CHARLES AJIBOYE,ESQ., FICMC IS A RESOURCEFUL INDIVIDUAL AND A BLESSING TO THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION – Chairman, Young Lawyers Forum, Ezekiel Bodunde,Esq.

CHARLES AJIBOYE,ESQ., FICMC IS A RESOURCEFUL INDIVIDUAL AND A BLESSING TO THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION – Chairman, Young Lawyers Forum, Ezekiel Bodunde,Esq.

I was excited to hear that my predecessor in office, Charles Ajiboye has picked and submitted his nomination forms and would be vying for the position of the Assistant Publicity Secretary in the NBA Elections 2020.

I have known him for over 10 years and I make bold to say that he is indeed a transformational servant leader and a tremendous blessing to the Nigerian Bar Association.

I served with him as Assistant Secretary of the NBA-YLF Ikeja Branch while he was the Chairman. His administration was a great success as he recorded a lot of milestones.

The NBA-YLF Ikeja Branch received more visibility and relevance during his tenure. He is a team player, a goal getter, a very hardworking and selfless person. 

Charles Ajiboye is an Executive Partner at The Penthouse Law and presently the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja.

Charles has an uncommon way of solving problems and I can guarantee that his contribution as an executive of the Bar would be felt by all and sundry.

Undoubtedly, Charles Ajiboye is a mentor to a lot of lawyers within and outside his jurisdiction. He is a multiple award winning trailblazer as he commenced offering Digital Legal Services and has been able to carve a niche for his firm in the Automotive Industry amongst others, with several awards to his credit.

As part of his selfless services to humanity, he encourages and supports young people to thrive in their businesses. He replicated same within the legal industry by regularly giving tips and advice to lawyers on how to succeed and see law as a business. So many successful law firms in Nigeria can trace their foundation to him.

I encourage every lawyer who wants to get inspired to succeed to watch his YouTube videos (https://tinyurl.com/Charles-YouTube ) and participate in the Law as A Business Group (https://chat.whatsapp.com/Eu1WRliM8Ll8WVXOPEJYg9).

I am happy that he is offering to serve. He is the epitome of all the good a Lawyer should be and he stands tall as the model every Young lawyer should aspire for.

Charles Ajiboye,FICMC has my highest recommendation for his pursuit at the Nigerian Bar Association and I pray that by the special grace of God, he shall be elected as the National Assistant Publicity Secretary so that we all can understand why I speak this way.

Ezekiel Bodunde,Esq.
Chairman of the NBA-YLF Ikeja Branch
.

Join Charles Ajiboye Friends group via this link –

https://chat.whatsapp.com/FnPjyi5moNh7llVrw1rp65

NBA Election Must Never Be Taken As A Do or Die Affair – Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN

NBA Election Must Never Be Taken As A Do or Die Affair – Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN

*Q*: *The NBA will elect a new set of officers in July this year to pilot its affairs for the next two years. It is the turn of the Southwest, and consequently, Egbe Amofin under your new leadership has met to adopt Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN) as its Presidential candidate. The process leading to his adoption has been criticised by some, while your pledge to donate the seed money for the construction of the permanent headquarters of Egbe Amofin at Ibadan has been described by someone as a Greek gift. What are your reactions to these?*
Answer:
In the course of this interview, you instigated me to mention some things that we have done in the past few years by God’s grace, I have reminded you of two lawyers who came to appreciate me in Ilorin for benefitting from the cars procured by their leaders through my assistance nine years ago, is this a Greek gift? The Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme has been on since 1996, is it a Greek gift? I have just read on the internet that the little fund I gave to the Ilorin Branch of the NBA on 19th March, 2020 has again been used to buy two cars for two young lawyers, whose photographs with the vehicle are now trending on the internet.

I don’t know any of the two lawyers. Is that also a Greek gift? For the past 15 years or so, I have steadily rendered quality assistance to the Lagos Branch of the NBA and successive Chairmen of the branch can attest to this. Perhaps, the sponsored write will also be described as a Greek gift.

