On another note, the renowned arbitrator encouraged arbitrators to be courageous when sitting on international panels alongside their foreign counterparts as that is the only way respect will be earned. She also encouraged them to attend international conferences and trainings and keep the network created during these training very close.

In his complimentary view, a past Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Mr Tunde Busari, SAN encouraged younger lawyers to offer themselves for arbitration services as this gives such young arbitrators visibility in international arbitration. Busari also decried the art of laziness on the part of young arbitrators when given opportunities.

According to the learned senior advocate of Nigeria, it is becoming a culture for young arbitrators to demonstrate a culture of entitlement even when they have not satisfactorily provided the service. In his view, some young arbitrators’ assistance makes the job of the senior arbitrator even more complicated. In his final analysis, Busari encouraged arbitrators to develop a mastery of international laws as this is a potent weapon to becoming relevant in international arbitration.

The Rise To Professional Stardom (RPSS) is one of the flagship programmes of the ILA and according to the Programs’ Director, Deinma Dibi, there will be only 4 (four) of the Series in a year. He therefore encouraged members and intending members to take full advantage of the mentorship session.

In his further remarks, Mr Dibi reiterated the primary purpose of the Association; which is to provide training and capacity development. He encouraged intending members to take advantage of the stellar faculty which comprised of both international and Nigerian leading arbitrators.

The RPSS, which started with a cocktail sponsored by Mr Bisi Makanjuola, a partner with the firm of Olaniwun Ajayi LP, had in attendance both lawyers and non-lawyers including the Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr, George-Taylor, the head of Rules and Adjudication, Nigerian Exchange, Mr Toyin Adenugba, Foluke Akinmoladun, Delayo Oriekun, Dr. Foluke Dada, Colonel Arigbe and several other high profile non-lawyers.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

NBA-SPIDEL, PRAWA PARTNER TO DECONGEST PRISONS

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO MEMBERS OF SPIDEL ON A FORTHCOMING TRAINING BY PRISONERS’ REHABILITATION AND WELFARE ACTION(PRAWA) ON EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 12(4) – (12) OF THE NIGERIAN SERVICE CORRECTIONAL SERVICE ACT, 2019

Learned colleagues,

Pre-trial detention and overcrowding of many correctional centers (prisons) has remained a challenge in Nigeria’s criminal justice system. Pre trial detainees in Nigerian Correctional Centres accounts for about 70 per cent of inmates population.

Nigerian Correctional Service currently accepts all persons into their custody with valid warrants irrespective of whether their designated capacity of the correctional center (prisons) has been exceeded. This represents a clear breach of Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019).

To check overcrowding in the Correctional Centres, S12(4)-(12) of The Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019, as an innovative provision has sought to correct the issue of overcrowding of correctional centres. This also includes a mechanism of activating an “early warning signal” by issuing notification to critical justice delivery stakeholders alerting them that the population of the correctional centers has exceeded or about to exceed the official designated capacity. The provision provides a window of 3 months for actions to be taken to address the overcrowding.

The section provides that:

Where the Custodial Centre has exceeded its capacity, the State Controller shall within a period not exceeding one week, notify the—
(a) Chief Judge of the State;
(b) the Attorney-General of the State;
(c) Prerogative of Mercy Committee;
(d) State Criminal Justice Committee; and
(e) any other relevant body. With regard to the Federal Capital Territory, the Controller shall notify the Attorney-General of the Federation and Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory.

Upon receipt of the notification referred to in subsection (4), the notified body shall, within a period not exceeding three months, take necessary steps to rectify overcrowding.

Without prejudice to subsection (4), the State Controller of Correctional Service in conjunction with the Superintendent shall have the power to reject more intakes of inmates where it is apparent that the Correctional Centre in question is filled to capacity.

A State Controller of Correctional Service shall be sanctioned if he fails to notify the relevant bodies when the Custodial Centre exceeds full capacity within the stipulated time frame as stated in subsection (4).

A Superintendent who fails or refuses to observe the procedure as stated in subsection (4) shall be sanctioned.

Despite the provisions of section 12(4) – (12), most custodial centers are in breach of the law and are currently interning above their carrying capacity.

