The role of Nigerian lawyers in our society

The role of Nigerian lawyers in our society

Credits – google

The role of a lawyer
depends on where you find him.  If you
find him in court, then he is a litigator, whose role is to plead the case of
his client before the judge, if he is an in-house counsel, his duty is to
promote and represent the best interests of his company, ensuring the company
does not go foul of statutory rules and regulations. Lawyers could also be
found in government agencies or private practice as well. The role of a lawyer
may vary from place to place, however, one significant role a lawyer plays is
to provide non-lawyers with legal advice. The lawyer is also the custodian of
the rule of law, it is said that a lawyer is a minister/priest in the temple of
justice and it is his duty to ensure that the wheels of justice keep turning. 
Society has created many
rules and regulations for the co-existence of mankind and it is also the role
of lawyers to interpret these rules to society.
A lawyer could be a superhero
sometimes, he/she represents clients who sometimes cannot pay or are in some
form of terrible jam, either self inflicted or by a stroke of luck/ill – luck. In
a nutshell, a lawyer is saddled with responsibility of using his services to be
there for anyone who needs his help, just like a doctor.

 

Credits – Google

In a democratic society
like ours, lawyers also play a vital role as the custodian of justice. The conscience
of the people and a bridge between the government and its people.
Alexis De
Tocqueville once stated that “When one visits Americans and when one studies
their laws, one sees that the authority they have given to lawyers and the
influence that they have allowed them to have in the government form the most powerful
barrier today against the lapses of democracy”. The above quote shows the vital
role lawyers have played in developing and nurturing the United States of
America. 
I don’t think I have always
wanted to be a lawyer, I remember my Dad once asked me if I wanted to be a
lawyer or a business man when I kept brimming with business ideas. I also
remember in primary school, I was about 7 and we were having a costume party at
school, I adorned the lawyer’s wig and gown and sang the words “I am a lawyer
in my country and everybody knows me well”. Maybe an angel was flying by that
day and decided to grant me my wish because I am now a lawyer in my country,
Nigeria. However, as I grew to understand my role and responsibility in the
larger society, I knew it was my duty as a lawyer to use my services to make my
country and the world at large a better place. 
 

Credits – Google

That brings me to the question,
what is the role of lawyers in Nigeria today?
No doubt, Nigeria is experiencing
pretty interesting times. Corruption has finally reached epic proportions as
stolen loot is now usually calculated in billions of naira and dollars.
Terrorism is threatening from the North-East, the protection of human rights
are not issues on the front burner, the rule of law is not sacrosanct and there
is a major lack of enforcement of legal rules, regulations and procedures. There
is a complete lack of accountability in government and the moral fabric of
society itself is falling apart at its seams.
The Nigerian Bar Association is
currently having its annual conference in Abuja, the country’s capital and many
of the issues raised above will certainly be on the lips and minds of many of
the participants. But rather than focus on personal briefs, buying private
jets, building vast partnerships and handling election petitions when will the
Nigerian lawyer recognize the role and responsibility awaiting him. When will
he realize that the downtrodden masses need him to come to their rescue, when
will he summon up the courage to challenge government on its policies which are
crippling us a people, when will he fight for reforms and march on the streets
in a bid to secure the rights of his fellow Nigerian whom faith has put in his
care.
Maybe the revelation will come to
the Nigerian lawyer now and maybe not. However, if you are a lawyer reading
this blog or you know anyone who is a lawyer, ask them or yourself this
question, WHEN WILL YOU COME TO NIGERIA’S AID?
Adedunmade Onibokun Esq.
@adedunmade
Dunmadeo@yahoo.com
WINTER IN NIGERIA by Ahudiya Ukiwe

WINTER IN NIGERIA by Ahudiya Ukiwe

Add captioncredits – nigerianeye.com

Catchy subject, right? Sort of incorrect, somewhat
inappropriate if you may? Same thoughts that flood my mind whenever I see
“Summer” anything in Nigeria, like “Summer” lessons,
“Summer” sales, “Summer” concerts etc. I was taught in
Primary School, correct me if I am wrong (and believe me, my school was and
still is posh o, with awesome teachers, no try me) that there are basically two
(2) seasons in Nigeria: rainy season and dry season (otherwise known as
Harmattan and I call African Winter). The rainy season spans from May to July,
then the popular August break and continues into September. The  dry
season/harmattan begins mid-December into the middle of the next year.

Like seriously, we Naija people must LITERALLY copy
copy everything foreign. I agree there are some foreign material that ought to
 be, scratch that, that MAY be copied (like some aspect of fashion, note
that I said SOME oooo, not all because we have gone over the top than the
originators of some fads; music;) but kai, at least we can take style (subtly)
to be original about it. Why should we adopt the Oyibo people’s weather when we
do not have any similarities, okay maybe save for the mutual heat in their summer.
But nevertheless, “Summer” clothes, “Summer” hairstyles,
“Summer” gifts? How naaaaaa, how does this apply to us Biko? We might
as well have Fall, Spring and Winter options, mscheeew.
It really would be nice, more of ingenuity of our
fashion designers, entrepreneurs to award us (being the Nigerian consumers)
with adverts such as Harmattan Sales, Harmattan Clothings, Styles to rock in
the Harmattan, August break hairdos etc rather than the mediocre mirror of
foreign weather and its seasons.
Oh well, simply are my thoughts, my opinion. In all, Naija we hail thee.
By: Ahudiya Ukiwe 

PENALTY FOR CHILD PORN IN NIGERIA

PENALTY FOR CHILD PORN IN NIGERIA

Credits – hamilton-griffin.com

While reading the papers, I
came across an article about a man who had raped a 15 year old girl, I am sure
such stories or incidents must not be entirely new to you, chances are you have
also come across it in the news before. Young unsuspecting children are taking
advantage of by adults and it’s not ok for such activities to continue as it
may damage the child forever. A lot can be done to curb the shameful act by
ensuring prosecution of alleged rapist and the rehabilitation of rape victims. The
law has however taking it a step further by providing statute against child
pornography.
According
to the
Cybercrime
(Prohibition Prevention) Act, 2015, child pornography
includes  pornographic
 material  that  visually  depicts -­
a  minor  engaged
 in  sexually  explicit  conduct;  a  person
 appearing  to  be  a  minor  engaged  in
 sexually  explicit  conduct;  and  realistic
 images  representing  a  minor  engaged  in
 sexually  explicit  conduct.  For   the  
purpose   of   this   law,   the   term   “child”
  or   “minor”   means   a   person below 18 years.