My track record is in the public domain. I don’t want to join issues with anybody, but I know where that sponsored piece came from, a lecturer in the Nigerian Law School, who does not hail from any of the states in the South-West.

As a lecturer, one would have expected him to do a proper research before jumping to the fray. As for the criticism of Egbe, in respect of the adoption of Dele Adesina (SAN), this has been unfair and most uncharitable.

*Q. Why do you say this?*

*Ans:” At no time in the history of Egbe Amofin has the election of a consensus flagbearer been as democratic and painstaking as this one. This has been the only time that all the Branch Chairmen of all NBA Branches in the South West, all of them, without any exception were constituted into a committee to interface with, interview and pick a consensus candidate for the Egbe.

Between August, 2019 and February, 2020, four meetings were held by the Egbe, one in Lagos on 27/8/19, and three at Ibadan on 26/10/19, 9/11/19/ and 22/2/20. At the Lagos meeting, the unanimous resolution was that on no account would the Egbe sponsor two candidates, because of our experience of 2014.

At the Ibadan meeting of 26/10/19, Muyiwa Akinboro, SAN, Dele Adesina, SAN, Tunde Ajibade, SAN, and Awoniyi Alabi, all signified their intentions to contest the NBA presidency under the banner of the Egbe, with each of them solemnly pledging in the presence of all attendees numbering about 500 that he would abide by the decision of the Egbe. Muyiwa Akinboro is a former Chairman of the Abuja Branch and former National Secretary of the NBA. Dele Adesina is a former Chairman of Ikeja Branch and former National Secretary of the NBA.

Awoniyi is a former Chairman of Osogbo Branch and former Legal Adviser of the NBA. Both Akinboro and Adesina are life members of the NBA NEC. The meeting of 26/10/19 unanimously nominated Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN to co-ordinate the meetings and deliberations of the committee set up by the Egbe for the selection of a sole candidate.

In turn, each of the candidates stood up to express his satisfaction with the composition of the committee and the choice of Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN as the coordinator. The committee submitted its report at the meeting of 9/11/19, showing that over 80 percent of the Branches/Branch Chairmen endorsed the nomination of Dele Adesina, SAN, as the sole candidate.

The meeting of 9/11/19 would have been held a week earlier, but for the passionate plea of Tunde Ajibade, SAN who said that that date would not be convenient for him and we shifted the date of the meeting to 9/11/19, because of him. He did not attend the meeting of 9/11/19, but the report of the selection committee was ratified and adopted.

It was then decided that all the Branch Chairmen and the leaders should sign the adoption document for record purposes, and all the Chairmen signed, apart from the Chairman of Lagos who is neither supporting Dele Adesina nor Tunde Ajibade.

The elders, including Chief M.A Ajomole, former Chairman of the Body of Benchers, who will be 90 years later this year, Chief Mrs. Priscilla Kuye, former President of the NBA, Chief Emmanuel Abiodun, former Chairman of Ibadan Branch, Chief Gboyega Awomolo, SAN, former Chairman of the Committee of Chairmen and Secretaries of the NBA, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, SAN, Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN and myself signed. It was also the decision of the meeting that all the other fora in the country be informed of the choice of Dele Adesina, SAN as the consensus candidate of the Egbe.

*Q*: *What is the grouse of those criticising the adoption process?*

*Ans*: I cannot honestly diagnose their grouse. I was one of the leading lawyers of the South-West who founded the Egbe in 1999 – the others were late Chief Debo Akande, SAN, late Chief Idowu Shofola, SAN, late Chief Dele Aiku, SAN, late Chief Adigun Ogunseyitan, and Chief Gboyega Awomolo, SAN. The Egbe adopted me as its candidate in 2002 and Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, in 2008.

