Crime/Justice
Arguments Against ‘Centralised Law School For Nigeria’ Are Diversionary, Mere Distractions, And Non-Sequitur
To be able to follow and appreciate my position and suggestions, I humbly enjoin us to first read at least an article titled:
“Abuja Central Law School for Nigeria Archaic (1)” written by the very respected Chief Afe Babalola SAN and published on many news platforms and blogs in Nigeria. While I agree that there is no central law school in England, unlike in Nigeria, may I respectfully suggest that those who argue against one Law School for Nigeria should have been all encompassing in their comparison, if objectivity was their watchword, which I seriously doubt. Truth is, and I submit, there are really no bases for comparing England’s situation with Nigeria’s. But, if we must engage in such needless comparison, then let me respectfully remind us that licensing private Law Schools in Nigeria (to break the monopoly of Nigerian Law School) is at the bottom of the scale of preferences of the challenges facing the legal profession, that is, of the issues in respect of which we must urgently copy England and the United Kingdom.
Check these out:
Most lawsuits initiated in courts in England about January 2020/2021 are already concluded up to the highest court of the land, while the rest are near conclusion and may not last beyond December 2022. In Nigeria, on the other hand, most of the cases pending before our courts currently, were commenced between the last five years and 15-20 years and there is hardly any hope of their being concluded any time soon. A typical example of the situation in Nigeria is the case of Pillars v Desbordes (a landlord and tenant case) which lasted over 28 years in Nigerian courts (from its commencement at the Lagos High Court to Conclusion at the Supreme Court) before being disposed of. I wrote:”… on 5 February 2021, while delivering the lead judgment in a landlord-and-tenancy appeal case, Pillars (Nig) Ltd v. Desbordes, His Lordship, the Honourable Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, J.S.C., had started with the following introduction: ‘This appeal was commenced on 24/6/2009 when the appellant herein filled a notice of appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal at Lagos delivered on 8/5/2009 in appeal no.CA/L/859/2006 affirming the judgment of the High Court of Lagos delivered on 8/12/2000 in LD/148/93 and dismissing the appeal against it. The notice of appeal contains 5 Grounds of appeal”. The suit number shows that the suit was filed in a Lagos High Court in the year 1993, appealed to the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in 2006 and later to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2009. The suit lasted 13 years at the High Court, 3 years at the Court of Appeal and 12 years at the Nigerian Supreme Court. A total of 28 years! The cited examples fall among the rule, the norm, and not exceptional or isolated cases” (See “Snail-Paced Justice Dispensation in Nigerian Courts: Factors, Actors and Aftermaths” (yet unpublished). This is one major area that our senior colleagues need to copy something from England about. Those whose preoccupation is on how to decentralise, nay destabilise Nigerian Law School, should tell us whether a Central Law School for Nigeria is the reason why administration of justice in Nigeria is the slowest and among the most ineffective in the whole world. If our learned senior colleagues had channelled their energy and efforts towards pushing for reforms to accelerate justice delivery in Nigeria, perhaps things would have become far better than they are currently.
Appointment of jurists into Courts in England is based on merit, competence and honour. On the other hand, in Nigeria, almost all appointments are based on Quota, Place of Origin, Tribe, Language, Religion or Political Leaning. Is that what Nigeria ought to be doing in 2022 – the 21st century? What are our colleagues doing about this? Is licensing private Law Schools a more pressing challenge than this?
Corruption in the High Court of England is at the lowest ebb. In Nigeria, corruption is the order of the day, and has eaten so deep into our fabrics that even English leaders derisonly describe as “fantastic” the level of corruption in Nigeria.
What are the contributions of these respected senior colleagues of ours towards curbing corruption in the judiciary in Nigeria?
Judges on the Bench in England are free to hand down their judgments and rulings based on facts, law, evidence and the cases before them impartially and without fear of intimidation, harassment or disgraceful treatment from other arms of government. Recently, the Court of England ruled against the Prime Minister of England on the Brexit deal. On the other hand, in our country, the DSS would invade the homes of jurists in the wee hours of the night, bundle them into vans like common criminals. And nothing would happen by way of repercussions. An ex parte order from a court (Code of Conduct Tribunal) which has no jurisdiction to make such an order would remove easily Nigeria’s CJN, the head of Nigeria’s Judiciary, an independent arm of government, against the express provisions of the grund norm while some of our senior lawyers cheer the persecutors in support. Decentralising the Nigerian Law School is their only headache. What a misplacement of priority; chasing after rats when your house is on fire!