Child
pornography laws have existed in other legal jurisdictions for a long time and it’s
great to see it being introduced in Nigeria. The Cyber Crime Act 2015 in
Section 23 provides in subsection 1 that:
Any
 person  who  intentionally  uses  any  computer
 system  or  network  in  or  for -­
(a)
 producing  child  pornography;  (b)  offering
 or  making  available  child  pornography;  (c)
 distributing  or  transmitting  child  pornography;
 (d)  procuring  child  pornography  for  oneself
 or  for  another  person; (e)   possessing  
child   pornography   in   a   computer   system
  or   on   a   computer data  storage  medium: commits
 an  offence  under  this  Act  and  shall
 be  liable  on  conviction  –
(i)
 in  the  case  of  paragraphs  (a),  (b)
 and  (c)  to  imprisonment  for  a  term
 of  10  years  or  a  fine  of  not
 more  than  N20,000,000.00  or  to  both
 fine  and  imprisonment;  and
(ii)
 in  the  case  of  paragraphs(d)  and  (e)
 of  this  subsection,  to imprisonment  for
 a  term  of  not  more  than  5  years
 or  a  fine  of  not  more  than  N10,000,000.00
 or  to  both  such  fine  and
 imprisonment.” 
 

Credits – darkgovernment.com

Furthermore,
any  person  who  knowingly  makes  or  sends
 other pornographic  images  to  another  computer by
  way   of   unsolicited   distribution   shall  
be   guilty   of   an   offence   and   upon
 conviction   shall   be   sentenced   to   One
  year   imprisonment   or   a   fine   of  
Two   Hundred  and  Fifty  Thousand  Naira  or
 both.
  
Subsection
(3) states that any  person  who,  intentionally  proposes,
grooms  or  solicits,  through  any  computer  system
 or  network,  to  meet  a  child  for
 the  purpose  of:
(a)
 engaging  in  sexual  activities  with  the
 child;
(b)
 engaging  in  sexual  activities  with  the
 child  where  –
(i)
 use  is  made  of  coercion,  inducement,
 force  or  threats;  
(ii)
  abuse is   made   of   a   recognized  
position   of   trust, authority   or  influence  
over   the  child,  including  within  the
 family;  or Child  pornography  and  related
 offences.
(iii)
  abuse   is   made   of   a   particularly
  vulnerable   situation   of   the   child,  
mental   or  physical  disability  or  a
 situation  of  dependence;
(c)  
recruiting,   inducing,   coercing,   exposing,   or  
causing   a   child   to   participate   in  pornographic
 performances  or  profiting  from  or  otherwise
 exploiting  a  child  for  such  purposes; commits
 an  offence  under  this  Act  and  shall
 be  liable  on  conviction -­
(i)
 in  the  case  of  paragraphs  (a)  
 to  imprisonment  for  a  term  of  not
 more  than  10  years  and  a  fine
 of  not  more  than  N15,000,000.00;  and
  
(ii)
   in  the  case  of  paragraphs(b)  and(c)
 of  this  subsection,  to imprisonment  for  a
 term  of  not  more  than  15  years
 and  a fine  of  not  more  than  N25,000,000.
 
This law is however yet to be fully tested in courts as
it is a new legislation and not many people have been charged under its
provisions, however, it will serve as a major deterrent to anyone involved in
the business of child pornography.
Adedunmade Onibokun
@adedunmade
OFFENCES A BLOGGER SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR

OFFENCES A BLOGGER SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR

Credits – www.theeconomyng.com 


Recently, a blogger got
remanded by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for publishing certain
information about a bank MD which turned out to be false. The blog claimed the
MD had impregnated a certain lady which led to the dissolution of her marriage.
Needless to say, the story was false and the blogger was charged to court. Currently,
he is being remanded pending his bail application which is to be heard on September
1 before the Honourable Court. The prosecution argues that the blogger’s post
is in contravention of Section 24 (1) of the Cybercrime Act, which provides
that any person who intentionally or knowingly sends a message which is grossly
offensive or obscene and found to be false, by means of computer network, is
liable on conviction to a fine of N7, 000, 000 or three years imprisonment or
both.

Blogging is awesome,
especially for people who love to write, it is a great medium for sharing
thoughts with the world. It is also known to be a great form of investment
which can literally earn the blogger millions. The Linda Ikeji blog is a
terrific example. However, the excitement to post blogs and attract online
traffic should not come as a result of spreading falsehoods or defaming character,
rather it should be as a result of publishing superior content. Though we all
know that gossip sells better in some instances and attracts more fans too.
Bloggers have in the past been accused of malice and ill-intentions when
stories are published on their blogs. Most of these posts are usually unverified
and could be misleading. 
Bloggers, must however now
be very careful of what they post as the Federal Government has passed a law
declaring a number of online acts done by many to be a crime. For instance,
section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act, 2015 states:
“Any
  person   who   knowingly   or   intentionally  
sends   a   message   or   other   matter   by means
of  computer  systems  or  network  that:
  
(a)
  is   grossly   offensive,   pornographic   or  
of   an   indecent,   obscene   or   menacing  character
 or  causes  any  such  message  or  matter
 to  be  so  sent;  or
(b)
  he   knows   to   be   false,   for   the
  purpose   of   causing   annoyance,   inconvenience,
danger,   obstruction,   insult,   injury,   criminal
  “intimidation,   enmity,   hatred,   ill   will
    or  needless  anxiety  to  another  or
 causes  such  a  message  to  be  sent: commits
 an  offence  under  this  Act  and  shall
 be  liable  on  conviction  to  a  fine
 of  not  more  than  N7,000,000.00  or
 imprisonment  for  a  term  of  not  more
 than  3  years  or  to  both  such
 fine  and  imprisonment.”
 

