Sunday, December 30, 2007

'Good and ugly sides of charge-and-bail lawyers' By Kayode Ketefe


“CHARGE-and-bail.” This is a phrase many Nigerians use derisively to refer to a section of the practitioners of the legal profession. Not many Nigerians understand what it really means, though they use it pejoratively to refer to some lawyers. A simple opinion poll of about 20 people conducted preparatory to writing this article showed that while the majority had an idea of what the phrase really connoted in the legal parlance, many others did not know it.

For example, one respondent said such lawyers were persons who applied for bail for those charged with criminal offences. Another respondent (who holds a first degree in political science) says the phrase refers to “any lawyer that does not have money.” Now if the phrase applies to those who apply for the bail of accused persons, then all lawyers will definitely come under it. Even for those who know what the phrase means, their idea hardly extends beyond the conception as the practice by some lawyers of directly soliciting for clients in the court premises. But a charge-and-bail lawyer does much more than this.

What is charge-and-bail practice? This refers to the practice of some lawyers who operate without an office. They are ‘chamberless’ lawyers whose modus operandi involves directly soliciting for clients in total disregard of the rules of professional conduct, which forbid lawyers from engaging in all kinds of open advertisement of their services. But that is not all. A ‘charge-and-bail lawyer loiters in the court premises of the inferior courts, specifically magistrate courts, and awaits the arrival of the police, hoping that the police would bring some accused persons who do not have lawyers to defend them. The moment this happens, the lawyer would offer his service either directly to the accused persons, or through his relatives who follow him to court, after a certain meager fee is paid. The lawyer will appear before the magistrate and orally apply for bail, which in most cases would be granted if the offence(s) is a bailable one.

But the court premises is not the only “abode” of a charge-and-bail lawyer. He is not a stranger to police stations either. Many of them fraternize with police officers in different police stations for the purpose of referral of clients. The officers have their phone numbers and would summon them in the twinkling of an eye if any accused requires the service of a lawyer. The police officers, of course, get a fraction of the fees, which, in most cases, is pre-determined by the lawyer.

Another striking feature of these lawyers is that they are only interested in procuring bails and getting paid for it; they don’t go for the proper trial which, in a sense, may be a blessing to the accused since these lawyers rarely know enough of procedural or substantive law to effectively defend the accused persons. They do not like the process of understudying a principal, or that of the trial and error of a self-reliant disciplined practitioner. All they are interested in is to get a bail for one accused person after the other and watch with amusing delight as their pockets keep growing bigger. They are “famous” for making use of touts in the court premises. They engage the touts to bring them to court potential clients whom they may be too ashamed to approach themselves.

A senior lawyer and publisher of a law magazine, SQUIB, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, said, “A charge-and-bail practitioner can be likened to a roadside mechanic. While other mechanics operate from their workshops and take delivery of vehicles there, a roadside mechanic operates in a more humble arena. A charge-and-bail practitioner belongs to the lowest rung of the legal profession.

“Unlike a roadside mechanic, however, he is not only operating in a humble sphere, he is tarnishing the exalted image of the profession. Lawyers are supposed to sit in their chambers and await clients, not under the trees in the court premises. Here (at Ikeja High Court), we derisively call them resident lawyers! Why? It is because they spend all their lives in the court premises, using the tree shades as their chambers and their briefcases as their tables!”

a magistrate, who preferred anonymity, said, “Charge-and-bail practice is not limited to Nigeria; it is also known in United States as ‘ambulance chasing’ and refers to the category of lawyers who abandon the natural conservative attitude of lawyers to poke nose into potential litigation matters with a view to landing the brief for themselves. It is a problem here as in the US, and it is simply unethical.”

When this writer was at the Nigerian Law School, one of the tips of behavioral etiquette the lecturers kept hammering on was that “No matter your situation, conduct yourself with utmost dignity. Even if you don’t have money, mind your appearance, wear a clean suit, be polished in your manners and project an overall image of a decent, respectable person.

This is the calling of your profession.” Why then do some lawyers choose the charge-and-bail practice after spending about six to seven years to get the Bachelor of Law and Barrister-at-Law certificates? Reactions obtained by our correspondents to this question varied. In his response, the Chief Registrar of the Lagos State Judiciary, Mr. Afeez Dabiri, attributed the charge-and-bail practice to greed and lack of ambition.

“These kind of practitioners do not like to endure (tough situations). The practitioners don’t like to operate from chambers and slowly build their reputation. Instead, they want quick money, and they get it, but that is all what they get: small money here and there. That is why they don’t grow. Day-in-day-out, they keep doing the same thing over and over, while they remain as small-time operators,” Dabiri said.

“But the sad thing about it is the way they go about casting aspersion on the profession. They are a shame. Many of them lack ambition to progress. That is why you would see some of them who manage to make big money still continuing in that kind of practice.

“But it is not only the profession they are hurting; they are also debarring their own progress. You would rarely see a charge-and-bail lawyer being appointed a judge or Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”

The Chairman of the Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Niyi Idowu, described charge-and-bail lawyers as “impatient lawyers who look only at today, but not tomorrow. Many of them started their trade when they were bachelors and their wants were limited. The legal training is not cheap and no lawyer has the right to cheapen himself. Most of them later regret it in their lives because once your clients know you as a charge-and-bail lawyer, they will continue to regard you as such. The same client that patronises you for inconsequential matters will take their case to a more serious lawyer if they have important matters.