As of the year 2022, most Courts in England are fully automated, and their processes and procedures fully digitalised, ICT and internet-propelled. During the COVID-19 lockdown, more than 70,000 cases were heard and disposed of in England, by virtual means, backed up by law. How many were heard in Nigeria during the lockdown? A laughable number, if any! One would ask, these advocates of private law schools in Nigeria, what efforts are they making to have Nigeria key into the new norm, following COVID-19? Oh, they are more preoccupied with lobbying and arguing to have private law schools licensed for them to operate.
Courts in Nigeria are still recording proceedings in long hand. Storage of data is majorly manual. And hardly any prompt and effective mechanisms are put in place for timely, secure transmission of information about court proceedings, to litigants and counsel; one still has to travel from Lagos State to Kano State for a case fixed for trial only, and on getting to Kano, after huge flight fares and hotel bills, one would be informed that Court Is Not Sitting. In England, under such a scenario, lawyers and their clients would have been informed/ communicated in advance vide the Internet so that they would not waste money and time travelling such a long distance for a case that would not go on.
Courts in England operate and function wholly on a public power supply which is available 24/7, without any interruptions whatsoever. On the other hand, Nigerian courts depend on unstable, epileptic power supply, dilapidated generators. Most Nigerian Courtrooms are worse than bakery ovens. Witnesses, parties, court officials, counsel, etc, operate under very non-conducive courtrooms, mostly with archaic chairs and sitting arrangements suitable only for a 17th century courtroom. What efforts have these our respected senior colleagues made to remedy this ugly situation? They could not do anything because there are more concerned with campaigns to license private law schools in Nigeria. That, to them, perhaps is the only challenge facing the law profession
How many times have you heard that Courts in England are embarking on an industrial action to protest against poor condition of service or nonpayment of salaries and allowances, or to press for judicial autonomy? Compare this with Nigeria’s situation. Why are our colleagues more bothered about licensing private law schools in Nigeria, than achieving judicial autonomy or improved working conditions for judiciary members and workers, so as to nip industrial actions in the bud and make the judiciary more stable and effective?
Electronic filing (E-filing) and Electronic Service (E-Service) of court processes and and Virtual Hearing of lawsuits are a smooth practice in English Courts. Think about the position in Nigeria and you would shed tears about how backward we are?
How long does it take to dispose of an appeal in England, on the average? Contrast this with the position in Nigeria!
In the paper referred to above, I wrote, _”A distinguished Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Akajiugo Emeka Obegolu, SAN, was reported to have posted the following statement on Facebook on 22 February 2022: “Today, 22/2/22, a 2005 appeal came up for hearing before the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Counsel informed the court that both the appellant and the respondent are deceased. #Justicedelayed”. From the post, it is obvious that the appeal at the Supreme Court of Nigeria had lasted 17 years, the appeal having commenced in 2005. Who knows when the case was filed at the High/Magistrates’ Court. Meanwhile, when this author contacted Chief Obegolu, SAN, to confirm his authorship of the Facebook post and to get more facts about the case, Chief Obegolu advised that the case was later adjourned to 2024 to enable the parties file applications for substitution. A two-year adjournment to hear an interlocutory application”!
How long does it take to get a certified copy of a judgment, ruling or order of a court in England? What about Nigeria? Why does this not seem to bother some of our seniors, as much as they are bothered about Nigeria having only one Law School?
Meanwhile, one thing appears common: did anyone notice that majority (if not all) of the campaigners for licencing of private law schools in Nigeria, are themselves either owners, proprietors or top managers of private Universities in Nigeria. Considering the vigour and tenacity with which they push the unnecessary advocacy, one wonders whether they are not engrossed in this campaign for some wholly unaltrustic ends? Else why are they more bothered about Nigeria having only one Law School, than making contributions towards solving the pressing challenges of the Legal Profession in Nigeria? Why?
By: Udemezue
Udemezue is a practising lawyer in Port Harcourt.
Children are highly desired and parenthood is culturally significant in Africa. In Nigeria, infertility is a socially unacceptable condition, making victims embark on relentless quest for conception. In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) is the only alternative but same is expensive.
Admittedly, this has contributed to the advent of illegal baby factories in Nigeria and consequently constitutes an emerging trend of human trafficking.
What is baby factory? This implies to a practice in which young pregnant and unmarried girls are given shelter by a proprietor i.e Oga or Madam of the home until they are delivered of their pregnancies and give up the new born for sale.
This illegal centres and homes are most times camouflaged as “maternity homes, orphanages, social welfare homes, and clinics and are operated by well organised groups”.
As an emerging phenomena in developing countries of the world, it is also prevalent in Nigeria particularly in States such as Abia, Imo, Enugu, Edo, Rivers and Lagos.
It is important as well as my concern to note that children have rights and these rights must be protected. This evil scourge of baby factory is an illegal business involving getting pregnant young girls and women without sanity who either are willing or not to give up their babies for financial gain and benefits without having any contacts with the buyer or ever seeing their baby again.