Credits -Google

In its
subsection (2), the law also states that any  person  who
 knowingly  or  intentionally  transmits  through
 a  computer  system  or  network —
(a)
  to   bully,   threaten   or   harass   another
  person,   where   such   communication   places
 another  person  in  fear  of  death,
 violence    or    bodily  harm  or  to
 another  person; Cyberstalking.
(b)
 containing  any  threat  to  kidnap  any
 person  or  any  threat  to  harm  the
 person  of  another,   any   demand   or  
request   for   a   ransom   for   the  release
  of   any   kidnapped  person,   to   extort
  from   any   person,   firm,   association   or
  corporation,   any   money   or  other  thing
 of  value;  or
(c)
 containing  any  threat  to  harm  the
 property  or  reputation  of  the  addressee
 or  of  another   or   the   reputation  
of   a   deceased person   or   any   threat   to
  accuse   the  addressee   or   any   other
  person   of   a   crime,   to   extort  
from   any   person,   firm,  association,  or
 corporation,  any  money  or  other  thing
 of  value: commits  an  offence  under  this
 Act  and  shall  be  liable  on  conviction.
(i)
 in  the case  of  paragraphs  (a)  and  (b)
 of  this  subsection  to  imprisonment  for
 a  term  of  10  years  and/or  a
 minimum  fine  of
N25,000,000.00;
 and(ii)  in  the  case  of  paragraph  (c)
 and  (d)  of  this  subsection,  to
 imprisonment  for  a  term  of  5  years
 and/or  a  minimum  fine  of  N15,000,000.00.

From the foregoing, it is obvious
that any blogger who fails to pay detailed attention to the information being
shared via their respective blogs and ensures that same is not false and
malicious may end up at the Federal High Court being charged for defamation. The period of jail time stipulated in the law and the fines which may be imposed on anyone found guilty of breaching these laws are very steep. I
therefore insist that you kindly watch what you blog about on the internet.
Adedunmade Onibokun
@adedunmade
  
What Is The Role Of Lawyers?

What Is The Role Of Lawyers?

Editor’s note: This post was reposted from the AboveTheLaw website.

Credits -Google


I recently had lunch with a friend who I
haven’t seen in many years. She shared that she’s been in litigation for seven
years with her ex-boyfriend, who was also her business partner. She won in
trial court, but the case has been appealed all the way up to the state supreme
court, and the ex is now threatening to appeal it to SCOTUS.
I asked her if she wanted to litigate the case
and she said sure, in the beginning, because she was angry at her ex. Now,
she’s not even sure what they’re fighting about. She’s too vested in the case
to walk away and clearly, both sides have been digging in their heels and are
now neck deep in the quicksand called our “justice system.” She hired a
well-respected law firm, and needless to say, the only parties that are happy
with this situation are the lawyers.

She shared her frustrations with the legal
system, her attorneys, and mainly herself for thinking that somehow, all the
anger and frustrations of this business (and romantic relationship) failing
could be fixed by the ruling of the judge.
I have another friend who is a lawyer whose
mother died as a result of malpractice. After two years of litigation, she
finally got a settlement. I asked how she felt, and she said she was really
unhappy. The only thing she ever wanted from the case was to be able to
sit down with the doctor and talk to him. She wanted to understand the
circumstances that led to the death of her mother — from the doctor’s mouth.
She felt this dialogue with the “wrongdoer” would give her closure.
Most lawyers probably have had these types of
experiences where despite getting a winning result for their clients, the clients are still unhappy. The clients are
generally unhappy because a) they never wanted to be in this situation, b) they
did not understand how much time, effort, and money it would take to
“win,” and c) the justice system is often anything but “just,” and the victory
imagined is often not very satisfying.
Which brings me to the question — what is the
role of a lawyer? A simple answer is that our role is to zealously advocate for
our client’s interest. But what does that really mean? In my first example, was
my friend’s interest being best served by fighting to the bitter end? For what
actually turns out to be unresolved anger stemming from the failed
relationship? In my second example, did the malpractice attorney really
advocate for her client when the client made it very clear what she deeply
desired was an opportunity to speak with the doctor — and not money?
Before we had law and order, before we lived
in a civilized society, people resolved their disputes through physical fights
(usually to the death). Then we as a society decided that maybe killing each
other to resolve conflict wasn’t such a great idea. So, now we have law and
lawyers. But there is still a remnant of the origins in that when a client
hires a lawyer, oftentimes, they’re hiring a skilled mercenary.
I was reading a book titled The Compassionate Lawyer, by Kimberly J.
Stamatelos (affiliate link). (You can listen to my interview with Kim here.)
She practices family law, mediation, and collaborative divorce. In the very
first page of the book is this quote:
Discourage
litigation. Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. As a
peacemaker the lawyer has superior opportunity of being a good man. There will
still be business enough.~Abraham Lincoln
In law school, we’re trained to think that all
legal disputes must be resolved by the court system. We are rarely trained in
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), mediation, or to simply help our clients
to move past the anger and see the situation with more clarity.
It was interesting talking to Kim because even
just a decade ago, mediation was dismissed as nonsense. What good would it do
for the parties to talk to each other? That’s just crazy. Of course, now,
mediation is widely available and is often mandatory. At least some portion of
lawyers are moving towards becoming as Lincoln suggests, “peacemakers.”
There are many movements towards this goal,
including ADR, Conscious Capitalism, Problem-Solving Justice, Conscious Contracts,
Conscious Uncoupling, Restorative Justice, and of course, mediation.
I recently sat down and interviewed Judge
Bruce Peterson
 from Minnesota, and I was surprised to hear
about all the things the courts are doing to actually help the offenders. He
was also in the process of putting a curriculum together for a course on
Lawyers As Peacemakers for a local law school.
In this week’s New Yorker, in an article
titled You Really Don’t Have To Work So Much,
the author addresses the friction between the social function of law — dispute
resolution — and the almighty billable hour.
Consider the litigation system, in which the
hours worked by lawyers at large law firms are a common complaint. If
dispute resolution is the social function of the law, what we have is far from
the most efficient way to reach fair or reasonable resolutions. Instead, modern
litigation can be understood as a massive, socially unnecessary arms race,
wherein lawyers subject each other to torturous amounts of labor just because
they can. In older times, the limits of technology and a kind of
professionalism created a natural limit to such arms races, but today neither
side can stand down, lest it put itself at a competitive disadvantage.
Which brings me back to the broad question of
the role of lawyers in general, but perhaps more applicably, your
role as a lawyer. You get to define for yourself how you want to practice
and what kind of lawyer you want to be. 
In my recent interview with Jim Dwyer,
a personal injury lawyer in Portland, Oregon, who also blogs at Tipping
The Scales
, he shared that his first priority when a client
walks into his office is to help the client restore his or her health. Think
about that. Many PI lawyers want their clients to remain injured, or at least
continue to suffer as a result of the injury because that may lead to greater
financial compensation.
Practicing law is an incredible privilege. We
have the power to make an impact — both small and large. Yet, rarely do we as
lawyers contemplate the type of impact we want to make in the world, or what is
indeed in the best interest of our clients.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this eloquent
quote by Chief Justice Warren Burger from 1984.
The entire legal profession – lawyers, judges,
law teachers – has become so mesmerized with the stimulation of the courtroom
contest that we tend to forget that we ought to be healers of conflicts.
For many claims, trials by adversarial contest
must in time go the way of the ancient trial by battle and blood. Our system is
too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized
people.


