tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52916952917268204182024-03-21T16:41:40.608-07:00 Law Made SimpleThis Is The Blog That Simplifies The Law For Everyone To Understand...Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-40931260013452058382021-09-28T16:40:00.000-07:002021-09-28T16:40:19.362-07:00Pros and Cons of Working in Ministry of Justice<p> </p><div style="border-bottom: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; border: none; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Are
you a Law Student or a young Lawyer?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
you're contemplating of working in your State or Federal Ministry of Justice,
read this post before you do or you decide not to do anymore.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKBUovykinqZKbJguwQ13YfW4BuYEHj4y46PN5c7Qy4rd5JKYobhoMNiCk_NZj5Xdg8mgGIqfD0ysQsbieyVHR8dVRtJirKQxX9Y1q8DvPaOfPkWNSaLcu_oJjNMUo0Q57U7ySL85cPRW/s1080/SIDE+VIEW+OF+THE+MOJ+OYO+STATE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHKBUovykinqZKbJguwQ13YfW4BuYEHj4y46PN5c7Qy4rd5JKYobhoMNiCk_NZj5Xdg8mgGIqfD0ysQsbieyVHR8dVRtJirKQxX9Y1q8DvPaOfPkWNSaLcu_oJjNMUo0Q57U7ySL85cPRW/s320/SIDE+VIEW+OF+THE+MOJ+OYO+STATE.jpeg" width="160" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image of side view of the Oyo State Ministry of Justice taken on 28 September 2021 by this writer</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
spent 11 years in my State Ministry of Justice before I disengaged in 2017 and
so, when I talk about working in Ministry of Justice, you should listen to me.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
rose from State Counsel to Chief State Counsel (GL.13) and my promotion to
Assistant Director (which was due before I left) may still be announced in no
distant time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Every
State in Nigeria has its own Ministry of Justice and then, there is the Federal
Ministry of Justice, Abuja where any Nigerian Lawyer can work irrespective of
his or her State of origin.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Almost
all State Ministries of Justice only employ their indigenes except Lagos State.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">State
Ministry of Justice is the biggest Law Office in every State in terms of the
number of Lawyers working there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">State
Ministry of Justice is headed by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for
Justice (usually shortened as AG) and assisted by the Solicitor-General and
Permanent Secretary (SG & PS).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">AG
is the political head of the Ministry, while the SG & PS is the career head
of all Lawyers and non-lawyers working there.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">An
average Ministry of Justice has the following departments – 1. Directorate of
Public Prosecutions, 2. Department of Civil Litigation and Advisory Services,
and 3. Department of Legal Drafting and Parliamentary Counseling.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some
other departments such as the Office of Public Defenders, Mediation Centre, and
Department of General Administration may be found in some States, depending on
their needs or peculiarities of each State.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Enough
of introduction, the question that should be asked and be answered is - what
are the merits and demerits of working in Ministry of Justice?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As
I provide answers to this question, I'll also be throwing light on what it
entails to work in Ministry of Justice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Merits:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">1.
Security of Employment - as a Government employee, your employment cannot be
terminated without following the laid down procedures. This is not the case in
private sector where a person's job may be terminated without any prior notice
and even if the termination is found to be wrongful, a victim is only entitled
to compensation and not reinstatement.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">2.
Regular Payment of Salaries - most States in Nigeria pay salaries of their
workers regularly and those who owe, still pay arrears over a period of time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">3.
Capacity Building Opportunities - many States also sponsor their Lawyers to
attend different trainings and workshops which help to enhance their capacity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As
a Government Lawyer, I attended many workshops and conferences mainly within
the country.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most
private employers of Lawyers do not add periodical training of their employees
to their responsibilities.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">4.
Working Hours - like other civil or public servants, a Lawyer working in
Ministry of Justice has 8am to 4pm to do his or her job.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">However,
some readers may not want to see this as an advantage. I think that if it's
considered in relation to some other beneficial use one can put the rest hours
of the day, for me, it's a benefit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
was able to do research and write books because of the less stressful working
hours.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
some private Law Offices or companies, a Lawyer may resume as early as 7am and
work till 8pm. This happens mostly in litigation firms.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">5.
Opportunity to Learn - given that a typical Ministry of Justice has hundreds of
files to attend to, this gives Lawyers working there the opportunity to learn
very widely and be able to handle many matters which some of their colleagues
outside may not have.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">6.
Opportunity for Gratuity and Pension - except States that have adopted the
Contributory Pension System, a Government Lawyer who retires at 60 years of age
or 35 years in service is entitled to be paid millions of naira as gratuity and
monthly pension for life.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One
who spends a minimum of ten years is equally entitled to same but the amount
may be less compared to those who spend longer period in service.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I
know that Lawyers working with the Federal Ministry of Justice are on the
Contributory Pension System which is also good.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most
(if not all) Law Offices in Nigeria (apart from companies or other corporate
entities) do not pay either gratuity or pension to their Lawyers. All that a
Lawyer is entitled to is the monthly salary.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Only
a negligible number of Law Offices subscribes to the Contributory Pension
System and their faithful remittance of deductions cannot be assured.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
above are the common benefits of working in Ministry of Justice. Some other
benefits may exist which are peculiar to specific locations and because they do
not represent the story of a Government Lawyer everywhere, I think there is no
need to include them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For
instance, annual payment of robe allowance is another gain of working in
Ministry of Justice but I'm not sure if majority of Government Lawyers (State
Counsel) enjoy that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
some States, a Government Lawyer may be paid as much as N800k at once as robe
allowance, though it depends on the number of years that one has spent in the
service. Mine was close to N600k before I left and by now, my mates may be
collecting about N700k or a little more.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: dotted windowtext 3.0pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In
my subsequent post, I will write on the CONS of working in Ministry of Justice,
based on my own perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-26715024928286246012021-07-29T10:23:00.001-07:002021-08-23T05:04:33.546-07:00How to Become a Lawyer in Nigeria<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsEzBdn2JXqtS8asTjXk7cCGXjrSZwDoMZUfDlNVC8cYYn9HmzOuxWVIF-QfNUwwKrIt9mcZ7_i3uLm3g6kt5eDIQx4tvI4IsKsegMUqqmWzwKJCznxsAISvgUsrdahPXqHnZcJDmx9yl/s877/LAW+SCHOOL.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="655" data-original-width="877" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsEzBdn2JXqtS8asTjXk7cCGXjrSZwDoMZUfDlNVC8cYYn9HmzOuxWVIF-QfNUwwKrIt9mcZ7_i3uLm3g6kt5eDIQx4tvI4IsKsegMUqqmWzwKJCznxsAISvgUsrdahPXqHnZcJDmx9yl/s320/LAW+SCHOOL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">For anybody to be a
lawyer in Nigeria, the person must first obtain an LL. B<a href="file:///C:/Users/N.%20K.%20ADEGBITE/Desktop/HOW%20TO%20BECOME%20A%20LAWYER%20IN%20NIGERIA.doc#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
(Bachelor of Laws) degree from a university whose Faculty of Law is duly
accredited by both the National Universities Commission, and the Council of
Legal Education. Subsequently, he must obtain a BL<a href="file:///C:/Users/N.%20K.%20ADEGBITE/Desktop/HOW%20TO%20BECOME%20A%20LAWYER%20IN%20NIGERIA.doc#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
(Barrister at Law) certificate from the Nigerian Law School. The Nigerian Law
School now has six campuses (Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Yenogoa, Yola, and Kano) and
an applicant is at liberty to choose which one to attend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">So, to be a lawyer in
Nigeria, one must possess two qualifications - LL. B and BL. LL. B alone,
without BL, doesn't make anyone a lawyer. At best, the person is a Law Graduate
like Funke Akindele, a popular Nigerian actress and many others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">What
Does It Take to Become a Lawyer?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As earlier said, you
must attend a university (not a polytechnic, please note!) and also the
Nigerian Law School. The next thing to be discussed now are –<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">requirements
for studying Law<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">You need to have a
minimum of five credits in either WAEC or NECO. Some universities do not accept
combined results but many do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Your five O’ Level credits
should include English Language, Government, Literature-in-English,
Mathematics, and any other subject. Some universities will not accept a Pass in
Mathematics even when the knowledge of the subject is remotely connected to the
study of Law or work of a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Remember that
possessing the above is good but is not enough, you still need to pass your
UTME which usually comprises Four Subjects - English Language,
Literature-in-English, Government, and possibly, a religious study of either
CRK or IRK.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Most universities now
conduct Post UTME exams before admitting candidates for their Law degree
program. This means that even if you have your O' Level credits complete and
have a good score in UTME, you also need to score up to the set benchmark in
the Post UTME exams.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">If you're able to gain
admission into a Faculty of Law, then you start to count your years in school.
Law runs for Five Years in all Nigerian universities that have the course.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of the courses
that you will have to offer for the period of five years include constitutional
law, criminal law, law of contract, law of torts, equity and trust, law of
evidence, land law, jurisprudence, family law and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Your training in a
university for five years is regarded as theoretical (substantive), while the
one you receive in the Law School is seen as practical (procedural).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Nigerian Law School<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">At the end of Five
Years, you have to proceed to the Nigerian Law School unless you fail to meet
certain criteria of the School which may include absence of criminal record or
any cultist activity where you're coming from or if your university is not
accredited to run Law program as in the case of Law Graduates of the National
Open University of Nigeria, NOUN. The fact that you make a Third Class or Pass
grade is not a barrier in gaining admission to the Law School.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The Nigerian Law School
runs for one year and at the end of one year, persons who are able to have
First Class, Second Class Upper or Pass will be called to the Nigerian Bar but
those who fail to obtain any of those grades will have to go for a resit exam.
In the Law School, courses offered are Civil Litigation, Criminal Litigation,
Property Law Practice, Corporate Law Practice, and Law in Practice.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">What
about Persons Who Study Law Outside Nigeria?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Nigerians can study Law
outside the country provided such foreign schools are among those recognized by
the Council of Legal Education because after graduating from a foreign school,
a Nigerian must come back and attend the Law School for one and half years, if
the person desires to practise Law in Nigeria. The extra six months that this
category of persons spend in the Law School are meant to teach them some
courses that are peculiar to the Nigerian legal system such as constitutional
law, criminal law, Nigerian legal system, and land law.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Who
Cannot Become a Lawyer?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">There is hardly any
person who cannot become a lawyer except persons with criminal records or other
questionable moral character.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A blind person, an old
person, and a deaf and dumb can become a lawyer but working as a lawyer may be
more challenging for persons with physical disabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">What
Do Lawyers Do?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Let's remember that Law
is the foundation of any society and without it, anarchy, criminality, and
chaos will reign. Therefore, every society needs Law and lawyers who have been
trained in the art of pleading the cause of others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As a matter of fact,
there is hardly any establishment without the need for the services of a
lawyer. In Nigeria, a lawyer may decide to be a salary earner or a
self-employed person. A lawyer may work with any of these outfits – the Police,
EFCC, ICPC, NDLEA, NAFDAC, ITF, CBN, NNPC, FIRS, Ministry of Justice, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, CAC, and many others. A lawyer may also join the academics
and teach Law in a university or any other school as a polytechnic or College
of Education where they have some borrowed Law courses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A lawyer may work with
international organisations like UNO, AU, ECOWAS, UNODC, ICC, and many others.
There are also international non-governmental organisations like the Amnesty
International, OSIWA, DFID, and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Many people erroneously
think that once you are a lawyer, then you have to go to court and practise as
an advocate. The fact is that there are many lawyers who do not know anything
about courtroom advocacy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It must however be
admitted that many lawyers go into practice as advocates. But even among
lawyers who go to courts, there are so many other services they render. In
summary, a lawyer’s work can be stated as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">i.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">you need a lawyer to fight for your
rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">ii.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">you need a lawyer to look at your
contractual documents before you sign them. Take, for instance, you want to
take a loan from a bank, you run the risk of going into debt if you collect the
loan without involving a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">iii.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">if you buy a piece of land, you need a
lawyer to prepare the Land Sale Agreement for you.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">iv.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">you need a lawyer to interpret certain
clauses in your letter of employment before you sign an acceptance copy.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">v.
you are going into a partnership agreement with another person, you need a
lawyer's advice and guidance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">vi.
you want a Will, you need a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">vii.
you want to claim the entitlements of your late parent, consult a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">viii.
you want to sell or let out a parcel of land or any property left for you by
your parent, you need a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">ix.
your landlord is threatening to throw your property out without a court order,
see a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">x.
you have a case in court - whether civil or criminal, you need a lawyer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, can you now see
that a lawyer does a lot? When some persons sarcastically ask - wetin lawyers
dey do sef? - they need to be educated because without the Law and lawyers, a
society is doomed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Who
is a Lawyer?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">So, in view of the
above explanation, if you’re asked who a lawyer is – what will you say? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In simple language, a
lawyer is a person who has been trained as one and has been enrolled in the
Register of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Barrister and Solicitor. This is
why a lawyer can describe himself as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme
Court of Nigeria.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In Nigeria, a lawyer is
also known by many other nomenclatures - barrister, solicitor, legal
practitioner, advocate, counsel, legal representative and attorney.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">However, in a place
like the UK, a barrister is not a solicitor and vice versa. You’re either a
Barrister or a Solicitor. But in Nigeria, that's not the case - there is no
demarcation between a barrister and a solicitor. Every Nigerian lawyer is both
a Barrister and Solicitor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Are
Lawyers Different from Judges?<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Yes, they are. For any
person to be a judge, the person must first be a lawyer. To become a judge of
the High Court, for instance, a lawyer must have been working as a lawyer for,
at least, ten years. To become a magistrate, on the other hand, a lawyer can
become one after three years or more of beginning work as a lawyer. The
position of a magistrate is lower to that of a judge. Note that you cannot be a
lawyer and a judge at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Kehinde
ADEGBITE Esq </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">first gave this lecture in a virtual
platform as<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> “Wetin Lawyers Dey Do Sef?”</b>
to a Group of Friends who all belong to a particular WhatsApp Forum on 04 May
2020 and modified it to suit the present title on 28 July 2021. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/N.%20K.%20ADEGBITE/Desktop/HOW%20TO%20BECOME%20A%20LAWYER%20IN%20NIGERIA.doc#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> "LL.B."
stands for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Legum Baccalaureus</i> in
Latin.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="file:///C:/Users/N.%20K.%20ADEGBITE/Desktop/HOW%20TO%20BECOME%20A%20LAWYER%20IN%20NIGERIA.doc#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
“BL” in Latin is known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 107%;">ad legem causidicus<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</div>
</div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-719634124896633352021-07-27T06:35:00.003-07:002021-07-28T18:40:01.523-07:00How to Pass Law Exams Without Tears<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcDLBEh4SCWJYdBJYfQDZmoIIJS3074vIsavy6HrN6VjBwjYJhlVnjkFwnAa8n-4xKju4Cnz_tElw-OQNksxVMrdULSzry-t3dlWYQ7y18_5x4QPLzznGM93AwzQ9EzwQbQrjS-hYFrBr/s2048/law+exams+pic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="law exams, law students, law questions" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigcDLBEh4SCWJYdBJYfQDZmoIIJS3074vIsavy6HrN6VjBwjYJhlVnjkFwnAa8n-4xKju4Cnz_tElw-OQNksxVMrdULSzry-t3dlWYQ7y18_5x4QPLzznGM93AwzQ9EzwQbQrjS-hYFrBr/w213-h320/law+exams+pic.jpg" title="law exams, law students, law questions" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The primary purpose of education is to develop a
critical mind which is not susceptible to misinformation and falsehood.
However, as much as the importance of sound education which entails full development
of one's mental faculty cannot be over-emphasised, a brilliant student must
also have an impressive academic performance to showcase. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">While exam success can be said to be an entitlement
of a brilliant student, poor academic performance may be experienced by
brilliant students who lack certain tips for exam success.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Therefore, in order for a brilliant student not to
miss his or her entitlement, the following tips must be noted. Although the
tips may be found useful and helpful by students generally, they are more
specifically tailored to address the needs of law students.</span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tip #1* </span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read instructions carefully. If you are faced with
questions broken into sections and you are asked to answer a question from each
section, make sure you keep to such instructions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Take, for instance, if you are to answer four
questions in all with two from each section and you actually answer four
questions but all the four are from a section, simply note that you have
succeeded in answering only two questions and not four. </span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tip #2* </span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Understand a question before attempting it. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">An example:</span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ms Abibat, a sixteen-year-old aspiring law student,
made up her mind to become a lawyer from the age of 8 but she is always
troubled with the possibility of handling divorce cases when she eventually
becomes a lawyer. She strongly believes that "no one should put asunder
what God has joined together".</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Explain to her the circumstances in which marriages
may be terminated without passing through the divorce process. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before you are told about how to answer a question
of this nature, remember that, in law exams, there are three types of question
that you may face in an exam. </span></p>
<ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are questions that are regarded as essay
types. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">For example, if a question says -</span>
</li></ol><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What is void marriage? </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"></span></li><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>V</o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">oid and voidable marriages are not the same.
Discuss.</span>
</li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Another type is - problem question (this may
also be called different names by different persons). Some call it case-study
question or hypothetical question. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Example:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tunde married his first wife under the Marriage Act
but having been elected the Parliamentarian for his district, he decided to
marry a second wife who is more educated than the first. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Upon discovering what Tunde did, the first wife has
filed an action in court to set aside the second marriage, arguing that Tunde
cannot marry a second wife under the Law. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you think her case can succeed? Support your
answer with relevant statutory and judicial authorities. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is a question that calls for the use of IRAC
method. </span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I for Issue</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></li><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">R for Rule<o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></li><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">A for Application, and<o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> </span></li><li><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">C for Conclusion. <o:p></o:p></span>
</li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The issue in the question is -</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Can a person married under the Marriage Act legally
contract a second marriage, while the first marriage remains undissolved? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The rule is -</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">By virtue of sections 33 and 47 of the Marriage
Act, a married person is incapable of entering into a second marriage. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You apply the rule by stating that Tunde is not
capable of marrying another woman because of his subsisting marriage with his
first wife. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If you have any case that treats an issue like the
one presented in the hypothetical question, cite it. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Conclude by stating that the case of the first wife
has the prospect of succeeding based on the foregoing analysis. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. The third one is mixed question, that is, a
question that has the nature of both essay and problem questions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Now, let's come back to our question on Ms Abibat.
It's an example of a mixed question. However, the IRAC method does not apply
because the questioner has already identified what you are supposed to
address. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">What is the meaning of this question and what
information are you expected to supply? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">The focus of this question rests on the
circumstances in which the lifespan of a marriage may be terminated without the
divorce process. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You are therefore expected to discuss the grounds
for the termination or annulment of void and voidable marriages. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note further that a questioner will ask questions
based on what was taught in class or contained in his or her lecture materials.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> If the questioner has not taught you divorce, you
have no reason to focus your answer on divorce and again, you should have noted
that divorce process has been tactically removed from the issues that should
engage your attention here. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">To answer the question under our consideration
properly, you have to briefly define void and voidable marriages and thereafter
proceed to discuss grounds under which each type (i.e. void and voidable
marriages) could be annulled. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">If your definition is incorrect, then you have laid
a faulty foundation for whatever points or grounds you may later provide. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A void marriage is a marriage that is regarded to
have suffered from some fundamental legal defects and therefore, it's not seen
as a valid marriage at all.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">A voidable marriage, on the other hand, is a
marriage regarded to be valid until set aside at the instance of a party to
such marriage. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please - you do not have to write so much on the
definition because it is meant to serve only as an introduction. Again, you do
not have to waste time on differences between void and voidable marriages
because if you do that, you will end up not answering the most important part
of the question. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">So, after the brief definition, go straight to
provide and discuss grounds under which each can be annulled. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Note further that divorce does not apply at all to
void and voidable marriages as they can only be ANNULLED and not be dissolved
through DIVORCE. </span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tip 3 <br /></span></h3></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write legibly. This is very important because if
your answer is correct but impossible to be read by an examiner, your answer is
as good as being incorrect. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some students' handwriting is so small that an
examiner requires a magnifying glass to see through. This is not good at
all. </span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Readable handwriting is legible and that's the most
important thing, not necessarily a fine or beautiful handwriting. Your
handwriting may not be beautiful but make it legible. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Please, do not punish an examiner with an illegible
handwriting because you may up punishing yourself very seriously. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tip 4</span>
</h3></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Organize your answers in a distinct and clear
manner, having in mind the comfort of an examiner. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Some students do not obey paragraphing and margin
rules at all. Such is bad.<o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not let your work be rough. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Tip 5 <br /></span></h3></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">You need to write your answers in good and
acceptable English. If you know the correct answers to the questions but you’re
unable to clearly, acceptably and coherently communicate in English language,
then there is no difference between you and another student who doesn’t know
the answers.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The language of Law is English and a good lawyer is
one who can use it as a tool of his trade.</span>
</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tip 6 <br /></span></h3></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Above all, study and know your teacher very well
and give to him or her as you think will earn you good marks. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-74379030312034139582020-07-21T23:18:00.004-07:002021-07-22T21:42:42.497-07:0015 Questions & Answers on Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile's Death<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DIfJW82shZ0PalevZlej8V77VV9jAu84BTrzUeALy5vvnTSAI6P8ubhipcHpWPmec02OPnvSshRtYVViA6GeFcx6JIHhyphenhyphenldRzPQslK5_3wgBvjqSmKPvpvKDKDgZ6Ie6mI_mDFSPwRy0/s1600/AROTILE+PIC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="15 Questions & Answers on Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile's Death" border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DIfJW82shZ0PalevZlej8V77VV9jAu84BTrzUeALy5vvnTSAI6P8ubhipcHpWPmec02OPnvSshRtYVViA6GeFcx6JIHhyphenhyphenldRzPQslK5_3wgBvjqSmKPvpvKDKDgZ6Ie6mI_mDFSPwRy0/w320-h320/AROTILE+PIC.jpg" title="15 Questions & Answers on Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile's Death" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Some Nigerians say -
please, this lady is gone; let her rest in peace and stop asking unnecessary
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">But many other Nigerians
are saying - no! We need to ask questions and put Nigeria Air Force, NAF, to
task so that this kind of unfortunate incident doesn't happen again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">I subscribe to the
latter. Human life is sacred and shouldn't be lost or taken without
consequences. Many days of protest and condemnations followed George Floyd's
murder in the US. We shouldn’t do any less especially when we have reasons to
suspect foul play in a citizen’s death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://web.facebook.com/ebunolu.adegboruwa">Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN</a>
and <a href="https://web.facebook.com/ayo.turton">Ayo Turton</a> (a Nigerian
lawyer based in the US) are among Nigerians who have asked and still continue
to ask relevant, useful, and brilliant questions on her death.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">As a former state
prosecutor and now a defence counsel, my experience and knowledge of criminal
law and matters keep nudging me to add my voice as I read others' writings and
questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, I pose the questions
below and offer answers (?) to them.</span></div>
<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Who is Nehemiah Adejoh?<o:p></o:p></span></b></h3></li></ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
Nehemiah Adejoh is the person who reversed the car that allegedly killed Flying
Officer Tolulope Arotile on 14/07/2020 at the NAF Base, Kaduna.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> My findings on <a href="https://web.facebook.com/nehemiah.adejoh">Nehemiah Adejoh's Facebook
account</a> show that - this guy finished from the Air Force Secondary School,
Kaduna in 2012, while Tolulope was there between 2006 and 2011. So, Tolu and
Nehemiah were most likely former school mates.<o:p></o:p></span>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Who are Igbeleke Folorunsho and Festus Gbayegun?<o:p></o:p></span></b></h3></li></ul></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
NAF said there were two other persons with Nehemiah Adejoh in the car that day
and they were Misters Igbeleke Folorunsho and Festus Gbayegun. They were also
Tolu's former secondary school mates but my searches online didn't yield any
lead on the duo. Were they fictitious or real? I don't know.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> They may likely be on
Facebook without using the names supplied to NAF and if that is the case, it
will naturally be difficult locating them on Facebook or any other social media
platform.<o:p></o:p></span>
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><h3>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Are there contradictions between the NAF's Press Release of 15/07/2020 and
the one of 19/07/2020?<o:p></o:p></span></b></h3></li></ul></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
No, there are no apparent contradictions except that the Press Release of
19/07/2020 is more elaborate than the one of 15/07/2020 and it provides answers
to some of the questions that the first release generated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">4.