I can say with all sense of responsibility that the process put in place leading to the adoption of Dele Adesina, SAN has been more elaborate, democratic and painstaking. I understand that my beloved brother, Tunde Ajibade, SAN complained that the criteria used by the committee were not known to him, but I can recollect that at the meeting of 9/11/19, the committee was mandated to formulate its own criteria, taking cognisance of the criteria which had always been used by the Egbe, including experience, acceptability, national reach, positions earlier held within the NBA, etc.

Any candidate who had further ideas on the criteria to be adopted by the committee was advised to pass same to the committee.  With respect to my beloved colleague and younger brother, Tunde Ajibade, SAN, his criticism of the Egbe is very hypocritical and also amounts to double talk.

The fact still remains that he wants to contest the presidency of the NBA simply because it is now the turn of the Southwest to produce the next President, based on a zoning arrangement initiated by the leaders of the Southwest and Southeast in 2000.
Or why did he not show interest in 2018 when it was the turn of the Southeast? Can he or any other person then be taking advantage of the turn of the Southwest and at the same time be pointing accusing fingers at the Egbe under which auspices he wants to contest? Now, was he taken into confidence before the President of the NBA, Mr. Paul Usoro constituted the membership of the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA) under the chairmanship of Mr. Tawo Tawo (SAN)? Did the ECNBA seek his consent before the choice of the ICT firm that will conduct the election? Did the NBA President discuss with him, or seek his consent before setting up the e- voting portal? Yet he wants to contest the election.

My appeal to him is that NBA elections must never be taken as a do-or-die affair as it happens out there in all the political parties in Nigeria. For example, I voluntarily stepped down for OCJ Okocha (SAN) in the year 2000, and I became the President of the NBA at God’s appointed time in 2002.

Some people are of the view that the Regional Fora are no longer relevant in the Bar because of the universal voting dispensation now at the Bar, what is your view on this?

Those who are peddling this suggestion should be reminded that it is a dangerous one which can be likened to a bizarre suggestion that the states and the six zones in Nigeria should be abolished. The different fora, through their branches gave birth to the NBA at the National level, and not the other way round.

On no account should any forum or the NBA generally disregard the decision of another forum, especially with regards to the choice of candidates particularly under a situation where all the Branch Chairmen in the South West, have signed and sealed the resolution that this is the choice of the South West.

It is the Southwest today, next time it will go to Arewa in the North and before you know it, it will be the turn of the South East; etc.

Excerpt from the interview granted by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN and published by the Nation Newspapers on the 26 May, 2020.

Webinar on Digital Innovation in Financial Services

Webinar on Digital Innovation in Financial Services

Years ago, a man(company) with deep foresight developed a software that has revolutionized payments in Nigeria. It’s called the REMITA. He developed it long before the Federal Government Treasury Single Account was enforced.

FINTECH is no longer an illusion, it is the new order. And the disruptions it is causing is massive.

There are huge opportunities in it for lawyers in the new normal. Join me at The Penthouse Law Interactive Session, where the Visionary CEO of the Billionaire SystemSpecs, John Tani Obaro will be sharing on the topic: *Digital Innovation In Financial Services: Opportunities for lawyers.*

Register here now IF you have never attended any of our sessions http://tinyurl.com/The-Penthouse-Sessions

Date is Tuesday, 2nd June 2020 on Zoom. It is wisdom for lawyers to begin to expand their horizons and carve a niche for themselves in emerging areas.

Please watch our previous sessions here http://tinyurl.com/Charles-Ajiboyes-Videos

My name is *Charles Ajiboye* and I just want us to succeed together.

Penalty for Killing, Lions, Elephants and Vultures in Nigeria  – #ObscureLegalFacts

Penalty for Killing, Lions, Elephants and Vultures in Nigeria – #ObscureLegalFacts

KILLING OF LIONS, ELEPHANTS AND VULTURES IN DEFENCE OF HUMAN LIFE ETC

#OBSCURELEGALFACTS BY AROME ABU

In Nigeria, except for defence of human life or public interest, it is an offence to kill a Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Royal Python, Whale, Elephant, Vulture etc

PENALTY
N1,000,000 to 5,000,000 fine.