Jeena Cho is co-founder of JC
Law Group PC
, a bankruptcy law firm in San Francisco, CA. She is
also the author of the upcoming American Bar Association book, The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Happier, Saner Law
Practice Using Meditation
(affiliate link), as well as How to Manage Your Law Office
with LexisNexis. She offers training programs on using mindfulness and
meditation to reduce stress while increasing focus and productivity. She’s the
co-host of the Resilient Lawyer podcast.
You can reach her at smile@theanxiouslawyer.com or on Twitter at @jeena_cho.
Reposted from the ff link – http://abovethelaw.com/2015/08/what-is-the-role-of-lawyers/
WHY WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS NATION

WHY WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS NATION


Credits – Google


If you are Nigerian
reading this blog, I dove my heart to you. I am wondering how you could be so
tolerant when your lives are continually being destroyed. The monies meant to
rehabilitate your roads, build you hospitals, upgrade your schools, install
power and practically change your lives has been shipped off to foreign
accounts or used to buy exotic cars, build fantastic houses and sponsor exorbitant
lifestyles of the corrupt. Sad thing is when these thieves come along, rather
than give them a piece of your mind, you call them chairman.
The present administration
of President Buhari has come out strongly to fight corruption, collaborating with
the US in a bid to bring all the corrupt Nigerians to book and like always you
just read the news from the papers and deliberate over the captions in your
living rooms or better yet at the beer parlours. While you let someone else to
do your dirty work for you. If you are Nigerian reading this, I think you are
very lazy and maybe you don’t deserve a better Nigeria. 

The National Assembly
which consists of your representatives which you elected has constituted itself
as the biggest money guzzling enterprise in Nigeria where the honourable
members make off with millions of naira and use their positions to enrich
themselves and their cronies. You agitated that they should reduce their pay, a
proposal they have tossed into the bin with the excuse of making further
deliberations. Yet, you cannot do anything, you cannot even send a clear
message to the National Assembly, that we voted them into office and they must do
our bidding, maybe it’s because you have lost the right to do that because some
of you collected bribes or refused to vote in the last elections.  
Trillions have been stolen
from our Nation, from our pockets and from our futures and we just lay back,
suffering and smiling. Our educational system is below par compared to other
countries of the world, that’s why we spend 1.5 Trillion annually on education
abroad according to the Vice President. We are travelling to England, US and
even Turkey for education. If all the monies stolen were directed into
infrastructure for you, can you imagine how great our country will be. 
 

Credits – Google

The political class has
raped us since the 1960s, we had so much promise but our oil revenues have been
cleared out, our country is in debt, states can’t afford to pay salaries and
millions of our youths are still out of a job, but that does not get you angry,
it only gives you more reasons to tweet some more, probably drink some more or
my favourite, keep praying for Nigeria. I know God is not a wicked God and with
all the revivals, special prayer sessions and vigils held on behalf of Nigeria,
there has been no change, electricity is not even stable yet, after over 40
years must we still wait for a miracle? Which is obviously not coming, or a
messiah who will come and with a wave of his magic wand set everything
straight. 
My friend, you had better
wake up, open your eyes, get off your knees and start sending a clear message
to your representatives in government positions wherever they may be. Tell them
you are tired of the despicable mess we continue to swim in as a country, that
you will no longer tolerate mediocrity, corruption, nepotism and the likes in
our country. That you want a change and will do all you can to get it. If we
all sing this song, maybe we can turn our Nation around in 10 years or maybe we
should retire to ur prayer corners and wait another 40 years before we get it
right, hopefully a miracle may have come by then. 
There is no fear of
corruption in this Nation, rather there is a yearning for an opportunity to
have the same opportunity to loot the funds. The courts have not given us
justice and the punishments served to the few who are put on trial do not serve
as a deterrent. The police force is hungry, with under paid salaries and lack
of equipment, no police man will put his life on the line for yours. 
We must be the new
watchdogs, everyone corrupt person out there must be afraid of us,  every public official asking for 10% must
begin to fear the wrath of the people, every Governor, commissioner, minister
and public servant must be forced to take up their responsibilities and live above
board. The fear of you and I must be their motivating factors but if we
continue to tweet and sit our asses down doing nothing but wailing and praying,
we will never amount to much as a Nation. 
I thought Government was
supposed to be of by the people, by the people and for the people but that was
said in the United States of America, here it is government for myself and my
family. 
Adedunmade Onibokun
@adedunmade
SENATE AND PAY SLASH

SENATE AND PAY SLASH

Credits – Google

Recently, Nigerians let
out a huge cry of disapproval when members of the Senate openly refused the
proposition by the ad-hoc committee, headed by James Manager- Delta South to
reduce the allowances and budget of the National Assembly.
There are 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of
Representatives and collectively they spend hundreds of billions of naira
annually in budgetary allowances; and
at this moment,
there has been an indefinite postponement on considerations of the report.
I will like to look at
this from three points of views; a) From the point of view of we the people; b)
From the point of view of the politicians and c) wholesomely.

A)  The People

Let’s
face it, we do not trust members of the National Assembly as a people and same
goes for all politicians. Daily, we read about how our Nation’s resources are
plundered and syphoned to foreign accounts or invested in choice property in
the lushest areas of the world. I read recently of how the ICPC seized
properties worth billions of naira from corrupt civil servants and I am
constantly fazed with the amazing figures of the loot being stolen. 180 billion
naira here, 20 billion dollars there, 500 million somewhere, and so on and so
forth. 
 