PRAWA, with the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is implementing an initiative titled “Petty Offenders Out of Custody Project”. A key aspect of this project aims to increase awareness and enhance the capacity of key stakeholders towards effective implementation of Section 12 (4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019). One of the strategies PRAWA is adopting to ensure effective implementation of this project is to partner with SPIDEL towards creating awareness of SPIDEL members and other lawyers and justice sector stakeholders on section 12(4) – (12) and to undertake other relevant steps/interventions aimed at ensuring compliance of section 12(4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act (2019) and reduction of overcrowding of correctional centres and release of inmates (including awaiting trial inmates) from custody.

Proposed Activities:

To actualize the objective above, the following activities are proposed;

  1. Virtual training for NBA/SPIDEL members the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 with special focus on Section 12(4-12).
  2. Project Planning Meetings with the SPIDEL members that will be involved in the implementing of the project accross the country to discuss the project implementation strategies.
  3. Provision of seed fund to activate actions at the various States by SPIDEL representatives towards enhancing compliance of section 12(4-12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019. These may include advocacy visits, sensitization meetings, etc.

Expected Outcomes:

At the end of this project, it is expected that:

  1. There will be increased awareness of the provisions of section 12(4)-(12) of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.
  2. Increased knowledge of the role of stakeholders in the implementation of the provisions of the Act.
  3. Increased compliance of Section 12(4-12) Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019.
  4. Reduction in overcrowding of custodial centers.

Conclusion

This initiative will increase the awareness of Justice stakeholders on Section 12 (4-12) of the NCoS Act 2019, promote compliance on this as well as reduce overcrowding of correctional centers.

SPIDEL is expected to leverage on its network and professional expertise to engage relevant stakeholders towards effective implementation of the provisions of the Act in the project locations, while PRAWA with the support of OSIWA, will provide the resources to facilitate implementation. Every selected participant will be provided with logistic funds for the exercise.

Every participant will present a report that will show their findings and efforts towards the effective implemention of the Act.

The training for those that are interested on the project will take place on the 13th of February 2023 between the hours of 4 and 6pm.

The main resource persons include Mr. Femi Falana SAN, Dr. Uju Agomoh and Dr. Monday Ubani.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

LAW SCHOOL AT 60: ‘IT’S A MIXED BAG OF GOOD AND BAD ALUMNI,’ SAYS JUSTICE SONOIKI

THE GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY OF THE NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL: ‘THIS BIT I STILL REMEMBER,’ BY HON. JUSTICE IDOWU OWOLABI SONOIKI

  • Formerly of Ogun State Judiciary and Member of the first set of the Nigerian Law School)

After Nigeria attained independence on 1st October 1960, the agitation to have Nigerians trained as lawyers in Nigeria became intense. Federal Government (had) to enact the Legal Education Act 1962 and the Legal Practitioners Act of the same year.
For our present purpose only the Legal Education Act is relevant.

That Act established the Council of Legal Education which was charged with the general responsibility for the Legal education of persons seeking to become members of the legal profession. That council, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 4(3) of the Legal Education Act, established the Nigerian Law School (named at first, the Federal Law School) at 213A, Igbosere Road, Lagos, which was an all-purpose building containing Lecture Room Hostel for Students, Administrative Offices and Library.

The school was, according to the Act establishing it, to start a one year training course but due to protests, agitations and pressure from Law Students in Great Britain and Northern Ireland who had already graduated in Law from British Universities and who had also been called to the English Bar, there was a transitional arrangement whereby early students were to spend three months in the school. Thus, the pioneering students of the Law School in January 1963 were Messrs Sylvester Ayere Ajuyah, Isreal Amabara Idamiebi, Sunday Ojenonweya Chinke, Julius Sabinus Anyanwu, Nnamdi Onugha, Nnannna Nwa Wachukwu, Onyeabor Chukwunedum Obi and Idowu Owolabi Sonoiki, this writer. We were eight in number.