This category of persons are introduced into this business forcefully, by deceit of evaporated love and care or under the guise that the baby factories are clinics or homes where they can pay less or deliver freely with some promise of jobs, safe abortion or money after delivery.
The owners of the factory and their syndicate insist that babies be put up for adoption by childless couples in the most fortunate scenario, else supply the babies to politicians for their rituals, illegal adoption and human trafficking. Pathetic right?
It is my argument that children born into baby factories are denied various civil and fundamental rights alongside their mothers because of their vulnerability. Some of the rights these children are denied include birth registration.
Nigeria is a signatory to many international and regional instruments targeted at eliminating child trafficking, protecting children and also the promotion of their rights which include, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of Children.
Section 12 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) stipulates the guidelines for applicability of this treaties in Nigeria.
Regrettably, despite the vast number of statutes protecting children and women, there is still an alarming prevalence of heinous crimes against these vulnerable units of our society.
The Children’s Rights Act was enacted as passed in Law in Nigeria in 2003, to serve as a legal document and protection of children’s rights and responsibilities in Nigeria which consolidates all laws relating to children into one single legislation, as well as specifying the duties and obligations of government, parents and organisations.
However, despite its values and importance, most States in Nigeria have not domesticated the Act, which implies that children in some States are not being protected under this law which prompts unequal rights in children.
Section 30(1) of the Children Rights Act provides that No person shall buy, sell, hire, let on hire, dispose off or obtain possession of or otherwise deal in a child. This section clearly prohibits the act of buying and selling of a child or children.
Section 207 empowers the police to create a specialised unit for the combating of the crime.
The sporadic growth of baby factories across the Nigeria State is a front burner issue that needs urgent address, given the rise in in the thriving business due to the ever increasing in height of economic downturn in the country.
The vulnerability of children and the need for their protection has attracted international recognition as well as domestic legislation.
The Constitution also provides protection for the dignity of the human persons and personal liberty as stated in Sections 34 and 35 respectively. Howbeit, it is very safe to say that these laws are ineffective for the purpose they were enacted.
Having considered this topic in relation to baby factories as an avenue for trafficking and the laws enacted to promote and protect women and children, it is my recommendation that:
1. The government institutions established by law for the protection of children performs their duties.
Security agencies should not delay the prosecution of persons who commit this offence.
The government should ensure that upon discovery facilities harbouring women and children for sale be destroyed and periodic checks should be conducted on churches, mosque, hospital etc.
Intense education and sensitisation campaign and programmes for young girls, and boys and women about unwanted pregnancies.
Government should assume their responsibility of the protection of lives and increase the budgetary allocation for children orientation programme in schools, villages, church and mosque.
Esaenwani Baribor Ferguson
Esaenwani is a practising lawyer based in Port Harcourt at Brisk Attorneys and Consultants.
The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement agency in Nigeria. It has its origin in Lagos following the creation of a 30-man Counsular in the year, 1861.
It further has its Constitutional backing in the Chapter Six (6), Part Three (3), Section 214 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , 1999 (as amended). Down the line, the Nigeria Police Force begin to have other formations like the Mobile Police Force in the 1980s.
The motive behind the creation of the Nigeria Police Force, is to preserve law and order, the enforcement of law and regulations with which they are directly charged. The performance of such military duties within and outside the country as may be required of them by or under the authority of the Police Act or any other Act.
When the heat or should I say, the need or urge to provide better policing in the country became necessary, more formations like the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) were birthed around 1992 to battle crime especially armed robbery.
This very formation (SARS), before it went under on Sunday November 11, 2020, when the then Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu announced its disbandment was a talk-of the-town.
People were delighted to catch a glimpse of SARS men especially when they are in operation and in their full regalia. They fought crime to almost zero point before the devil took over the outfit and placed it in the history book.
The Slogan ‘ The Police is Your Friend’ is one of the most disgusting or disturbing things about the Nigeria Police Force. Many are not at ease with it. In most cases, they begin to wonder what the Police is even doing to get the least attention.
But until you are closer to some people including the Police, you may not say for sure what they do or their importance to the society. Some Police men are down-to- earth. They execute their jobs in such professional manner that one may be tempted to purchase Police recruitment form of a given year.
I have the privilege to interface with some of them at some Special Areas in Rivers state. Their profiles are not only intimidating, but reveal a serious road map on how best to tackle security challenges in the country.
When they related to me why they cannot execute some actions, I was flabbergasted. The government ought to look for those kind of officers and secretly talk with them.
They complained of being tagged as saboteurs should they approach their Heads with their ideas on some issues.
One of the officers confided in me how he unearthed a high profile kidnapping gang that nailed a certain bigman. I mean a bigman with both wealth and honour. I looked at the fragile frame of mind of the officer and took his claims with a pinch of salt.