So
why will I not kick against the huge pay being paid to these public servants
who represent less than 0.3% of our population? Whose budget represents a
substantial part of our annual national budget? Most especially, when they get
to decide their pay by themselves but sit over the budgets of the executive and
judiciary? What happened to the equitable principle that you do not sit as
judge over your own matter? 
 

We
have now begun to chuck it up to greed, corruption, a thieving system of
governance and selfishness of the highest degree. As a people we castigate it
and condemn it in the strongest words and the stand of the common man is that
the allowances being earned by this selected few cannot be accepted, is not
sustainable and must be radically reduced.  
 

Credit – Google
B)   The Politician

During the run up to the
2015 elections, I was sited next to a politician in his home as he received
members of his constituency who had come to meet with him. I noticed that each
person who had come that day came with a financial request; either a child’s
school fees needed to be paid; a family head needed financial support since business
was not going smoothly; a borehole that needed to be dug in the community; cash
gifts to a group of touts who had come to pay homage; cash gifts to party
officials and representatives; donations to groups and organisations consisting
of women and children.

When we were alone, I
expressed my dismay at the enormous amounts of financial requests and
obligations he had promised to redeem and he said to me “that is how they come
every day”.  To deny the requests of
these constituency members will amount to automatically losing your support to
the next man who is willing to throw around cash resulting to practically the
end of your political career. SO WHAT DO WE EXPECT THE POLITICIAN TO DO?

Now, imagine you were a
member of the National Assembly, knowing fully well the enormous financial
obligations on you to these loving members of your constituency, will you
accept a pay slash or will you fight for a pay increase?
 

C)  Wholesomely

Now, what do we do?
Do the people continue to campaign against the fine gentlemen and women of the
National Assembly to reduce their pay? Do the members of the Senate let go of a
vital chunk from the source of funds they have access to without a commiserate removal
of the financial obligations expected from them by their respective
constituencies who also represent members of their communities? I do not
believe we will see substantial results from any of the aforesaid action
points. At best, it will result in a situation similar to when the branches of
a tree are cut off, but the stem and root are left to grow again in the near future.
We must also keep in mind that about seven government bodies share the budgetary allocation of the National Assembly.
I believe we need a
pronged approach to resolving this issue, the allowances of the Senate must
definitely be reduced, politicians must stop throwing money around, which will
be difficult to curtail and the people must be orientated to fully understand
their roles in governance. Begging politicians for money will always put us in
the losing side as it gives the politician reasons to siphon more funds.
Moreover, we will never be able to hold such a politician accountable after he
has bought our conscience.

What do you think
the ultimate solution should be? Please share in the comment box below.

Adedunmade Onibokun
Esq.

@adedunmade

HOW TO WRITE BETTER BRIEFS

HOW TO WRITE BETTER BRIEFS

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Harcourt, 28-30 Oct 2015
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On Crimes And Punishment by Nky Otike-Odibi

On Crimes And Punishment by Nky Otike-Odibi

Credits – Google
I
happened to be in the temple of justice recently when the drama
ensued. The accused person, an elderly man of about fifty to
sixty-something years, whom, from the proceedings it was established has
fathered many children, was charged with the offence of defiling minors —
mostly girls.
The
prosecuting counsel having proved his (accused’s) guilt beyond reasonable
doubt, it was time for the judge to give his judgement. The accused’s lawyer
was given the chance to make his closing address. The defence counsel, perhaps
cleverly or maybe inadvertently, decided to give the accused person the whole
ten minutes allotted him to address the court. All was silent such that we even
heard our slow breathing. The accused man, wearing an apparently faked
remorseful look, started off with the most familiar ridiculous of remarks: “Na de satan ooo, na im cus am. Abeg
make una helep me, I no go do am again. Me, I get am for plenty wife and
shildren. I no say…”

I
instantly noticed a matronly woman, obviously her heart the most gnawed and
stricken and her head reeling from the horrors the accused had created,
silently stand up and make for the exit as if she was trying to go ease
herself.
She
however retraced her steps and stealthily stole behind the accused person,
still unnoticed by anyone except me, and from there stretched out her right
hand, land three numbing/jolting thunder-strikes on the accused’s face in quick
succession. Thwack!
Thwack! Thwack! A feeling of disagreement echoed through the accused man,
harder than a scream, but as definite as thunder. The sound of the slaps
ricocheted off the whole courtroom like the bark of angry thunder in dry
season. The accused man stopped mid-sentence, his unspoken words hanging
dangerously in the hallowed courtroom ceiling; surprise and fear trickling over
his skin like high-voltaged electricity. Thankfully, for him, a policeman, half
asleep or half roused was nearby. The policeman instinctively jumped at the
woman to prevent more thunders from barking inside the courtroom.
When
later the accused was being led out of the courtroom into a waiting Black
Maria, the same woman walked up to him again. But this time, the prison wardens
and policemen leading the accused were alert and on their guard. She shot him a
long scornful and enraged glance, muster enough inner strength and muttered in
a high-pitched scream, loud enough for everybody to hear amidst the whole
frenzied talk: “I hope the
devil
enters somebody else one day and he does the same to your own
daughters,
too!” She hurriedly stomped out of the courtroom, seething with unsatisfied
anger.
I
filed the incident away in the innermost recess of my memory, to be recalled
when the need arose. That need perhaps would never had arisen had it not been
for the current spate of disturbing news making waves round the whole country
of children being defiled and desecrated. I have always tried to imagine the
huge volume of explaining humans will have to give the devil when the time
eventually comes. One sure thing, the devil won’t take it lightly with the
majority of the explanations, and I might add that he would be astounded and
petrified at the same time. The devil takes the blame for the theft, rape,
affray and so many other unmentionable acts. So much for the devil bearing the
brunt of our every actions, the products of our own free will. Sometimes, I
wonder how the devil must really have been feeling from all the name-calling
and finger-pointing. The worst of it is that very irritating report in which
the suspect will speedily heap the blame on the devil. As in where a depraved
and demented (of course, you are free to add idiotic, stupid, moronic and
imbecilic) sixty-year old pedophile would hurriedly blame the devil after being
caught. And the case of the petty thief coming on the pages of newspapers and
TV screens to declare that indeed it was the devil who magically appeared
behind him to push him into stealing.
I
would be risking everything on my hunch to claim that indeed the devil does
enter humans to commit such grievous crimes as murder or rape, but I think the
claim is worth it. For in the case of the madman, who’s mind and reason is
absent, who butchers somebody else, he didn’t do it of his own accord,
technically speaking. It was an agent inside him that did it, technically
speaking.
 