The Head of the Penal Reforms Department of a non-governmental organization, the Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr. Princewill Akpakpan, said, “Charge-and-bail practice is an ethically reprehensible brand of legal practice, which some lawyers stubbornly engage in despite the fact that the rule forbids it. In my own view, these lawyers are short-sighted and unambitious. They are satisfied with the daily peanuts they get from their clients. No corporate organization will approach them for services because they know next to nothing about the law.”

Ogunlana agued that charge-and-bail lawyers were ignorant of the law. “Of course, what amount of law do you think a person whose daily routine is to go to the magistrate court to say, ‘Your Worship, I apply for the bail for the accused person in most liberal terms’ would know? They don’t know anything.

Another lawyer, Mr. Abiodun Durojaiye said, “These brand of so-called lawyers refuse to develop themselves. Imagine the case of a well-trained and qualified medical doctor, who gets himself engaged as a contractor, who only supplies a particular injection to a number of corporate organizations. Day-in-day-out, year-after-year, the only thing he does is to supply the said drug. He never engages in any substantive medical practice. If you are in a condition of crisis, will you allow yourself or your child to be treated by such a doctor? To me, such a person is only a titular doctor. In essence, he is a businessman. This is why I will call on our people that whenever you or any of your people are in a police net and the police say, ‘Do you need a lawyer? We will get one for you,’ always refuse because the lawyer the police officers will link you with could be any of these charge-and-bail lawyers, and they don’t know the law.”

Durojaiye did not conclude his contribution without a salvo. He said, “With the exception of a few, the majority of the ‘charge-and-bail practitioners are shabby in appearance and look anything but prosperous. So, the tag of “a lawyer” on them seems like a golden ring in the ears of a pig.”

If the impression is that all charge-and-bail lawyers are poor, then what a charge-and-bail lawyer interviewed by our correspondent had to say will shock many. The lawyer, who preferred anonymity, plies his trade at the Iyaganku Magistrate Court in Ibadan, Oyo State. He claimed to be above 10 years at the bar. He said apart from living in his own house, he had three cars. “Let me tell you that I don’t believe in any lawyer being branded charge-and-bail. We are all graduates of law, we are all graduates of the prestigious Nigerian Law School. We are practicing the law. Why should people stigmatise us because we take our service to where it is needed?”

When our correspondent reminded him of Article 33 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, which forbids any form of direct advertisement by lawyers, he said, “Yes, it depends on the way you look at it. When people are brought from different stations to the court early in the morning, we are the only ones on ground to attend to them. All these lawyers who claim to be operating from chambers come to court already engaged to files they brought to court and are therefore not available.

Don’t let anybody deceive you. Some people must attend to those other matters as a matter of urgency…we are taking legal service to where it is needed. What have we done that is bad or unethical in that?”

How much do all these chambers we have in the cities pay to lawyers? Yet we are responsible adults who have roles to play. We have obligations to meet. If we have something to sell, are we going to refrain from selling it on the grounds that the service could be better and more expensively sold from chambers?

“The problem with critics is that they are looking at us as rivals; they think we are spoiling their game because we are selling the service cheaper than they would rather sell it. But as for us, survival comes first. Please ask all our critics how much they pay to the lawyers under them. I know of a Senior Advocate in Lagos who pays N15, 000 per month each to the lawyers in his chamber. How much is N15, 000 to somebody who has spent seven years to become a lawyer?”

but Ogunlana did not agree that being a charge-and-bail practitioner was the solution. He blamed a lot of fraudulent practices among lawyers on the activities of the charge-and-bail lawyers. He said, “Many of them have no shame. There is nothing too lowly and unethical they cannot engage in because of money.

“They are the ones who provide professional sureties in court to get undeserved bail for accused persons. We have recorded among them the highest incidence of fake lawyers who dupe unsuspecting clients. They are the ones who make it possible for another category of people, the fake lawyers, to operate.

“If you claim to be a lawyer and you don’t have any office, is it no more possible for you to be fraudulent? The fake lawyers find it more convenient to imitate them. Is it not easy for somebody to say ‘oh yes, I am a lawyer, but I don’t have a chambers, just meet me in the court?” he queried.

Speaking on the measures to curb the incidence of charge-and-bail practice, the President of the Edo Lawyers Association, Lagos Chapter, Chief Sola Ojeriakhi, said, “It is difficult to check this kind of practice. This is because those involved are principally lawyers like us who have been called to the Nigerian Bar. You cannot really stop them from practicing like that. However, because of the fact that the majority of them operate in conflict with the rules, the NBA can sanction them. Furthermore, the judiciary, specifically, the Chief Judge of each state, can make rules that will make it difficult, if not impossible for charge-and-bail practitioners to operate. For example, the CJ can state rules to exclude anybody that does not have business in court from loitering around. Besides, the NBA can refuse to deal with any lawyers except through his chambers.”


CULLED FROM SUNDAY PUNCH, DECEMBER 30, 2007

Thursday, December 20, 2007

'Nigerian Lawyers Too Arrogant' By Emeka Maduewesi



For over three years, I have had the burden in my heart to write an article titled, “Who will drive Nigeria’s Legal Technology Initiative?” After reading Funke Aboyade’s “Looking to Foreign Jurisdictions” (THISDAY LAW, Tuesday, August 1, 2006), I felt duty bound to make these comments:


1. Technology is the strongest weapon against laziness, fraud, corruption, insensitivity, callousness, power drunkenness and sadism. Regrettably, many Nigerian Judges and legal practitioners fall into one or more of these categories.

2. No Nigerian Judge or lawyer practicing in Nigeria today has the education, exposure, dedication and discipline to drive Nigeria’s legal technology initiative.