Section 5 of the Endangered Species Act 2016.

Arome Abu is the Principal Partner of TCLP.

CAVEAT: Note that this information is provided for general enlightenment purposes and is not intended to be any form of legal advice.

Obscure Legal Facts is an exclusive daily publication of THE COUNSEL L-P.
Plot 108 Idris Gidado
Way, Wuye, Abuja.
abuarome@gmail.com
+234 803 262 2359
+234 708 1156 539.
Twitter: @TheCounselLP

Photo Credit – all Frica.com 
#ObscureLegalFacts – Organ Harvesting in Nigeria | Arome Abu

#ObscureLegalFacts – Organ Harvesting in Nigeria | Arome Abu

In Nigeria, it is an offence to pay a person to obtain their consent in order to remove their organ.
Iran allows commercial organ harvesting. While China is thought to rely on executed prisoners to provide the bulk of its transplanted organs.
PENALTY
Imprisonment of not less than 7 years or fine of not less than N5,000,000.00
Section 20(b) of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015.
Arome Abu is the Principal Partner of TCLP.
CAVEAT: Note that this information is provided for general enlightenment purposes and is not intended to be any form of legal advice.
Obscure Legal Facts is an exclusive daily publication of THE COUNSEL L-P.
Plot 108 Idris Gidado
Way, Wuye, Abuja.
abuarome@gmail.com
+234 803 262 2359
+234 708 1156 539.
Twitter: @TheCounselLP
Photo Credit- Health Europa 
I Am Proud of NBA Ikere- Ekiti Branch’s Historical Achievement | Caroline Ibharuneafe

I Am Proud of NBA Ikere- Ekiti Branch’s Historical Achievement | Caroline Ibharuneafe

 
On behalf of my colleagues and I at Carol Ibharuneafe and Co, I congratulate the Chairman, Exco and Members of NBA Ikere- Ekiti Branch in Ekiti State for a successful Branch election and the historical achievement of the emergence of yet another female Chair and Secretary of the Branch.
 
History was made when Kike Owolabi and Ibironke Odetola won the branch election and emerged as the Chair and the Secretary respectively. Ifedapo Osadola also emerged as the branch treasurer. The confidence in these women by the Members of NBA Ikere – Ekiti Branch cannot be mentioned without the immense success of the Oludayo Olorunfemi , Esq led Exco.
 
It is amazing what our female members in the NBA are achieving through the positions they are holding and others such as the Executives of the NBA Women’s Forum serve as another example. I celebrate with and congratulate all female lawyers for this amazing feat.
 
Caroline Ibharuneafe
Past Vice – Chairman, NBA Ikeja
#integrity + accuracy

 

#ObscureLegalFacts: Penalty For Forceful Eviction From Home by Husbands and Wives

#ObscureLegalFacts: Penalty For Forceful Eviction From Home by Husbands and Wives

‪In Nigeria, it is an offence for a man to forcefully evict his wife from the home, or refuse her access into it.‬

It is also an offence for a wife to forcefully evict her husband or deny him access into the home.

PENALTY
-Fine-N300,000
-Imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both

It is also an offence to incite or aid a person to forcefully eject his/her spouse.

In Africa, owing to the cultural misconception that it’s the husband who owns the house, many women face forceful ejection when the marriage gets frosty.

NOTE: The VAPP Act applies only in the Federal Capital Territory.

See Section 9 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.

Arome Abu is the Principal Partner of TCLP.

CAVEAT: Note that this information is provided for general  enlightenment purposes and is not intended to be any form of legal advice.