credits – google

However,
it is man’s custom to always want to rationalize his heinousness by complaining
that the devil took firm grip of him which led him into committing one grievous
crime after the other. In our sophistication – or rather, affability? – we
virtually shrug aside the immoral individual such that we invariably encourage
his degeneration into darker thoughts and evil machinations. To ‘remedy’ this, it became
the habit of man to engage in one crime after the other; an infallible sign of
galloping crime-philia or evil-mania. Such cases degenerate rapidly and are
usually incurable. The only way out being to self-destruct, after the criminal
had regrettably done away with many unsuspecting victims.
And
so far for the most heinous crimes as rape and murder, is the invincible hand
of the devil involved? I think not. That is if we can see the devil to ask him,
but since we can not, let me continue. The devil is wise and tricky to know
that he would only have to dangle before men that thing which they cherish most
and they will tumble head over heels into his devastating firm grasp. With his
hand firmly on the bait, the devil would start a sinister and deadly
demonstration, and a slight nip of the bait will ignite a fire like a pile of dry
kindling; a fire so devastating and ragingly difficult to put out. Take for
instance, the serial rapist who is in the custom of pushing the blame on the
devil, or the dogged armed robber, or even the cold-sick murderer, is it not as
a result of the devil presenting before their paths those thing which make the
commission of their crimes easy that they enjoy committing the crimes and
subsequently push the blame on the devil? The devil played upon their feelings
as carefully and skillfully as a first-class artiste plays upon his instrument,
dangling nudity and sexual perversion alluringly before the rapist and hapless
victims regrettably before the murderer. And when eventually their cups get
filled, the blame automatically shifts to the devil even though they had chosen
to fall into his trap with their eyes wide open.
When
in the upheavals of a distorted life which some want to flee from but which
some others want to engage in happens, those who had accepted to embrace such
demented lives will slip into things much worse than the devil himself, and in
the process, the resultant effects they will display would be the products of
some poisoned and warped thoughts. So when next one might one to blame the
devil for crimes committed personally, one should take deep breaths, thoroughly
examine one’s life and be certain he/she hasn’t provided the devil that
enabling environment to perfect his purpose. The devil does not require so much
as a whole man to engineer his devious purpose; the most minute opening in man’s
heart is enough for him.
But
then, let me suggest a little way in which I think we can bypass the it-was-the-devil blame
syndrome. Once that particular devious yearning obsessively rears it ugly head,
just blank your thoughts away from it and pretend it never crossed your
thinking horizon. To illustrate, a teeter-totter victim in government service
resolved his problem in the original manner. When he got a case that he could
not fully decide, he would simply remove the file from the office at night and
throw it away. To demonstrate further, ruminate on this: my good friend, Nkem,
the reverend father, told me sometime ago that whenever he sees nudity being
shamelessly flaunted before him, he metaphorically gorge out his eyes, throw
them into the fire and continue his business blindly.
In
conclusion, then, let me state my position without qualification or
equivocation. I stand solidly behind the school that man is responsible for his
every deed. As for the kleptomaniac, seeing somebody else’s unprotected
property doesn’t call for it to be stolen. The man going about defiling little
girls should be made to understand that he must bear the consequence of his
deeds. That is why the criminal justice system is there. The judge will without
bating an eyelid send him to the dungeons known as Nigerian prisons – that is,
if the gallows or the execution chambers do not favor his undeniable presence,
first – where after cooling his sorry behind for years on end, he’ld definitely
think twice before mentioning the devil’s name. Coupled with he fact that he’ld
be so messed up and worthless that even the devil won’t fancy his shambolic
life as a good host anymore. Thank God in our jurisprudence, one would have a
hell of a time trying to convince a judge that it was the devil’s deed, not
his.
It’s
time people start facing reality. Crimes are naturally the result of the whims
and caprice of a free-thinking, free-acting individual. Crimes are not made
possible by the mysteries of supernatural forces. Every man is responsible for
his own deeds, and his actions should teach him a lesson, at least. I find it
extremely unbelievable that in this modern age, an individual would still
mention the devil when he is caught in a crime.
Sounds
pretty insane to me. So for that elderly man in the courtroom who said ‘na de satan na im cus am,’
no satan caused anything, but, rather, your licentious libido did. Your
uncontrollable urge for sex did it. With this, whenever you see the devil, be
sure to prove to him that he indeed took hold of you and cleverly manipulated
the crime for which you were charged and how he managed to outfox law
enforcement the whole time until your cup got filled.
A
word to the sufficient is wise.
from: www.legalwatchmen.wordpress.com via https://legalwatchmen.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/on-crimes-and-punishment/

My Encounter With Boko Haram Foot Soldiers – Barrister Aisha

My Encounter With Boko Haram Foot Soldiers – Barrister Aisha

Credits – Google

Interview
By Shehu Abubakar and Ibrahim Sawab
Maiduguri — Barrister
Aisha Kalil Wakkil
is a lawyer and human rights activist with the
National Human Rights Commission. The senior legal officer has, for over five
years, been into peacemaking between the Jama’atu Ahlil Sunnah (Boko Haram) and
the federal government. In this exclusive interview with the Daily Trust on
Sunday
, Barr Wakkil, who claims to be a very close confidant of Boko Haram
foot soldiers, spoke on several issues.
How did your
mediation initiative between the federal government and Boko Haram start?
Nobody asked me
to do it. Such a quality is in my nature because I love peace so much. Where I
come from in the Southeast, we live in a very peaceful atmosphere, especially
in my family. We mediate a lot where there is any problem. Now that I am a
Muslim and Islam is a very peaceful religion, with all its teachings, this Boko
Haram development doesn’t really make sense to me. Why should such a wonderful
religion experience this kind of a thing? But I also know that anywhere there
is smoke, there must be fire. Something must have happened for these children
to start behaving like this.