Q. Is there any untrue information in the two Press Releases?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
I don’t know but I have read many places online that the number plate of the
vehicle driven by Nehemiah which was given as AZ 478 MKA was not found to exist
through searches that some persons have conducted online. I have also searched
for it on the <a href="https://nvis.frsc.gov.ng/VehicleManagement/VerifyPlateNo">website
of the Federal Road Safety Corps</a> and the result I got was “invalid number
plate”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
5. Are there any contradictions between the NAF's Press Releases and Tolu's
elder sister's account?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
Yes, there are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">.
Her elder sister, Mrs Damilola Adegboye said she received a call from a person
who sounded like her superior and the person asked her to come to the NAF Base.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In contrast, NAF said she
was called by her colleague, Flying Officer Perry Karimo around 10.55am and
that it was Tolu who called Squadron Leader Diepiriye Batubo, her superior,
around 10.58am. So, a superior officer never called her, according to NAF.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Who is wrong and who is
correct?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">B.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
Her sister painted a picture that she dropped her at the NAF Base shortly after
the call and that she read online about an hour after dropping her off at the
NAF Base that something has happened to her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">NAF said the interval
between the time of calls and the incident was over 5 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">These are material
contradictions. If it is later established that her death took place an hour
after the call, it means the superior officer who called her has some
explanations to give because it will also be seen at paragraph 3 (b) of the
Press Release of 19 July 2020 that NAF was particular in trying to show that
her death took place many hours after the calls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
6. Was there any eye witness to the incident leading to her death?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> NAF
has not said there was any but their second Press Release is a preliminary
report of investigation, anyway. We expect that they must have got a lot of
information from eye witnesses and others and all these should be in the case
file.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
7. How did NAF get all the information they have fed us so far?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> They
must have interviewed the three guys found in the car and must have got
independent information from some other persons, possibly including
eyewitnesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
8. Is there anything in the Press Releases suggestive of cover-ups?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
Yes, there are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">A.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
At paragraph 4 (a) of the Press Release of 19/07/2020, NAF states -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">"The death of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile was
caused by blunt force trauma to the head and significant bleeding resulting
from being struck by the vehicle."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">How did NAF arrive at this conclusion?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Is this conclusion not
too far-reaching when no post-mortem examination was mentioned to have been
carried out? However, it should be said that, in Law, cause of death may be
established without medical evidence, that is, without post-mortem examination
but where cause of death is surrounded with controversies like this one
including the calls of her family members asking for thorough investigation, it
is expedient and legal for NAF to conduct a post-mortem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">If NAF had stopped by
simply saying, for instance "she died as a result of the injuries she
suffered from the car that hit her”, NAF would have been justified to say so
but talking about force trauma and bleeding, we need an expert who has performed
an autopsy on her corpse to say so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">B</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">.
On 14/07/2020, when Tolu died, <a href="https://web.facebook.com/hqnigerianairforce/?_rdc=1&_rdr">NAF on its
Facebook page</a> wrote, among others - <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">"It is with great
sorrow that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) regretfully announces the unfortunate
demise of Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, who died today, 14 July 2020, as a
result of head injuries sustained from a road traffic accident at NAF Base
Kaduna."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Can the circumstances
later narrated by NAF which led to Tolu's death be described as "road
traffic accident"?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">She was a pedestrian and
the vehicle didn't have accident just like that but she was hit by the vehicle,
while “reversing to greet her” and so, that's not an accident. It rather
suggests of reckless driving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">By calling it accident,
NAF is already setting Nehemiah free because an act of accident is a legal
defence to a criminal charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Again, at the second paragraph of the Press Release of
15/07/2020, NAF wrote -<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">"Flying Officer
Tolulope Arotile died on 14 July 2020, when she was <u>inadvertently</u> hit by
the reversing vehicle of <u>an excited</u> former Air Force Secondary School
classmate while trying to greet her."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">They used the word
"inadvertently" which means "unintentionally".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">When a crime is
committed, there must also be a guilty mind (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mens rea</i>) for an offender to be found guilty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">But NAF said Nehemiah
didn't hit their officer, Tolulope, intentionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Why didn't they allow the
suspect to raise his own defence in court or they simply said “recklessly” or “dangerously”
instead of “inadvertently” which was likely the case here? Even if he had
claimed that it happened inadvertently, NAF ought to ascribe recklessness to
his action, going by the picture painted of the circumstances in which the
incident took place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">In essence, NAF has
succeeded in building a lot of defences for Nehemiah in their Press Releases
and set the stage for his likely acquittal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
9. Is there any precedent for this kind of an officer's death in Nigeria?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
Yes, there is. In 2016, Lt. Col. Abu Ali, who contributed so much to the havoc
inflicted on Boko Haram terrorists, was killed at the battlefield in a
controversial circumstance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Tolulope was also said by NAF to have contributed
significantly to the war against terror. A suspicion that she might have been
assassinated by a Boko Haram sympathizer, if not a real Boko Haramist, is,
therefore, not misplaced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
10. Should NAF be believed?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> Their
stories appear believable and credible on the surface but under thorough
scrutiny, there are holes and likely mischief in their accounts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
11. In the circumstance, what offence (s) can Nehemiah Adejoh be charged with?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> He
may be charged with manslaughter and driving without a driver's license.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">However, he will find a
lot of defences in the statements of NAF in addition to the defences that he may
also raise because so far we have been hearing only from NAF. We have not heard
from the guy and his friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
12. Does it make any difference that it is the Police that will handle further
investigation and prosecution of the case?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
It's not likely that the story line will change even with the involvement of
the Police and the Police's case at the point of prosecution will not be helped
by all the exculpatory statements of NAF.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
13. Would Nehemiah have been charged with any offence, if he had a driver's
license?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> Yes,
killing a person while driving with a driver's license is not a defence. He
would still be culpable of manslaughter for killing a person in such
circumstance. However, a road traffic accident which results in loss of lives
will not ordinarily render a driver liable for a criminal charge, if the
accident is not due to the driver’s negligence, recklessness or dangerous
driving occasioned by drunkenness or not. Therefore, an accident which occurs
due to no fault of a driver is not an offence even if life is lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">The fact that he didn't
have a driver's license is only a minor offence of driving without a driver's
license which may just attract him a penalty of fine or a month in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
14. Can a person kill another while reversing a car?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> Some
people have argued that it's not possible to kill another person while
reversing a car because reverse is not usually done with speed. But in life,
nothing can really be totally ruled out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It's possible and even
for a combatant like her to die, depending on how it happened at the scene of
the incident which may not have been fully captured by written words and by
persons who were not there when it happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Q.
15. Is it likely that some evidence will later come out of this case different
from the narrative that NAF has already put out?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Ans.:
</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">It
is most unlikely that the Police will come out with investigation different
from the one that NAF has already done. In fact, from the beginning, having
known that the suspect (s) is not an Air Force officer, a civilian, he should
have been handed over to the Police for proper investigation but having done
what they did, the Nigeria Police will not change the narrative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">Kehinde Adegbite Esq </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">is
an Ibadan-based Legal Practitioner.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><i>
</i><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">
</span></i></div><i>
</i><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 107%;">22
July 2020<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div><i>
</i><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-32248403334602392552017-09-10T01:49:00.000-07:002017-09-10T01:49:01.945-07:00Why The International Criminal Court Cannot Try Terrorists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Terrorism is one of the “international crimes” that have received so much attention from the international community. There exists a number of international conventions prohibiting terrorist activities and examples include the Tokyo Convention of 1963, the Hague Convention of 1970, the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing of 1997, the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism of 1999, among others. In addition, many countries have national laws criminalising terrorism and examples are, the Patriot Act (US), the Anti-Terrorism Act (Canada), the Terrorism Act (UK), and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (Nigeria).</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />However, in spite of the volume of legislative attention given to the crime of terrorism both at the domestic and international levels, there is no international judicial organ to prosecute terrorists. The International Criminal Court (ICC) does not have jurisdiction to try any person alleged of committing terrorist act. So, the problem this poses is that, if a national government refuses to prosecute or extradite a terrorist, there is no international court that can assume jurisdiction.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The ICC, by its statute, is empowered to try only war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide and it is to serve as a court of last resort, meaning that its jurisdiction is activated once a country is unwilling or unable to prosecute any person alleged of committing any of these international crimes within its territory.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Terrorism is not yet considered a core international crime. Persons accused of committing it cannot also be prosecuted by the ICC, even if their criminal acts are labelled as crimes against humanity. Terrorism is a crime that encompasses various acts and can only stand on its own as a separate category of crime. This was part of the arguments that culminated into its non-inclusion in the ICC Rome Statute prior to its adoption in 1998.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Also, no globally accepted definition of terrorism has been worked out to date. It is commonly said that “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Michael Lawless, in his article, “<a href="http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo9/no2/05-lawless-eng.asp" target="_blank">Terrorism - an International Crime?</a>” writes, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“A fundamental difference between these two distinct groups is their choice of target. For the terrorist, the indiscriminate targeting of the civilian population is preferred whereas, the revolutionary specifically targets the institutions and personnel of the state authority with whom they are in conflict and not the general civilian population.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, in his attempt to define terrorism said,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“What distinguishes terrorism is the wilful and calculated choice of innocents as target. When terrorists machine-gun a passenger waiting area or set off bombs in a crowded shopping centre, their victims are not accidents of war but the very objects of the terrorists’ assault.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />This is why it is practically impossible for the ICC to prosecute Nigerians alleged of sponsoring the Boko Haram terrorists. The leadership of APC, just few days ago, called on the Federal Government of Nigeria to refer Ali Modu Sheriff, the former Governor of Borno State and Gen. Iherijika, the former Chief of Army Staff to the ICC to be tried for sponsoring terrorists. Unless the Rome Statute of the ICC is amended or another international court created to try terrorism, no international court, as this piece is being written, can try terrorists or any persons connected with their activities. What is found worldwide now is that different countries prosecute terrorists through their local courts and under their national laws. Writing in like manner, David P. Stewart, in his article, “<a href="https://ublawjil.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/3-911-article-prof-david-stewart.pdf" target="_blank">The Evolution of Criminal Law since 9/11</a>” stated thus, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“You may recall that I just said that the international criminal law system hasn’t really reacted (post 9/11) to the phenomenon of terrorism. It’s not a crime within the jurisdiction of the international tribunals, and no one is being prosecuted internationally for acts of terrorism...”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />To this moment, the situation has not changed as no single case of terrorism has been entertained by </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the ICC since it came into force on July 1st, 2002.</span></span><br />
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<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kehinde Adegbite Esq wrote this piece some years ago and posted it on his defunct blog, www.gettipsforeveryday.blogspot.com </span></span><br /><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-21579905441856277032017-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:002017-09-09T10:21:17.072-07:00Who Knows If There Is ACJA In Nigeria?<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />If an average Nigerian doesn’t know anything called ACJA or doesn’t know what it’s all about, such Nigerian may be excused. But how would you excuse a Nigerian police officer who is ignorant of this law? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />ACJA is the short form of “the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015”. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It was signed into law by the immediate past president of our country, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, in May, 2015. The law came at a very crucial moment even in world history. It came at a time when the international community unanimously agreed that for all the countries of the world to achieve sustainable development, Law has a critical role to play. Therefore, when the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, was adopted in September, 2015, rule of law and access to justice takes the place of Goal 16 unlike the erstwhile Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, which made no provision for law. ACJA is meant to achieve this purpose, that is, to ensure that human rights of suspects are respected and that criminal cases are decided expeditiously.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />While it’s agreed that the ACJA does not only affect the Police, the fact is that about 40% (if not more) of what is in the law has to do with how the Nigeria Police perform their duties. Yet disappointingly, many police officers still go about their official duties as if no ACJA has been passed in Nigeria. Anyone who thinks this is not the case should pay a visit to a police station and will be faced with the stark reality of what I’m talking about.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />From 2015 to 2030, every country of the world will be assessed based on how much of the seventeen goals that make up the SDGs it has achieved. In the area of law and justice, Nigeria has passed ACJA which aims to reform our administration of criminal justice system. No doubt, ACJA remains one of the best laws to be passed in Nigeria in recent times but passing a law is one thing, implementing it is another. Nigeria will not be adjudged as a country fulfilling its SDGs mandate, if it doesn’t move beyond the point of passing a good law like the ACJA. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />ACJA must be allowed to work! Therefore, no efforts must be spared to see that it’s implemented.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The Police remain the Number One law enforcement agent that Nigerians come across on a daily basis and a positive change in their attitude and performance of their duties will go a long way to shape how law enforcement agents are publicly perceived across board and how the rule of law and administration of justice generally improve in our country.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />How does the ACJA affect the Police? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />This is an important question that must be answered as clearly as possible so as to enable every police officer understand his or her role very well under the law and also to enable the citizens know how to hold them (i.e. police officers) accountable in line with the standards set by the law and demand their rights appropriately.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />In order to judge whether ACJA is working in Nigeria or not, the following are what the Police must be seeing to be doing:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />1. When persons are arrested, they must be informed promptly the basis of the arrest – Sections 3 – 6 of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />2. No person must be arrested in place of another person who cannot be found by the Police – Section 7 of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />3. No person must be arrested by the Police in relation to a civil wrong (e.g. indebtedness) – Section 8 (2) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />4. When a suspect’s statement is to be taken at a police station, such suspect is entitled to enjoy the presence of a lawyer, or a Justice of the Peace, or an officer of the Legal Aid Scheme – Section 17 (2) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />5. Persons arrested without warrant for offences not punishable with death should be given bail, if it’s not practicable to bring them to court within 24 hours of arrest – Section 30 (1) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />6. Women should be allowed to stand as sureties, if they want to – Section 167 (3).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />7. Police are to send case files to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in situations where a magistrate court has no power to try an offence that has been brought before it – Section 376 (1) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />8. Every police station must keep a register of arrested persons – Section 29 (4).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />9. Police are to submit monthly reports of persons arrested, with or without warrant, to the nearest magistrate – Section 33 (1) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />10. The process of recording a suspect’s statement must be concluded within 48 hours of arrest – Section 15 (2) of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />11. Police officers who are not trained lawyers are barred from further prosecution of criminal cases before any court, whether magistrates or High Courts – Section 106 of the ACJA.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />12. The Nigeria Police are mandated to create a Central Criminal Records Registry so as to keep record of all court decisions on criminal cases within 30 days when such judgments are delivered – Section 16 of the ACJA. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It’s now more than two years that the ACJA came into force in Nigeria and therefore, it’s not out of place if all officers of the Nigeria Police have a copy of the law and are familiar with its provisions especially those that affect their official duties. But, unfortunately, that is not the case. Many officers, as said earlier, don’t even know the law exists.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />While this write-up focuses on the Police for obvious reasons, in Part 2 of the article I’ll be discussing the roles of the courts under the ACJA and in subsequent parts, other actors too will be spotlighted.<br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br /><br /><br />Written by Kehinde Adegbite Esq.<br /><br />Kehinde Adegbite Esq is a private legal practitioner based in Ibadan and a member of the Civil Society Observatory Group on the Implementation of the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria.<br /><br />In case you have any report or experience you wish to share in relation to the implementation of ACJA, contact Kehinde on +234803-855-6525 or Blessing Abiri (CLEEN Foundation) on +234803-346-3309.<br /><br /></span></span>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-79155900778023425452017-09-03T03:16:00.001-07:002017-09-03T03:16:13.638-07:00Rule of Law and Access to Justice <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW AND ENSURING EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ALL AS THE UNDERPINNING FACTORS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE, TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF SDGs</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Presented By Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq, Principal Partner, Kehinde Adegbite & Co., People’s Chambers, Ibadan at the Two-Day Advocacy Training on Corruption, Accountability and Access to Justice Focusing on SDG 16 Held at Diplomat Hotel, 18 Oduduwa Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos, Between 15-18 August, 2017</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">INTRODUCTION</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />We need to remind ourselves that the “new” global developmental agenda aptly captured as “Sustainable Developmental Goals”, SDGs, will be two years old in about four months’ time. It is new only in comparison with the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, which was introduced by the United Nations General Assembly in the year 2000 and came to an end in 2015. It is new also because it is a fifteen year plan and still has thirteen years and few months to run. However, we need to note that we do not have the luxury of time. Year 2030 will come and go but only countries which are able to achieve the laudable programmes of this global agenda will rejoice and be reckoned with. If Nigeria will be one of such countries, what we do now as a people matters a lot. Like the MDGs, SDGs is a developmental agenda designed by the United Nations General Assembly to last for fifteen years, that is, 2015 - 2030.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Unlike the MDGs, SDGs recognises the unique dynamism of Law as a tool for social engineering and change, hence the inclusion of Goal 16 as one of the seventeen goals which make up the global agenda. Goal 16 is titled “Access to Justice for all” and provides further thus, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Goal 16, like other goals, has targets. Its target 16.3 reads, “Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all”. This target shall form the focal point of this lecture, while cursory attention will be given to Goals 5, 10, 11, and 17 as much as possible. But as a matter of fact, none of the other goals is achievable, if Goal 16, with its emphasis on the rule of law and access to justice, is neglected.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is therefore imperative to properly understand the twin concepts of rule of law and access to justice from the onset. What do they mean?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />RULE OF LAW</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Professor A. V. Dicey, in his book titled, Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, 1885, defined the rule of law, thus:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“First it means the absolute supremacy or predominance of regular law as opposed to the influence of arbitrary power and excludes the existence of arbitrary power and excludes the existence of arbitrariness of prerogative or even of wide discretion by any authority on the part of the government. Englishmen are ruled by the law and law alone, a man may with us be punished for a breach of the law but he can be punished for nothing else.<br />Secondly it means equality before the law or equal subjection of all classes to the ordinary law of the land administered by the ordinary law courts.<br />Thirdly the rule of law may be used as a formula for expressing the fact that with us the laws of the constitution, the rules which in foreign countries naturally form part of a constitution code are not the source but the consequence of the rights of individuals as defined and enforced by the courts.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Justice Olu Ayoola, (of blessed memory) in his book, Fifty Years in the Law: (1946 - 1996), at page 94, quoted Honourable S. R. Das, former Chief Justice of India, on the rule of law, thus,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“The true concept of the Rule of Law as I conceive it transcends all periods, races, religion, creeds and countries. It prescribes a Code of Conduct alike for the individuals as for the states and is designed to protect and uphold the liberties of the individuals not only against their fellow men but also as against the State. It seeks to uphold and protect the fundamental human rights and liberties which alone make life worth living, liberty in matters of conscience and religion, freedom of speech, thought and expression, right of free association and movement, right to participate in and regulate the activities of one’s own country, and other similar rights which ensure for the all round well being of human societies.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />In plain language, rule of law simply represents a culture of governance and political administration in accordance with the laid-down rules and regulations to which everybody is subject irrespective of individual social, economic or political status in a particular society. In other words, it forbids rule of force or rule of man. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Some years back, Nigerian courts were faced with a serious challenge to the rule of law in a dispute that was already turned to court and courts proudly rose to the occasion to register certain remarkable and indelible pronouncements. This was in the case of the Governor of Lagos State vs. Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR Pt. 18, 621 where late Chief Ojukwu, former Biafran warlord, sued the Lagos State Government in respect of a landed property but while the matter was still pending in court, the then military government of Lagos State took law into its hands by unlawfully ejecting Chief Ojukwu out of the property in dispute.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />In deprecating the attack on the rule of law, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa (JSC as he then was) in the Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu case made these pronouncements,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“The rule of law presupposes:<br />(i) That the state including Lagos State Government is subject to the Law.<br />(ii) That the judiciary is a necessary agency of the rule of law.<br />(iii) The government including the Lagos State Government should respect the right of individual citizen under the rule of law and by our constitution the determination of ‘ALL NATIONS’ and proceedings relating to matters in dispute between persons or between government or between government in authority and any person in Nigeria.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can safely say that here in Nigeria even under the Military Government the law is no respecter of persons, principalities, governments or persons and that the courts stand between the citizens and government alert to see that the state or government is bound by the law and respect the law. ”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Having laid bare the basic tenets of the rule of law, it is necessary to discuss the concept of access of justice as it can safely be asserted that the former is meaningless in an environment where the latter is non-existent and vice versa.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />ACCESS TO JUSTICE</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Professor Muhammed Ladan, in his article, “Enhancing Access to Justice in Criminal Matters: Possible Areas for Reform in Nigeria” published in the Nigerian Bar Journal, Vol. 7, No1, August 2011, defined access to justice thus,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“The expression ‘access to justice’ envisages people in need of help finding effective solutions available from justice systems which are accessible, affordable, comprehensible to ordinary people, and which dispense justice fairly, speedily and without discrimination, fear or favour and a greater role for alternative dispute resolution.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />In other words, access to justice refers to a legal system that is easily amenable to citizens’ aspirations. It is readily accessible and promotes people’s happiness and makes their lives fulfilling in all ramifications.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The question to be asked at this juncture is – how do the concepts of rule of law and access to justice promote good governance, accountability, and transparency and ensure equality as encapsulated in the SDGs?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is axiomatic that a human society can only function effectively and optimally in an atmosphere where the rule of law is held supreme and sacrosanct and access to justice guaranteed. In relation to the rule of law in particular, to determine whether the rule of law occupies its pride of place in any society, certain parameters have to be in place. