Zik Gbemre

Our attention was drawn recently when the 1974 set of the Nigerian Law School, rounded off its 40th anniversary of call to the Nigerian Bar with a lecture and a banquet at Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos; where the Lagos State Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, expressed dismay over the quality of newly-graduating Nigerian Law School students.

In the words of the Lagos CJ: “The quality with today’s graduating Nigerian Law School students has declined, compared to the quality of Nigerian lawyers and judges 40 years ago. The education and ethical system of the days of Ibironke and others when they were teaching us is gone. So, in a word, the quality now is nothing to write home about. Now, the whole legal education infrastructure has collapsed, so you cannot expect to see the type of lawyers you saw graduate 40 years ago from the Nigerian Law School. The decay is unbelievable. It is a general Nigeria’s problem that the national development infrastructure has collapsed,” he said.

In as much as we try to understand the perspective the argument and point being made here by the Lagos CJ, the truth of the matter is that we strongly believe that the ‘quality’ and ‘content’ of the Nigerian Law School as it stands today, has not really fallen. If anything, we believe the standard of the Nigerian Law School is still high, and we can say it is amongst the best in the world; referring to the Nigerian Law Schools in Abuja and Lagos. Agreed that in terms of infrastructure, perhaps the Nigerian Law School needs some uplifting and expansion to accommodate the growing number of law graduates. But in terms of ‘qualitative content’ and ‘standard of learning’, the Nigerian Law Schools in Abuja and Lagos has not fallen as expressed at the lecture above by the Lagos CJ. In fact, if you conduct a comparative study of Law Schools between Nigeria and some other countries, we are sure the Nigerian Law School will be highly graded.

We believe nothing much has changed in the content and courses being undertaken presently in the Nigerian Law School when compared to what it was 40 years ago. If anything, the present Law School program will be filled with more books, more courses, more scientific approach in the study and understanding of the Nigerian legal system and practice. Hence, we believe the quality of the Nigerian Law School is still admirably high and that is why other African countries still send their law graduating students to Nigerian for their law school program.

In other words, the pathetic state of law practice in Nigeria has nothing much to do with the present quality and standard of the Nigerian Law School, but it has everything to do with the ‘outside societal influence’ which graduate lawyers find themselves in. While undergoing the law school program, we believe the Nigerian and foreign law school students pass through a rigorous program that is intended to equip them to practice efficiently. But once they are graduated, most of them are greatly influenced by the ‘outside’ dynamics relating to the legal profession. Hence, we have lawyers that can best be described as ‘quacks’ or “charge-and-bail” lawyers. But everything boils down to ‘choice’. It is left for law graduates that are called to the bar to allow themselves be immersed and swallowed up by the corrupt tendencies, negative societal influences and harsh practicing environment, thereby becoming ‘distasteful lawyers’ that rubbish the image of the law profession. Everything concerning the law practice in Nigeria has to do more with the person’s moral values, integrity, self-will and determination to raise and maintain the bar without compromise of any sort.

Aside the above ‘personal factor’, there are equally other factors that make the law practice in Nigeria seem as if the standard of the Nigerian Law School has fallen, when actually, it has not. One of such factors is that today, there not much very good Law Firms/Chambers that freshly graduated law school students could practice and build their career. Where they exist, our law school graduates are paid peanuts while practicing. Some are paid as low as N10, 000 a month. These are fresh practicing lawyers that have spent nothing less than 5 years in Nigerian Universities or less for foreign students, plus the compulsory one year law school. Most of them obviously have families or younger ones that are looking up to them financially. Unable to cope, most fresh practicing lawyers do not spend long time while practicing in a well-established law Chambers to build their careers. They prefer to go on their own to practice, thereby making the country to have so many lawyers who are readily willing to compromise the legal ethics guiding the legal profession. This is where ‘charge-and-bail’ lawyers comes into play, or lawyers who take up cases for primarily on monetary gains, regardless of how guilty their clients are.