Obscure Legal Facts is an exclusive daily publication of THE COUNSEL L-P.
Plot 108 Idris Gidado
Way, Wuye, Abuja.
abuarome@gmail.com
+234 803 262 2359
+234 708 1156 539.
Twitter: @TheCounseLP
Photo Credit – Abrahams & Gross 
When Employer’s ‘Advice’ to an Employee to Resign Amounts to Constructive Dismissal in Employment Law | By Michael Dugeri

When Employer’s ‘Advice’ to an Employee to Resign Amounts to Constructive Dismissal in Employment Law | By Michael Dugeri

                                                          

Sometimes, an employee that is deserving of summary
dismissal is given a soft landing by being asked to resign instead. This may be
for a variety of reasons, such as to save the employee the unfavourable
consequences of a dismissal (as against voluntary resignation). What if such employee
later sues the employer for ‘constructive dismissal’, and claims that he/she
was hounded out of the job by being ‘asked’ to resign?  
                                                                       

                

In employment law, constructive dismissal (also called
constructive discharge or constructive termination) occurs when an employee
resigns as a result of the employer creating a hostile work environment. Since
the resignation was not truly voluntary, it is in effect, a termination that
might entitle the employee to remedy. 

 

A case study of Mrs Vivien Folayemi Asana v. First Bank of Nigeria
Ltd

The doctrine of constructive dismissal/discharge has been
applied by Nigerian courts, with approval, in a number of cases, such as the
case of
Mrs Vivien
Folayemi Asana v. First Bank of Nigeria Ltd
(SUIT NO. NICN/LA/184/2016) the judgment of which was
delivered on 09 October 2018. In the case the claimant claimed that she was
forced to resign her employment, on account of which her resignation amounted
to constructive dismissal from her defendant. The evidence of the claimant was
that she was called on phone to a meeting with the Relief Executive Director in
the Human Capital Management and Development of the defendant and “coerced,
compelled, threatened and forced” to write a resignation letter or be handed a
letter of termination. The claimant’s resignation letter read as follows:

Further to the
request that I should resign, by Management of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd.

I hereby
tender my letter of resignation.

Thank you for
the opportunity to have served in First Bank.

The court believed her testimony and held that, based on
the evidence, the claimant’s resignation amounted to constructive dismissal.
She was accordingly awarded damages in the sum of Two Million Naira to be paid
by the defendant, her former employer. The court noted that the award was
exclusive of other terminal entitlements that the claimant may have against the
defendant as a result of her disengagement.

 

General Comments on the Asana Case                                                                                                     

By way of general comments on the court’s judgment, it is
curious that the court in this case appeared to have based its belief that the
claimant’s resignation amounted to a constructive dismissal from the defendant
because the claimant herself noted in her resignation letter that she was
resigning on the “request” of management of the defendant to do so. In my
humble view, evidence that is needed to support a claim of constructive
dismissal should be deeper than a mere statement from the claimant to that
effect. What if the claimant deliberately worded her resignation letter in a
manner to suggest that she was being forced to resign, even if such was not
quite the case? Also, in some cases, an employee that is truly deserving of a
dismissal is “requested” to resign as a favour from his/her employer, for a
variety of reasons. It will be unfair that the benevolence of such former
employer is allowed to be taken advantage of by a mischievous employee.    

 

Key Takeaways from the Asana Case on Constructive Dismissal                             

The above arguments notwithstanding, the court noted the
following interesting general points on the doctrine of constructive
dismissal:  

a.       The law as to constructive dismissal/discharge has been
stated by the National Industrial Court in number of its decisions, such as
Mr Charles Ughele v. Access Bank Plc
unreported Suit No. NICN/LA/287/2014, the judgment of which was delivered on
10th February 2017; Miss Ebere Ukoji v. Standard Alliance Life Assurance Co.
Ltd
[2014] 47 NLLR (Pt. 154) 531 and Mr. Patrick Obiora Modilim v.
United Bank for Africa Plc
unreported Suit No. NICN/LA/353/2012 the
judgment of which was given on 19th June 2014. These cases all agree that to
attempt to force the employee to resign, rather than outright firing the
employee means that the employer is trying to create a constructive discharge
and for which a case of constructive dismissal is made.