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />RULE OF LAW IN NIGERIA</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />A. Protect and Respect Human Rights</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under its Chapter IV provides for the following as rights which Nigerian citizens and other nationals can enjoy and enforce, if they are about to be, are being or already breached:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />i. Right to life – section 33<br />ii. Right to dignity of human person – section 34<br />iii. Right to personal liberty – section 35<br />iv. Right to fair hearing – section 36<br />v. Right to private and family life – section 37<br />vi. Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion – section 38<br />vii. Right to freedom of expression and the press – section 39<br />viii. Right to peaceful assembly and association – section 40<br />ix. Right to freedom of movement – section 41<br />x. Right to freedom from discrimination – section 42<br />xi. Right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria – section 43<br />xii. Right to compulsory acquisition of property – section 44<br />xiii. Right of access to court – section 46</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />B. Obedience of court orders</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />No claim can be laid to the rule of law, if court orders are treated with disdain and are not obeyed. An order made by a court, even if made without jurisdiction must be complied with until set aside.<br />Ubaezonu JCA (as he then was) in Nigerian Army vs. Mowarin (1992) 4 NWLR Pt. 235 at 345 made the following pronouncement –</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />“An order of court must be obeyed, even if such an order is perverse, until such a time that the order is set aside by a competent court. The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are partners in the due governance of the country, each performing its functions clearly defined by the Constitution of the land. A flagrant flouting of an order of the Court by the Executive is an invitation to anarchy.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />C. Enactment of just laws</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It has been said that as much as it is desirable that the rule of law prevails, laws themselves must be just and non-discriminatory. For instance, apartheid legislation is no better than a complete state of lawlessness because it is an unjust law.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Nigeria is a country blessed with an array of good and just laws but the problem lies essentially in the faithful and committed implementation of laws. Some of the good laws enacted in recent times in Nigeria include the Violence Against Persons Act, 2015, Freedom of Information Act, 2011, Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, and National Health Act, 2014. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />However, as good as these laws are, they remain essentially federal laws. Therefore, all Nigerian states need to replicate good laws such as the Freedom of Information Act, Child’s Rights Act, and Administration of Criminal Justice Act so that the positive impacts and best practices embedded in these laws will reflect and be felt throughout the length and breadth of the country and not be limited to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or few states that have adopted those enactments. Nigerian government need to have its national policy on the criminal justice system. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />For instance, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act is a law that aims to reform the criminal justice through speedy dispensation of criminal cases and giving more respect to the rights of suspects as well as the “accused persons”. Persons accused of criminal acts are no longer to be referred to as accused persons in courts but defendants. Again, suspects are now entitled to enjoy the presence of a lawyer of their choice, when making statements at police station. Women are now eligible to stand as surety for the bail of any person who is to be released on bail. All these are best international practices that must go round the country, if Nigeria desires to tow the path of sustainable development. All forms of discrimination based on gender, racial background, economic status or religion must be jettisoned in Nigeria.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is hoped that the Nigerian law-makers, even if only in deference to the SDGs, particularly Goal 5 which addresses the issue of gender equality, will give the Gender Equality Bill another consideration after it was voted down sometime in 2016 on account of cultural and religious sentiments. Nigeria, in this age, cannot afford to continue to keep faith with anachronistic cultural practice which subjugates the womenfolk. Child marriage and child labour must stop as a matter of utmost urgency!<br /><br />D. Independent judiciary</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />An independent judiciary is an indispensable component of the rule of law. Judicial officers must be insulated from any form of political or external interference while they discharge their sacred duty of dispensing justice without fear or favour.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />E. Vigilant, vibrant and enlightened citizenry and civil society organisations</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />For the rule of law to endure, there is need for a vibrant and virile citizenry and civil society groups who continually and responsibly hold governments to account.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />F. Failure of adherence to due process of law</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />All persons and authorities are bound by the law and therefore, due process of law must be observed in all activities of governments as well as citizens. The practice of deviating from the laid-down rules on the part of government officials or persons in authority must be jettisoned. Governments must stop overnight tinkering with the law in order to achieve an objective, no matter how altruistic such objective is.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN NIGERIA</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Can we say that there is equal access to justice in Nigeria? A keen observer of the Nigerian situation will readily agree that there exists an avalanche of factors which militate against equal access to justice within the Nigerian space and if Nigeria wants to achieve the SDGs, those factors have to be seriously addressed. Some of the factors are now briefly considered below:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />A. High level illiteracy/legal ignorance</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />There is high level of illiteracy and legal ignorance in Nigeria. Most laws, if not all, are written in English language and there is no deliberate attempt on the part of government to translate these laws into local dialects that the vast majority of Nigerians are familiar with. This situation therefore creates a disconnect between the people and the legal system that should regulate their lives and activities.<br />When new laws are passed, government has a duty to create sufficient awareness of such laws so as to engender widespread compliance. It is said that “ignorance of law is not an excuse” but how just is that in a largely illiterate environment like ours? Even in more literate and developed climes, governments still embark on awareness campaigns for newly passed legislation and therefore, Nigeria cannot afford of embracing any practice short of that.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />B. Cost of litigation</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The cost of instituting legal actions in courts for the protection of rights and other legal remedies is prohibitive and many Nigerians cannot afford it. Regrettably, the Legal Aid Scheme, an initiative of the federal government, which provides free legal services to the indigent and vulnerable people, is starved of sufficient funds and personnel to effectively deliver on its mandate.<br />Many of the awaiting trial inmates have been in custody for years simply because they lack legal representatives as they do not have the resources to secure their services. Pro bono legal services are scarce to come by in Nigeria and this is an important area that the government needs to look at and do something radically to arrest the ugly situation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />C. Failure of laws to be dynamic</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />In many countries of the world, law is an effective driver of growth and development in the social, economic, and political aspects of such places. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Nigeria. Many of our laws are not in tune with the challenges and demands of this age and much is not being done to update them. For instance, in spite of rising acceptance of e-commerce globally, the Nigerian law does not have requisite framework to take care and accommodate the development. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />D. Delays in the judicial process</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />While many Nigerians lack the knowledge or financial wherewithal to ventilate their grievances in a court of law, those who have the knowledge and possess the financial muscle are discouraged to approach the courts because of long time that court cases take to end. For instance, Nigerian judges still write in long-hand in this age and this slows them down seriously. Unlike many parts of the world, Nigeria is seriously lagging behind in taking advantage of modern technology to fast-track its judicial process.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />E. Declining confidence in the justice system</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />For many reasons which include corruption, partiality, and contempt for court orders, some persons have lost confidence in the judiciary and such persons may prefer to seek justice in some other ways. Persons occupying judicial positions must be men and women of outstanding credibility, honesty and integrity. Recent happenings in our country where judges were found in some compromising circumstances should never be allowed to recur. Judges have a duty to do some internal house cleaning among themselves and redeem their battered image by ensuring that they are transparently fair, honest, and just in discharging their sacred official duties.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />F. Incompetent judicial and administrative officials</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />If there is any sector that should recruit its staff squarely based on merits and integrity, it is the judiciary. Both judicial officers and supporting staff should be competent and have integrity to carry out their sacred duties. Appointing people on account of some extraneous considerations such as family relationship, faith, political or ethnic affiliation, and quota system will never be in anybody’s best interest.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />G. Cumbersome process of dispute resolution</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is important to ease the process of dispute resolution as much as possible because doing so will enhance people’s confidence and interest in exploring the judicial process in resolving their conflicts instead of resorting to self-help or jungle justice.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />CONCLUSION</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The importance of a legal system that supports the citizens in the attainment of their goals and that makes the activities of government seamless cannot be over-emphasised. No efforts should be spared to ensure that the rule of law exists and that the citizens have equal access to justice irrespective of their social, economic or political status.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />The Nigerian laws must guarantee to everyone an environment that is free of criminalities and even if crimes occur, justice must be done and be seen to have been done. Culture of impunity must not be allowed to thrive. Criminal justice system must work properly for everyone and not just the rich and the politically-exposed persons. A situation where prisons are crowded and in fact, over-crowded by the poor must become a thing of the past. Every person accused of a crime must be held to account. This is the only way to assure every Nigerian that there is law in the country and that it works for all. Nigerian law must remain the last hope of the common man as well as that of the “uncommon” man, if there is at all such a man.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Sustainable development remains a mirage where there is no rule of law and access to justice. In the present globalised world, no country can afford to be an Island. Nigerian laws must encourage and be inviting to foreign investors. Legal mechanisms for resolution of disputes must be effective, while our court system must be upgraded to the international standards.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />As earlier submitted in this lecture, all the seventeen goals that make up the SDGs are connected to the workings of the legal system. Gender equality, reduced inequalities, sustainable cities and communities, and revitalised global partnership, in particular, are goals that require a good and effective legal system, like other goals, to evolve, endure, and thrive.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />As Nigeria embarks on the journey towards the attainment of all the goals by the year, 2030, it must also be alive to its obligations under international treaties and conventions that it has ratified. Under international law, countries are enjoined to faithfully commit to the implementation of international obligations and therefore, Nigeria cannot afford to be an exception. In fact, it remains a sacred and inviolable principle of international law that countries are bound by their international obligations as captured by the maxim, pacta sunt servanda.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is on record that as far back as 1985, Nigeria ratified the Convention on the Eradication of all forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, and 32 years after, gender-based discriminations are still visible everywhere. An example in particular is the prevalence of scarcity of women holding political positions in Nigeria which is clearly against the spirit and letters of the Convention. With the inception of the SDGs, it becomes much more imperative for Nigeria to comply with the provisions of the Convention and go a step further by domesticating it as required by Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In Nigeria, for an international treaty to be binding on the country and be locally enforceable, such treaty must be domesticated by the Nigerian National Assembly. It is my opinion that this constitutional provision is not in consonance with the principle of pacta sunt servanda. The options before the country, in this regard, is either to expunge this provision from the constitution and therefore makes international treaties automatically enforceable once ratified or to amend the constitution in such a way that an international treaty automatically becomes “domesticable” and must be domesticated once ratified. The implication of the latter option is that Nigeria may not ratify a treaty that does not have certainly of being immediately domesticated upon ratification. Of course, of what use is it to ratify a treaty without the citizens being able to enjoy it locally or without the government being bound by its provisions?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Lastly, it must be stressed that Nigeria cannot be regarded a State where the rule of law exists, if the government is not bound by the laws that it has made on its own. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act is a typical reference point here. In compliance with Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as provided also under the 1979 Constitution), the Nigerian government had domesticated the Charter as far back as 1981, yet Nigerians cannot enjoy the socio-economic rights that the Charter guarantees.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />This is 2017; the Nigerian government still does not see itself under an obligation to provide every Nigerian good education, quality medical care, employment, food, and housing and shelter as rights which citizens can enjoy. It remains the argument of the Nigerian government that these rights are not enforceable locally because the Constitution does not guarantee them as enforceable rights like those in the Chapter IV of the same Constitution. The question is – what about the Charter which the government had already domesticated and which guarantees these rights? One thing that is clear is that successive Nigerian governments find a plausible defence and excuse in Section 6 (6) (c) of the Constitution which pronounces all the similar socio-economic rights provided for under the Chapter II of the same Constitution as unenforceable. This is the precarious situation in our country. The Constitution provides for two different classes of rights – some in the Chapter II and some others in the Chapter IV. Those in the Chapter II (Sections 13 - 21) are tagged as “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy” and those in Chapter IV (Sections 33 - 46) are called “Fundamental Rights”. Those in the Chapter II, like the Charter, are the socio-economic rights which the same Constitution renders unenforceable, meaning that if the government does not provide for them to be enjoyed by the citizens, the citizens cannot take the government to court for their enforcement. The Chapter IV, on the other hand, are enforceable; they are regarded as political rights. If, for instance, a police officer, as a representative of government, arrests and detains a citizen, when that citizen has not committed any crime, the citizen may file an action in court for unlawful arrest and detention against the government and obtain an order of damages, among others, against the government for the violation of his or her right to personal liberty as guaranteed by Section 35 of the Constitution. However, this is not the case with another Nigerian citizen who has, for instance, a terminal ailment and expects the government to take care of him or her through the provision of necessary medical care. Such citizen cannot sue the government in order to obtain an order against the government which will compel the latter to be responsible for his or her hospital bill.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />But is Nigeria so poor that it cannot muster the financial resources to provide for those socio-economic rights? Nigeria, on account of natural, material, and human resources, is a rich nation but pervasive corruption, especially among the political office-holders, and lack of political will have stood on the way of Nigerians to the enjoyment of those rights. It has been argued by many that all those rights under the Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution are meaningless and unavailable to Nigerians as long as Nigerians do not have rights to food, health, education, and shelter. Of what meaning is right to life or movement to a hungry or sick man?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />It is in the context of the above that a call is made again on the Nigerian government to wake up to its responsibilities towards its citizens. Laws of the land must be respected by the government as well as the citizens. There must not be sacred cows. If the Nigerian government is truly committed to the attainment of the SDGs, especially as the Federal Government demonstrated through the strategic breaking down of the goals into three phases, that is 2016 – 2020, 2021- 2025, and 2026 – 2030, for ease of success, it must also be demonstrated by the government both locally and internationally that its commitment to the rule of law and promotion of access to justice is beyond equivocation.</span></span>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-87004677976204619972017-08-13T13:14:00.002-07:002017-08-13T13:14:49.215-07:00Nigeria’s Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 – What Is It And How Can We Make It Work For Us As Citizens?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;">The Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 was enacted by the Nigerian government for the benefits of all Nigerians. It was introduced to make our criminal justice system work better and faster, removing all the delays in the trial of criminal cases. Gone are the days when a criminal case would go on for years in court. For instance, it took the Lagos State Government 15 years to conclude the trial of Major Al-Mustapha, the former Chief Security Officer to the late Nigerian ruler, General Abacha, for the murder of Kudirat Abiola. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />It is generally acceptable that justice delayed is justice denied. What makes Major Al-Mustapha case noteworthy is that the court process was grossly abused. That is, the proceeding was deliberately but unnecessarily prolonged with the intention to frustrate the prosecution of the case. It is common knowledge that the rich and powerful are known to have used delay tactics to evade justice – much to the annoyance of good citizens. Well, ACJA was enacted to make abuse of our criminal justice system a thing of the past.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />ACJA aims to facilitate efficient and effective administration of criminal justice in the country by preventing police rights abuse and brutalities against citizens. Unlike the old days, ACJA also aims to ensure that while those who commit serious crime are sent to prison, less serious offenders are not put behind bars to clog up the prison system when can be better rehabilitated within the society. For these and other reasons that I’ll state later in this article, it is in our best interest to adequately understand and take steps that promote ACJA rather than entrusting it only to the police and the lawyers. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Yes, it is known that it is for the law-makers to make laws, the police and other law enforcement agents to implement the laws, and the lawyers to see to it that the law enforcement agents operate within the ambits of law. As citizens, whose rights the law aims to protect, it is our responsibility to ensure that all those who work within our criminal justice system perform their roles in accordance with ACJA. In doing so, we are participating in transforming our country into a just, fair and better place. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Civil societies that campaign for fair justice and fundamental rights protection also have a role to play in promoting ACJA and facilitating its effective implementation by those empowered to do so. To this end, CLEEN Foundation, a reputable Nigerian non-governmental organisation, inaugurated, on the 10th August 2017 at Abuja (Nigeria), a ten-member Civil Society Observatory Group on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria. The Group’s objectives are to monitor whether all public authorities that constitute ‘Nigerian Criminal Justice System’ are conducting their duties in accordance with ACJA and to report identified breaches of this law by the police, judiciary, the prisons and ministries of justice. The Group also has to observe and report what constitutes challenges and obstacles to the effective implementation of the law.<br /><br />Basically, the law introduces a lot of innovative provisions. Under the old laws, that is, the Criminal Procedure Act and Criminal Procedure Code, a criminal case may go on in court till ‘thy kingdom come’ before it gets concluded on account of endless and frivolous adjournments. Under ACJA, a court now has to hear a criminal case on a day-to-day basis and can only give a maximum of five adjournments while such a case lasts. Again, the law aims to put a stop to a practice, commonly seen among the law enforcement agents in Nigeria, of arresting an innocent family member in lieu of a suspect who cannot be found. Every citizen who is asked by the police to make a statement at a police station now has the right to enjoy the presence of his or her lawyer while doing so.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />These are just a tip of the goodies offered by ACJA. The point being made here is that nobody can afford to neglect this very important legislation. As a matter of fact, it's in the interest of all Nigerians to get familiar with its provisions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The question at this point is – how can we, as citizens, make this law work?<br /><br />Please, note the points highlighted below and make a commitment to any or some of them and you'll realise how kind you're to yourself and the society.<br /><br />1. Get a copy of the Act from a bookshop or download it for free online.<br /><br />2. Identify and get familiar with ACJA provisions that set out your rights and criminal justice processes and procedures.<br /><br />3. If you are private a citizen, assert those rights responsibly should event/circumstances require you to do so.<br /><br />4. If you are a law enforcement agent, prosecutor, adjudicator, defence lawyer, prison official, court staff, civil society player, and others, make sure you are familiar with the provision of the law that governs your authority and conduct your duty in accordance with the law.<br /><br />5. Tell others about this law.<br /><br />6. Join other voices to call for the adoption of ACJA (the Act) in your state, if your state has not already done so. Only about 15 states have Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) in Nigeria today.<br /><br />7. Try to understand that this law is meant to make our society crime-free by bringing perpetrators of crimes to justice in accordance with the due process of law and also to eradicate delay usually experienced in our criminal justice system.<br /><br />8. Note that even though ACJA is only applicable in federal courts and FCT, Abuja, it's binding on all federal institutions such as the police force. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />9. Don't encourage any breach of this law or cover up anyone who does otherwise.<br /><br />10. Realise that a commitment on your part to make this law work is a commitment to make Nigeria better.<br /><br />Nigeria is not a country bereft of good laws but implementation is often the problem. ACJA is another promising piece of legislation; let's collectively pledge to make it work.<br /><br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br /><br /><br />Written by Kehinde Adegbite Esq.<br /><br />Kehinde Adegbite Esq is a private legal practitioner based in Ibadan and a member of the Civil Society Observatory Group on the Administration of Criminal Justice in Nigeria.<br /><br />In case you have any report or experience you wish to share in relation to the implementation of ACJA, contact Kehinde on +234803-855-6525 or Blessing Abiri (CLEEN Foundation) on +234803-346-3309.</span>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-29291760666845484702017-07-24T21:58:00.000-07:002017-07-24T21:58:48.054-07:00How You Can Prevent The Nigeria Police From Abusing Your Rights (2)<span style="font-size: large;">You’ll recall that in the first part of this article, we have discussed what your rights are and the limits of the powers of the police. Now, let’s address what you can do whenever your rights are about to be breached or are being breached. In the third part, we’ll address what you can do where your rights are already breached.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br />What You Can Do If Your Rights Are About To Be Or Being Breached</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The case of Tola, my nephew, comes handy again. The police officer asked him to prove his ownership of the laptop found in the boot of his car or else he would be arrested and taken to the police station. At this point, my nephew was palpably upset but without allowing his voice to betray his emotions, he calmly and politely bombarded the officer with questions which he couldn’t answer.<br />He asked the officer to tell him which law he has breached by not producing the receipt of his laptop. He also charged the officer to tell him his offence and under which law. Without disclosing my identity, I just stood watching the drama between my nephew and the officer as it was unfolding. The officer couldn’t answer any of the questions and clearly appeared confused. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Before I knew what was happening, his looks suddenly changed and he became more furious but he never did what I envisaged at that point. In a sudden twist of events, the officer shouted at my nephew and asked him to carry his laptop and go away with his trouble. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />How You Can Prevent Your Rights From Being Breached</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />It may interest you to know that my nephew is not a lawyer, yet he was able to successfully challenge the policeman to re-claim his rightful property without my intervention, which heightens my respect for him. And it gladdens my heart to know, by his own admission, that leisurely reading online articles at wwww.kennyadegbite.blogspot.com has served to improve his awareness of Nigeria laws and how to use them to achieve justice. The journey to a ‘Fair and Just’ Nigeria continues – get on board!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Section 36 (12) of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, states that nobody can be punished for any offence, unless the offence is clearly defined and its punishment prescribed in a written law. My nephew undoubtedly knows this principle of law and that’s the principle he put to test in his encounter with the police officer.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Take, for instance, in defining what act amounts to rape and the punishment to be imposed upon the conviction of anyone charged with it, Section 357 of the Criminal Code states that a man is guilty of rape if he has carnal knowledge of a woman or girl without her consent or if her consent is obtained through the use of force or by pretending to be her husband.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Section 358 imposes a penalty of a maximum of life imprisonment for anyone tried and found guilty of rape.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />If an officer can’t tell you your offence upon arrest with particulars as to under which law the offence is contained, it’s most likely whatever you’re arrested for is not a crime under the law.<br />Like my nephew, police harass people unnecessarily even when they have done no wrong under the law. There is no Nigerian law that requires people to go about with the receipts of their personal effects. Police would also have no legal justification to enquire for receipts of personal effects from anybody when there is no complaint of theft against an individual. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Many young persons have been arrested and only released after they must have been extorted for having tattoos on their bodies. Is it an offence to wear tattoos? So also are many cases of arrest and detention of young persons for being in possession of exotic mobile phones.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Police harassments, intimidations, and rights abuses will continue as long as people don’t know their rights. Therefore, to prevent human rights abuses by the police, you have to know your rights and how to assert your rights appropriately. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most times when police officers know that somebody knows his or her rights are usually careful.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />In the third part of this article which is the last part, I’ll be discussing when you may resort to court to salvage your rights.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">(c) Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq </span><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-21409599258284168832017-07-19T05:02:00.000-07:002017-07-19T05:02:49.761-07:00How You Can Prevent The Nigeria Police From Abusing Your Rights<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do you know that you have the legal right to challenge certain actions of the police? Yes, the police have powers to arrest and detain persons committing, suspected or reported to have committed a crime, to maintain law and order, and to protect lives and property but their powers are not absolute - they MUST act both responsibly and within the law. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Sadly, publicised reports of the Nigerian police abusing their powers are all too common in our society. Many of us have had unfortunate encounter with police officers who think the law does not apply to them. These crops of crooked police officers use their uniform not only to intimidate; they also extort money and personal properties from hard-working Nigerians. Of course, there are few good officers within the Nigeria police rank and they deserve our commendation. The focus of this article is on what you can do to protect yourself, family and friends from the crooked police officers when circumstance calls for it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />This point is better illustrated by sharing my own personal experience with a crooked policeman and the outcome. It was a Friday evening, my nephew, Tola, was driving to Lagos for a wedding celebration we’ve both been invited to. I sat in the passenger seat, fastened my seat belt and Tola started the eventful drive to Lagos. Barely 30 minutes into our journey, this policeman stopped our car for no justifiable reason and proceeded to search the car. For the discerning readers, this begs the question, is it lawful for a police officer to stop and search the car in the first place? This valid question will be addressed in subsequent part of this article.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Back to the car, at all times, I closely observed what the policeman was doing and made sure I recorded his action on my phone as video evidence, should it be required in court. As the policeman search got to the boot, his face suddenly lit up with glee when he sighted Tola’s laptop in the boot of his car. “Where is the receipt for this laptop?” He shouted with an oppressive voice. Seconds after the initial shock of the policeman’s inappropriate conduct and question, Tola asserted himself against the policeman’s blatant abuse of power. The challenge was on. <br /><br />One would be right to ask the question, does the policeman have power to demand for a receipt of a personal property found in your possession in the absence of a report that it is stolen? Another valid question would be, is there any law that requires us to have personal properties receipt with us at all times? And is unwillingness/inability to produce a receipt an offence? If the answer to all or any of these questions is yes, Tola must be in trouble. Thankfully, the police do not have these powers and Tola was well briefed on how to challenge police abuse. That helped him to beat the unnecessary police stress and to keep his property without paying a kobo to the police. You can do this too. Just invest few minutes of your time to know your rights. It is intended that this article serves to show you the way.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />As a Nigerian citizen, if a police officer abuses his/her powers and your rights are violated in the process, you have the right to challenge such actions in accordance with due process of law. The crooked police officers know many of us are ignorant of how to challenge the abuse and they are taking advantage of it. When informed citizens appropriately exercise their rights to challenge police abuse, they help to make police officers act responsibly and our societies are better for it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />This article is - to tell you the extent of the powers of the police and your rights under the Nigerian law. In a follow-up article, I’ll let you know what you can do on your own to prevent abuse of your rights including the details of how my nephew’s case was resolved, and in the third part of the article, I’ll reveal how you can use the court process as a last resort to remedy assault on your rights.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />For you to be able to understand your rights vis-à-vis the powers of the police, the five points below are what you need to know.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />1. <b>What Are Your Rights?</b></span></span><br />