Do you really
know them well?
Yes, they were
children I knew a long time ago. The first time I visited Maiduguri around 1989
was when some of them were circumcised. I witnessed the circumcision. That is
to tell you how young some of them were – and still are. I witnessed the growth
of most of them. They were very wonderful children. As time went on, most of
them began living in my house because my house is always open to all the
children in that area. That was how I got to know most of them. Then they were
not Boko Haram and Jama’atu ah-lil Sunnah members.
So at what
stage did they become extremists?
It is
surprising how these children turned out to be what they are now. I keep on
saying there is certainly no smoke without fire. Something must have triggered
those innocent-looking children to grow up behaving the way they are behaving
now. You needed to see them growing up. These were children that would come to
my house, play around and help in watering my ugwu plant. We would cook
together and they would help clean my kitchen, my room and the entire house.
Sometimes when I start talking about them, I shed tears. Those children prayed,
and still pray a lot. I have a mosque in the house and they would always go in
and pray. Anytime I went to Shehuri north, whatever was in my handbag would not
follow me back because they would finish it there. They all called me Mama.
At what stage
did you start noticing changes in their character?
It all started
with a rumour. I began observing they would go out in the morning and return in
the evening. During the fasting period, they would not return until around 11
or 12 midnight. I also remember they would go to Muhammad Yusuf’s lectures to
listen to his preaching. Sometimes, they would come back to tell me,
“Mama, see what we read today”, and I would say, “thank God,
this Muhammad Yusuf is really trying o.” I didn’t observe anything strange
about the teaching.
Soon, the
children began to be conscious of themselves. They always wanted to do one
thing or the other to remain busy. It was then that the rumour started that
they were planning a war. When I heard of it, I went straight to Muhammad Yusuf
because I had been very close to him. His father-in-law, Alhaji Baba Fugu was
my Islamic spiritual father and the entire family knew me very well. When I
realized that Muhammad Yusuf was frequently being arrested, detained and
released, I went to Baba Fugu and asked him why his son-in-law was always being
detained? But I learnt he was always preaching things government didn’t like
and insulting them.
Credits – Google
One day when he
(Muhammad Yusuf) returned, I went to his house to see him. I tried to enter the
house but was not allowed in because I had a policeman in the front seat of my
car. It was Shekau who saw the policeman and refused to allow me to go in to
see Yusuf. I was angry and asked Shekau whether he didn’t recognize me and didn’t
realise how close I was to Yusuf. I sent a message to Yusuf that I was angry
and would never come to his house again. When he got my message, through his
father-in-law, he rushed to my husband’s office and told him that he heard I
was in his place but his boys refused to allow me in. He explained I wasn’t
allowed in because of the policeman they saw with me. When my husband told me,
I asked Yusuf to come over. He did and bowed down saying, “Mama, please
forgive me.” He was a very humble boy. I advised him that whenever he was
preaching he should avoid insulting government. After about a year or two, I
started hearing the rumour again that they were planning to fight. We used to
speak on phone most of the time.
How did you learn of the rumour?
Those
boys in my house suddenly disappeared for about a month; I did not set my eyes
on them. I was tensed up and started asking people where they were, but nobody
could tell me. Eventually when they returned, one of them told me he had
something to tell me. He said, “Mama we went for training.” When I
enquired from him what kind of training that was, he simply confided they would
be fighting a war. But then, I just laughed it off because I did not take him
serious. Jokingly, I asked him what he knew about war. But looking so serious,
he replied that, “Mama, I swear, our guns have already arrived in
Maiduguri and that included AK47s. When I asked him again what he knew about
any AK47, he just told me it was the gun they would be using to fight the war.
I then asked him where they trained and he respectfully replied, “Mama, I
will not tell you this one.”
I,
thereafter, called Muhammad Yusuf and told him what I had heard about a war
imminent. He asked who told me but I replied I wouldn’t tell him and he should
just answer me yes or no whether they were, indeed, planning to start a war.
One good quality about these boys is that they don’t lie. Yusuf said,
“yes, ma.” When I asked him why, he said it was because of acts of
maltreatment over the crash helmet against his followers. He said, “They
killed our people and nobody is doing anything”, and that government had
betrayed them and so on. I asked him what that betrayal could be and whether we
could address and stop it. It was getting close to the fasting period. He
folded his hands, bent his neck and kept mute. That was his nature. He then
said, “Mama, my hands are tight. I am not alone in this thing. A decision
has been taken. They must fight this war unless you can go and meet the
governor.”
Credits – Google
Unfortunately,
I wasn’t able to see the governor until the war started. When I heard about the
fight in Bauchi on a Saturday, I called Yusuf (which was the last time I spoke
with him) and told him I heard something was happening in Bauchi. He admitted
it, saying, “yes, we are the one.” He added the war would engulf
everybody beyond Bauchi. I thought he was joking. I spoke with his
father-in-law on phone that Saturday night. The following day, our own started
(in Borno state). I tried to reach him on phone but his line was not going.
On
Monday, someone came to tell me that he saw Muhammad Yusuf at the West-End
area. I rushed there but could not see him. Two days later, I saw him on
television talking and the next thing I saw him on the ground. Instantly, I
knew there was going to be a problem. That is where we are now.
Were you still seeing those boys living in your house
after that?
One
week to that incident, they disappeared again. When things cooled down, one of
them rushed in to tell me that “Mama, we fought a war, we killed this and
we killed that.” I shouted at him that small as he was, he could go to
war? But he replied that was how Allah wanted it and they did the work of
Allah. He said he had come to tell me he was going back to the battlefield and
he wouldn’t know if we would be meeting again. He told me to keep calling his
line and promised to always answer my calls so long he remained alive.
 