We have had so many instances in different parts of the country and in different court levels, where Nigerian lawyers and Judges alike, have rubbished the legal profession with their ‘greed’ and ‘self–centeredness’.  And that is why the Nigerian Judiciary, often regarded as the backbone of any democratic dispensation, is riddled with issues of corruption and misrepresentation of true justice.

Funny enough, the lawyers and Judges that are guilty of these evident ‘compromises’ in our law courts are the very Senior Lawyers in the system and not newly practicing lawyers of today. The well-celebrated “ex-convict” case against the former Delta State Governor James Ibori, where the said former governor was declared “sentenced but not convicted”, is very good example of what we are trying to say here. The said ‘Ibori ex-convict case’ was handled by supposed senior lawyers and Judges in the legal profession. We can also recall some two years ago when the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Joseph Daudu, publicly stated that, in relation to election petition tribunals, judges were being offered juicy consultancy by litigants, acting through the senior lawyers and retired judges (including serving judges), in return for “ready-made justice”. The NBA boss also frowned on frivolous cases and applications by lawyers and said lawyers involved in such practices should be prosecuted.

Somemonths back when the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, listed the problems hindering the procurement of justice in Nigeria’s legal system during the House Committee on Justice public hearing session on the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill 2013, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta laid the blame squarely on corruption. Particularly, he accused the police, lawyers, prisons and even fellow judges of contributing to the slow pace of criminal justice delivery by acts of omission or commission. In his words: “Corruption is the only reason that can explain the snail speed at which the administration of criminal justice is moving in Nigeria. There have been sad instances where prosecuting lawyers consciously and deliberately let in loopholes in the course of drafting their charges. The idea is to let the guilty accused escape from the clutches of the law. At some other times, the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) prefer to assign cases to external solicitors who act as their conduit for extorting huge sums of money from the government coffers. Why do some of these MDAs prefer to use external lawyers whose charges are intimidating in place of seasoned and well- groomed lawyers already on the payroll of government? The short answer is corruption,”

It is a known fact that the Nigerian Judiciary that is supposed to be the “last hope of the common man” in Nigeria, have been rubbished by the compromising tendencies of Judges assigned to hear sensitive civil and criminal cases (involving high profile government officials) in the country. In fact, a lot of Nigerians have completely lost hope/faith in the judicial process, in ensuring that the voice of the masses are heard and given true justice; especially in the delivery of court judgments on sensitive election petitions matters and corruption cases. This has left Nigerians in a perpetual state of hopelessness; as past court judgments on electoral and corruption cases had clearly indicated. We do not need any cast iron evidence to appreciate that the answer to the stupendous wealth – almost sudden – of most Nigerian public officials, is traceable to massive public funds looting. Nigerian Courts seem to have made a career of perverting justice using “technicalities” as excuse. We see it in election cases. We see it in corruption cases. The Nigerian bench of judges is for sale in most instances, and the highest bidder usually gets a favourable judgment. This is why former Delta State Governor, James Ibori and his likes and tribe of official criminals rule and reign. They know the justice system in Nigeria is highly flawed; some judges are for sale. Hence, they steal staggering amounts of public funds (meant for the collective good of all) and bribe those who should have brought them to justice. If it was not for the British Justice System and its Metropolitan Police, Ibori would have been a free man today on the streets on Nigeria. At least, they ensured Ibori gets the full wrath of the law in the UK since our Nigerian Judiciary found him not guilty of all 170 count charge brought against him.

We can go on and on to list several instances of where lawyers and Judges have rubbished the legal system and Nigeria’s judiciary with their corrupt tendencies. Other countries continue to make a caricature of us; we now rely on other countries for the conviction of our criminals. Where are those talking of the country’s image? They should tell us which message we are sending when we cannot speedily and appropriately convict criminals in government circles. Where is Farouk Lawal and others that were alleged to have swindled Nigeria off millions of dollars from the subsidy probe saga? Despite all evidences, they are walking our street scot free. May be soon, Ghana will be the ones that will help us convict them. It is rather unfortunate! Our Nigerian Judiciary and criminal justice system is a mockery of what it should be in other countries. You can kill in Nigeria and await trial for 15 years, during which you can destroy evidences and even contest and win an election as a governor. Sad as this may sound, but that is the kind of things we see all around us and only in Nigeria.  Obviously, revamping and strengthening the institutions of the Judiciary is imperative for a burgeoning democracy such as ours.