<b></b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />The rights that the Constitution provides for are –<br /> a. right to life<br /> b. right to dignity of human person<br /> c. right to personal liberty<br /> d. right to fair hearing<br /> e. right to private and family life<br /> f. right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion<br /> g. right to freedom of expression and the press<br /> h. right to peaceful assembly and association<br /> i. right to freedom of movement<br /> j. right to freedom from discrimination<br /> k. right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria<br />l. right to compensation in case of compulsory acquisition of private property by government.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />For the sake of this write-up, emphasis will be placed on right to personal liberty because this is the right that’s most commonly infringed upon by the police in the course of performing their duties.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />2. <b>How Arrest Should Be Carried Out And When A Person May Be Arrested By The Police </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />By Section 4 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 (ACJA), an arrest is made by touching or confining the body of a person except if the person to the custody of the officer making the arrest by word or action. It’s not compulsory that a person can only be arrested with a warrant of arrest. Where a person is committing an offence in the presence of a police officer or is running away immediately after committing an offence, no warrant is required for the arrest of such person. A warrant of arrest is usually required where a report of commission is made against a person after the person has already committed the offence. A warrant of arrest, where required, may be utilised on any day including Sundays and public holidays.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />According to Section 35 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, anybody arrested by the police should be informed of his or her right to remain silent or not to answer any questions put to him or her until the person has consulted his or her lawyer or any other person of his/her choice. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />A person arrested or detained also has the right to be charged to a court of law within 24 hours or at most 48 hours so that he/she may know the reason for the arrest or detention. If the police fail to do this, it’s a clear case of right violation which the affected person has the right to challenge in a court of law. The person must be informed in any language that he/she understands of any offence committed by him or her.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Therefore, whenever anybody is arrested and the police don’t inform the person at the point of arrest the offence committed by the person, it’s a breach of that person’s right and a disregard for the Constitution.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />3. <b>The Police Have No Power To Arrest Somebody Else In Place Of Another Person</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />The police have no power to arrest a parent, spouse or any other person in place of another person simply because the person who allegedly commits a crime can’t be found. It’s a clear case of right abuse and disregard for the rule of law whenever anybody is arrested in this manner.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Again, a police officer is not permitted by law to beat or torture any person in the police custody in relation to any offence allegedly committed by that person, no matter the gravity of the offence hanging on the neck of such alleged law-breaker. <br />If a person is beaten in order to force a confession out of that person, such confession is unacceptable in a court of law, if challenged by the maker.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />4. <b>Your Right To Be Released On Bail</b></span></span><br />
<b></b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Bail is a right of every Nigerian who is arrested or detained by the police to be allowed to go home and return either to a police station or a court whenever his/her attention is needed or his/her case is coming up in court. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Bail can be granted either by the police or the court. If a person is arrested by the police, the person may be released on bail even before the case is referred to a court. However, the police can only release any person on bail, if the offence allegedly committed by such person is not a serious one. For instance, a person alleged of stealing, conduct likely to cause breach of peace, and burglary may be released on bail by the police. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />However, in the case of persons alleged of committing serious offences like rape, arson, robbery, armed robbery, and murder, only a High Court can give them bail. High Courts may also release a person on bail, if, though the case is already in court, trial doesn’t commence on time. Conditions are usually attached to the grant of bail so as to ensure that the person released on bail appears whenever he or she is needed. Conditions of bail may include the production of one or two persons as sureties and may also include a pledge of a specified sum of money. In some cases, however, a person may be released on bail on personal recognition. Any person detained and not brought before a court within two or three months must, by virtue of Section 35 (4) of the Constitution, be released conditionally or unconditionally. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />If a person is released on bail and the person fails to appear in court or at a police station when his or her attention is needed, such person is regarded to have jumped bail and may lose his or her bail by being re-arrested and detained again, if found.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />If, however, a person released on bail runs away and cannot be found, any person who stands as surety for such runaway suspect or accused person may have to be summoned by a court and be asked to provide reasons why he or she should not lose any amount of money pledged for the bail. If, on the other hand, it’s the police that granted such bail, they may arrest the surety and bring him or her before a court of law before anything pledged as a condition (s) for the bail can be forfeited to the government.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />5. <b>Can The Police Be Involved In A Contractual Dispute?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />The police have no power to meddle in a civil matter. A civil matter is a matter that doesn’t have any element of crime. For instance, if a person owes another person some money, it’s a civil matter and therefore, it’s wrong to use the police to collect the money or to intimidate the debtor so as to make him or her pay. It is also wrong for the police to ask such person to sign any undertaking in relation to the indebtedness.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />Watch out for my next article where I’ll be talking about what you can do on your own to prevent abuse of your rights.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">(c) Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq<br /></span></span>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-15492061791539543382017-06-09T23:04:00.002-07:002021-07-22T22:09:49.243-07:00The Lessons of Alfred and Gani<div style="text-align: justify;">This has little to do with their professions but more with a decision they once took. The core of the lessons of their lives lies in what they did while alive but which only has effect after their death. What they did is a dread to many people especially in Africa.<br />
<br />Alfred Nobel lived between 1833 and 1896. Alfred was a Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, and armament manufacturer with over 300 patents to his credit. He was renowned for the invention of dynamite and other powerful explosives. Gani Fawehinmi, on the other hand, lived between 1938 and 2009. He was a Nigerian lawyer, human rights activist, politician, and publisher.<br /></div><div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although Gani passed on in 2009, his name lives on not because he left children behind who continue to bear his name but because even in death, he’s still “working” and affecting lives positively. Like Alfred, Gani immortalised his name through his Last Will and Testament. Till this moment, most Africans haven’t realised the importance of writing a Will and the wonders they can perform through this legal instrument.<br /><br />Painfully, most Africans believe that the surest way for any person to immortalise his or her name is by having children who will continue to bear their names after death. It’s so bad in some cases that the emphasis is not just on having children but having many of them, never bothered about the care or education that should be given to such children.<br /></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Civilised people have long learnt how to live after death, of course not only by leaving children behind but also by continuing to make contributions to human happiness and development even in death. Most times you don’t hear about the children of such men and women yet their legacies live endlessly after them.<br />
<br />The Alfred Nobel’s example is outstanding. That’s the name behind the Nobel Foundation, popularly known as the Nobel Prize. While Alfred lived, in spite of all his inventions and patents as well as his enormous wealth, he wasn’t highly regarded among his Swedish people. In 1888, something happened and this was the turning point. A French newspaper mistakenly published his obituary instead of that of his brother, Ludvig, who passed on. Alfred read his own obituary titled “The Merchant of Death Is Dead”, and beneath this heading were these words, “Alfred Nobel, who became rich by finding ways to kill more people faster than ever before, died yesterday.” Yes, Alfred was the scientist who discovered dynamite which was used to exterminate multitude of human beings faster than ever before during armed conflicts but through his Last Will, his legacy later overshadows his erstwhile bad reputation.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You expect Alfred to be outraged by the obituary and file a law suit against the newspaper for defamation and claim millions of pounds sterling? He did none of that. He simply revised his Last Will and Testament. In his revised Will, he determined to redeem his image and reputation and this led him giving a bulk of his wealth to the setting up of the Nobel Foundation. From 1901 to date, the Foundation has awarded the world’s most prestigious prizes to exceptional achievers in literature, science, medicine, economics, and peace. Why Wole Soyinka, for instance, is known worldwide today may not be unconnected to the decision that Alfred took decades before the first African winner of the Nobel Prize in literature was born.<br />
<br />What Alfred did is outstanding but it’s by no means uncommon in the Western world. What Gani did, on the other hand, is not a common story in Africa. Gani’s Will is a document worthy of memorial status and celebration in itself. Africans shouldn’t just be remembered by their names because they are survived by children. They should have a bigger picture of a cause that would endure into far distant future on the basis of its benefits to humanity.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In his Will, Gani comprehensively took care of his family members and extended his generousity to other Nigerians and the human race in general.<br />He set up a public library in his Will and that’s a unique gift after the death of one of the greatest lawyers to have ever come out of Africa. It’s a great gift to the course of scholarship and national development. Anytime you’re in Lagos, take time to visit Gani Fawehinmi Library and Gallery located at Nigerian Law Publications House, Jobi Fele Way, C.B.D., Alausa, Ikeja or if you prefer to make a virtual visit, the web address is http://www.ganifawehinmilibandgallery.com When you do, you’ll appreciate the enormity of what he did with his Will.<br />
<br />In the developed climes, it’s customary to write your Will, while in Africa, it’s seen as a bad omen to think of writing it. It’s erroneously believed that when a person writes his or her Will, the person may be nursing a premonition of death or die early. Some others believe that the idea of writing a Will is unAfrican, while some think the legal document is only meant for the extremely wealthy ones like Aliko Dangote and Mohamed Mansor.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of these beliefs, if not all, are nothing more than fallacies. Long before the Africans had contact with the white colonialists, the idea of leaving inheritance for one’s descendants has been with the black people. The only thing alien that the whites brought was to put it in writing. Before then, it was done orally.<br />
<br />The late Chief F.R.A. Williams, a first-class Nigerian lawyer of his time, wrote his Will in 1954 at age of 34 and passed on in 2005 at 85. This is just one and there are a few others. There is nothing to prove that writing a Will brings death to the writer earlier than it would’ve been, if no Will had been written. In this modern age, the idea of writing a Will has become universal and Africans can’t afford calling it a foreign concept. Having a Will provides the writer the opportunity to express his last wishes on issues that are dear to him or her. For instance, conflict that may arise on place of burial will be avoided when the writer clearly states where he/she wants to be buried.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div>While every life has an expiry date, Alfred’s Foundation and Gani’s Library live on!<br />
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</div><div><br /> </div><div><i><b>This article is written by Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq and previously published in the May Edition of African Peace Magazine</b></i><br /></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-7485953926904569632017-06-09T13:32:00.002-07:002021-07-22T21:32:45.708-07:00God in the Public Space and the Nigerian Constitution<div style="text-align: justify;">It appears anytime we try to solve one problem in Nigeria, we end up creating more problems and leave the original problem partly solved or totally unsolved. Why did I say so? Before the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria, we have no record to say that a government or any religious group was calling or lobbying for the adoption of a particular religion as our national religion. So, why was Section 10 introduced into the 1979 Constitution for the first time in the constitutional history of Nigeria by the Constituent Assembly of 1977-78? Was it introduced to make Nigeria a secular state? Was the section squarely introduced to prevent any government from ever imposing one religion on the Nigerian people or making it a theocracy? If the latter was the intention of the drafters of the Constitution, does Section 10 also forbid spending of state funds on religious matters by any Nigerian government or state involvement in religious affairs? Was it introduced in response to the agitation to give the Sharia Court of Appeal a national recognition in our Constitution which came up for the first time during this period as opposed to the erstwhile 1963 Republican Constitution that confined the existence of the Court to the Northern region?<br /></div><div>
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After the Constitution Debate Coordinating Committee set up by a former Head of State, retired General Abdulsalam Abubakar, in 1998 reviewed the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria and found it suitable for adoption as the new Constitution to usher democracy afresh into Nigeria, it decided to update it and re-christen it as the 1999 Constitution. It is therefore little wonder, like so many other sections, that Section 10 in the old 1979 Constitution resurfaces also as Section 10 in the current 1999 Constitution of our country. Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution states: “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.”<br />
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Our ability to decode what Section 10 really means as well as to define the scope of its application will help us to provide answers to some or all the questions raised above. However, it has remained a herculean task to find answers to all these questions as scholars, policy-makers, commentators, and other persons have ascribed different interpretations to the section. What does Section 10 mean?<br /></div><div>
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Unfortunately, no other section of the Constitution supplies us with any clues as to what it means and therefore, the section has been a subject of speculations and subjective interpretations. As if to compound the problem, no court in Nigeria has ever interpreted it, at least not to the knowledge of this writer. In order to overcome this challenge, the only choice that we have in the circumstance is to look at the plain meanings of the wordings of the section. I am of the opinion that the section simply means that no government in Nigeria, especially the federal and state governments, shall introduce any religion as the official religion of the people. Prohibition of an official state religion without more is not enough to tag Nigeria a secular state, although non-existence of a national religion is an important feature of a secular state. It is also correct to say that no state can claim to be secular, while it has an officially recognised national religion like Pakistan and Bangladesh.<br />
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However, some people interpret the section to mean that Nigeria is a secular state, while some others argue that Nigeria is not secular but a multi-religious state. A country is either a secular or theocratic state; almost all countries of the world are, as a matter of fact, multi-religious. Only few are mono-religious such as Saudi-Arabia and the Vatican where the citizens are 98%, if not 100%, Muslims or Christians. If the drafters of our Constitution had wanted a secular country, they would have made it clear. How would they have wanted a secular state with a constitution having a preamble that reads, “TO LIVE in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble Sovereign Nation under God…”? Apart from the fact that neither the federal government nor a state government has passed a law or made an official policy declaring a religion as the national or state religion, the section has not helped in any other way to tackle the secularity argument nor has it resulted in taking religion out of our public life. It is even doubtful if the drafters of the Constitution ever intended to prevent government involvement in religious matters in the first place. I think all that the drafters wanted was to prevent the adoption of any religion as the official religion or the turning of the country to a theocratic state. And even if they intended to prevent the rate at which governments at all levels are now involved in religious matters, unfortunately, that intention is not manifest anywhere in the Constitution just as the intention of a secular state cannot be inferred anywhere in the Constitution.<br /></div><div>
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The fact that no previous Nigerian Constitution before 1979 had a similitude of Section 10 compels one to ask why, what prompted its introduction? Unfortunately, available records do not provide any answer. However, there are reports of heated debates and serious anxieties over the agitation for the introduction of Sharia Court of Appeal into the constitution between 1977 and 1978 while the Constituent Assembly was considering the draft constitution that a previous body, the Constitution Drafting Committee, (1976-77) had submitted to it. The Northern Muslim delegates had demanded that Sharia Court of Appeal should be created in all states of the federation through the constitution with a Federal Sharia Court of Appeal to act as the Supreme Court on Sharia matters. In previous Constitutions, Sharia Court of Appeal was restricted to the Northern region. The Southern delegates who were mostly Christians opposed the demand on the basis that Nigeria was a secular state. This was at a time when nothing like Section 10 had been written previously into any constitution in the country. The Northern Muslim delegates threatened a walk out and maintained that “no Sharia, no Nigeria”. Eventually, the impasse was resolved through a compromise tagged “the 1978 Solution”. It was the 1978 Solution that brought the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State and that of the Federal Capital Territory into the Nigerian Constitution for the first time but it was/is still only for a state that requires it and the jurisdiction of the court is limited to civil matters such as marriage, succession, and divorce involving Muslims or non-Muslims who consent. Whether this incident has anything to do with the incursion of Section 10 into our Constitution is still not clear.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
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Late Chief Rotimi Williams, SAN, one of the drafters of the 1979 Constitution in his lecture titled, “Christians and the Sharia Issue” in 2002, said, “Nigeria has a substantial moslem (sic) population but it is not an Islamic State. It is a secular state in accordance with the provisions of our Constitution. It cannot be otherwise unless there is a forcible imposition of the religion of Islam on the non-muslims (sic) of this country.” With great respect to the eminent lawyer, his assertion that Nigeria is a secular state is not different from what other persons who share the same opinion have said. Calling Nigeria a secular state without any evidence to back it up other than Section 10 cannot make the country one, no matter how many times it is said or who says it.<br /><br />
Section 10 would have been much more useful and meaningful, if it had been more elaborate so that we will know what it actually means and the scope of what either the federal or state government can do or not do in relation to religion. The section does not mention local government tier at all as if it does not exist or as if that tier of government is not capable of doing what the section tries to prevent. But that is even another issue on its own which should better be reserved for a different discourse. As it is, the section is only clear and unambiguous to the point that it forbids the imposition of any religion on the people and nothing more.<br /></div>
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What does a secular state mean? A secular state is simply a country where government is neutral on religious matters. The concept of secular state is usually employed as a tool to prevent religious persecution or domination in a multi-religious setting like Nigeria. By the nature of Nigeria’s plural religious make-up, one of the best remedies against religious acrimony, mutual suspicion among various religious interests, and government involvement in matters of faiths is a secular system. Unfortunately, Nigeria is, by law and practice, not a secular State.<br />
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However, being a secular state does not mean that such state must not recognise religion at all. It does not also mean that citizens’ right to freedom of religion and worship will not be recognised. It is not an irreligious or Godless state. Right to freedom of religion is a universal right, though in theocratic states like Saudi-Arabia religious right is seriously curtailed. Muslims cannot change their faith, while non-Muslims must not openly profess or preach their faith. While a secular state will not use state funds to support religious activities, will not identify with any religion and may not allow religious education in its schools, citizens have right to practise their religions as they like within the limits of law. Anyway, absolute rights exist nowhere, not even in a non-secular state like Nigeria.<br /></div><div>
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Contrary to the argument that Nigeria could not have been a secular state without the use of the word “secular” anywhere in our Constitution, it is possible to have a secular state without the word “secular” found anywhere in the Constitution, although it is better with it. What is important is the intention manifested in the constitution but such is not the case with Nigeria. Where intentions of the drafters of a statute are unclear, judicial authorities may resort to the mischief rule of interpreting laws which allows them to put into account the rationale and history behind a law or statutory provisions in order to give effect to the intentions of the lawmakers. Unfortunately again, there is no account of any history behind the introduction of Section 10 into the 1979 Constitution, now in Section 10 of the 1999 Constitution. However, I reiterate my conviction that the wordings of Section 10 are clear and the intention which can be inferred from it is that the drafters intended to prohibit adoption of any religion as a state religion in Nigeria.<br />
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The debate whether Nigeria is secular or not usually takes religious dimension, given that the two dominant religions in the country, Christianity and Islam, and their adherents are often at each other’s throats. The argument that Nigeria is secular is more attractive to the Christians, while the reverse position is more appealing to the Muslims. The impression that such divide portrays is that Islam is incompatible with secularism, while the Christians believe that the only safeguard they have against Islamisation and domination within the Nigerian space is secularism. It is often posited by the Muslims that Nigeria is a multi-religious state and not secular. The Muslims are right to the point that Nigeria is not a secular state but I strongly believe that one of the things that can make Nigeria better, a country devoid of religious acrimony and rivalry, is a true system of secularism, adopted through the amendment of our Constitution. This is the only guarantee that our country has against unhealthy and over-religionised public space that pervades our lives. For secularism to sanitise our public space, both government and civil societies will need to embark on deliberate enlightenment programs designed to make the people embrace acceptable and civilised ways of exercising religious right in a secular environment. When Nigeria is truly secularised, both the Muslims and the Christians, are sure to lose a number of privileges. Religious houses in public institutions will have to close up as well as the stoppage of government involvement in holy pilgrimages. The unwritten rule that if a president is a Muslim, vice-president must be a Christian must equally stop. These are just few instances of the foray of religion into the Nigerian public space. Secular societies protect religious right to the extent that the right is exercised within the confines of law, public order, and decency.<br /></div><div>
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India provides a perfect example of a secular state for Nigeria to copy. Unlike the preamble to the Nigerian Constitution, the preamble to the 92nd Amended Constitution of India reads, “WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure all its citizens…” As if to further demonstrate its resolve for secularism, Article 25 of the Indian Constitution states, “(1) Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this Part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion. (2) Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the State from making any law – (a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice… ”<br />
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There is nothing more fallacious than the claim that Islam is incompatible with secularism. Some countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, though dominated by Muslim population, have vindicated the position that a Muslim country can embrace secular governance. Two shining examples of such countries are Turkey and Senegal. It is common knowledge that most countries dominated by Christians are usually secular. Even if some of them are not fully secular, they certainly do not parade religion in the public arena the way we do in Nigeria. If Muslims in some countries can embrace secularism, Nigerian Muslims cannot afford to view the concept of secularism as if it is anti-Islam. Secularism is the only way to go in a multi-religious setting.<br />
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Turkey is reputed to be 99% Muslims, yet it is a secular country. Paragraph 5 of the preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey reads, “That no protection shall be accorded to an activity contrary to Turkish national interests, Turkish existence and the principles of its indivisibility with its State and territory, historical and moral values of Turkishness; nationalism, principles, reforms and civilisationism of Ataturk and that sacred religious feelings shall absolutely not be involved in state affairs and politics as required by the principle of secularism.” Article 2 of its Constitution also states, “The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state governed by rule of law…” The words “Islam” or “Sharia” or any religion are found nowhere in the Turkish Constitution.<br /></div><div>
