Press Releases

Fashola Urges Lawyers To Oppose Constitutional Violations As NBA Confab Opens In Lagos

Aug 17, 2009 - At a grand opening ceremony of the Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) charged lawyers to ensure that violations of the nation’s constitution are met with unconditional opposition.

Governor Fashola (SAN) who delivered the Keynote Address of the Conference which drew the cream of the nation’s Bar and Bench with the theme: “Under Developed Nations, Failed Economies and the Future of the Legal Profession” at the Ocean View Expo Centre, also urged legal practitioners to work assiduously towards making violation of the constitution a criminal offence.

The Governor emphasized the need for the profession to endeavour to participate in the advancement of government policies and protection of the constitution, adding that in performing the role, lawyers should strive to always maintain a balance between promoting government policies and engaging in acts that are capable of holding public officers accountable for failure to perform their duties in accordance with the constitution.

Said he: “Electoral reforms will count for nothing if electoral offenders are not brought to justice. Many determinations have been made by the various tribunals handling election petitions in which allegations of fraud, electoral malpractices, violence and so on, which constitute offences under the Electoral Act of 2006 have been upheld.

“The vindication of the decisions of the electorate at the ballot box is an important confluence of social justice in enforcing economic rights. Lawyers have a duty to ensure that electoral processes are conducted in accordance with the spirit and the letters of the law and that electoral offenders are accorded with the appropriate sanctions”.

He reiterated that Nigeria does not need any better legal or Constitutional framework noting that an optimal use of the existing legal and Constitutional regime can take Nigeria to where it dreams to be.

The Governor said the legal profession must evolve very creative solutions for tackling violations of rights, suggesting that a public spirited litigation challenging this practice may well serve the purpose and set guidelines for the timing and process of arrests.

He said electoral reforms will count for nothing if electoral offenders are not brought to justice, adding that many determinations have been made by the various tribunals handling elections petition in allegations of fraud, electoral malpractices, violence and so on, which constitute offences under the Electoral Act of 2006 have been upheld.

He advocated that in all such cases where the offence is one that is bailable of right as classified under the law, it should be the duty of the presiding judicial officer to immediately admit the accused to bail after which he can take arguments on the conditions of bail stressing that it is during this second process that considerations about the nature of the offence alleged and so on, should assist in exercising discretion of the court on the terms of bail.

He informed that this year, the Government of Lagos State has commuted the death sentences of 29 (twenty nine) condemned prisoners to various terms of imprisonment on the recommendation of the State Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kole Abayomi, SAN.

The Governor urged lawyers to dissociate themselves no matter the pecuniary temptation from actions that tend to clog the advancement of the nation’s legal and political system. “When last did any of us reject a brief and advise the client accordingly on the ground that his case is bad”.

“As officers in the temple of justice, lawyers should not be parties to frivolous and endless litigation. Litigants should not exert unnecessary control in the arena. The current and unfortunate trend of spurious, protracted and seemingly unending election related matters should be discouraged”, he advised

He called for an “internationalization” of the legal profession which would be achievable by a quest for high standards thereby attracting foreign specialization within the Country’s our existing framework and exporting local expertise to foreign countries.

“Recent global events have proven that survival is no longer just for the fittest but those who adapt most effectively to the technological demands of the 21st Century. The legal profession therefore cannot be exempted”, he explained.

He added that the legal profession has been losing out on the advantage of ICT in Technology-based evidence which he noted is a great development for expediting trial preparation and procedures, adding that unfortunately certain Technology based evidence remains inadmissible under the law of evidence.

He explained that in the last 13 months, the entire world economy can easily be classified as having failed or at least a majority of the erstwhile leading economies are undergoing the unusual experience of failure.

Governor Fashola said the Nigerian and Sub-Saharan Africa must see the present challenge to the world economy as an opportunity and not a problem.

The Governor asked: “If spending is a policy to stimulate western economies out of recession, what are we doing to present our economies as a viable destination for meaningful trade? The immediate future of nations such as Nigeria lies in strategic leadership and critical thinking. However, the future is no longer a distant prospect. The future is now. We do not have the luxury of placing responsibility on generations to come”.

He reminded that the rule of law demands that the judiciary must remain the constitutional umpire, arguing that while it is true that court judgements are written in simple English, only a lawyer can analyze issues of a case.

The Governor assured that as a State Government, his administration shall continue to contribute its quota to the development of the legal profession and the law while not relenting in its justice sector reform drive both in the area of public order law and the promotion and the preservation of private rights and obligations.

He revealed that he recently received a report of the committee inaugurated to review the Criminal Code, a law that originally came into force in 1916 and presented for re-enactment the Administration of Criminal Justice Law Bill 2009 which is also currently before the House of Assembly.

“In the area of private obligations and in our attempt to re-align ourselves with the continuous and rapidly progressing global economy, we have embraced Limited Liability Partnerships (“LLP”), as a business vehicle that has proved successful in other economies. This we have done by amending the Partnership Laws of Lagos State and incorporating provisions pertaining to Limited Liability Partnerships into the Law”, he added.

Governor Fashola added that: “We have also enacted the Lagos Court of Arbitration Law 2009. The objective of this law is to make the Lagos Court of Arbitration (“LCA”) the choice centre for the resolution of commercial disputes in the West Africa sub-region and beyond. The LCA will enpanel international selected "neutrals" in a conducive environment for this purpose”.

The Governor disclosed that work has reached considerable stages of completion at the new Magistrates’ Court Buildings being constructed across the state adding that in July this year, the Magistrates’ Court Law 2009 was signed into law.

The Magistrates’ Court Law 2009, will only permit prosecution by qualified legal practitioners and also make Saturday a day of business in the Magistrates’ Court to ensure that suspected offenders are afforded the earliest opportunity of being brought before a Court in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.

“In Lagos State, we are determined that our Court Automated Information System (CAIS), the Intranet Access for Court Officers, Electronic Access Gateway for Lawyers (EAGLE) and Information Network Extranet Access for external users will be launched in 2010 to achieve the real development potential that the future of the legal profession demands”, the Governor explained.