3. Nigerian lawyers are too arrogant, lack the meekness to learn, and inherently averse to any form of compulsory continuing education. In all the Seminars I have attended in Nigeria, no Judge or Senior Advocate sat on the “floor” ; they all sat on the high table, that is, if they attend.

4. No Judicial Branch of any government in Nigeria has a functional website.

5. The Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA’s) website, which went live in 2004, still lists Chief Wole Olanipekun as the President, and the late Charles C. Onitchabor Esq., as the Administrative Secretary.

6. Nigeria has no maintenance culture. Unfortunately, technology compulsorily requires almost daily uploading, downloading, updating and maintenance. Where things work, the current information is found in an organization’s website.

You must have noticed that I made no mention of our deplorable communications infrastructure and non-existent power supply. With the petro-dollars at the disposal of our so-called rulers – yes, they rule us and are above the law- they can provide these physical structures.

In fact, some states are gradually providing and embracing information technology. But info tech transcends emails, text and instant messaging. After all, Bill Clinton, the “first US President of the Internet age” sent only two emails during his entire presidency. Today in most jurisdictions, besides online, subscription-based legal research, from client intakes to court filings are automated.

Nigeria is economically inefficient and politically anarchic. It takes a Dora Akunyuli to make a positive impact on any industry in Nigeria; and she nearly paid with her life. It takes a Charles Soludo to make a bloodless revolution in Nigeria; and they nearly killed his father. It takes an Adewopo Adebambo to “STRAP” piracy and intellectual piracy theft in Nigeria; and he nearly paid with his career. Thank God Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El-Rufai are still alive. As for Ernest Ndukwe and his GSM revolution, he enjoys a “safe-harbor ambience” because “no animal was harmed in the making of this revolution.”

Speaking truth to power entreats danger, including loss of life. Remember John the Baptist. Powerful entrenched interests in Nigeria use passive resistance to oppose technology, the modern symbol of truth. Where is that geeky Nigerian Judge or lawyer who speaks gigabytes and terabytes and has the courage to drive our legal technology vehicle forward?

As I write, we do not even know who is qualified to practice law in Nigeria. I think I have lifted my three-year-old burden, so I now ask, “Who will drive Nigeria’s Legal Technology Initiative?” We may have the education or exposure, but lack the attitude and requisiteness, to embrace the use of technology in the administration of justice. Prove me wrong. Let us start by paying our practicing fees online and rendering proper accounts to the NBA.

Emeka Maduewesi Esq. is admitted to practice law in Nigeria and the State of California.


CULLED FROM THE GUARDIAN, TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006.


Related Link: http://www.editorspark.blogspot.com/

'Nigerian Lawyers Too Arrogant' By Emeka Maduewesi

SQUIB GUEST


For over three years, I have had the burden in my heart to write an article titled, “Who will drive Nigeria’s Legal Technology Initiative?” After reading Funke Aboyade’s “Looking to Foreign Jurisdictions” (THISDAY LAW, Tuesday, August 1, 2006), I felt duty bound to make these comments:



1. Technology is the strongest weapon against laziness, fraud, corruption, insensitivity, callousness, power drunkenness and sadism. Regrettably, many Nigerian Judges and legal practitioners fall into one or more of these categories.

2. No Nigerian Judge or lawyer practicing in Nigeria today has the education, exposure, dedication and discipline to drive Nigeria’s legal technology initiative.

3. Nigerian lawyers are too arrogant, lack the meekness to learn, and inherently averse to any form of compulsory continuing education. In all the Seminars I have attended in Nigeria, no Judge or Senior Advocate sat on the “floor” ; they all sat on the high table, that is, if they attend.

4. No Judicial Branch of any government in Nigeria has a functional website.

5. The Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA’s) website, which went live in 2004, still lists Chief Wole Olanipekun as the President, and the late Charles C. Onitchabor Esq., as the Administrative Secretary.

6. Nigeria has no maintenance culture. Unfortunately, technology compulsorily requires almost daily uploading, downloading, updating and maintenance. Where things work, the current information is found in an organization’s website.

You must have noticed that I made no mention of our deplorable communications infrastructure and non-existent power supply. With the petro-dollars at the disposal of our so-called rulers – yes, they rule us and are above the law- they can provide these physical structures.

In fact, some states are gradually providing and embracing information technology. But info tech transcends emails, text and instant messaging. After all, Bill Clinton, the “first US President of the Internet age” sent only two emails during his entire presidency. Today in most jurisdictions, besides online, subscription-based legal research, from client intakes to court filings are automated.

Nigeria is economically inefficient and politically anarchic. It takes a Dora Akunyuli to make a positive impact on any industry in Nigeria; and she nearly paid with her life. It takes a Charles Soludo to make a bloodless revolution in Nigeria; and they nearly killed his father. It takes an Adewopo Adebambo to “STRAP” piracy and intellectual piracy theft in Nigeria; and he nearly paid with his career. Thank God Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El-Rufai are still alive. As for Ernest Ndukwe and his GSM revolution, he enjoys a “safe-harbor ambience” because “no animal was harmed in the making of this revolution.”

Speaking truth to power entreats danger, including loss of life. Remember John the Baptist. Powerful entrenched interests in Nigeria use passive resistance to oppose technology, the modern symbol of truth. Where is that geeky Nigerian Judge or lawyer who speaks gigabytes and terabytes and has the courage to drive our legal technology vehicle forward?