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What will Nigeria lose by becoming a secular state? It has a few things to lose but a lot more to gain. Having stated that one of the antidotes to perennial religious conflicts is secularism which, for me, is a huge benefit, it is necessary to consider a few things that will have to change once secularism is embraced as it should in Nigeria. Some existing Nigerian laws tainted with religious influences, either Christianity or Islam, will have to be reviewed and brought in compliance with secular principles. For instance, the Nigerian anti-same sex marriage law may have to be reversed because a secular state will not outlaw an act on account of religious sensibilities. The Penal Code which applies in the Northern part will have to be reviewed. Adultery and alcoholic consumption which are offences under the Code will have to be decriminalised. The place of Sharia law in a secular Nigeria will also have to be reconsidered. Even if the civil aspect of Sharia law is allowed to stay, the criminal aspect will be totally incompatible with secularism. As the Nigerian Constitution is today with its non-secular, or at best quasi-secular, status, the 1999-decision of Zamfara State and other states like it remains a serious violation of the Constitution which disallows the implementation of the criminal aspect of Sharia law. Although Sharia law has been in the Northern Nigeria even long before the advent of colonialism, its criminal aspect had been stopped for decades before the Zamfara State Government re-introduced it.<br />
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In a secular Nigeria, the wearing of religious dresses is not likely to remain as it is now. There are cases of Muslim women who now wear a veil that covers their faces completely in public places such as schools, hospitals, and other government establishments. While I am of the opinion that all the court judgments which interpreted the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion to include the right of Muslim women to wear their religious veils in public space are justified under the present state of the Nigerian Constitution, I strongly believe that they cannot stand in a secular Nigeria. However, wearing of such religious dresses may be allowed in public places under a secular system as long as those who wear them are not public servants or students in public schools.<br />
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Most European countries are secular, despite their huge Christian population. Secularism now gains popularity and acceptance widely in Europe because of the monumental havoc which the fusion of church and state had once wrecked in that part of the world. Between 1618 and 1648, there was a bloody war in Europe. The war had its root causes in the involvement of church and religious leaders in the political leadership of Europe with the aftermath of widespread religious oppression and persecution of fringe religious sects. At the end of the 30-year war, the Peace of Westphalia was signed and it was this that marked the birth of secularism in Europe. This is Europe that still has religious demographics of 70% Christians and 30% of other religions. A repeat of such protracted religious war has not occurred in Europe since 1648 largely because of the separation that now exists between the church and the state. A multi-religious country like Nigeria where demographics of the Christians and the Muslims are reportedly put at 45% and 50% respectively with a pocket of other faiths needs secularism much more and in fact, urgently so! What is needed in a secular state is not the absence of individuals’ right to practise their faith but the curtailment of state involvement in matters of religion and prohibition of the use of state apparatus to advance the cause of any particular religious creed.<br />
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It, therefore, does no harm to us, if our Sections 10 and 38 are amended. New Section 10 should read thus, “The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a secular state and the State shall not be associated with any religion but shall actively protect the right of all citizens and persons to hold and practise the religion of their choice subject to such limits that this Constitution or other laws may stipulate”. Our Section 38, on the other hand, which deals with right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and which currently has four subsections will have to be amended by creating a new subsection (5) to read, “Nothing in this section shall entitle any person to carry on his or her religion in a manner inconsistent with democratic values and secular principles which form the foundations of our national life.” With these amendments, Nigeria shall become a true secular state even if the preamble to the Constitution is left as it is.<br />
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<br /><b><i> </i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i> This article by Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq was originally published on www.ikengachronicles.com on May 15, 2017.</i></b></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-7562722444003638242017-06-09T13:15:00.002-07:002021-07-22T21:34:40.579-07:00The Indivisibility of Nigeria, the Biafra Agitation, and the Law<div>“Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Section 2 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria<br />
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Since independence in 1960, no section of the country has agitated for separate existence more than the Igbos, but they were not the first ethnic group to make such demand. Isaac Adaka Boro, an Ijaw man, led a sizeable number of his Ijaw people to wage war against the government of Nigeria when the late General Aguiyi Ironsi, an Igbo, was the Head of State. He did this in order to carve out an independent republic for the Ijaw people of the Niger Delta. His troops were defeated and Boro, along with some of his lieutenants, was tried and convicted of treason.<br /></div><div>
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Another incident that was close to the waging of war against the federal government was the treasonable trial of the foremost leader of the Yoruba, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and a number of his followers. The allegation against Awolowo was that he attempted to forcefully overthrow the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, though not an attempt to carve an independent state for the Yoruba out of the country as Boro attempted.<br />
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However, the most far-reaching attempt at secession was the one led by late Col. Chukwuemeka Ojukwu between 1967 and 1970. The Federal Military Government under the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, defeated the Biafran forces and today, the ethnic enclave regarded as Biafra is still part of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nevertheless, discontents, agitations, and complaints of injustice and marginalisation against Nigeria as presently constituted by different ethnic and regional groups that make up the country have not stopped.<br /></div><div>
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There are groups in Yoruba land that have been calling for the restructuring of the country for many years, and ethnic groups in other parts of the country are making their demands too, but none has been more vociferous in their call for the dismemberment of Nigeria and creation of a separate and independent country than the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) under the leadership of Mr Nnamdi Kanu. It should be stated that while IPOB enjoys a substantial following in the Southeast of Nigeria, it is not the official mouthpiece of the region, unlike when Col. Ojukwu, as the Military Governor of the region, declared the State of Biafra in 1967. The region now has five states, namely Abia, Imo, Enugu, Anambra, and Ebonyi. Each of the states has its constituted authority. Till this moment, the governments of these states have not declared their intention to leave the federation nor demanded a separate entity out of Nigeria for their region.<br />
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In the light of the IPOB agitation, the question that arises is this: is secession lawful, whether under the Nigerian law or international law?<br />
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The Nigerian Constitution, the supreme law of the land, states that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be indivisible and indissoluble. The meaning is clear and unambiguous - secession is unlawful! But a question that readily comes to mind is: if a section of the country wishes to leave the federation, is it an offence or how can such a section achieve its wish? Although the Nigerian law does not declare secession an offence, it is also not a lawful act. It is an established fact that, by virtue of the Constitution, no action constitutes an offence, unless it is defined as one in a written law with punishment prescribed. So, as long as secession is not stated to be an offence under any law in Nigeria, charging any person with it may not be more than an exercise in futility. Secession is only unlawful because the Constitution forbids attempts to dismember the Nigerian federation. However, no law provides a criminal consequence for an attempt by any section or group to secede. Anyway, there is no record of any country in the world where secession is criminalised.<br />
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In spite of the anti-secession posture of the Nigerian Constitution, secession can still occur in Nigeria. There are two ways by which this can happen, lawfully and unlawfully. First, the Constitution may be amended by creating conditions to be fulfilled by any component part that may wish to break away from the federation or by removing the words “indivisibility” and “indissolubility” from the Constitution. Second, through armed struggle, though unlawful, a region or section that wants to secede may achieve its goal. This is certainly a repeat of the civil war which will not be in the best interest of either the secessionist region or the rest of the country. The latter option is clearly a criminal act and the secessionist forces will be liable to criminal prosecutions and punishments, unless they succeed in their attempt to secede.<br />
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It will be recalled that the immediate past president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, while setting up the National Conference of 2014, declared deliberations on the re-negotiation of the continued existence of Nigeria as a no-go area for the delegates. In fact, such stance was not peculiar to the Jonathan-led administration; successive Nigerian governments have consistently maintained the same position, proclaiming the unity of Nigeria as non-negotiable. The implicit implication of retaining the “indivisibility and indissolubility” clause in our Constitution is that it empowers the Federal Government to muster all efforts to counter any component part or group that ever attempts to dismember the country. However, it is imperative to note that nothing is as desirable as giving Nigerians the opportunity to discuss and agree on the conditions and terms of their togetherness. Anything short of that portends a frightening future for the country.<br />
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In view of the position maintained earlier in this article, a question that is likely to linger in the mind of a careful reader is: if secession is not an offence, why is the federal government putting Mr Kanu and his colleagues on trial for their secessionist agenda?<br />
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The simple answer is that Mr. Kanu and his colleagues are standing criminal trial for treasonable felonies and some other offences. If such words as “secession” or “proclamation of the Republic of Biafra” appear in the charges against them, it has to be in relation to acts of violence or threats of violence or unlawful possession of firearms in the course of their agitation for the Republic of Biafra. Secession in itself, for the sake of emphasis, is neither an offence nor a treason or treasonable felony under the Nigerian law as long as violence or possession of firearms is not involved. Section 41 of the Criminal Code Act, when closely read and accorded its ordinary meaning, does not criminalise secession. Rather, the Section criminalises intention or plan to overthrow a constituted authority such as the president or a governor. Secession does not have to involve overthrow of government or waging of war. However, I am equally aware that Kanu and his men are being tried under the same Section 41 and for this reason, I will not say anything more because it offends the principle of sub judice for me to do so.<br />
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Having discussed secession under the Nigerian law, I now move on to international law. International law represents statutes that set up certain international and regional organisations to which Nigeria is a member, such as international human rights treaties, conventions and the like. Those who argue in support of the existence of the right to secede under international law have always relied on the right to self-determination under some international treaties like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Nigeria, though a member of the international community and signatory to a number of treaties, operates a dualist system, which means that no international treaty enjoys any status of enforceability within its territory, unless such a treaty has been domesticated by the National Assembly. One of the few treaties that have been so far domesticated is the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Article 20 of the Charter, in particular, provides for the right to self-determination. But what does this right mean? Does it include right to secede?<br />
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There is an extensive literature on the meaning and scope of the right to self-determination. Three interpretations are prevalent. One, it means the right of every State to self-rule. This applies to countries that are still subject to foreign domination or colonial rule. Two, it means the right of people in every country to participate in their own government. And three, it means the right of an oppressed and victimised people or ethnic group within an independent country to exit such State and form their own government. This is called a right to remedial secession under international law. This has played out in Eritrea which seceded from Ethiopia, Kosovo from Serbia, and South Sudan from Sudan. However, these countries only succeeded after many years of war and victimisation from their own parent countries. Can we say that the Igbo people have suffered deprivations and flagrant human rights violations from the Nigerian State which could be likened to the case of South Sudan or Kosovo? It is not entirely clear.<br />
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It is generally believed by many Nigerians, especially among those who are not of the Igbo extraction, that the deprivations and sufferings prevalent in Igbo land are replica of what the people of other ethnic groups are also experiencing. The failure of the Nigerian State is attributable squarely to the failure of leadership and pervasive corruption. There is little evidence to support the assertion that the people of the Eastern Nigeria have been singled out for persecution, human rights abuses, and other acts of injustice. The Igbo people are the ones ruling themselves in the Southeast, no imposition of rulers on them of persons outside their ethnic background and indigenes of the region are equally members of the federal government. For instance, Dr Ike Ekweremadu, the current Deputy Senate President, is an Igbo. The Igbo people, like other ethnic groups, have always occupied key positions in government at different times. To that extent, it cannot be said that the conditions that should precede agitation for break-up are in place. This is important if a break-away State will enjoy recognition among the comity of nations. The necessity of international relations in today’s world cannot be over-emphasized as no nation can exist in isolation.<br /></div><div>
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However, the predominant view among the people of the Eastern Nigeria is that the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been incomparably unkind and unfair to their region. They complain of monumental environmental degradation due to erosion; marginalisation in sensitive political appointments and allocation of federal projects and institutions. In fact, just recently, a former national president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and an Igbo, filed a fundamental rights class action against the federal government at the Federal High Court for himself and on behalf of the entire people of the Eastern Nigeria. Most, if not all, of the complaints captured in the law suit are the same basis why IPOB is calling for the break-up of Nigeria and the declaration of the sovereign state of Biafra. While the step taken by Dr Agbakoba is commendable, I, like many others, eagerly wait to see the precedent that his novel case is going to set, whichever way it is decided.<br />
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It is also very doubtful if the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights can give a right which does not exist under the Nigerian Constitution, bearing in mind that in the hierarchy of laws, the Charter, though a legislation with international flavour, is not superior to the Constitution. Generally, right to secede is not a popular right under international law. The divisions of the Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union as well as the dissolution of the Yugoslavia Republic were not regarded as secessions by the international community. The annexation of Crimea by Russia from Ukraine- which it was formerly part of- is seen as a demonstration of Russia’s contempt for the international legal order. The Charters of the United Nations and African Union seriously protect sovereignty of independent States and their territorial integrity. As far back as 1964, African countries, under the aegis of the old Organisation of African Unity (OAU), passed a resolution to ensure that the boundaries of each African nation remain intact and undisturbed. Under international law, this is known as uti possidetis. The essence of this principle is to forestall balkanization of the continent due to the dissatisfaction with the composition of individual States in Africa as in the case of the Biafran people.<br />
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As a matter of fact, there is no country in Africa that does not have elements of discontented people who feel short-changed by the arbitrary maps and boundaries drawn up by the colonialists at the notorious Berlin Conference of 1884/85. A typical example is the on-going agitation of the English-speaking people of the Southwest and Northwest Cameroon for the declaration of the Republic of Ambazonia. Out of the ten regions that constitute Cameroon, Southwest and Northwest are the only two that have English as their official language. These Cameroonians want to secede (or separate, as some prefer to put it) from Cameroon because, according to them, they are being treated as second-class citizens by the French-speaking majority Cameroonians. While the Yoruba, for instance, recognise the flaws in the formation and composition of Nigeria and have called for its restructuring, some ethnic groups in the Southeast prefer a break-up of the country as a way out of what they have described as a fraud and a lie over the years. However, this is by no means an attempt to set up the Yoruba as a moral exemplar for the Igbo. It is rather an effort to make the Igbo see another alternative to resolving the Nigerian problem apart from seceding.<br />
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In view of the position of both national and international laws, secession does not appear an option that can give IPOB and others like it their desired objective. It is, therefore, advisable for the agitators for the Republic of Biafra to be more realistic and to think of ways to make Nigeria work where equity, justice, and fairness prevail, a Nigeria where every citizen, irrespective of his/her religious affiliation or ethnic origin, can aspire to the highest position of leadership in the land and attain it on account of merit. Discrimination in public life on the basis of gender, faith or ethnicity must stop. It is only in such environment that all the component parts that constitute the country will feel fulfilled and live harmoniously.<br />
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This article by Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq was originally published on www.ikengachronicles.com on May 8, 2017.</b></i></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-38481714508830750572017-06-09T13:01:00.001-07:002017-06-09T23:07:23.868-07:00Let's Plea Bargain All CrimesHow many will believe that my nephew and I were recently at a Police Station over a mere irregularity noticed in his car’s papers and none of the Police Officers, about 10 of them, that attended to us on that day had heard about the Administration of Criminal Justice Act before? My nephew was asked to make a statement, after I insisted that we would not give them the N10, 000 that they had demanded to release us and forget the case. The issue of the ACJ Act came up at the point of him making statement and I, invoking Section 17 (2) of the ACJ Act, insisted that I wasn’t going to leave the room where he was to make his statement. I argued that he was entitled to have a lawyer with him and that I was ready to act as one for him.<br />
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The Officers were furious on the basis that, according to them, I was referring to a non-existent law. I initially thought they were being mischievous until their Divisional Police Officer, a nice Officer, I must say, came and he too was shocked to hear of a law that says a suspect is entitled to have the presence of his/her lawyer, if he/she is to make a statement at a Police Station. The ACJ Act has so much to do with the Police, yet Officers don’t know the law exists, not to talk of knowing its provisions. In spite of the ubiquitous social media, online news outlets and the traditional newspapers, the level of ignorance on certain legal issues or concepts in our society, including where you least expect, could be embarrassing!<br />
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At another time, a caller, into a phone-in radio programme, “Conversation”, anchored by Oluwaseun Akinola on SplashFM (105.05), a privately-owned radio station in Ibadan, who, judging by the depth of his ideas and flawless Queen’s English must be at least a graduate of whatever institution of higher learning, displayed his near-ignorant knowledge of what Plea Bargain meant when he confidently asserted that it meant “accelerated hearing” and nothing more. Since 2005 that Plea Bargain has become synonymous with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the settlement of white collar crimes, one is justified to expect an ordinary and a stark unlettered artisan by the roadside to know what Plea Bargain means. But this particular caller, and so it is likely there are many others like him, didn’t know what it means and ignorantly thought he did. He vehemently argued that the concept did not mean “negotiated agreement” as it is widely believed and is being used by the anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria.<br />
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His remark taught me a lesson – not to ever assume again that something is known or properly understood simply because it is touted by almost everybody in public discourse. Because of this experience, I chose to throw more light on Plea Bargain and in doing so, I shall venture to simplify the definition of the concept as much as possible. I won’t quote the definition in the Black’s Law Dictionary or those offered by some legal scholars because doing so may further complicate what it means even for the highly educated but who are not lettered in the field of law.<br />
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What is Plea Bargain?<br />
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Simply put, it is an agreement reached between a person accused of a crime and a prosecuting body where the accused is ready to plead guilty to an offence or offences in order to have a reduced penalty or to have some offences dropped against him. So, it is a win-win negotiation between the accused and the prosecutor. By this agreement, the accused reaps a lesser punishment, while the prosecutor’s time and resources which would have been expended in going into a full-length trial are saved. This is the meaning of the concept - as simple as ABC.<br />
Among the Nigerian lawyers and lawyers in other places where the concept is known, this is basically what it means. In Nigeria, the controversy is really not about what it means; the controversy is squarely rather on three areas: one, is it known under the Nigerian laws? Two, is Nigeria ripe for it? And three, should it apply only to financial crimes?<br />
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Still on the controversy, I make bold to say that the first part of the controversy has disappeared with the passage of the ACJ Act because its Section 270 has now provided extensively for how and when it is to be used, the roles of the accused, the prosecutor as well as the court. This was not the state of our jurisprudence prior to the arrival of the ACJ Act in 2015. Before 2015, of course there was the ACJ Law of Lagos State, 2011 but the EFCC wasn’t using it for Tafa Balogun, D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, Cecilia Ibru and co. EFCC was relying on Section 14 (2) of its establishment Act but there was no consensus among legal minds that the section accommodates Plea Bargain. It got to a point that a sitting Chief Justice of our country called it “a novel concept of dubious origin”. Before 2015, no federal law in Nigeria specifically mentioned Plea Bargain in its provisions. But as I said, we have now overcome that.<br />
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But then is Nigeria ripe for the use of Plea Bargain? This appears the most complex aspect of the controversy. It is like the debate on the State Police – whether Nigeria is ripe or not but almost everybody concedes that the present security architecture in a federal setting like ours is far from being ideal, making a Governor, the supposed Chief Security Officer of a State, a mere toothless bull-dog. Similarly, it is agreed that the present state of our criminal justice system is not as effective as it should be. It is a herculean task to secure conviction in any criminal case irrespective of the social status of the accused involved. But for some years, we have experimented Plea Bargain and some powerful figures, who may not have been brought to justice without it, have been convicted and both the convicted and the State have reaped some benefits. What is left, for me, as far as the concept is concerned, is for us to sanitise the circumstances of its usage, do away with the restrictive and clannish use of Plea Bargain for the privileged treasury looters and let it apply to all crimes.<br />
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The only controversy that lingers, at least palpably, is - should it apply only to financial crimes? No, it shouldn’t. In the US in spite of the sophistication of its law enforcement agencies and judicial system, it applies to all crimes. Luckily, the provisions of the ACJ Act are elastic enough to apply it to all crimes. I do not see any reason we cannot use it to decongest all our prisons of the overwhelming awaiting trial inmates, majority of whom are persons alleged of simple offences such as stealing, burglary, arson, malicious damage, and even using it for more serious offences like rape, murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, robbery, and others should not be seen as out of place.<br />
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In the US where it first gained popularity, records have it that over 90% of criminal cases is resolved with it. In India, on the other hand, it is used essentially to decongest prisons and relieve the State of unnecessary expenses in keeping offenders in prisons and prosecuting persons accused of petty crimes. In the Asian giant’s territory, Plea Bargain is not used at all for persons involved in socio-economic crimes as well as crimes having women and girls as victims. Those are considered serious offences that threaten the whole society and to which the State’s resources and prosecuting attention must be concentrated for the larger interests and safety of the public. It is also not used in India for any crime that attracts 7 years imprisonment or more.<br />
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The option I propose is certainly not the model in use currently in Nigeria but either the one of the US or India. Any will be better and cheaper than the one we are using.<br />
Nigerian prisons have built-in capacity to accommodate a maximum of 50, 153 inmates but today it accommodates 62, 260. This figure was provided by the National Bureau of Statistics as at 2015. Majority of those who commit crimes in Nigeria are poor, unemployed, and illiterate members of our society and this is the segment we should worry more about. Not the minority who are privileged to be close to our national till and are abusing the trust to enrich themselves undeservedly. Anybody who does that shouldn’t be bailed out by Plea Bargain. It is these minority members who put the rest of us in this mess – no good roads, hospitals, schools, power supply, public transport system, social welfare system and all that because of their greed and corruption.<br />
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Plea Bargain should be used for the poor law-breakers who populate our over-congested prisons and who do not have money to hire the services of lawyers. These are the vulnerable members of our society not the economically and politically exposed persons who have the wherewithal to hire the services of most competent advocates for their defence. If Plea Bargain cannot be used for all crimes, it shouldn’t continue the way we use it in Nigeria. It is purely oppressive and unjust.<br />
But even if this proposition is welcome, no progress in the fight against crimes and efforts to provide a safer society will be achieved when law enforcement agents remain ignorant of most critical laws. In particular, I canvass an aggressive awareness programme about the ACJ Act and other similar legislation for the Nigeria Police. Police are affected more than other actors in the chain of criminal justice system and their awareness and understanding of relevant legislation is key to their meaningful implementation. Again, apart from Lagos, Ekiti, Anambra, and FCT, other States need to replicate the ACJ Act as soon as possible. We expect in a matter of few months that the already passed ACJ Laws in Oyo, Ondo, Enugu, and Rivers will become active. The ACJ Act only applies in federal courts, and thus, any State that does not replicate it deprives itself of the numerous advantages and innovations of this legislation.<br />
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In closing, if there is any society that needs Plea Bargain, Nigeria is certainly one. Many, if not most, law-breakers, even among the under-privileged culprits, go scot-free because of multifarious challenges confronting our criminal justice system. The Police are ill-equipped to carry out thorough investigations of crimes; the Judiciary is under-funded; witnesses are frightened to give testimony in courts; Prisons are bursting due to congestion, while the Government law officers are over-burdened and poorly motivated. One of the surest ways to checkmate the disturbing rate at which law-breakers go unpunished for lack of evidence is for us to fully embrace Plea Bargain and apply it to all crimes. When we decide to do that not even Section 127 of the Criminal Code of Oyo State, for instance, can stand on our path. This is because it could be argued that the ACJ Law, being a later statute, overrides the former statute, that is, Section 127 that forbids settlement of any offence which carries a 7 year-term of imprisonment or more (that is, talking about non-compounding of felony).<br />