There is also the issue of the “infiltrating tendencies” and “external influence” of the Executive Arm of Government that greatly determines the processes and outcomes of court cases, especially high profile cases. Sometime in 2009, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, cried out over what she described as “deliberate obstacles set against the Commission in its prosecution of former governors and other political office holders” The issue of granting “inappropriate count injunctions” to restrain or prevent anti-graft agencies from prosecuting/arresting corrupt public or private officials, were some of the issue she raised that have adversely affected the fight against corruption and other criminal cases involving high profile government officials. Also, the issue of “prolonged and delayed adjudication of appropriate justice concerning corrupt cases has made Nigerians and indeed, the international community to lose faith in the country’s judicial system’s ability and capacity to adequately deliver true justice. Let us bear in mind that the above deplorable situation is made possible by lawyers and Judges who have made themselves available to be used by the political class. It has been noted that the EFCC and ICPC –whose confidence among the public is said to be waning, has not been finding it easy to flex their muscles when there is so much “external influence” from the political class, who are obviously doing so to protect their selfish interests and criminal acts from being exposed. That is why since the inception of the EFCC, its successive Chairman have been unceremoniously removed under controversial circumstances, especially when the EFCC Chairman concerned are beginning to step on toes and touch the so called ‘untouchables’ or ‘sacred cows’. These are issues that can best be addressed by the government of the day, starting from the National Assembly down to the Executives.

And one of the ways to address this problem is to ensure the “independence of the Nigerian Judiciary”. There is need for the Nigerian Judiciary to have their own annual budgets, which should also be managed by them without any interference from other arms of government. This annual budgets should be able to take care of the Remuneration, Housing, Transport, and entire welfare of Nigerian Judges. No where would you find judges getting rich from their duties as Judges. But basically, Judges must have good remuneration which must be reasonable and commensurate with their job. They must be given dignified remuneration, the usual ‘gifts’ like cars and what have you, often given to Judges by State Governors, should be stopped. This is a bad practice, because “he that pays the piper calls the tune.” Hence, our persistent call that the Nigerian Judiciary should have its own separate annual budget straight from the Federation account, and independent from the other arms of government. Nigerian Judges are today placed in a ‘tight corner’ because they would not want to deliver court judgments that will not be pleasing to the Government of the day, who are the ones that determining how their welfare should be taking care of. But when the Nigerian Judiciary annual budget is put in place, it will remove this possibility.

After all said and done, the point being made here is the fact that, all the lapses, inadequacies, deplorable picture we see in and around the Nigerian legal system and practice, has little or nothing to do with the content and standard of learning in the Nigerian Law School in Abuja and Lagos. The problem has to do with the ‘external negative societal influence’, and the ‘choices’ made by aspiring, fresh and senior law practitioners in the country’s legal system. The Government of the day, however, takes a chunk of the blame for not evenly distributing the wealth of the nation amongst its citizenry. With an ever-growing population, our political leaders also do not project and plan ahead by putting and expanding necessary basic infrastructure that would absorb the teeming population.  We are then left with a huge populace of graduates from various professions that are scrambling for job opportunities that are not really there.

The crux of the matter is that whatever ‘defects’ and imperfections we see today in Nigeria’s legal system practice does not rest entirely on what is obtainable in the Nigerian Law Schools. But it requires everyone putting their acts together in upholding the ethics and principles of the legal profession. The Government needs to play their role; the Judges needs to play their role; the security operatives needs to play their role; the prison authorities needs to play their role and the society at large needs to play its role as well, for us to have Judicial system we can be proud of, and for the decaying dignity of the legal practice to be restored. We ask that the right thing should be done.