As I write, we do not even know who is qualified to practice law in Nigeria. I think I have lifted my three-year-old burden, so I now ask, “Who will drive Nigeria’s Legal Technology Initiative?” We may have the education or exposure, but lack the attitude and requisiteness, to embrace the use of technology in the administration of justice. Prove me wrong. Let us start by paying our practicing fees online and rendering proper accounts to the NBA.

*Emeka Maduewesi Esq. is admitted to practice law in Nigeria and the State of California.

CULLED FROM THE GUARDIAN, TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006.

'US Judiciary Has Corruption Issues Too' By Placid Aguwa



Placid Aguwa was already a lawyer of three years standing at the Nigerian Bar when he visited the United States in 1994 intending to stay for just one month. But it was during the Abacha era, banks and mortgage institutions were crashing and the situation at home looked bleak. He extended his stay by a few months and then, decided to get a Green Card. He took the New York Bar exam in 1995 and was called to the New York Bar the following year. Aguwa who graduated with a Second Class Upper Degree from the University of Ife in 1990, now practices law in New York, specializing in medical malpractice, personal injuries, negligence and commercial litigation. Elected November, 2005 as the 6th President of the Nigerian Lawyers Association in the United States, he earlier this month, hosted the Association’s Annual Merit Award Dinner in New York, during which UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari was honoured. FUNKE ABOYADE who was at the event spoke with him at his downtown New York law offices the day before.

What are the objectives of the Nigerian Lawyers Association?

The objectives are, first of all, to cater for the needs of our members, mostly Nigerian lawyers. 15 years ago there was just a handful in the New York area. Some of us came in later and figured we could get together, for us to unite and help one another; that was the regional goal.

When we decided to incorporate the Association in 1999, the goal was now to cultivate the science of jurisprudence – reaching out to the poor in the community who couldn’t afford lawyers, through legal clinics and seminars open to the public. We target minorities and help them out.

So, one, we help one another as lawyers and two, reach out to poor members of the community who can’t afford lawyers.

How far have you gone in realizing those goals since 1999?

A lot; in 1999 we had 10 members, but now, we have 107 members in good standing. Overall, we’ve reached over 200 Nigerian lawyers, i.e, those members who haven’t renewed their membership. New York is the Head Quarters, but we have lawyers from all over the country.

This year, we’ve had one seminar open to the public. It was on Immigration Law and it was held in conjunction with Fordham Law School.

We’ve had two legal clinics in the Bronx. This is a forum where we invite the public to sit down and chat with us. We have lawyers, and they throw questions at them on issues such as unemployment, immigration, etcetera. We have two more scheduled this year.
In April, we had Conversation with Hauwa Ibrahim. This was a panel discussion with her on issues such as human rights, women’s rights, etcetera, and it was well attended, with over 150 people. We are committing some money to help with her legal defence fund. She’s defending some of the Moslem women accused of adultery and other crimes, and it’s all pro bono. As she doesn’t charge them, we figured we’d help her.

From time to time we donate to charity; for example, ASHOKA, an AIDS Foundation based in Nigeria.

We’ve been able to stamp our hand print on the legal arena, here in New York especially. We are a member of the Joint Bar, a community of Bar Associations of colour and minorities. We hold joint events.

We are also a signatory to the Bar Associations Statement of Diversity; Tinu Awe was president then. The statement is essentially about a consciousness of the big law firms especially, to open up. There is this Harvard, Yale, Stanford network before you make partner, so the Bar Associations are aggressive that law firms and corporate America open up to women and minorities in partnership tracks and hiring.

We have members coming in from Nigeria, with no contacts. They get in touch with us and we are able to get them jobs. 20 at least, have worked in my law firm at one time or the other. I never got that support when I came here; your resume ends up in the trash so fast! But with the Association, by the time you call up 50 lawyers you get some help somewhere.

Your tenure ends in November?

I’ve not decided if I will seek re-election. I may, if I may continue to be helpful to the Association, and if they need me. I prefer being in the background. A couple of programmes I’m working on and I hope to get them through. In October, I’ll decide whether to seek re-election.

What does the future hold for the NLA?

There will never be another NLA; we’re here to stay. I’d like us to get more involved with public advocacy, one of the goals for which we are incorporated. Some of us are timid to the extent that we don’t like to take up controversial issues. For instance, CNN’s recent programme, How to Rob a Bank. It’s shameful that my Association did not take that matter up; not necessarily filing a class action law suit, but at the very least, writing CNN. Some of the other Associations like NIDO (Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation) got involved and invited us, but we didn’t.

NLA has to get the approval of the board to come out and make certain statements. We got into it too late. I approached the board; if I’d done more negotiations with the board we’d probably have gotten them to do it.

Some of the other Associations preferred to do it on their own. We were ready to come up with a statement and wanted to do it alone, but by the time we were ready they had gone too far. Luckily, and most importantly, they got some form of apology from CNN. They promised to edit the programme.

Won’t you say it’s some kind of failure on NLA’s part?

I would admit that; I think we should have been at the forefront. As president, I take responsibility for that. In the past, for example, when former Attorney-General Chief Bola Ige was killed, we did come up with a public statement.

One of your mission statements says the NLA will facilitate and improve the administration of justice in Nigeria. How do you intend to do this?

The same line as public advocacy; for instance, I have a proposal to have a few of our members visit the Attorney-General’s office in Nigeria periodically. We started that some years ago with the Lagos State Attorney-General’s office, largely by telephone, then when he was in New York we visited him, to discuss issues in Lagos State.
Before Bola Ige died, we met with him on, for example, the issue of Islamic Law – it’s effect on women and Christians living in the Sharia areas. After our meeting with Ige, he did issue a statement on Amina Lawal, that she would never be killed as long as he was alive.