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This article is written by Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq and originally published on www.ikengachronicles.com on May 1, 2017.Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-30014943546869813922017-05-26T21:44:00.002-07:002021-07-22T21:38:25.898-07:00The Role of Public Officials in the Unfettered Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act<div style="text-align: justify;">Presented by Kehinde Adegbite Esq at the Two-Day Capacity Enablement Workshop Organised for Government Officials on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 2011 held at Queen’s Court, Ado/Ikere Road, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State Between 23rd May, 2017 and 26th May, 2017<br /></div><div>
<br /><br />“What makes civilised societies civil is the Freedom of Information Act.” <br />Dr Ayobamidele Taiwo<br />
<br />“It is scrutiny by the general public that keeps the powerful honest.”<br />Heather Brooke<br /><br />WHAT IS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION?<br />
<br />It is the right of every person to request for information from public institutions or to have access to information in the custody of public institution. In other words, it is everybody’s right and any law that establishes this right such as the Nigeria’s Freedom of Information Act, 2011 is everybody’s law because, like members of the public, a public official too can use the law to obtain information for personal use and benefit.<br />
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<br />Article IV (1) of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa provides, “Public bodies hold information not for themselves but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information, subject only to clearly defined rules established by law.”<br />
<br />The primary purpose of the Freedom of Information Act is to give the people of Nigeria and non-Nigerians residing in the country greater access to information and records officially held by government so that the people will become more involved in the process of governance. The right of the people to official information is one of the tenets of democracy and a veritable weapon to deter corrupt practices and arbitrary use of governmental powers . The law, i.e. Freedom of Information Act (FOI Act), does not however fail to recognize the limits to people’s right to know. Personal privacy is still protected to the point that public interest is not jeopardized.<br />
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<br />HOW DID WE GET HERE?<br />
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The FOI Act has a chequered history in Nigeria . The push for the passage of this law started in Nigeria in 1999 but was not passed until 2011 when the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, assented to its bill on 28th May, 2011. The idea behind this law is premised on the fact that the power exercised by any government actually belongs to the people and flowing from this, the people are entitled to be informed about the affairs of their government. This right of the people to know is exercisable through their ability to request for information and be given access to certain pieces of information. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nigeria is not the first country to recognize the significance of this law through its enactment. As far back as 1766, Sweden, being the first country in the world to do that, passed her Freedom of Information Law and thereafter, many countries have followed suit. Now, about 90 countries have this law, while only ten of these countries are in Africa . The human urge to know what their representatives are doing on their behalf is a natural instinct. Heather Brooke expressed this when she said, “The movement towards radical transparency and accountability has been gaining steam for several decades.”<br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Nigeria is one country coming from the background of utmost secrecy in official information. A lot of laws is still in existence that forbid the release of publicly-held information. Prior to the passage of FOI Act, it was a serious challenge for media practitioners to access information, while researchers, civil society organisations and other people were no less encumbered by laws that prohibited access to official information and public records. Government business in Nigeria was shrouded in secrecy. For example, Nigerians wanted to know how much Governors collect as security votes as well as salaries of their national lawmakers, among others. But the question is- with the passage of the FOI Act in Nigeria, has the situation changed? As the common saying goes, “old habits die hard”. The situation has not radically changed. Legislation like Official Secrecy Act, Criminal Code, Penal Code, Evidence Act and Public Service Rules still exists. However, the provisions of the FOI Act supersede those anti-disclosure statutes and in cases of conflict between these laws and the FOI Act, the latter prevails. In spite of this, six years of the FOI Act in Nigeria have not been impressive; many public institutions and officials are yet to come to terms with the obligations imposed on them by the new law. Official information is still not largely available, even on request, while basic information that should be provided publicly without request is still held secret. One of the ways out of this debacle is for corporate bodies, civil society groups and individuals to continue to sensitise public officials concerning their roles under the Act as well as the right of members of the public and with time, implementation of the FOI Act will take roots in Nigeria, enhancing accountability and transparency in public life.<br /><br /><h3>Why this Workshop is Important</h3>Section 13<br />Every government or public institution must ensure the provision of appropriate training for its officials on the public's right to access information or records held by government or public institutions, as provided for in this Act and for the effective implementation of this Act.<br /><br />Therefore, this workshop should be taken very seriously!!!<br /><br /><h3>HOW DOES THIS LAW AFFECT YOU AS PUBLIC OFFICIALS?</h3>Although FOI Act came into existence in Nigeria in 2011, it is not asking public officials to do anything entirely new. The Act talks about keeping of public records and documents – this is what public officials have been doing all along before this law came when they put documents in files and keep the files in offices. The only thing that is new is that they now have to give members of the public access to the documents that they keep. The question is – why do they have to do this?<br /><br />A. Gains in Complying with the FOI Act<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
Public officials have a lot to gain with this law:<br /><br /></div>
1. When they give information requested for by the public, they gain public respect and confidence.<br />2. Giving out of information improves the image of the government as members of the public begin to see such government as being transparent and honest.<br />3. It wards off unnecessary litigations and saves the government costs that may be incurred in defending law suits.<br />4. It paints public officials/servants in good light as efficient and effective.<br />
<br />B. Pains in not Complying with the FOI Act<br />
<br />1. When public officials hoard information that should be released to the public, government’s image is being destroyed.<br />2. Refusal to release information can attract a criminal prosecution and penal consequence to a public official.<br />3. It can lead to incessant court actions.<br />4. It can paint a government as undemocratic, corrupt, dictatorial, and not transparent.<br />5. It paints public officials/servants as lazy, inefficient, and incompetent.<br />
<br />C. How can Public Officials Implement the FOI Act?<br />
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Broadly speaking, a public official has four roles under the FOI Act, i.e. to keep records of public information, to proactively make public information available to the members of the public, to respond to requests by members of the public to have access to publicly held information or to obtain such information from a public body, and to submit annual report of compliance with the provisions of the Act. In specific terms, these roles shall be broken down vis-à-vis the respective sections of the Act that provide for them.<br />
<br />Role #1<br />Section 1 (1) of the FOI Act says that right of any person to access or request for public information may be exercised either by putting it in writing or making it orally.<br />If it is made orally, a public official has a duty to put it in writing for such applicant and give it to him or her – Section 3 (3).<br />Role #2<br />A public official must know that an applicant does not owe anybody any duty to provide a reason or reasons why he or she needs the information being requested for – Section 1 (2).<br />Role #3<br />Public officials have a responsibility to record and keep information about activities and operations of public institutions and to organise the information so kept properly in order to facilitate easy access to the information – Sections 2 (1) & (2) & 9 (1) & (2).<br />Role #4<br />Every public institution has a duty to ensure that certain information is made freely available to members of the public even without asking. Details about an officer designated to attend to requests for information in each public institution should also be provided – Section 2 (3), (4), and (5).<br />Role #5<br />When an application is made for information, a public official must make it available within 7 days or provide a written notice to an applicant within the timeframe if the information requested for cannot be made available – Sections 4 & 7.<br />Role #6<br />If an application for information is made to one public institution and such public institution has to transfer the application to another public body, a public official has a duty to inform the applicant accordingly – Section 5 (1) & (2).<br />Role #7<br />On some occasions, the time limit of 7 days set in Section 4 may have to be extended by another 7 days – Section 6.<br />Role #8<br />A public official must be prompt to respond because failure to respond within the time limit and failure to communicate with the applicant accordingly will be deemed as refusal of application which may carry a dire consequence – Section 7 (4).<br />Role #9<br />A wrongful refusal of application for information may earn a public official a penal consequence – Section 7 (5).<br />Role #10<br />A public official who doctors or destroys public information may be prosecuted for an offence – Section 10.<br />Role #11<br />Public information may not be disclosed by a public official, if such information is prohibited from being disclosed under Sections 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, and 26.<br />Role #12<br />A public official may justifiably disclose public information that should not have been disclosed, if the official is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to disclose it or it can be severed or a court has ordered its disclosure – Sections 11 (2), 18, & 22<br />Role #13<br />A public official may validly disclose classified information under the Official Secrets Act without any adverse legal consequence to such public official – Section 27.<br />Role #14<br />A public official shall make annual report of its activities under the FOI Act to the Attorney-General of the Federation – Section 29.<br />Role #15<br />Each public institution shall make such report available to members of the public – Section 29.<br />
<br />THE JOURNEY SO FAR<br />
<br />The first test of the Act was reported to be by an organization known as the Social and Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP), which, citing the relevant sections of the Act, approached the governors of Enugu, Kaduna, Rivers and Oyo States demanding details of budget allocation and expenditure of their Universal Basic Education Commissions (UBEC), since 2005. When, two months after, the information was not supplied, the organization approached the courts citing the appropriate sections of the FOI Act.<br />
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other organisations followed. For instance, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), citing the FOI Act, dragged to court the accountants-general of the 36 states of the federation, as well as the Auditor-General of Kwara State, for refusing to make available to it details of security votes allocated and released to the states from 2007 to 2011. This was after the organization had allowed the waiting time to lapse. In August, 2011, another organization, the Nigeria Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO), citing the FOI Act, approached the Ogun State Government for information on the concessioning of government-owned Gateway Hotels.<br />In 2015, an organisation known as BudgIT approached the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for details of expenditure on Independence Day anniversaries under the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The Office of the SGF provided the details with figures falling far below those earlier flagged by some of the ex-president’s critics.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The debate on whether or not the law is binding on all states in Nigeria still remains unsettled as at now. The Nigerian Supreme Court is yet to lay the controversy to rest. There are conflicting decisions of High Courts on it. Some High Courts have ruled that the FOI Act is binding on states, while some others have ruled otherwise . So far, only Ekiti State replicated the law as at July, 2011 and in many other states, the freedom to request for or to have access to official information is almost totally non-existent.<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Notwithstanding the lull in the frequent use of this wonderful legislation, it is a law that will not die because public awareness is growing day by day. It is a citizen’s law and as the power which the governed can wield against the government, public officials must be up and doing to ensure that the very small segment of the society that may want to take advantage of the legislation is attended to promptly and rightly.<br /></div><br /></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-60684711081971869282017-05-05T16:29:00.000-07:002017-05-05T16:29:21.754-07:0010 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About Human Rights<br /><br /><br />
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If there’s any country where everybody ought to know their rights, Nigeria is number one! This is a country where law enforcement agents deliberately violate people’s rights because they know that majority of the people is ignorant. Poverty is another major factor why people, even when they know their rights, may decide not to challenge the action of anyone who violates their rights in court. They leave the violator to God as if there is no law to deal with such situations on earth.<br />
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<br />There are a lot of people too who take delight in violating other people’s rights because of their relatively advantaged positions in society. For example, some landlords prefer to use law enforcement agents to harass a tenant who owes rents, instead of going to court to eject the tenant or at times some landlords take law into their hands by throwing the property of a owing tenant out without a court order.<br />
<br />Another instance of rights abuse that’s common in Nigeria is to force people to join an association. This is a clear case of human rights abuse because everybody has the right to decide whether to belong to an association or not. Nobody can be forced to belong to any union or association.<br />
<br />There are a lot of rights abuses going on daily in our society and that’s why it’s advisable for you to note the following points carefully:<br />
<br />1. Human rights are natural gifts from God to man. They are not gifts from any government; governments simply recognise the rights and provide framework to guard against their abuses. This is what the late Fela Kuti meant when he sang “Human rights na my property. So therefore, you can’t dash me my property. Human rights na my property. Dey wan dash us human rights.”<br />
<br />2. Only rights that are contained in the Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria can be fought for in a court of law, if they are violated either by a private person or a government official e.g. a police officer.<br />
<br />3. The rights that the Constitution provides for are –<br />
<br /> a. right to life<br /> b. right to dignity of human person<br /> c. right to personal liberty<br /> d. right to fair hearing<br /> e. right to private and family life<br /> f. right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion<br /> g. right to freedom of expression and the press<br /> h. right to peaceful assembly and association<br /> i. right to freedom of movement<br /> j. right to freedom from discrimination<br /> k. right to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria<br />l. right to compensation in case of compulsory acquisition of private property by government.<br />
<br />4. Either government or individual who violates a person’s rights can be sued. Nobody or government is above being sued by anybody whose rights have been or are being or are about to be violated.<br />
<br />5. The Nigerian Bar Association has a standing committee on human rights that renders free legal services to poor persons who are victims of human rights abuses.<br />
<br />6. There are also private lawyers who render free legal services to poor or vulnerable persons. Some human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations render similar services.<br />
<br />7. Non-lawyers or any third party can file actions in court on behalf of victims of human rights abuses in order to redress such abuses.<br />
<br />8. Any person whose rights are abused can make monetary claims in court against his/her abuser.<br />
<br />9. Whenever any person is arrested or detained by security agencies in relation to civil matters, it is a case of rights abuse and can be challenged in a law court.<br />
<br />10. All the rights listed in number 3 above are for all Nigerians, whether rich or poor, employed or unemployed, children or adults, able or disabled. However, some of the rights can’t be enjoyed by non-Nigerians living in Nigeria. One of such rights is right to freedom of movement. It should be noted that there’s nothing like right to food, housing, medical care or education in Nigeria. Therefore, anybody who is in dire need of any of such necessities of life can’t sue the government to provide it.<br />
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Written By Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq<br /><br />NOTE – If you desire to know what each of the rights means, go and get a copy of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and read it thoroughly.<br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-23769264589528630642017-04-30T03:16:00.000-07:002017-04-30T03:16:00.154-07:00How To Be Legally Married In Nigeria<br />
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<br /><br />The type of marriage being discussed here is marriage under the Act which is also known as statutory marriage. This marriage can be celebrated in any of the three ways or places – 1. in a registrar’s office, 2. in a place of worship, and 3. under a special licence given by the Minister (let it be noted that the Minister of Interior Affairs has the power, as provided under section 13 of the Marriage Act, to issue such licence permitting a marriage to take place without the filing of a notice of marriage for 21 days, as long as he is satisfied that there is no impediment to the marriage, and parental consent, if necessary, must have been obtained in writing. Thereafter, he will issue the licence for the celebration of such marriage, even without a registrar’s certificate). The procedure for its celebration is explained below:<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />i. one of the parties to the marriage must complete and sign a notice of marriage at the registrar’s office. This is the first step to be taken by persons who want to be married under the Act.<br /><br />ii. the notice must be entered in the Marriage Notice Book.<br /><br />iii. the notice must also be displayed at the marriage registry so as to enable members of the public have access to it. This must be done for not less than 21 days before the registrar’s certificate can be issued. The Marriage Notice Book is open to the general public for inspection during office hours without a fee.<br /><br />iv. the 21 days’ period is also meant to enable any member of the public to object to the proposed marriage. This is called entering of caveat. The caveat must state the name of the objector, his or her address and the ground of the objection. Once a caveat is entered, the registrar will enter the word “forbidden” in the Marriage Notice Book and refer it to a judge of the High Court who will determine the merit or otherwise of the caveat. If the judge is of the opinion that the caveat has no merit, the “forbidden” will be removed and by the order of the court, the registrar’s certificate will be issued signalling the continuation of the marriage ceremony. While, on the other hand, if the judge finds merit in the caveat, the judge will order stoppage of further progress on the proposed marriage. However, an appeal against the order of court may be made to the Court of Appeal which is the final court in this matter. It should however be noted that whoever enters a caveat on frivolous grounds may be liable to a civil action in which damages may be awarded against the caveator or objector. <br /><br />v. upon the expiration of 21 days, the registrar’s certificate (otherwise known as Form C) will be issued. It is this certificate that will indicate whether the proposed marriage is taking place at the registrar’s office or a licensed place of worship and it will also indicate wedding date. This certificate is not the same as marriage certificate. The registrar’s certificate is simply a “certificate to marry” allowing a planned marriage to take place; it is not a proof of its actual celebration.<br /><br />vi. the registrar will only issue his certificate if he is satisfied by affidavit (a) that one of the parties to the proposed marriage has been resident within the area where the marriage registry is located for 15 days before the issuance of the registrar’s certificate; (b) that each party to the planned marriage is 21 years old and if any of them is less, proof of parental consent must be shown; (c) that there is no any other hindrance to the marriage such as blood relationship between the two parties; and (d) that the intending couples are singles. Before the marriage, an interview will usually be conducted for the intending couples.<br /><br />vii. the marriage may be conducted after 21 days but within three months after the filing of the notice. Where a marriage is taking place after three months, fresh notice of marriage must be filled, signed, and delivered to the registrar’s office.<br /><br />viii. if the marriage is taking place in the registrar’s office, couples are expected to dress decently on the wedding day but no particular colour of dress is required. The dress could be English or traditional. They must come with rings and minimum of two witnesses.<br /><br />The registrar, while joining persons together as husband and wife, usually makes these announcements:<br /><br />“Do I understand that you A. B. and you, C. D, come here for the purpose of becoming man and wife?”<br />
<br />If the parties answer in the affirmative, the registrar shall proceed thus:<br /><br />“Know ye that, by the public taking of each other as man and wife in my presence and in the presence of the persons now here, and by the subsequent attestation thereof by signing your names to that effect, you become legally married to each other, although no other rite of a civil or religious nature shall take place, and that this marriage cannot be dissolved during your lifetime, except by a valid judgment of divorce, and if either of you before the death of the other shall contract another marriage while this remains undissolved you will be thereby guilty of bigamy and liable to punishment for that offence.”<br /><br />ix. the registrar will fill marriage certificate in duplicate. He will also fill the counterfoil. Thereafter, he, the parties, and witnesses will sign the marriage certificate. The registrar will then issue a copy of the certificate to the couple and file the other copy in the Marriage Register Book in his office.<br /><br />x. if, on the other hand, the marriage is taking place in a place of worship, the registrar’s certificate must be shown to the priest in charge. The process of celebrating a marriage in a place of worship must begin with the presentation of a registrar’s certificate to the presiding priest by the intending couple. The marriage will thereafter be celebrated in line with the rites of that particular religious body. Some religious organisations will, in spite of the earlier 21 days’ notice, announce to the whole congregation for anybody having objection(s) to the wedding to raise it and if at that point, any valid objection is raised, the priest has a duty not to join the intending couple because doing otherwise constitutes a crime under the law. There must be, at least, two witnesses to the marriage apart from the presiding priest.<br /><br />xi. the presiding priest will fill marriage certificate in duplicate and fill the counterfoil too. The priest, the couple, and witnesses will sign the certificate. He will give a copy of the marriage certificate to the couple, and he must return the other copy to the marriage registry within 7 days of the marriage ceremony, while the religious body will keep the counterfoil where the presiding priest would have entered basic details on the marriage certificate such as names of the parties to the marriage, witnesses’ names, date of the marriage, among others. The copy returned to the registry shall be in the Marriage Register Book. Every licenced place of worship is supplied copies of marriage certificate by the Federal Marriage Registry and it is from these that such place of worship issues certificates of marriage to couples from time to time. However, some religious organisations have their own customised marriage certificates different from the ones given to such organisations that have been licensed by the Federal Marriage Registry. Customised marriage certificates of a particular place of worship, apart from the ones bearing the imprints of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, are not good enough (in fact, in some cases they may be totally invalid) to prove the existence of a marriage under the Act. Such customised marriage certificates are usually not recognized, if tendered at a foreign embassy for the purpose of proving that a marriage subsists between two people. It is important, therefore, to ensure that a marriage certificate is in compliance with the format of Form E in the Marriage Act.<br /><br />xii. if a marriage is to be celebrated under a special licence issued by the Minister (i.e. the Minister of Interior Affairs), it will not be necessary to file any notice of marriage, and a registrar’s certificate will not have to be issued provided that there is no any impediment to that marriage, and that where parental consent is to be obtained, same must have been duly obtained. A marriage under a special licence may be celebrated in a place of worship, the registrar’s office or any other place. This option is usually employed when notable persons and public figures are to marry and they do not want publicity.<br />
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Written By Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq<br /><br />Related Posts –<br />
<br /><a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/15-basic-facts-that-everyone-must-know.html" target="_blank">15 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About “Court” Marriage</a><br /><a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/15-basic-facts-that-everyone-must-know_21.html" target="_blank">15 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About Customary Marriage</a><br /><a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/how-to-legally-end-marriage-without.html#more" target="_blank">How To Legally End A Marriage Without Divorce</a><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-9423581472174442432017-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:002017-04-28T10:24:44.323-07:0025 Causes of Domestic Violence<br />
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<br /><br />In a post that I read recently online, a woman warned her fellow women to be properly and decently dressed in order to avoid being raped but you can imagine the kind of comments/abuses that followed her admonition. Maybe in ancient times, it was a defence for a rapist to blame his victim's provocative dressing for raping her; it's no longer so in modern time. While I don’t support indecent or suggestive dressings by females, I also don’t see myself associating with any man who rapes any woman or girl under any circumstances. When a woman or girl says no to sexual intercourse, her no must be taken as no. No consent, no sex. And so, when I decided to examine causes of domestic violence (DV), I'm fully aware that there is no justification for DV under any circumstances. I know that issues around DV have come under focus in recent times and I also wish to contribute to the discourse by examining the causes so as to enlighten readers as well as learn personally through comments that may follow. I'm also of the opinion that a discussion of the causes of DV will help those who are single to watch out before formalising that marital relationship and also assist the married to prevent DV in their matrimonial unions. Remember, prevention is better than cure. Divorce or separation appears like a cure but it's better to avoid DV in the first place.<br />
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<br />Personally, I've been married for eight years and I've had countless arguments and misunderstandings with my wife but it has never happened that a third party will intervene due to noise generated by our voices or by our physical combat. Even our children have never seen us shouting on each other. I have never beaten her and she has never beaten me either. This is possible because God helped and He is still helping my determination never to beat her. As for her, she may never be able to beat me because of my intimidating stature beside hers.<br />
<br />Before proceeding further, what's DV? I got these two definitions online and I shall quote and adopt them as my understanding of DV in this brief write-up.<br />
<br />1. "Domestic violence is the wilful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behaviour as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another."<br />
<br />2. DV is the "violent or aggressive behaviour within the home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse or partner."<br />
<br />While some men erroneously believe that they possess the right to beat their wives if they misbehave, some others abuse their spouses by what they say, showing no respect or decorum. DV is not limited to beating; it could also be committed by degrading remarks about a spouse and this is known as verbal abuse and from the definitions quoted above, you'll agree that verbal abuse is also DV. For instance, if a spouse continually abuses the other spouse because of his/her infertility, joblessness or impecuniousness. Such can be psychologically and mentally traumatising.<br />
<br />It should also be stated that either male or female can be a victim of DV, though females are more often than not the victims. It therefore follows that as a man can be a perpetrator of DV so also is a woman. In fact, the law against DV is gender neutral. At the Federal level, it's called Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act. Note - not only against women but against all persons!<br />
<br />We must have heard about women who assaulted and even in some cases killed their husbands. I'm also aware that most times when a woman commits DV, it's reactionary, meaning that she must have been a silent victim of DV for some time. Many women suffer DV in silence because they don't want to face the judgmental attitude of the society by publicly exposing their abusive husbands. For me, it is better to speak out than allowing yourself to be killed prematurely or to become a murderer of somebody who has "killed" you over and again in the past. Murder is a capital offence which attracts a death penalty, if an offender is found guilty. Persons accused of murder are usually don't get released on bail in Nigeria, and while the trial is on-going which may last 3 or 4 years in court, the perpetrator will remain in prison custody. Nigerian prisons are not designed for human beings. So, try never to go there.<br />