We had Mr. Guy Ruston Rudd, an Englishman, as the first Director of the School. He directed the affairs of the School. He was assisted by another Englishman, Mr. P. Willoughby, both were Solicitors. The idea was to teach us the rudiments of the courses in Solicitorship in England. Apart from these two expatriate teachers, we had Hon. Stephen Ajayi-Ogedengbe as a full time teacher and Chief Babatunde A. Ibironke a part-time teacher.

During our three months course, apart from the lectures from our above-mentioned teachers, we had occasional visits with Hon. Sir. Adetokunbo Ademola, the then Chief Justice of Nigeria as well as Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, Professor Teslim Elias, the then Attorney-General who saw to the enactment of the Legal Education Act and the Legal Practitioners Act and the renowned Professor L.C.B. Cower who officiated as Adviser on Legal Education to the Nigerian Government. We had moot trials and we were taken to courts of various jurisdictions Magistrate Court, High Court and the Supreme Court – to watch court proceedings.

We took our qualifying examination by the middle of March, 1963 and all the eight of us were successful. We were called to the Nigerian Bar on 20th March, 1963 and we were enrolled in the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Barristers and Solicitors on 21st March, 1963. A dinner was held in our honour at the Bristol Hotel, Lagos, which was attended by Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, Professor Elias, Professor Gower, Chief Rotimi Williams, the then leader of the Bar and notable distinguished Judges, lawyers and other professionals.

All of us went into practice as legal practitioners. In course of time, four of us were elevated to the High Court Bench viz: S.A. Ajuyah, J. S. Anyanwu, N.N. Nwachukwu and I. O. Sonoiki. One, O. C. Obi, became a Senator; another one became Attorney General in the South-South and the remaining two remained in active practice. To the best of my knowledge, none of us elevated to the High Court bench ever attained any higher position. This was not due to our lack of integrity or adequate knowledge of the law. By all means, we exemplified in our various spheres of jurisdiction. Our limitation to the High Court bench was due to our respective places of birth and the Federal character principle which made it impossible for any of us to rise higher.

The Nigerian Law School has made tremendous impact on legal education and practice in Nigeria. Before its establishment in Nigeria in 1963, the total number of legal practitioners in this country was just 1,300. Today (2013), I understand the school has produced over 60,000 students and that in place of the 4 storey building which we used as lecture rooms and hostel, there are now several buildings in the six campuses of the school now located in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Yola and Yenogoa. I also understand that the average student intake every year now in the six campuses is about 5,000.

No doubt, the students of the School have risen to great heights and have done the founding fathers of the School and those of us the pioneering eight students proud. In such an unwieldy figure of over 60,000 graduates of the School in 50 years we cannot expect all to be shining examples. We have got bad eggs from among some of the graduates on the Bench and at the Bar. Like all educational institutions in the country the profession has had a mixed baggage of good quality and disappointing ones. On the whole, while the journey has not been all that edifying, it has not been hopeless. All told, the journey has been very worthwhile.

Editors Note: This article was first published in 2013 in commemoration of the 50 years of the Nigerian Law School.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

40U40 AWARDS: HELP TECH LAWYER, INEMESIT DIKE WIN FOR NIGERIA

40 under 40 AFRICA AWARDS‼️‼️

This is a Battle‼️
Nigeria vs Tanzania!

Click here to vote for Inemesit Dike, our Nigerian nominee.

Inemesit Dike Esq. MCIarb, A.C.I.S is an Attorney and Counsel at Law, Nigeria and New York USA, the Chief Executive Officer of The Legal Concierge, Convener of the Young Wigs Conference and the Founder of the Legal X App.

She’s is an award-winning tech lawyer named as Africa’s Top 50 Individuals in Legal Innovations in 2020 and 2021, Winner of Ultima’s (Ecobank) International Entrepreneurial Reality Series, Lion’s Den 2021, Nominee -Woman of the Year (Tech) 2021, Winner-Top 50 Female Leading Lawyers 2022 as well as Winner- Courtroom Mail 100 Africa’s Influential Women in Legal Profession.

She has a super-duper passion for community development through the education of over 12000 young lawyers via the Young Wigs Conference.

Please vote now.

Click below to view her appeal.

To join our Telegram platform, please click here 

COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.