We want to engage the authorities. I’ve seen EFCC arresting people, detaining them without warrants. I heard, or know, about people eligible for bail but can’t make bail for just economic crimes. In a civilized world there must be guidelines for making bail. We do have them, but judges have to be fair and show a human face. Why should someone accused of an economic crime be in jail for years, unable to make bail? It shouldn’t be denied as a form of punishment.

Enforcement of judgements, which has been a major issue in Nigeria, with the Executive arm of government refusing to comply sometimes. When the Nigerian Bar Association came out with a statement on executive disobedience of court orders, we drafted ours, but by the time we were ready to come out with ours, it had been overcome by other events.

There have been several law suits brought in the United States of recent, in which the plaintiffs are essentially saying that the Nigerian legal system is not up to scratch and that they cannot get justice or find succour in Nigeria. Is that NLA active in trying to stem this tide?

If you read our recent Quarterly, there’s an article on that. I’m not very familiar with the Alien Torts Act and haven’t been involved with any litigation on it, but have read up on cases on it.

It is a fact that our legal system is not at par with the western world, but I take exception with people who take the argument too far, that we cannot respect our judicial system. If you look at judicial misconduct, bribery, those problems are here in the United States also. The judicial system here is not as clean as we have been misled to believe. The system here is corrupt also. In the last two years, at least six judges in New York State alone have been convicted of bribery. In Brooklyn, last year, two judges were convicted. Some of them are still awaiting trial.

But I will agree that it’s much more elaborate in Nigeria, so I think we have to be able to deal with that problem, without necessarily embarrassing the entire judicial system.

Of course, I support Emeka’s (Ugwuonye, General Abubakar’s lawyer) argument for General (Abdusalam) Abubakar. I would expect a matter like that should be tried in Nigeria. We have to pay a price for our development. Paying the price is going through that so-called corrupt judicial system, and attempting to make it work. If we just run away from it, it’s not going to work.

If the judges are paid well then they won’t be so attracted to bribes.

You are making the argument of corruption in front of a judge who may even be corrupt himself here! Sure it happens in Nigeria, but it’s not enough to embarrass the country.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former honouree of the NLA, resigned from the cabinet yesterday (August 3). What’s your take on that, considering she seems to have been humiliated out of office?

I have mixed feelings, but I disagree she was humiliated. First, she wasn’t fired as Minister. Secondly, in a civilized society she will be respected. Nigeria is a civilized society, don’t get me wrong.

People will remember her for setting a good precedent, not only that she resigned, but her good work as the economic team chair. But my mixed feeling is, I am so happy she resigned! Thank God she resigned! How do you get a plumber to your house to cook for you? From the Ministry of Finance to Foreign Affairs! I just don’t know how she was transferred to Foreign Affairs; it’s a dignified, more prominent Ministry, I know that, but I’m happy she had to do what she had to do. She can show other Ministers the way to go. It’s high time that people in public offices learn that when they outlive their usefulness they can resign.

I think she did the right thing. My mixed feelings have to do with the fact that we are losing someone who could have done a lot for our country.

What informed NLA’s choice of Professor Ibrahim Gambari as this year’s honouree?

One, his association with NLA; he has been a friend of NLA from the beginning. When we were starting the Association, if we needed him t make phone calls for us, get his friends to attend our events, he obliged. For many of us, he became a personal friend. He is approachable.

It was also more of merit. We considered his status. He’s the UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs. He did a lot of work in Angola when he was there, and recently, in Malta.

More importantly, everybody has a chance to become an honouree if he gets the vote. The Association set up a committee which recommended seven nominees. The list was forwarded to the Board which voted, and Professor Gambari got the most votes based on criteria such as standing in the community, involvement with Nigeria, personal qualities and public service.

What’s your take on Professor Gambari running for presidency, as has lately been speculated by the Nigerian media?

I don’t know if he’s running or not; he hasn’t told me. I spoke with him four weeks ago and he didn’t mention it. A couple of people phoned me, but I told them I have no comments. If he decides to run, I think he’d make a very good president. He’s a very humble man, very intelligent, and more importantly, a very good administrator, with good management skills. People who’ve worked with him, all they have is praise. Also, his exposure in the international community would give him leverage to work with other leaders around the world.

For a change, it would be nice to have a well-educated college graduate as president, with all due respect to some of our leaders who went to the military academy.

I would support his candidacy and will do whatever I can to see him succeed, if he’s running and there’s no better candidate. All I want is the best for Nigeria. I don’t care who the person is, man or woman, Igbo or Yoruba; it doesn’t matter to me.

CULLED FROM THISDAY, TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2006.


Related Link: http://www.editorspark.blogspot.com/

'Corruption War: Should We Shoot Lawyers and Accountants?' By Shola Oshunkeye



To say that Ishola Williams, a retired Major General and top-notch of Transparency International, is an unsual General would amount to stating the obvious. He is, perhaps, the only known General who is not obscenely rich and who could not be accused of being a treasury looter. He has been forthright both in public and in private life, which is why he could stand shoulder to shoulder above his corrupt peers and tell them, ‘You are a thief!’ without fear of possible backlash. He calls a spade by its name and offers no apology for his brutal frankness. He cares less if you hate his guts and would not mind if you take a frog jump into the lagoon if you detest the truth he knows and tells.