<br />So what causes DV? I have tried to compile a list of predisposing factors here but they are by no means exhaustive. I have arrived at this list by dwelling on my experience as a Legal Practitioner, a writer, researcher, and a family man.<br />
<br />1. Incompatibility<br />
2. Differences in social background and educational achievement <br />3. Intrusion of In-Laws <br />4. Children/Sex of Children/Disability of any Child <br />5. Financial Issues <br />6. Friends <br />7. Infidelity<br />8. Childlessness<br />9. Addiction to Social Media and Phones<br />10. Joint Property<br />11. Joblessness/Work<br />12. Ego/Pride<br />13. Division of Roles/Responsibilities<br />14. Lack of Trust<br />15. Irresponsibility<br />16. Drunkenness/Drug Abuse<br />17. Deception<br />18. Excessive Materialism<br />19. Neighbours<br />20. Personality/Psychological Disorder<br />21. Traditional Beliefs<br />22. Violent Upbringing<br />23. Extreme Jealousy/Possessiveness<br />24. Religion/Religious Differences<br />25. Sex<br /><br />Feel free to use the comment tool below to add more causes. Thanks.<br /><br />Written by Kehinde ADEGBITE Esq (LL.M., BL.)<br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-35405608371778584532017-04-23T03:12:00.001-07:002017-04-23T03:12:16.402-07:00How To Legally End A Marriage Without Divorce<br />
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<br /><br />“What God has joined together let no man put asunder”, so the Bible says and so I agree. But I also know that not every marriage has God as its creator and I feel no guilt, if marriages which offend both God’s and man’s laws are terminated. The legal procedure needed to terminate a marriage that is no marriage both before God and man is called ANNULMENT, no DIVORCE, please note! So, what is annulment? And what is divorce?<br />
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<br />Annulment is a legal action initiated to terminate the life of a marriage that ought not to have taken place in the place or that is celebrated in contravention of the law. Before I define divorce, let me give two examples of a marriage fit (in legal parlance, such marriage is called a null, void, or voidable marriage) for annulment –<br />
<br />Example #1<br />
<br />Mr Ade started a relationship with Miss Debby (now Mrs Ade, not their real names, please), while he was legally married to another woman with children, though he deliberately hid the information from Mrs Ade. Mrs Ade did not know this until both of them have been formally joined as husband and wife at a marriage registry.<br />
<br />It is clear that God couldn’t have been the originator of this marriage, at least going by the predominant Christian view. Also, under the Nigeria’s Marriage Act, a man or woman who is previously married to another person cannot legally marry another person, while the first marriage is not dissolved or the other spouse is still alive. The Marriage Act forbids polygamy. If a person is married under the Marriage Act, such person cannot marry another person under any other type of marriage, either customary or Islamic. Similarly, if a person first marries under customary or Islamic system, such person can never be allowed to marry another person under the Act. In essence, any person who wants polygamy should go for either customary or Islamic marriage without mixing it with the one under the Marriage Act. Where an infringement occurs, the second marriage is no marriage and also constitutes an offence. To terminate the life of such marriage, what is needed is annulment, not divorce.<br />
<br />If a marriage is entered into on deceit, such marriage also qualifies for annulment. For instance, if a person claims to be what he or she is not and the other partner enters into a marriage on the basis of those claims, such marriage is fit for annulment and not divorce.<br />
<br />Example #2<br />
<br />If a man and woman deliberately celebrate their marriage in defiance of the provisions of the Marriage Act, such marriage is null and void and is only for annulment, not divorce. For instance, if they knowingly allow a person who is neither a religious priest nor a marriage registrar to join them, such marriage is null and void.<br />
<br />Again, celebrating a marriage in a place apart from a place of worship, marriage registry, or under the special licence of the Minister renders such marriage null and void.<br />
<br />Divorce, on the other hand, is a legal way of terminating a marriage that is valid and regarded as lawful in the first place. However, to dissolve a marriage through the process of divorce, there are conditions that must exist.<br />
<br />For those conditions, click <a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/15-basic-facts-that-everyone-must-know.html#more" target="_blank">here</a> to read my post on that topic.<br />
<br />By now, it should be clear to everybody that divorce is NOT the only legal means to terminate an undesirable marriage. If the Bible forbids divorce, it doesn’t forbid annulment of marriage especially where a marriage takes place between one married person and another person whether the other person is single or not.<br />
<br />Some other differences between divorce and annulment are –<br />
<br />1. if a marriage is null and void, that is, a marriage fit for annulment, parties to it may simply walk away without resorting to a court action because their relationship is not seen as a marriage in the first place. However, it is more desirable to approach a court for its annulment so as to have official record. In the case of marriages that are fit for divorce, parties can never achieve dissolution of their marriage by simply walking away.<br />
<br />2. after a marriage is annulled, parties to it will be treated as if no marriage has ever taken place between them. They are regarded as singles, while in the case of divorce, parties are regarded as divorcees.<br />
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<a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/15-basic-facts-that-everyone-must-know.html#more" target="_blank">15 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About "Court" Marriage</a><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-70543534112928267782017-04-21T02:11:00.000-07:002017-04-21T02:11:38.240-07:0015 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About Customary Marriage<br />
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<br /><br />In my former church, once every month a Sunday service would be tagged “Family Service” where a subject having to do with family affairs would be discussed. It was a nice programme and it’s one thing I miss in that church to date. On one of such services, a lawyer talked to us on marriage but he only spoke about the marriage under the Act, nothing said on customary marriage, which some people call, traditional marriage or wedding. Being a lawyer too, I contributed during the questions and answers session to tell the congregation a little about customary marriage but during the wrap-up by the presiding pastor, he made frantic effort to discourage members from ever choosing to have customary marriage as if it is unChristian. Is customary marriage bad, unChristian, or evil? That’s the essence of this post, to lay everything bare and leave each person to decide but in order to fully understand this article, I advise you click on the link here to read my <a href="http://kennyadegbite.blogspot.com.ng/2017/04/15-basic-facts-that-everyone-must-know.html#more" target="_blank">previous post</a> on statutory marriage.<br />
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<br />Some people wrongly believe that customary marriage, being our indigenous system of marriage from time immemorial, could be celebrated anyhow, unlike statutory marriage that is regulated by the law. The truth is that customary marriage cannot be done anyhow; there are rules that govern its celebration and if a couple fail to comply with its rules, they may later realise that their union is less than a marriage properly so-called under the customs and traditions of their community. Each tribe in Nigeria has its system of customary marriage either greatly or slightly different from another tribe. What is discussed here focuses more on the practices that are commonly found in Yoruba land.<br />Let me make this quick point before I proceed further – if you did a traditional wedding and later went to a marriage registry for your statutory marriage, the latter marriage has superseded the former and therefore, it can be rightly said that you are married under the Act. But if all you did was customary marriage, without paying any visit to a marriage registry, and you later went for church wedding, your marriage is simply and legally customary marriage and nothing more! However, it is also possible for a couple to do customary marriage as well as church wedding but failed to have a marriage validly recognised under the Nigerian law, if they failed to comply with the rules of a valid customary marriage celebrations.<br />
<br />By now, you should have an idea of the type of marriage you are into and what is next is for you to be cocksure, in case yours is customary, whether it was properly, legally, and validly done. What you find below are the rules that define a valid customary marriage.<br />
<br />1. For there to be a valid customary marriage, the following must have taken place – <br />i. the bride price must be paid by the groom’s family to the bride’s family, though it is known that some families now prefer to return such money to the groom’s family. This practice is not good enough.<br />ii. there must be mutual consent of the intending couple to the marriage as well as the consent of their parents, most importantly, that of the bride’s parents; and<br />iii. the bride must be physically handed over to the groom’s family.<br />
<br />2. Customary marriage is no less legal than statutory or Islamic marriage which is a type of marriage only meant for the Muslim faithfuls.<br />
<br />3. The marriage could be celebrated at any place but usually at the bride’s family house or chosen venue.<br />
<br />4. Nowadays in Yoruba land, what is done as engagement (known as idana in Yoruba language) ceremony may qualify as a valid customary marriage as long as all the ingredients in number 1 above are present.<br />
<br />5. Marriage certificate is not a requirement for a valid customary marriage but it is also not forbidden.<br />
<br />6. For those interested in polygamy, customary marriage is the best choice for them because there is no limit to the number of wives that a man can have. But it is also possible to have this type of marriage and stick to one wife.<br />
<br />7. Amount to be paid as bride price is usually not fixed by law. The amount depends on the respective families involved.<br />
<br />8. A valid customary marriage cannot exist by mere introduction ceremony.<br />9. The existence of this marriage can be proved by photographs and evidence of those who attended its celebration as well as respective spouse parents.<br />
<br />10. The law is not too clear as to whether customary marriage can be celebrated by proxy or in absentia or not. But the prevailing opinion is that a valid customary marriage cannot exist either by proxy or in absentia.<br />
<br />11. Marriageable age is not too clear under the customs and traditions but the provision of the Child’s Rights Act which prohibits marriage of a child below 18 years may prevail.<br />
<br />12. Customary marriage is recognised outside Nigeria.<br />
<br />13. The appropriate court to dissolve customary marriage is Customary Court. It may also be dissolved without a court action but simply by a husband asking for the refund of the bride price and by handing over the wife to her parents or sending her back to her parents.<br />
<br />14. Unlike a statutory marriage, customary marriage may be dissolved for whatever reason even if a spouse simply says he/she does not like the other spouse anymore. It also takes a shorter length of time to secure its dissolution.<br />
<br />15. Either party to the marriage can initiate the process for its dissolution.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-91957299157433227662017-04-19T10:00:00.001-07:002021-07-22T21:11:29.936-07:00Legal Terms Made Simple For Everybody<div><br />
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<br />AB INITIO – It simply means “from the beginning”. It may be used to describe something that is faulty from its foundation. Usage – “This case is bound to fail because it is defective ab initio.”<br />
<br />ABUSE OF COURT PROCESS – This encompasses a court action initiated against another person out of malice or for no just cause. Abuse of court process is also said to occur where a party duplicates court actions in order to harass an opponent. Such actions will be struck out as they amount to forum shopping.</p><p><br />
</p><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ACCELERATED HEARING- This is an order given by a court in respect of a case which is meant to speed up the process of determining it. The order is usually made when a case has been in court for a long time or it is considered to deserve urgent determination and a case affected by this kind of order may be coming up in court on a daily basis or very frequently until it is finally decided. Courts usually give criminal cases accelerated hearing so as to decongest prisons, among others.<br /><br />ACCEPTANCE – It means an unconditional agreement to the terms of a proposal (i.e. an offer made by one person to another). Once an offer is accepted, a contract comes into existence. The person accepting an offer is known as “offeree” while the person making it is called the “offeror”. Acceptance is an important element in a contract.<br /></div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ACCESSORY – This is a person who, though not present where a crime is committed, assists the offender in committing an offence. The assistance may come either before e.g. by giving an offender a piece of information which helps him to commit the offence or after the commission of the offence which may come by helping the offender to escape from being caught. So a person may be an accessory before the fact or accessory after the fact (“fact” is used here to mean an offence). An accessory is not a conspirator because he does not take part in the planning of the crime.<br />
<br />ACCOMPLICE - This simply refers to a partner in crime. An accomplice is however not usually charged with the other suspect and is often used as a prosecution witness. (Compare: ACCESSORY)<br />
<br />ACCORD AND SATISFACTION – It is a kind of agreement which usually arises in relation to a contractual transaction where a party accepts what is less than what is due to him. For example, a creditor may decide to collect a lesser amount from a debtor who is unable to pay the full amount owed and therefore, release him from further obligation, having taken the lesser amount as the full and final settlement of his debt.<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">ACCUSATORIAL SYSTEM – It is a system of criminal trial where a judge is an umpire who must not take sides with either the prosecution or the defence. The judge allows the two sides to present their case as they want. This system does not allow a single person or body to be the judge and the prosecutor at the same time. This is the system in Nigeria.<br />
<br />ACCUSED PERSON – This is a person who has been charged to court to face trial for the offence he allegedly commits. He can only be called a criminal or convict after he has been tried and found guilty. He may also be referred to as a principal offender where there are other offenders.<br />
<br />ACQUITTAL – This means a verdict of vindication entered in favour of a person who has been tried for a criminal act and found not guilty. (Compare: DISCHARGED & ACQUITTED).<br />
<br />ACT – This is a law made by the National Assembly as opposed to the one made by a State House of Assembly. An example is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004. In fact, any law that ends with “Act” is deemed to have been made by the National Assembly.<br />
<br />ACTIO PERSONALIS MORITUR CUM PERSONA- This is a personal action which cannot survive a party to a law suit. In a law suit, an action is said to die and terminate with a party who dies while his case is yet to be finally decided. Instances are actions that border on defamation or negligence which are committed against a particular person. This principle does not, however, apply to a court action which borders on a party’s property because such an action survives the party. If the party dies while the action is still on-going, his heirs may step into his shoes and continue with the case.<br />
<br />ACT OF GOD – It is an event which occurs exclusively due to natural causes without any form of human influence e.g. earthquake, tornado and so on. Act of God is capable of rendering a contract impossible to perform and therefore, no party will be held liable.<br />
<br />ACTUS REUS – This refers to a guilty act which one has performed. It is simply a criminal act i.e. the physical act of crime itself which may be stealing, rape, murder and so on. Where there is no actus reus, there is no crime committed.<br />
<br />ADEMPTION – This refers to a situation where a gift in a will is no longer in existence at the time of death of a testator and a beneficiary of such gift will not be able to take the benefit of it because it has adeemed (i.e. failed).<br />
<br />AD HOMINEM- It is a Latin word which has its origin in philosophy but that has found its way into legal dictionary. It means an argument which tends to attack the personality of an opponent instead of addressing the merits of the opponent’s views.<br />
<br />AD INFINITUM – It means something going on without end. Usage – “The community’s suit against the company has been adjourned ad infinitum.”<br />
<br />ADJOURNMENT - It is a temporary postponement of a case to another date.<br />
<br />ADMISSIBLE EVIDENCE – This refers to a piece of evidence which the law allows a court to receive or take into consideration in its decision. Courts do not just admit evidence given before them but only pieces of evidence which comply with the laid-down rules. Evidence of a person who himself witnessed a case before a court is deemed an admissible evidence but hearsay evidence is inadmissible. (See, HEARSAY EVIDENCE below).<br />
<br />ADR – This simply stands for “alternative dispute resolution.” It encompasses other means of settling disputes, other than litigation, such as negotiation, mediation, conciliation and arbitration. ADR is considered to be faster, less confrontational and cheaper, at least in the long run. This method of settling disputes only applies to civil conflicts or cases and not criminal matters.<br />
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To Get The Remaining Part of the Legal Terms, Download My Book By Clicking <a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7G4WwD5sPO_cXAyY2dNS2NXVmM" target="_blank">Here</a>.<br /></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-78128924377804161102017-04-19T07:41:00.000-07:002017-04-19T07:41:03.761-07:0015 Basic Facts That Everyone Must Know About “Court” Marriage<br />
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<br /><br />Is your marriage “court” marriage or Islamic marriage or customary marriage or a combination of two types? As simple as that question is, I will not be surprised if some people don’t know the type of marriage they are into or unsure of its type. Some will call theirs Christian marriage or church marriage, while some others will simply say legal marriage as if the marriage of another person who did his or hers in an Islamic or traditional way is illegal. There is no illegal marriage, anyway except it is a same-sex marriage which is even a crime in Nigeria.<br />
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<br />Before I proceed further, let me quickly say that it is incorrect to call a marriage celebrated in a registry or church or any other place of worship “court” marriage. It is more legally correct to refer to it as statutory marriage or marriage under the Act. This marriage is usually celebrated either in a place of worship or marriage registry before a marriage registrar. So, if it is allowed to name this type of marriage after its usual venue of celebrations, it should rather be named registry marriage and not court marriage.<br />
<br />By now, I expect some people to be surer of the type of marriage they are into but if, in case, you are still uncertain, I provide more clues. If, in the course of preparing for your marriage celebration, you or your partner visited a marriage registry within the premises of a local government secretariat, it is most likely the type of marriage you have is a statutory marriage which many people ignorantly call court, church, Christian, legal marriage, white wedding or what have you. It doesn’t change the type of your marriage, if you or your partner only obtained some forms and placed a notice of marriage at the marriage registry at the end of which the marriage was celebrated in your place of worship. It is still a statutory marriage because, as said earlier, it could be celebrated in a place of worship or marriage registry but MARRIAGE REGISTRY MUST HAVE SOME INPUT IN YOUR MARRIAGE CELEBRATION. So, what this means is that if you or your partner never visited a marriage registry at all before your marriage celebration in a place of worship, your marriage is therefore not a statutory marriage. It could be a customary marriage or no marriage at all even if your relationship has produced some children.<br />
<br />The information you find below has to do with statutory marriage.<br />
<br />1. It is a monogamous marriage, that is, one man and one woman for life. Once a man/woman enters into this marriage, he/she cannot marry another person in the lifetime of the first spouse unless the first marriage is dissolved. Anybody who does so commits an offence called bigamy.<br />
<br />2. It is not only meant for the Christians. Anybody, whether a believer of any faith or a person who doesn’t believe in any religion at all, can enter into it.<br />
<br />3. Upon the celebration of this marriage, marriage certificate must be given to the couple, whether celebrated in a place of worship or marriage registry. But if celebrated in a place of worship, such place must be licenced to conduct a wedding and its marriage certificate must be the same type issued at the registry.<br />
<br />4. It can’t be celebrated by proxy, meaning that each party to the marriage must be physically present to say “I do” and also to sign the marriage certificate.<br />
<br />5. Its celebration may be presided over by a religious priest in a place of worship or a marriage registrar in a marriage registry.<br />
<br />6. The law governing this marriage is Marriage Act.<br />
<br />7. Anybody of 21 years of age can enter into this marriage. It is an offence to marry a person under 21 years of age except with parental consent.<br />
<br />8. Once parties are of the required age, parental consent to the celebration of such marriage is not compulsory.<br />
<br />9. Payment of bride price is not a requirement in the celebration of this marriage.<br />
<br />10. It can’t be dissolved at the whims and caprices of any party to it. Any party who wants to opt out of it must give a reason or reasons in a court of law. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act, the bases by which a court may dissolve a marriage are, if any of the spouses initiates a case for its dissolution:<br />
<br />i. lack of consummation – this happens if one of the parties refuses to let sexual intercourse take place after a marriage celebration.<br />ii. adultery – if a spouse commits an act of adultery, an aggrieved spouse may initiate a case for the dissolution of their marriage, provided there is evidence to prove the adultery.<br />iii. unreasonable behaviour – a marriage may be dissolved if a spouse alleges that the other spouse has committed some acts of unreasonable behaviour e.g. domestic violence or drunkenness.<br />iv. desertion – a marriage may be dissolved if a spouse leaves the matrimonial home without the consent of the other spouse and has also refused to return. A divorce case may be filed by the aggrieved spouse after at least a year of desertion.<br />v. living apart for two years – if parties to a marriage start living apart for two years, any one of them may file for divorce.<br />vi. living apart for three years - if parties to a marriage start living apart for three years, any one of them may file for divorce. In this case, once it is established that they have been living apart for three years, a court is bound to dissolve such marriage even if one of them objects to the dissolution.<br />vii. failure to reconcile – if established that, in spite of prior resolution of marital conflict, a couple can’t continue relationship as husband and wife, a divorce suit will succeed.<br />viii. presumption of death - if a spouse disappears and is not seen for seven years, it will be presumed that such spouse is dead and a court is bound to grant dissolution of a marriage on that basis.<br />
<br />11. The only court of law that can dissolve it is a State High Court and not a Customary Court.<br />
<br />12. Any State High Court can dissolve it, irrespective of where a couple or a spouse resides, unless one of them objects to the jurisdiction of such court on account of inconvenience for reason of distance to his/her place of abode. For instance, if a couple live in Lagos, they may file their divorce case in Lagos or any other States in Nigeria.<br />
<br />13. Two people who have previously divorced themselves can still re-marry themselves, if they so wish.<br />
<br />14. No matter how old a marriage is, it may be dissolved at anytime if the parties to it so wish.<br />
<br />15. A woman may continue using her former husband’s name after divorce, unless it is proved that she is using the name to commit fraud or any other wrongful act.<br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-81320296593003981812017-04-19T06:15:00.002-07:002021-07-22T21:14:49.610-07:00Six Things That Everybody Must Know About The Nigerian Law<br />
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Many Nigerians never think it is important for them to know certain things about their country’s law until an event compels them to do so. Can you imagine that some people are in prison out of ignorance? While some others’ rights have been or are being violated without them knowing at all and even when they know, they do not know what to do in order to obtain legal redress.<br />
I paid a visit to one of the prisons in Oyo State about 9 years ago (2008) and what I heard from some of the prison inmates startled me. At least 10 of the prisoners said it was the Police (i.e. Police prosecutors) who asked them to plead guilty to the alleged offence so that the Magistrate could release them on compassionate grounds. But that information turned out to be false because none of them ought to have been jailed if what the Police had told them was correct in law. So, to avoid this kind of situations and so many other legal blunders that an average non-lawyer commits in his/her daily transactions, note the following things that I am going to discuss below:<br />
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The Nature of the Nigerian Law</h3></li></ul><p>
This is divided into two: </p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Types of law </li><li>Sources of law.<br /></li></ol><p>1. Types of law- there are two essential types of law in Nigeria and these are: a. Civil Law and, b. Criminal Law.<br />
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a. Civil law- note that every action you perform which has legal implication is either civil or criminal. For instance, let us assume you owe another person some money in respect of a business transaction involving both of you- this is just a contract and it is civil law. The fact that you are owing and unable to pay yet does not warrant the Police to arrest you because you have not committed any crime.<br />
Civil law encompasses legal actions that cannot give rise to imprisonment, fine, or any penal consequence at all. Examples of civil actions are breach of contract, defamation, wrongful termination of employment, landlord and tenant matter, dispute over ownership of land and many others. The legal principles, making up the civil law, can be found in statutes and judicial decisions (also known as Case Law).<br />
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b. Criminal law, on the other hand, deals with crimes. No action is a crime unless that action has been defined as an offence in a written law and there is a punishment attached to it. Actions like attempted murder, rape, stealing, murder, manslaughter, attempted suicide, kidnapping, corruption, bribery, 419 (otherwise known as obtaining money under false pretence), forgery, bigamy, perjury, armed robbery, robbery, vandalization, examination malpractices, cultism and so on are classified as crimes.<br />
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So, it is not enough to say somebody has committed a crime but also important to let the person know which law he/she has broken. Every Nigerian has a right to ask a Police officer to be informed of which law he has breached in any given situation. If you are arrested by the Police, ask for the offence you have committed and if you are asked to write a statement at the Police Station, politely insist to be informed of your offence before you write such statement. However, you shouldn’t refuse Police arrest. If you are arrested wrongly, you can initiate a court action subsequently against the Police to enforce your right.<br />
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Criminal law is governed principally by two laws- the Criminal and Penal Codes. The Criminal Code is used in the Southern part of this country, while the Penal Code applies in the North.<br />
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ii. sources of law- given the political history of Nigeria, the Nigerian law therefore has three colours. It is Foreign, Local and Religious.<br />
Foreign: The Received English Law<br />
The Nigerian legislation<br />
Judicial Precedent/ Case Law<br />
The Constitution<br />
International treaties <br />
Local: Native Law and Customs<br />
Religious: Sharia Law<br />
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Every legal transaction or issue in Nigeria can fall under any of these laws. The only exception to this is that the Native Law and Customs do not deal with crimes. The Constitution requires every act which constitutes a crime to be defined in a written law but the Native Law and Customs (i.e. Customary law) are unwritten.<br />
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2. The Ministry of Justice, the Police and the Private Legal Practice<br /></div>
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These three institutions play important roles in the dispensation of Justice, and unless you are told, you may not know certain things about each of them.<br /></div>
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i. The Ministry of Justice: this ministry is actually “The Ministry of Government Lawyers”. These government lawyers are popularly referred to as “State Counsel” or “Legal Officers”. Anytime a crime is committed, whether a minor or serious crime, it is taken to be a crime against the government/the State (i.e. the society as a whole). So, it is the responsibility of the government to handle it. Assuming your phone is stolen, you are expected to report it at a Police Station. The Police will investigate and if necessary, commence prosecution against the perpetrator of such crime in a Magistrate’s Court. Where, however, a serious offence like murder or rape is committed, the matter must come to the Ministry of Justice after the Police investigation must have been concluded for the rendering of legal advice and possible prosecution in a High Court. Instead of a Police prosecutor, a lawyer will appear in court to prosecute the alleged rapist or murderer.<br /><br />
The Ministry of Justice has many departments but two of these departments stand out. They are the Public Prosecutions Department and Civil Litigations Department. When a matter is criminal, it goes to the Public Prosecutions Department while Civil Litigations Department handles any civil matter in which the government is suing or being sued as a party. Lawyers working in Ministries of Justice, whether States or Federal, do not represent private individuals in their civil cases nor do they defend accused persons in criminal trials. They only prosecute in criminal cases. The head of the Public Prosecutions Department is called Director of the Public Prosecutions (usually shortened as DPP).<br /><br />
ii. The Police- the Police are usually involved in criminal matters because that constitute their primary mandate. The primary duty of the Police is to protect lives and property. To do this, their duty is further divided into three i.e. 1, to prevent the commission of crimes; 2, where a crime is already committed, to detect alleged perpetrator (s) through investigation; and, 3, to prosecute offenders. Now, note that the Police usually prosecute minor offences at the Magistrate Court level, while the Ministry of Justice handles serious crimes at a State or Federal High Court level as well as other superior courts. The Police rarely prosecute beyond the Magistrate’s Court level. As a matter of law, the Police are not supposed to be involved in civil matters. Take, for instance, the use of the Police to arrest and molest a debtor so as to assist a creditor retrieve his/her money is against the law. The courts have ruled severally that the Police are not debt collectors.<br /><br />