 

b.     
Although a claim for constructive
dismissal failed in Joseph Okafor v. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc
unreported Suit No. NICN/LA/29/2016, the judgment of which was delivered on
25th April 2018, the court, held on the requirements for a successful plea of
constructive dismissal thus:
…to be able to
succeed in a claim for constructive dismissal, the claimant must show that he
resigned soon after the incident(s) he is complaining about. See Miss Ebere Ukoji v. Standard Alliance Life
Assurance Co. Ltd
(supra).
The claimant himself agreed with the defendant that for the claimant’s case to
succeed, he must prove as enumerated in Western
Excavations v. Sharp
[1978] 1 All ER 713 that there is a repudiatory
breach (actual or anticipatory) on the part of the employer, which must be
sufficiently serious to justify the employee resigning; the employee must
resign in response to the breach; and the employee must not delay too long in
acting on the breach…
”.

 

c.      
In Miss Ebere Ukoji v. Standard
Alliance Life Assurance Co. Ltd
[2014] 47 NLLR (Pt. 154) 531 NIC, the court
laid bare what constructive dismissal/discharge entails, and the fact that
constructive dismissal/discharge brings to an end the employment of the
employee constructively dismissed or discharged by the employer leaving the
employee with only the right of recompense. In the words of this Court:
Globally, and in labour/employment law, constructive dismissal,
also referred to as constructive discharge, occurs when an employee resigns
because his/her employer’s behaviour has become intolerable or heinous or made
life difficult that the employee has no choice but to resign. Given that the
resignation was not truly voluntary, it is in effect a termination. In an
alternative sense, constructive dismissal or constructive discharge is a
situation where an employer creates such working conditions (or so changes the
terms of employment) that the affected employee has little or no choice but to
resign. Thus where an employer makes life extremely difficult for an employee,
to attempt to have the employee resign, rather than outright firing the
employee, the employer is trying to create a constructive discharge. The exact
legal consequences differ from country to country, but generally a constructive
dismissal leads to the employee’s obligations ending and the employee acquiring
the right to seek legal compensation against the employer. The employee may
resign over a single serious incident or over a pattern of incidents.
Generally, the employee must have resigned soon after the incident. See
generally Western Excavating v. Sharp
[1978] 1 All ER 713 and Oladosu Ogunniyi’s Nigerian Labour and Employment Law in Perspective (Folio
Publishers Limited: Ikeja), 2004, 2nd Edition, at pages 462 – 464.

 

d.     
In a claim of constructive dismissal,
the remedy available to a successful claimant is damages, but not
reinstatement. In Miss Ebere Ukoji v. Standard Alliance Life Assurance Co.
Ltd
(supra), having found for the claimant in terms of constructive
dismissal, damages were assessed and awarded.

 

Effect of Constructive Dismissal on recovery of employee
loans 

It is pertinent to note that a successful plea of
constructive dismissal has the effect of vitiating a pending obligating of the
claimant to the defendant. Hence, a successful claimant, in the circumstances,
can no longer be held liable for repayment of subsisting employment loans
advanced by the defendant and repayable by deductions from the employee’s
salary. Please see my earlier article “Litigation of Employee Loans as a Labour
Dispute”. 

In the instant Asana case, the defendant
counterclaimed N17.3 million Naira owed by the claimant by the defendant as
employee loan. In her defence against this counterclaim, the claimant argued
that the defendant frustrated the repayment plan of the loan advanced to her by
the very act of constructively dismissing her employment contract. There is a
long line of cases that have handled the issue of whether the doctrine of
frustration applies to subsisting employment obligations (such as employee
loans) when the employment contact is terminated. It is however, beyond the
purview of this article to cover such arguments. The pertinent thing to note
however is that constructive dismissal can potentially trigger frustration,
depending on the facts.   