He was in his most uncompromising mood on Monday as he proffered a desperate solution to the virulent cancer of corruption raging the land. The occasion was the annual Gani Fawehinmi lecture. And some of the nation’s brightest and best lawyers and jurists, including the retired Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mohammed Uwais, chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Justice Olayinka Ayoola, and Nuhu Ribadu, the youthful but no-nonsense chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had gathered at the Ikeja Airport Hotel, Lagos, to extol the virtues and principles of ‘Fawehinmism.’

In his usual devil-may-perish style, Williams sent the hall metaphorically on fire, as he demanded, in the speech he delivered ex-tempore, that lawyers and accountants should be bundled in a bus, driven to the Third Mainland Bridge and turned overboard. At first, the hall reverberated with the roaring applause that greeted the unusual suggestion, notwithstanding the fact that over three quarters of the audience members were lawyers. Later I began to hear loud murmurings at the west wing of the Oranmiyan Hall where I sat.

Justifying his hard-line suggestion, he said while accountants help officers to tinker with the books and manipulate figures to facilitate treasury looting, lawyers help sustain and nurture the cancer by taking briefs from the looters and helping them cover their tracks. And as long as that vicious cycle continues, the festering cancer of corruption will continue to flourish. A desperate situation needing a desperate solution you would say?

Maybe. But the Williams prescription, to my mind, appears extremist and highly impracticable, even in a Hobbesian state. Even if we hypothetically agree to its practicability, who would help agencies like the ICPC and EFCC prosecute official thieves and fraudsters whenever they are caught if we herd them all into the lagoon? Who would defend people like Williams is he is suddenly ensnared by a Gestapo and rogue regime like Abacha’s?

And the accountants? Williams seems to have forgotten that accountants, auditors, both noble members of the accounting fraternity detected all the monumental frauds that we have heard or read about.

While agreeing perfectly that there are, indeed, several rotten eggs in both professions, as in all professions, including journalism, we should not forget the good deeds of the principled and courageous practitioners who subordinate personal aggrandizement for the good of all and swot day and night so that we can have a better society.

I think we should let the lawyers and accountants be.


CULLED FROM ‘DAILY SUN’ FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2006.


Related link: http://www.editorspark.blogspot.com/

'Who Will Judge This Judge?' By Lawal Ogienagbon

SQUIB GUEST


In every part of the world, judges are like God. They have the power of life and death. Although they cannot give life like God, they can take it if an offender breaks the law. And the circumstances under which judges in the country can take life which they cannot create are clearly spelt out in the 1999 Constitution.

Because of the enormous powers vested in judges, they are expected to be above board. This is why some of them who have the fear of God live an ascetic life. Indeed for one to be a good judge his way of life may not be different from that of a monk. In those halcyon days, judges did not have friends. They kept to themselves and their libraries and studies were their only companions. Judges kept a distance from others to avoid being unduly influenced in cases which they are handling. Those were the days when Nigerian judges were hot cakes in the international market.

Many of them left the shores of the country to head the judiciary of other countries. In this category were the late Justice Akinola Aguda; Justice Olakunle Orojo and Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, among others. Our judges are among the best in the world and President Umaru Yar’Adua attested to this fact in his address at the opening of the judges’ conference in Abuja on Monday. Said the President: “My Lords you have been variously described as the best judges in Black Africa; you have demonstrated learning, wisdom and courage in the exercise of your duties. Your quality has been attested to by African countries who regularly seek your aid to assist with their judicial system…”

The oath of office of judges expects them to be upright, spartan and God-fearing. As people who sit in judgement over others, they are expected to be the paragon of good character, behaviour and culture. But unfortunately, the bad apples among them are giving our judges the name they do not deserve. What is it that makes someone who is expected to be the embodiment of discipline and chastity to commit sacrilege? As Shakespeare said ages ago, the “fault is in ourselves, and not our stars…” so, a bad judge is bad because he is not good in himself.

For some time now, some of our judges have shown the bad traits in them. Unfortunately, these are traits which should only be seen in criminals brought before their Lordships. Now there is little or no difference between some judges and criminals. Surely, danger looms when a judge exhibits traits associated with criminals. How safe the society will be in the hands of such a judge can best be imagined. In 1993, the late Justice Bassey Ikpeme toed the path of infamy by stopping the June 12 presidential election when she knew she had no power to do so. What she did then is child’s play when compared to what another female judge, Justice Beatrice Iliya did recently when she allegedly distorted a Supreme Court judgement in order to arrive at a decision that suits her purpose. If a judge can distort the judgement of the highest court in the land, I don’t think there is nothing such a judge cannot do.

But if a judge can falsify a court judgement, does he or she still have the moral right to judge others? What will such a judge say if a suspect is brought before him for forging and altering? If the judge is confronted with such a case, won’t his conscience prick him? Won’t he see himself in such a suspect and be tempted to pervert the course of justice? What Justice Iliya allegedly did is unbecoming of a judge of a superior court. She has dragged her name and her esteemed office in the mud.

As punishment for her action, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi has removed her as the chairman of Kwara State Election Petition Tribunal. But the matter, I daresay, should not end there. The National Judicial Council (NJC)


National Judicial Council should take up the matter and find out why a judge would distort a Supreme Court judgement. Why did she do it? Was it for filthy lucre or what? Whatever may be the reasons for her action, I don’t think they can be justified. But then she may be able to convince the NJC otherwise if she appears before the Council.