iii. The Private Legal Practice: while lawyers who represent government’s interests in the Ministry of Justice are regarded as government employees, lawyers who operate their own firms are called Private Legal Practitioners. Whenever you have a civil case and you need a lawyer, they are the ones you are supposed to consult. They are also the ones who can also defend an offender being prosecuted either by the Police or the Ministry.<br /><br />
3. The Constitution<br /><br />
Though the Constitution is one of the sources of the Nigerian Law, it is the fundamental law and the fountain of all laws in the country. Here are TEN things that every Nigerian must know about the country’s constitution:<br />
i. the Nigeria Constitution is federal, written and rigid. A constitution is written when it can be found in a single document and, rigid, when it is difficult to amend.<br />
ii. any law or provision of a law that is contrary to any provision of the Nigerian Constitution is null and void.<br />
iii. the Constitution is binding on every person both the ruled and the ruler. It is the supreme law of the land.<br />
iv. the Nigerian Constitution has 8 chapters and 320 sections.<br />
v. it spells out the Nigerians’ fundamental rights.<br />
vi. it defines who is a citizen of Nigeria and his duties.<br />
vii. it cannot be made by the National Assembly or the Houses of Assembly. These bodies can only amend it.<br />
viii. the constitution was made by a body (usually christened the Constituent Assembly) set up prior to May 29, 1999.<br />
ix. the constitution derives its authority from the Nigerian people as a whole.<br />
x. it divides powers among the three arms of government i.e. the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive. It also distributes powers among the three tiers of government i.e. the Federal, State, and Local Governments.<br /><br />
4. Court System<br /><br />
In Nigeria, there is a well-established hierarchy of courts. There are two categories of court: i, Superior Courts and ii, Inferior Courts.<br /><br />
i. Superior Courts: courts in this category are the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, State High Court, Federal High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal and National Industrial Court.<br /><br />
These Courts are also called Superior Courts of Records because the practice of judicial precedent operates in these courts. By judicial precedent is meant a practice of judging a present case in the light of a previous case. To put it in the language of a layman, judicial precedent means ‘’treating like-cases alike’’.<br /><br />
Another important thing to note about this court system in Nigeria is the issue of jurisdiction. Unless a court is empowered to handle a matter, whatever that court does, when it does not, in actual fact and law, have jurisdiction, is of no effect, null and void.<br /><br />
Take, for instance, where a case between one state and another state is taken before a High Court. Such a case is bound to fail because cases involving two states or more must commence and end at the Supreme Court.<br /><br />
Another instance is to file a divorce case before a Federal High Court; this is also doomed to fail. Divorce cases in respect of marriages celebrated under the Marriage Act must be commenced at a State High Court.<br /><br />
ii. Inferior Courts: courts regarded as Inferior Courts are Magistrate’s Court, Customary Court, Area Court and Sharia Court. These courts are called inferior courts because the practice of judicial precedent does not apply to their proceedings. Again, there are matters that these courts cannot handle. For instance, where a case of breach of contract involves an amount of money in the range of N2M, these courts cannot entertain it, though this depends on individual state in Nigeria. Only a High Court has jurisdiction. Even though reported cases are cited (judicial precedent) in the Magistrate’s Courts, their own judgements are not usually reported to be used as precedent before any courts.<br /><br />
5. Presumption of Innocence<br /><br />
Under the Nigerian Constitution, every person accused of a crime is presumed innocent. Even if a person is found committing a crime, the law still confers on that person the presumption of innocence.<br /><br />
In a plain language, presumption of innocence means that every person alleged to have committed a crime must be first tried and be found guilty before he can be punished or be regarded a criminal.<br /></div>
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The only exception to this presumption of innocence is when a person pleads guilty in a court of law and in that situation; the court is allowed to impose punishment at that point. However, a court may not be able to impose any punishment outright where the crime committed is a capital one, i.e. an offence whose punishment is death such as murder and armed robbery. The court must still go into full trial before any punishment can be imposed, that is, if he is found guilty.<br />
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Presumption of innocence is a delight of the suspect but a plague to the members of the public, especially victims of an offence. People suspected to have committed a crime are always presumed innocent until the contrary is proved and this provides an attractive cover for the criminally minded. The members of the public, on the other hand, appear to detest hearing that cliche “every person is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved.” The perception of the public is that this doctrine confers too much protection and <br />
privilege on the offender.<br />
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6. Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (simply referred to as ADRs)<br />
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Under the law, the traditional method of resolving disputes has always been a resort to legal actions (litigations). However, the trend is changing in recent times as more and more people, especially the business-people, are making use of the Alternative Dispute Resolution options. The ADRs is loosely and generally referred to as AMICABLE RESOLUTION of disputes.<br />
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In Nigeria now, many states have amended their laws to accommodate ADRs. The Federal Government has equally done the same. The ADRs hastens up the process of resolving disputes and also preserves relationship, unlike litigation where people come out of courts more embittered and worse enemies.<br />
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What Does ADRs Stand For?<br />
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ADRS (Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms) represents the following alternative options of resolving conflicts:<br />
i. Arbitration<br />
ii. Mediation <br />
iii. Negotiation, and<br />
iv. Conciliation.<br />
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Of all the four listed above, it is only Arbitration that is a bit close to litigation; others are far from it. In Arbitration, there must be an arbitrator (or arbitrators in some cases) but he/she does not have to be a legally-trained person and does not have to follow traditional court procedures in his/her proceedings. Most times, parties must have provided for the use of arbitration in their agreements before they can resort to it.<br />
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Other ADR options i.e. mediation, negotiation and conciliation are much more informal. Parties can make use of them at any time whether they have previously provided for them in their agreements or not.<br />
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However, it must be said that the use of ADRs does not apply to conflicts that have elements of criminality. Offenders must be taken before a regular court for trial.<br />
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<br /></div>Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-80504423328738426062017-04-18T09:56:00.000-07:002017-04-18T09:56:06.603-07:00Answers To All Questions On Rape (Part II)<br />
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26. If a rape victim kills her attacker in self-defence, can she be charged with murder or manslaughter?<br /><br />She may be charged with murder or manslaughter, depending on the circumstances of each case. She may however be set free, if she is able to justify her action in the circumstances she found herself.<br /><br />27. If a rape victim dies in the course of a sexual intercourse, what offence can a perpetrator be charged with?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />The perpetrator may be charged with either manslaughter or murder, depending on the peculiar circumstances of each case but certainly not rape anymore.<br /><br />28. Can rape be proved without the evidence of a third party?<br /><br />Yes. It may be proved without the evidence (corroboration) of a third party, especially where medical evidence strongly connects the accused person to the crime or the accused person confesses to have committed it.<br /><br />29. Can a rape case be heard in camera or a victim be allowed to wear mask in court?<br /><br />Usually, a rape case, like every other case, must be heard in the open court where, though press-men may be barred, other members of the public may watch the proceedings. The rape victim may not be allowed to wear mask. This is because the court needs to be able to see and watch the demeanour of the victim in order to form an opinion on whether she is a credible witness or not. No doubt, rape is a heinous; yet, the supposed rapist is presumed to be innocent and can only be found guilty, if the case against him is proved beyond reasonable doubt. However, in some cases, especially where a victim is a minor, every other person, apart from lawyers and court staff, may be barred from watching the proceeding for the purpose of protecting the underage victim from public ridicule.<br /><br />30. Should rape victims be asked embarrassing questions in court?<br /><br />It is most likely that, no matter what, a victim of rape may be confronted with certain discomforting questions under cross-examination by the lawyer representing the accused. This is a task that must be performed in order to ensure that the accused person is not unjustifiably punished and bearing in mind that the punishment for rape is severe. However, the court is empowered by law not to allow questions that tend to expose the rape victim to ridicule .<br /><br />31. Should underage children who are victims of rape be required to appear in court to give evidence?<br /><br />Like adult victims, children too must appear in court to give evidence if a perpetrator is to be held accountable. However, in some exceptional cases, especially where a victim is of extreme tender age, her evidence may be taken in camera . This is likely to be so upon the application of the prosecution.<br /><br />32. Can rape be committed by fingering or entering a woman’s genital with an object?<br /><br />Under the Nigerian law, it is not possible to commit rape without the use of a male penis. It is however immaterial whether the penetration is only slight or that there is no ejaculation. All that is needed to be proved is that the penis penetrates the vagina, even if it is just its tip.<br /><br />33. Can rape be committed by having anal sex with a woman?<br /><br />It may amount to sexual assault but not rape under the Nigerian law.<br /><br />34. What is the difference between rape and sexual assault or defilement?<br /><br />In relation to rape, there must be a penetration of vagina with a penis without the consent of the female counterpart, while in a sexual assault, there need not be sexual intercourse at all. For example, inappropriate touching of a woman may amount to sexual assault. In the case of defilement, on the other hand, it is a sexual intercourse with a girl under eleven (11) years. It is immaterial in this situation whether there is consent or not as the law presumes that such a girl is incapable of giving consent. The crime also carries life imprisonment but the case must be prosecuted within two months of its commission.<br /><br />35. Is there age limit as to who can be charged with rape?<br /><br />A male under 12 years of age is incapable of committing rape under the Nigerian law . So, if it is alleged that a boy below 12 years commits rape, as soon as it is established that the boy is below 12 years, the case will be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, even if he has attained puberty. He may however be punished for indecent assault.<br /><br />36. Is attempted rape a crime? If yes, what is the punishment?<br /><br />Yes. It is a crime and on conviction, it carries 14 years’ imprisonment.<br /><br />37. Is it a defence that a rape victim dresses provocatively?<br /><br />No. It is not a defence.<br /><br />38. Can rape be committed where a rapist and his victim have had sex in the past?<br /><br />Yes. A woman has right to refuse sex on a particular occasion, not minding the fact that it has taken place between them in the past.<br /><br />39. Does it matter if a rape victim does not resist her attacker or shout for help during the incident?<br /><br />What is important is to prove that there was no consent to have sex. However, convincing a court on the issue of lack of consent may be achieved faster, if it is also established that the victim shouted or resisted in the course of the forced intercourse.<br /><br />40. Can a man be accused and tried of raping a prostitute?<br /><br />Yes. It is not a defence to the offence of rape that a victim is a common commercial sex worker. In Nigeria, prostitution is neither legal nor clearly illegal but a court of law will not come to the aid of an aggrieved party in this kind of “contract” because it is inconsistent with public morality and decency. For example, if a prostitute after collecting money from a customer refuses to give him sex, such customer cannot receive any remedy at law and he cannot justify rape on the basis that he has paid for the sex. <br /><br />41. Can a guy be accused and tried for raping his girl-friend?<br /><br />Yes. Being lovers is not a defence to forcefully have sexual intercourse with a girl or woman when she is not given her consent to it.<br /><br />42. Can a rape victim sue for financial compensation?<br /><br />That is possible only after the rapist must have been tried and found guilty of committing the crime.<br /><br />43. Can a woman raped some years ago still report at a Police Station?<br /><br />Yes, if it is possible to gather evidence which may be subsequently presented in court but in case there is no evidence, the implication is that the victim can no longer get justice. Unlike developed countries, Nigeria does not have the requisite technological facilities for forensic investigation. It is therefore advisable that rape incidents be reported as soon as they occur, at best within 24hours. A rape case can also be charged to court many years after its occurrence but unlike election petition cases, there is no time limit within which it must be concluded.<br /><br />44. How can a woman raped in Police or Prison custody get justice?<br /><br />Any woman raped while in the custody of the Police or Prison Authorities may complain to the head of such public institution and if no desirable step is taken following the complaint, the victim may contact a lawyer through her family who will in turn write a petition to the National Human Rights Commission. It must be noted that evidence is important and so, a victim must strive to obtain a medical report.<br /><br />45. Is it legally permitted to abort a pregnancy occasioned by rape?<br /><br />No. The Nigerian law on abortion is very strict. Abortion is only permitted if a pregnancy threatens a woman’s or girl’s life.<br /><br />46. Is there government support for victims of rape in Nigeria?<br /><br />There is no special institutional support for victims of rape in Nigeria. Like other crimes, victims of rape need to lodge complaint of their experience in any Police Station close to the scene of crime. However, some NGOs exist that assist rape victims, especially in places like Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja.<br /><br />47. What are the effects of rape?<br /><br />Rape is a heinous crime and it usually leaves a victim emotionally disorganised. It may also lead to the following: (a) unwanted pregnancy, (b) transmission of sexual diseases e.g. HIV/AIDS, (c) abortion, (d) suicide tendencies, (e) trauma, (f) loss of self-esteem, (g) untimely death, (h) damage to body organs, among others.<br /><br />48. What are the causes of rape?<br /><br />So many factors are responsible for the commission of rape. It is impossible to exhaust the list. However, some of the causes, both immediate and remote, are the following: (a) negative and judgmental societal attitude towards victims of rape, (b) drug abuse, (c) pornography, (d) seductive dressing, (e) spiritual reason, (f) poor, gender-insensitive, victim-insensitive and unscientific police investigation, (g) reluctance of victims to speak out and give evidence in court, (h) weak judicial system, etc.<br /><br />49. Should the punishment for rape be reviewed?<br /><br />The punishment may be reviewed which will require judicial officers not to impose penalty below 14 years’ imprisonment where rape is established, while in some other cases maximum punishment should be imposed, especially if established that the perpetrator is a serial offender. The law as it is appears to give judicial officers wide discretion in terms of the punishment they may impose. It is noted that in some cases, judicial officers impose penalty which is considered ridiculously low .<br /><br />50. Should the definition of rape be reviewed?<br /><br />In view of different advancements of the modern world, the definition should be expanded. It is suggested that the US Department of Justice’s definition should be adopted.<br /><br />Conclusion<br />
<br />How can the rising rate of rape cases be stemmed in Nigeria? There is need for a multi-dimensional approach but above all, there must be awareness and proactive campaign against rape, while an enabling environment must also be created to ensure that rape victims can come out to report the offence.<br />
<br />Law enforcement agents must show empathy to rape victims and must not be judgmental by seeing victims as the cause of what happens to them. Investigative capacity of the Police especially needs to be enhanced through the introduction of forensic techniques of evidence gathering. The Criminal Procedure Law also needs to be amended to accommodate the peculiarity of rape cases. For example, rape cases should be given expeditious hearing so as to encourage victims and witnesses to come to court and give evidence. In addition to punishment, every person convicted of rape should also be made to pay compensation to the victim. <br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5291695291726820418.post-5299868558506574632017-04-18T09:40:00.001-07:002017-04-18T09:40:37.698-07:00Answers To All Questions On Rape<br />
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<br />1. What is rape?<br />
<br />Simply put, rape may be defined as sexual intercourse between a man and a woman or a girl against the will or consent of the female partner. Going by the provision of law , rape is defined under section 357 of the Criminal Code which applies to the Southern part of Nigeria as:<br /><br />Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband is guilty of an offence which is called rape.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />In the Northern part of Nigeria, it is defined under section 282 of the Penal Code as:<br /><br />(1) A man is said to commit rape who … has sexual intercourse with a woman in any of the following circumstances:- (a) against her will; (b) without her consent; (c) with her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her in fear of death or of hurt; (d) with her consent, when the man knows that he is not her husband and that her consent is given because she believes that he is the man to whom she is or believes herself to be lawfully married; (e) with or without her consent when she is under fourteen years of age or of unsound mind.<br /><br />(2) Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife is not rape, if she has attained to puberty.<br />The two definitions above show that in Nigeria, rape can only be committed by a man against a woman and not vice versa. In other climes, this is not the case because it has been recognised that a man may also be a victim of rape and it may be perpetrated by any person, including a woman. For example, in the US , the Department of Justice defines rape as:<br />Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.<br />In the UK , under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act (2003), it is defined as:<br />(1) A person (A) commits an offence if —<br />(a) he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with his penis,<br />(b) B does not consent to the penetration, and<br />(c) A does not reasonably believe that B consents.<br />(2) Whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents…<br />(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.<br /><br />2. Upon being raped, what should a victim do?<br />
<br />A victim of rape must first proceed to a nearby Police Station to lodge a complaint. A victim must not change her dress, must not wash or shower after the incident and must not remove anything from the scene of crime because doing so may negatively affect pieces of evidence that the Police may need to hold the perpetrator accountable. Usually, it is the Police that will take the victim to a hospital for medical examination. It is advisable that medical examination should be carried out as soon as possible, preferably on the day of the incident.<br /><br />3. If the Police refuse to act after a report of rape has been made to them, what can a victim do?<br />
<br />A victim should write a petition to the Commissioner of Police in that State, giving details of the officers who attend to her on the day her complaint is lodged, the name of the Police Station and other necessary information. If this step does not produce a desired result, she may contact a lawyer. There are equally NGOs that provide legal assistance and support to rape victims.<br />4. What is consent?<br />
<br />It refers to permission or freedom and capacity to make a choice on whether to have sex or not. When a woman says “no” to sex, her “no” should be taken as “no”.<br /><br />5. Can consent be withdrawn or given in the middle of a sexual intercourse?<br />
<br />It is possible that a woman who gives her consent to a sexual intercourse at the beginning may later change her mind in the course of the “act” and it is also possible that a woman who does not give her consent at the beginning may later decide to consent to it. Can it be said that there is rape in any of the situations? Under the Nigerian law, it is doubtful if rape can be successfully proved in any of the two cases because “consent” is not clearly defined in the Criminal or Penal Code. However, under the UK’s Sexual Offences Act, consent is extensively defined and it amounts to rape, if a man continues sexual intercourse after a woman withdraws her consent or starts a sexual intercourse where there is no consent, not minding the fact that consent is given midway .<br /><br />6. Is rape committed when a sexual intercourse takes place with a sleeping or drunken woman?<br />
<br />Yes. It is a case of rape because it means that there is no consent.<br /><br />7. What is the punishment for rape?<br />
<br />Nigeria – life imprisonment (maximum but it may be less)<br />India- life imprisonment or death<br />France- from 15 years’ imprisonment to death<br />US- life imprisonment<br />UK- life imprisonment<br />Saudi Arabia- death<br />North Korea- death<br />Israel- 16 years’ imprisonment<br />China- death<br />Egypt- death.<br /><br />8. What is the punishment for making a false allegation of rape against any man?<br />
<br />There is no criminal penalty for making a false allegation of rape against a man in Nigeria. However, if after trial, a suspected rapist is found to be innocent of the allegation, he may bring a civil action (technically called malicious prosecution) to claim for damages. An action for defamation, after trial, is, on the other hand, not likely to succeed.<br /><br />9. How can one establish a case of rape in court?<br />
<br />In a case of rape, the prosecutor must be able to prove the following elements beyond reasonable doubt:<br />1. that an accused person has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will;<br />2. that the act of sexual intercourse is proved by penetration of the accused person’s penis into the woman’s vagina;<br />3. that the victim is not his wife.<br /><br />10. Can rape be proved where a victim does not sustain any physical injury or in the case of a virgin, where her virginity is still intact?<br />
<br />It is possible to prove rape in any of these situations, provided that there is evidence to establish penetration and lack of consent. Sustaining physical injury is not compulsory, though it may help a case better if present. Rape is complete on penetration, even if the hymen is still intact.<br /><br />11. Is it compulsory to have medical evidence in proving a case of rape?<br />
<br />It is good to have medical evidence in establishing rape but it is not compulsory. A case of rape may be convincingly proved, without medical evidence, where the accused person makes confessional statement or there is an eye witness.<br /><br />12. Is a medical report obtained from a private hospital acceptable in court?<br />
<br />Yes. It is acceptable. However, in practice, it is medical reports from government-owned hospitals that are usually tendered in court. <br /><br />13. What are the defences that are available to a person accused of committing rape?<br />
<br />a. Presence of consent: if a person standing trial for rape is able to prove that the victim gives her consent to have sexual intercourse, no offence is committed and the perpetrator will be discharged and acquitted.<br />b. Lack of penetration: if an accused person proves that there was no penetration, he may go scot-free.<br />c. Marital relationship: if he is able to prove that the victim is his wife, he will go scot-free.<br />d. Insanity- no offence is committed, if a madman rapes a woman.<br /><br />14. Is a rape suspect entitled to be defended by a lawyer at the expense of the State/Government?<br />
<br />No. A rape suspect may obtain the services of a lawyer of his choice but if he is financially handicapped to secure one, the State is not obligated to provide him a legal representative free of charge, unlike in the case of persons standing trial for murder or armed robbery . A rape suspect may as well decide to represent himself without a lawyer.<br /><br />15. Does a rape victim need to have her own lawyer?<br />
<br />No. Once a rape case is reported to the Police, the latter will commence investigation; take statements of the victim and that of the perpetrator and other witnesses, if any. The Police may also procure medical report and if, in their opinion, there is sufficient evidence in respect of the case, forward all the pieces of evidence compiled in a case file to the Ministry of Justice which will, in turn, ensure that the perpetrator is charged to court and prosecuted accordingly. A lawyer, from the Ministry, will be a legal representative of the State as well as the victim. Rape, being a criminal case, is regarded as an offence against the State and this is why the victim will not have to pay any money to the Government lawyer for him or her to prosecute the perpetrator. However, any victim who wishes may decide to secure the services of an independent lawyer who will also attend court each time the case comes up. Such a lawyer is called watching brief counsel because he or she can only be seen but cannot be heard.<br /><br />16. Which court can try perpetrators of rape in Nigeria?<br />
<br />Only State High Courts can try perpetrators of rape in Nigeria because it is a serious offence. It is beyond the power of a Magistrate’s Court to handle, unless it is temporarily pending before such court within which it will be properly brought before a High Court.<br /><br />17. Does a rape victim have the power to withdraw the case against a perpetrator in court?<br />
<br />Technically and legally speaking, no! Once a case of rape is in court, only the Attorney-General can discontinue the case. Rape is a felony ; not being a minor offence, it is beyond the power of a victim to withdraw or discontinue it. In fact, it is an offence in itself for a rape victim to agree to discontinue or withdraw the case and the punishment prescribed by law for doing so is 7 years’ imprisonment. However, in practice, this position of law has been seen to be compromised in some cases. Also, in practice, a case of rape may be struck out by a court, if a victim refuses to attend court for the purpose of giving evidence.<br /><br />18. If witnesses refuse to attend court to give evidence, what can a victim do?<br />
<br />A victim does not have much to do in this regard. The prosecutor knows the appropriate application to make to the court in order to compel any uncooperative witness (es) to be in court, though the victim’s assistance may be needed in tracing the address of such witness.<br /><br />19. How can a woman contribute to her being raped?<br />
<br />In law, once a woman refuses to have sex with a man, it is not a defence that she has earlier consented to kissing or to have willingly entered the house of the rapist.<br /><br />20. How many rape cases have been successfully concluded in Nigeria?<br />
<br />There is no reliable statistics on the number of rape cases that have ever been concluded in the Nigerian courts but judging from cases reported in the law reports, many cases have been successfully concluded. <br />But experience has also shown that a lot of rape cases have gone unreported and even where they are reported, it is usually difficult to get witnesses because victims are often ashamed of coming out to testify in court, especially adult victims. Negative attitude and insensitive investigation methods of the law enforcement agents, e.g. the Police, are also a source of discouragement to rape victims.<br /><br />21. Is a man accused of rape entitled to be released on bail?<br />
<br />A man accused of rape is not entitled to be released on bail by the Police. Although rape is a bailable offence, the bail can only be granted by a State High Court. Upon arrest by the Police, he cannot be detained beyond 48 hours. He must be taken before a court of law, usually a Magistrate’s Court which will order the detention of the suspect in prison custody, pending his proper arraignment in a State High Court. While the suspect is in the prison custody, a bail application may be filed on his behalf before a State High Court. However, in some Nigerian States, a Magistrate’s Court may grant bail to a rape suspect.<br /><br />22. Can a man be raped?<br />
<br />Under the Nigerian law, a man cannot be a victim of rape. However, in places like the UK, a man may be raped (i.e. either by anal or oral sex) by another man. But it is still impossible to sustain a case of rape against a woman in a situation where the latter forces a man to have sexual intercourse with her. This is simply because there is no definition of rape which captures such occurrence. Even the American Department of Justice’s definition, as wide as it is, does not cover where real sexual intercourse is perpetrated by a woman against a man. Under the American definition, a woman may be charged with rape, if the woman penetrates a man’s anus either with her fingers or any object. Under the UK’s law, however, a woman cannot be a perpetrator of rape because rape can only be perpetrated with the use of a male penis.<br /><br />23. Can a woman be charged for raping a woman or man?<br />
<br />No. A woman cannot be charged with rape in Nigeria and many other places. However, a woman may be charged with rape, if she aids a man in any manner to forcefully have sexual intercourse with another woman.<br /><br />24. Can a husband be charged for raping his wife?<br />
<br />Under the Nigerian law, a husband cannot be charged for raping his wife . Contrastingly, in the UK and many other European countries, it amounts to rape if a man forcefully has sex with his wife.<br /><br />25. Can a man be charged for raping his daughter?<br />
<br />Yes. Incest is not an offence under the Nigerian law; so, he can only be charged with rape.<br />
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To Be Continued!<br />Kehinde Adegbitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07447484748432391667noreply@blogger.com0