Credits – Google

The
boys left and, in a short while, became commanders in the Boko Haram group. The
whole thing was very funny to me. Suddenly, they started changing fast; they no
longer looked like those kids I called my children. The other day one of them
came to see me in my house. When I told him to sit down for a talk, he curtly
responded, “No, ma. As you are seeing me here, they have given me an assignment
and I have to go and do it.” When I enquired the manner of the assignment,
he calmly replied it was to kill someone. There was nothing I could do. I
couldn’t stop them. That situation remains till today.
Were you at a point scared of any association with them
and thought of cutting off all ties with them?
I
have always held that even if those boys should turn to snakes, I would remain
with them because I believe they will never harm me. Anytime any of them comes
around, what he tells me is the story that this one has died and that one has
become this and that.
When they relocated to the bush, did you ever go there
to see them?
I
have been there several times at different locations to see them. Sometimes, I
will cook for them and take the food there. Sometimes they will be the ones to
phone me and say, “when next you are coming buy suya and drugs for
us”, and things like that. At a time majority of them were dying before
they started recruiting more and more people.
When you go to the bush to see them, where do you stay?
Whenever
I meet them in the bush, we sit down and talk freely like mother and children.
They will show me different bombs and ammunitions. I will ask them what they
are doing with those things and will joke with them it’s themselves they will bomb
with them, not me. They will burst out laughing, saying “Mama has come
again.” Sometimes I will even stay there overnight. Their major
requirements are food and drugs. There had been occasions I stayed three days
with them in the bush.
How do you always find your way to wherever they are?
In
most cases, they will be the ones to call to ask me to bring them food, drugs
and/or money. When I inform them I am on my way there, they will start
directing me, saying things like, “go out of your house, cross the road
and you will see a car like this, like that. Open the rear door and sit on the
back seat and bend your head down while in the car till the journey
lasts.”
Do you still know the whereabouts of some of those boys
living in your house then?
Some
are dead, some are still in the bush, while some are in jail.
Have you ever sold them the idea of dropping their guns
and accepting amnesty?
Yes,
I have been doing that right from day one. In the beginning, they were telling
me that, “Mama, we don’t like this thing that is happening to us. We are
sure something is wrong somewhere. If government can call us and ask us, we
shall tell them everything. Let government dialogue with us and tell us how to
stop all these things and we will stop.” But as time went on, they started
talking negative of government. They were saying government was no more doing
this and that. One of them told me, “Mama, the ocean we are swimming in is
very deep. This thing has graduated from the Jama’atul Ahlil Sunnah into something
else.” He said “the big men in Nigeria know what I am saying,”
adding, “such people will not allow peace to emerge because they have
their interests.”
Weren’t they ever afraid you could betray them to the
authorities?
They
know I will never do that. In any case, whenever we come together to Abuja for
peace talks, we always move so closely until we return. You need to see us at
the airport as if we are fused together. In case there is any danger, all of us
will go. Anywhere I take them, we sleep in the same hotel and eat the same
food. They will all converge on my room to watch television. I will tell them
to look at the good things of life that they are missing and they will
confidently reply, “Yes, but one day in Allah’s kingdom is better than all
these.”
Have they ever told you if the group is factionalized,
as it seems they are no more doing things the same way they started?
Yes,
the way some of them are doing things has not been the same way the original
group was doing it. But the original group is still there. They are still very
much around. Even among them, the original Jama’atu Ahlil Sunnah is calling the
other ones Boko Haram. They will say they are not Boko Haram, the other ones
are the Boko Haram. I once asked them the difference between the two groups.
They said the other group has deviated from the norms. They said government and
politicians are buying them and using them to kill perceived opponents. They
said there are people doing rituals in the name of Boko Haram. But they are all
together in the bush. The whole thing is mixed up now. But once the original
group stops, every other one must stop because none can stand on its own again.
I once asked them about the frequent spate of bombings when it was becoming too
much. They said, “Mama, anywhere we bombed, we issue a statement claiming
responsibility. The ones we did not do, we keep quiet.”
Were the Chibok girls kidnapped by the original group?
All
I know is that the Boko Haram group kidnapped the Chibok girls.
From your close interaction with these boys, do you
think they will agree to drop their arms, release every person in their custody
and return to the larger society if government decides to grant them amnesty?
Let
me ask you this question; are they not human beings? If they are human beings
like you and I, why won’t they accept the offer of amnesty? This administration
is willing to dialogue with them. I am sure the president would like to ask
them what happened and I am sure the children will be willing to say it. I was
with them recently and they were asking me if the society will be willing to
forgive them. I said why not if they will drop their arms and become good boys.
If Nigeria and Nigerians can accommodate the OPC in the West, MASSOB in the
East and the Niger Delta militants, why won’t they accommodate them?
In all your visits to the forest to meet those boys,
have you ever encountered any difficulty?
Of
course, yes, I have encountered many difficulties. Once when I went out in
search of the girls, there was one particular guy who nearly kidnapped the
group I went with, but I just played along with him. Once you put a smile on
their faces, your problem is over. God helped us and we came out of it
successfully.
 

Credits – Google

There
was this other one that I do not like remembering. I was in the bush with them.
They were asking me who to trust and who not to trust. They were eating the
food I took to them and writing their names in Arabic inscription on the ground
when, suddenly, one of them stood up and started insulting me. He was eating
the N20,000 suya I bought for them when something came over him and he started
pouring abuses on me. He said as a lawyer who went to an English school, I was
not supposed to be where they were. He threatened to shoot me if I talk again.
Others were just eating their suya when their boss shouted at him to keep
quiet. After some minutes, one of them stood up and asked him, “Do you
know the person you just insulted? What made you insult her?” He pulled
his trigger and shot him thrice and his lifeless body fell down there. I was
terrified. None of them cared about his corpse. They simply continued eating
their suya. That was my worst moment.
There
was another time I was with them in the bush. I didn’t know that they had some
of their men on the top of the trees we were sitting under. I just heard
someone shout ‘Allahu Akbar’ from the tree top. Suddenly, they started firing
in that bush ceaselessly for about an hour. No one was willing to tell me what
was going on.
After the death of Muhammad Yusuf, did you ever see or
meet Shekau in the bush?
No,
I never met him.
But you were seeing other commanders in the bush who
you knew during the lifetime of Muhammad Yusuf…
Yes,
I was meeting others and Shekau knew I was going to the bush to meet some of
the boys.
We understand Shekau is dead…
I
am sorry, I won’t answer that question. I do not want to discuss that issue.
How would you like to describe the new leadership of
the group?
Well,
it has been the same thing. They keep killing. How do you want me to describe
them?
Some people say Muhammad Yusuf was milder than Shekau
because there weren’t many killings then. Do you agree with that belief?
Of
course, that is true. Muhammad Yusuf was cool-headed. But you should also know
that they are not responsible for all the killings. Some of the killings are
politically motivated while others may be for economic reasons. When finally
there is peace and the boys come into the open, Nigerians will hear from them.
They will tell the world who and who were sending them to do what.
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