CULLED FROM ‘THE NATION’ THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 2007


Related link: http://www.editorspark.blogspot.com

'Who Will Judge This Judge?' By Lawal Ogienagbon

Who Will Judge This Judge? By Lawal Ogienagbon

In every part of the world, judges are like God. They have the power of life and death. Although they cannot give life like God, they can take it if an offender breaks the law. And the circumstances under which judges in the country can take life which they cannot create are clearly spelt out in the 1999 Constitution.

Because of the enormous powers vested in judges, they are expected to be above board. This is why some of them who have the fear of God live an ascetic life. Indeed for one to be a good judge his way of life may not be different from that of a monk. In those halcyon days, judges did not have friends. They kept to themselves and their libraries and studies were their only companions. Judges kept a distance from others to avoid being unduly influenced in cases which they are handling. Those were the days when Nigerian judges were hot cakes in the international market.

Many of them left the shores of the country to head the judiciary of other countries. In this category were the late Justice Akinola Aguda; Justice Olakunle Orojo and Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, among others. Our judges are among the best in the world and President Umaru Yar’Adua attested to this fact in his address at the opening of the judges’ conference in Abuja on Monday. Said the President: “My Lords you have been variously described as the best judges in Black Africa; you have demonstrated learning, wisdom and courage in the exercise of your duties. Your quality has been attested to by African countries who regularly seek your aid to assist with their judicial system…”

The oath of office of judges expects them to be upright, spartan and God-fearing. As people who sit in judgement over others, they are expected to be the paragon of good character, behaviour and culture. But unfortunately, the bad apples among them are giving our judges the name they do not deserve. What is it that makes someone who is expected to be the embodiment of discipline and chastity to commit sacrilege? As Shakespeare said ages ago, the “fault is in ourselves, and not our stars…” so, a bad judge is bad because he is not good in himself.

For some time now, some of our judges have shown the bad traits in them. Unfortunately, these are traits which should only be seen in criminals brought before their Lordships. Now there is little or no difference between some judges and criminals. Surely, danger looms when a judge exhibits traits associated with criminals. How safe the society will be in the hands of such a judge can best be imagined. In 1993, the late Justice Bassey Ikpeme toed the path of infamy by stopping the June 12 presidential election when she knew she had no power to do so. What she did then is child’s play when compared to what another female judge, Justice Beatrice Iliya did recently when she allegedly distorted a Supreme Court judgement in order to arrive at a decision that suits her purpose. If a judge can distort the judgement of the highest court in the land, I don’t think there is nothing such a judge cannot do.

But if a judge can falsify a court judgement, does he or she still have the moral right to judge others? What will such a judge say if a suspect is brought before him for forging and altering? If the judge is confronted with such a case, won’t his conscience prick him? Won’t he see himself in such a suspect and be tempted to pervert the course of justice? What Justice Iliya allegedly did is unbecoming of a judge of a superior court. She has dragged her name and her esteemed office in the mud.

As punishment for her action, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi has removed her as the chairman of Kwara State Election Petition Tribunal. But the matter, I daresay, should not end there. The National Judicial Council (NJC)


National Judicial Council should take up the matter and find out why a judge would distort a Supreme Court judgement. Why did she do it? Was it for filthy lucre or what? Whatever may be the reasons for her action, I don’t think they can be justified. But then she may be able to convince the NJC otherwise if she appears before the Council.

CULLED FROM ‘THE NATION’ THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 2007

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

'New Law School Fees-A Critical Appraisal' By Ademola A.Adewale Esq.

The recently increased tuition fees at the Nigerian Law School by which each student is to pay fees of N220,000.00 {two hundred and twenty thousand naira} for their one year mandatory training at the Nigerian Law School in addition to procuring laptops for the purposes of lectures and tuition at the Law School is already generating a lot of heat in the polity.
The stormy reaction is of course to be expected given the important role lawyers play in the promotion of the rule of law and the stability of the nation through the administration of justice. Thus, whatever affects the fortunes of lawyers whether quantitatively or qualitatively affects the whole nation and is a fit subject of intense public discourse by all and sundry whether lawyers or not.


However, because of the seriousness of the issue at hand there is a need to critically and objectively examine the issues involved devoid of sentiments that have characterised most of the debates on the issue till date.

The reasons given for the increase include dwindling funding from the Federal Government, the high cost of providing training, and maintaining facilities at the law school for both staff {teaching and non-teaching} and students alike. The point is readily made that the present economic realities have made the cost of maintenance and upgrading of facilities exorbitant - then the clincher that the legal profession is not for the poor and indigent. This argument is of course never canvassed in the open but apparently shown in the heart of most things done within the profession.

The last point raised is a convenient starting point for examining the pros and cons of the recently introduced regime of fees at the Law School. Amongst us lawyers, the point is readily made that our legal system derives mainly from the English legal system which is essentially conservative in nature. It is asserted that historically and till date the English nation from which the profession was imported is distinctively stratified into classes. Everyone is said to know his place in society and normally does little or nothing to radically alter socially defined boundaries with the result that for a profession like law, the class of people who aspire to get into it are usually the middle class or upper class in society while low income groups are satisfied over generations with being families of tailors, blacksmiths, grocers and train-drivers.

I once read in one of Lord Denning’s books of three {3} generations of attorneys-general and Queens Counsel, where upon the swearing in of the third generation attorney-general, he wore the ceremonial gown earlier worn by his father for the same office a generation earlier, who in turn inherited it from his father {the new silk’s grandfather} who had worn it a generation earlier at his induction. This was a family of Q.C.s and A.G.s over generations. This example is manifested in the lower classes too.