When other of his colleagues at different fora commended him on some hard job success, it then dawned on me that I was dealing with a senior intelligence officer. His challenge was not also far from the ones earlier enumerated by his colleagues .
Armed with the little information I have gathered about the Police and its challenges, I delved into personal investigation. I went round almost the big formations in the state. With utmost humility, I discovered that the government was unfair to the Police.
In some of the outfits, over ten (10) officers are squeezed into one office. About three (3) of them or so share one (1) table. One will begin to imagine what the occupants of such place will produce.
Even the big formations with big names are not better. They suffer even the worst. But as the big men they are, they stomached the whole thing and welcome you with a beaming smile.
If you are not of a good temperament, you may take him (the bigman officer), for an evil man who derives joy in suffering. Or was the foremost Afro Beat King , Fela Anikulapo Kuti right when he sang ‘Suffering and Smiling’?
I think it is about time those that head some big Police formations in the country begin to think on how to improve on their jobs. Those at the top are not too mindful of the welfare of others. I blame them not, because such is a typical Nigerian factor.
I can recall vividly well at a particular public function in Port Harcourt when one officer was introduced as the Financial Officer in charge of a certain Police outfit. The master of ceremony (MC), took it up. He (MC), was like “thank God oga will bless us today”, the officer in a quick reaction, gave it back to the MC, thus, please “I am sorry, we are only bearing the name, the real office is in Abuja”.
People took it as a joke including me, but when I dug into the situation, I knew what exactly the officer meant then. The narrative must change, if the police must perform to the taste of the common man.
The Police and its welfarism must not be gambled with. The government and its authorities should consider the need for Police reform and execute it with immediate alacrity.
This will also help the authority to place a plum line on the Police. I think part of the poor check on the side of the government on the Police is deliberate, in that the authority know that they have not performed their own part of the agreement hence, the ‘On Your Own’ kind of approach to issues.
The police, if well equipped, will do more than expected. The manpower to execute some tactical operations are within them, but lack of support for them remains a bane to their positive operations.
Another point to effective Policing in the country is , management of the Internally Generated Funds by the Police. If the Police are allowed to manage the funds they generate internally, it will go a long way in fixing things among them.
The issue of waiting for approval to fix even furniture in the office is a major clog in the system. At times, they are forced to ask for financial support from the suspects to enable them buy as little as writing materials.
Such ought not to be in that the risk of compromising the matter will be high. If the materials are so provided, the officer will have no option than to do the needful.
Another point is that of personal visit and inspection. The authority should make out time to visit the Police formations across the country. They should visit such places like the convenience, bathrooms, canteens, etc. When you pay some unscheduled visits to some of the mentioned places, you will agree with this piece to the extent of making a quick case for an improved welfare package for the police.
As a citizen of Nigeria, make a personal visit Police formation as part of your menu. Let the issue of the police harassment especially on the roads not deter you. By so doing, you will be armed with some information that will convince you that of a truth, the to any Police is really ‘Your Friend’.
The time to address the challenges of the police is now. No need to dwell on the past. Let’s stop the blame game and think of the way forward.
King Onunwor
The Rivers State Police Command says it has begun orderly room trial for the three erring personnel and has issued official query to three officers for allegedly extorting two young men of N4 million in Aba, Abia State.
The officers were identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Doubara Edonyabo; ASP Talent Mungo; and Inspector Odey Michael.
Addressing journalists while parading the three officers, the State Commissioner of Police, CP Olantunji Disu said immediate steps were taken to apprehend the officers and a thorough investigation was conducted to ascertain facts surrounding the incident
The State Commissioner of Police, who was represented by the command’s image maker, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, said $3,000 was extorted from the victims, equivalent to N4.2 million, stressing that the money had been recovered and released to the victims on January 18.
“Following a comprehensive inquiry, it has been established that the actions of the officers in question were in clear violation of the law and the ethical standards expected of members of the Nigeria Police Force. As a result, appropriate disciplinary measures are being taken to address this grave misconduct.
“The Rivers State Police Command is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and accountability. The behaviour exhibited by the implicated officers is completely unacceptable and does not represent the values and principles of our organisation. We deeply regret the negative impact that such misconduct may have on the reputation of the Rivers State Command and the Nigeria Police Force in general,” the spokesperson said.
She, however, stressed that the actions of a few individuals should not overshadow the dedication and sacrifice of the vast majority of officers who serve with honour and distinction.
She stressed that the Inspector General of Police has consistently articulated a zero-tolerance stance against corruption and misconduct within the Force, and that this incident does not reflect the aspirations of the Nigeria Police Force.
She assured that Rivers State Police Command would remain resolute in its commitment to serving and protecting the community with utmost professionalism and integrity.
Akujobi Amadi