In court in this case of Asana relied on cases such as Lewis v. UBA Plc [2016] 6
NWLR (Pt. 1508) 329;
Lagos State Govt. v.
Toluwase
[2013] 1 NWLR (Pt. 1336) 555 and Mazin Eng. Ltd v. Tower Aluminum [1993] 5 NWLR (Pt. 295) 526, to arrive at the conclusion that, based on the
facts of the instant case, the claimant was constructively dismissed/discharged
for no fault of her. In the particular circumstances of the facts, it would be
inequitable to allow the defendant benefit from its wrongfulness; and legal
policy frowns on this. In its words, the court stated thus: “…the goal of labour law is to ensure that no
employer can be allowed to impose – and no worker can be allowed to accept –
conditions of work which fall below what is understood to be a decent threshold
in a given society at a given time”. The defendant should not, indeed cannot,
be allowed to impose on the claimant a fair
accompli
– entice the claimant with an employment loan at a low rate,
then turn around and constructively dismiss her and convert the low rate loan
to one of a higher rate. Head of tail, the employer benefits much against the
interest of the claimant. This cannot be
.”

 

Conclusion

In the final analysis, legal advice is always needed to
safely bring closure to an employment relationship. Like marriages, employment
relationships are often easier to contract than to end. This needs to be
constantly borne in mind by the parties in order to minimise exposure of
potential legal dispute.

 

Michael Dugeri

Barrister & Solicitor

Lagos
Nigeria
www.mikedugeri.wordpress.com 

Children carry the hopes of our brighter tomorrow | Caroline Ibharuneafe

Children carry the hopes of our brighter tomorrow | Caroline Ibharuneafe

 

 
As a parent, having children is one of the most significant things that can happen to you. You may not have some biologically but that does not rule out the fact that every child deserves to be adored and loved by all. Children’s Day is a time to reflect on these precious gifts that God has given to mankind and to send wishes, messages, and prayers to them to show your love.
 
Also Children’s Day reminds us of the need to nurture and care for these young ones as they are the true leaders of tomorrow. Children will carry on our legacy, therefore it is not only important we educate them, whether boy or girl but that we also groom them to be active members of our community and leaders in every sense of the word.
 
As guardians and parents, it is also important that we not only teach our children the right thing but we also show them the right way to act, as children often ignore what we say and imitate what we do. Children carry the hopes of our brighter tomorrow and the dreams of our happy future. Wishing children all over the world    a very enjoyable day.
 
 
Caroline Ibharuneafe
Past Vice Chairman, NBA Ikeja
#integrity + accuracy
 
 
The ‘Why’ Question Technique In Cross Examination | Izuchukwu Temilade Nwagbara

The ‘Why’ Question Technique In Cross Examination | Izuchukwu Temilade Nwagbara

Many rules, principles and cues for
effective cross examination have been formulated and adduced by many profound
litigators and legal scholars.  In fact,
books and articles written on the subject are by no means scarce. Alexander
Tanford argues that cross examination is primarily a tool for proving one’s
case by eliciting testimony from a witness. It is pertinent to note however
that witnesses would not readily oblige Counsel the needed testimony, as such
Counsel’s cross examination must be strategic to elicit such testimony.