This rigid stratification can of course never work in our own highly republican and ambition-driven society. No one, no matter how lowly or poor is interested in perpetual poverty or remaining permanently down the social ladder. He either strives to improve himself in his own generation or at the worst sees in his offsprings an opportunity to realise dreams he himself could never accomplish.

So, he does everything in his power to slave for his children to be lawyers, doctors, architects, governors and presidents. The meek resignation to fate is never done here; as one local proverb puts it, ‘the horse’s tail is entitled to enjoy the pomp and pageantry which the horse itself never enjoyed in its lifetime.’ Thus, even before the advent of fraudulent, get-rich-quick schemes, it was possible to see the son of a peasant farmer become a lawyer, the child of the local midwife becomes a full fledged medical doctor or the first son of the local blacksmith become an architect. Thus, it is seen as extremely offensive for any one to mouth policies meant to keep the people in a perpetual state of subjugation to the elites and worse still to be seen to put such thoughts into action.

Unfortunately, given the present state of the economy where the sum of N220,000.00 {two hundred and twenty thousand naira} is a princely sum by whatever standard; the newly introduced fees is seen in most quarters as an attempt by a section of the elite to perpetuate their long time social dominance by making it impossible for the children of the masses to aspire to be lawyers and thus remain in perpetual servitude to the rich.

Incidentally, even in the highly stratified British society, there are occasional breaking of glass ceilings. An instance was the case of Baroness Margaret Thatcher who rose from the green grocer’s daughter to become Prime Minister and has now taken peerage amongst the nobility. Lord Denning, the famous Master of the Rolls, is yet another example of someone from the lower middle-class rising to the highest class in the society. The possibilities abound more in Nigeria which is more of a republican and less class-conscious society.

Indeed, looking at the sum involved is no mean sum in the present day Nigeria. Lest it be forgotten, the sum does not include the cost of procuring a personal laptop which is compulsory and the cost of personal upkeep of each student for the duration of the mandatory one session training. Comparatively the sum of N220,000.00 is higher than:

* the processing fees for the application for the exalted honour of Senior Advocate of Nigerian, SAN is N200,000.00

* the practicing fees for practicing lawyers. The highest fees paid annually by the highest ranking lawyers; life Benchers is still under N50,000.00

* the highest fees paid for the Nigerian Bar Annual Conference is N20,000.00
Using the sum of N220,000.00 as our base line, and without prejudice to the growing number of counsel who periodically earn mega fees from contingent events like election petitions, bank mergers, high profile criminal trials etc., how many multiples of N220,00.00 does the average Nigerian practising lawyer in the 10-25 years at the bar range earn every year from legal practice?


Thus, we have seen from this empirical perspective that the sum of N220,000.00 as tuition fees for law students in the circumstances is excessive, ridiculous and punitive.
I have heard that there has been a substantial level of compliance with the new fees? But does that make it right? Already, many law students in their desperation are approaching all manners of “seniors” to source for the money in a manner reminiscent of begging. Even where they got the money, is this the culture we wish to inculcate in our potential lawyers, judges and jurists? Indeed, among many of those who have already paid the money, who knows what they did to get the money? For example in the case of the aspiring gentlemen-in-skirts, what is to stop a potential donor and senior from asking for immoral gratification in exchange for his generosity in a quid pro quo fashion? Why would a desperate female student not oblige him to get money that will pay her way through the last obstacle in her ambition to become a lawyer? Their male counterparts will certainly not be any less ingenious in their desire to actualise their dreams particularly in this day of ‘yahoo-yahoo.’ The less said of that the better.


The first step that should be taken is to immediately bring down the fees to a much more reasonable sum in line with present realities. It is suggested that the N.B.A at the national level should immediately liaise with the Council of Legal Education to review downward, the tuition fees to be paid at the Nigerian Law School.

While it is appreciated that there are constraints in the way of government wholly saddled with the responsibility of funding the Law School as was the case in the past but the point must be made that the legal profession is not just any other profession. It is the only profession that has the constitutional responsibility for the promotion of the rule of law in the society without which there will be chaos and anarchy in the land. Thus, the government cannot even begin to think as it is being canvassed in some quarters that lawyers are professionals just as accountants, engineers, architects etc. in whose training the government has little or no stake except to prescribe standards.

There can be nothing farther from the truth. Even in capitalist societies like the U.K, and U.S.A, training of lawyers is still subsidised by government. Talking practically, if lawyers who become judges are ordinary as is now being canvassed, how come they have statutory retirement age that is different from other public servants, why are they maintained from the government purse? Why the general preferential treatment to the judges compared to others? Is it not because of the direct role they play in sustaining the social well being of the nation at any point in time? Conversely, if they have no special significance, government might as well hands off not only the training of lawyers, but the appointment and welfare of judges and let us see whether there will be any society left for government to govern and for the rest of us to live in? What an absurd proposition!


Thus, the government must gird its loins to continue to adequately fund the Nigerian Law School but in line with the realities of the payment of reasonable fees by students to supplement the funds provided by government. Still on the payment of school fees by students of the Nigerian Law School, perhaps the time has come for the ingenious and ever creative Nigeria’s financial sector, to improve its profile further, by coming up with student loan/scholarship schemes, by which indigent students are sponsored for the one year training at the law school, and are allowed to pay back the loan with interest over 3-5years post loan call either by employment with the institution or by financial repayment.

But whatever is done let the fees to be paid by students of the Nigerian Law School be reasonable which the present N220,000.00 fees is not.

I rest my case.