There are varying purposes of cross
examination depending on the nature of the witness and his/her testimony; to impeach
credibility of the witness, to establishing inconsistencies in witness’
testimony, to reduce the weight of the witness’ testimony- particularly in
reference to expert testimony- and so on. Francis L. Wellman, in his book The
Art of Cross Examination
, devotes chapters seriatim to dealing with
different kinds of witnesses.  
There are varying techniques of cross
examination. However, one technique many legal scholars generally deride is the
‘Why’ question- or ‘how come’. Louis Nizer, in his book My Life in Court,
says: ‘One can quickly spot a bad cross-examiner if he asks “why”’, arguing that
the ‘why’ question gives the witness free rein to explain away his conduct. For
instance, a wife asking her husband ‘If your meeting ended at 8:00pm, why did
you get home at 10:30pm? (…how come you got home at 10:30?)’. The husband can
explain himself out and conveniently fill up for the 2 hours 30 minutes gap to
obfuscate his wife from the truth.  
On the other hand, renowned litigator,
Vincent Bugliosi, states that the ‘why’ question is his main technique on cross
examination and wonders why trial lawyers, who need it the most, frown at the
technique. His explanation on the ‘why’ technique is very enlightening and
instructive. Bugliosi admits that real witnesses in court are as elusive as all
hell, and that on the brink of public humiliation, they seem to get their minds
working as fast as Houdini’s- the popular escapologist and illusionist of early
20th century- hands worked in a trunk at the bottom of the Hudson
River. The underlying factor behind this technique then is that if he feels a
witness is lying, he knows that he would not have acted in a given
circumstance, the way a person telling the truth would have acted. He explains
the ‘why’ question technique thus:
First, you elicit answers from the
witness on preliminary matters, answers which when summed up, indicate that he
would be expected to have taken a certain course of action, or act in a certain
way. The witness having committed himself by his answers, you then ask him what
course he in fact took, and follow this up with the ‘why’ question. Note that
while asking the preliminary and subsequent questions, the cross examiner must
ensure to block off all possible escape hatches. For instance, in the scenario
of the wife and husband above, the cross examination could go this way:
W: Honey, your meetings don’t normally
end late, max by 6pm you are done.
H: Yes dear
W: So, what happens when you finish
board meetings very late?
H: The company provides the company bus
to convey us, board members, straight to the nearest bus stops to our houses.
W: And did they provide it tonight?
H: Yes, it brought me straight from the
office to the nearest bus stop. There was so much traffic, hence my lateness.
W: So WHY did Amina, my friend, picture
you with a lady at Swiss Hotel bar by 9:30pm?
From the above, the wife starts by
asking preliminary questions to elicit answers as to course of conduct expected
of her husband when board meetings end late. She then asked her husband if he
followed that course of conduct to which the husband committed himself to an
answer, and BOOM- the ‘Why’ question. If she had just asked him ‘You said your
meeting ended 8pm, that was why you came home late, why did my friend then
picture you with a lady at swiss hotel bar by 9:30pm?’; he could easily say
‘After the board meeting ended, myself and a colleague had to submit a proposal
to a female client at swiss hotel bar’. His answers might not fully convince
his wife, but if his colleague can corroborate him, he has successfully eluded
his wife.   
In essence, the ‘Why’ question
technique of cross examination isn’t so ineffective as many lawyers and writers
have, innocuously, painted it to be. It can be a very potent technique provided
you administer it succinctly. The foremost thing to note is that while asking
the preliminary questions, ensure to block off all possible escape hatches, for
just as no magician can pull a rabbit out of the hat when there isn’t any
rabbit in the hat, a witness can’t escape when he has nowhere to go.
References
1.     
Tanford
J. Alexander, ‘Keeping Cross-Examination Under Control’ (1994). Articles by
Maurer Faculty. Paper 627 http://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facpub/627
2.     
Francis
L. Wellman, ‘The Art of Cross-Examination’ (1903). London: Macmillan & Co,
Ltd.
3.     
Vincent
Bugliosi, ‘Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J Simpson Got Away with Murder’
(1996). W.W. Norton & Company.
Izuchukwu
Temilade Nwagbara is a graduate of law from Nigeria’s premier University;
University of Ibadan. He is currently a student of the Nigerian Law School,
Yola Campus. He aims to be a dexterous litigator. His interests include
International Criminal Law and Environmental Law.