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Give a girl education, she would achieve enviable heights – Rhodes-Vivour

Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour

“Men that feel threatened by intelligent women should examine themselves.” – Rhodes-Vivour, JSC

Outside the courtroom, his imposing figure, and deep baritone voice command attention. But his friends will tell you that he’s both warm and fun loving. In the courtroom, however, he is known for strict adherence to the letters of the law, no matter whose ox is gored. For a man whose entire life is surrounded by the law, that’s not surprising. Born on 22 March, 1951 to Hon. Justice Akinwumi R.W Rhodes-Vivour a retired High Court Judge and ultra-chic Mrs. Majorie E. Rhodes-Vivour in Lagos Island, Lagos State, his grand uncle, Hon. Justice Steven Bankole Rhodes, who served at the Federal Supreme Court of Nigeria and West African Court of Appeal (WACA) was the second Nigerian after Hon. Justice Olumuyiwa Jibowu to be appointed a judge. He was also the first Nigerian lawyer to be elevated to the Supreme Court Bench straight from the Bar, assuming his role on the 8th of November 1945. Likewise, Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour’s cousin, Mrs. Gloria Omodele Jackman (nee Rhodes), was the first female Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria andNigeria’s fourth female lawyer. His siblings, Mr Olawale Rhodes-Vivour and Mrs.Tejumade Rhodes-Vivour Nwogu are lawyers. They both married lawyers too. His wife Mrs. Adedoyin Rhodes-Vivour, a foremost International Arbitrator of repute is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Her father is also a lawyer. His lordship’s first and last sons Rotimi and Bode Rhodes-Vivour are not left out. They’re fast making their mark in legal practice and in the society. Besides, his daughter Michelle is a law graduate.  Michelle who added Chemical Engineering to her many caps is married to a lawyer, Akinjide. In this interview with Lillian Okenwa, His lordship shared some insights.

L&S: My Lord, tell us a bit about your childhood.

Answer: My family was close- knit. Myself, my brother, my sister and my parents. It was all about going to school and playing a lot of football. My father was in civil service, you know; a Magistrate. He later became a judge and was being transferred all over the western region. That’s what it was called then; all the states in the west. He could be transferred from Ondo to Oyo, to Ibadan to Ogbomosho and things like that; so we were going from school to school. Different schools all over the West.

I liked playing football. I enjoyed playing a lot. Football was the main thing then.

Dad, Hon, Justice Akinwunmi Rhodes-Vivour

L&S: As a teenager growing up, did you get into troubles?

Answer: I was in boarding house at St Gregory’s College. I wouldn’t describe myself as a rascal but we did things like breaking bounds. You know going out when you’re not supposed to be out. A lot of that went on. We go out in the night to the cinema.

L&S: How come nobody found out? 

Answer: It was during prep time else they would have noticed. The house master doesn’t necessarily come around when we were doing prep. While we junior boys went to cinema, the senior boys went to parties and things like that.

Hon. Justice Rhodes-Vivour and Mrs. Doyin Rhodes-Vivour, SAN

L&S: How did you do it?

Answer: We scaled the walls. The films were from about 6 to 8pm.  Plaza Cinema, it was by the Race Course in Lagos.

Granduncle, Hon. Justice S.B. Rhodes

L&S: And your school was not far away?

Answer: No, my school was in Obalende by Ikoyi. You could do all that and come back before lights out by 9pm.

L&S: Really?

Answer: Yes, lights out was by 9 0’clock.

L&S: What kind of films did they show then?

Answer: Cowboys and Indian films.

Dad, Sister -Mrs. Teju Rhodes Vivour-Nwogu, Mum, Justice Bode and elder brother -Barr. Olawale Rhodes-Vivour

L&S: And you weren’t scared that you and your friends could be caught?

Answer: Oh yes, we were scared we could get caught, but we were very fast. Once we just see anyone that looks like the house master, we just beat the gun.

First Female Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria, Gloria Rhodes (Jackman), Justice R.W.A Rhodes-Vivour (father of Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour), Justice S.B. Rhodes (Granduncle), Steve Rhodes (legendry/renowned music impresario), Mabel Rhodes, Joko Koffi, Olga Rhodes

L&S: Tell us a bit more about life those days as a school boy.

Answer: You see when you are in Saint Gregory’s College, when you come out or you are going out legitimately, the women you see by the road side selling groundnuts could call you and tell you to tuck in your shirt and dress properly. Those were the standards in those days. I mean when you are in Form One to Two. That’s what was going on. We didn’t have all these nonsense you have now.

Mr. Olawale Rhodes-Vivour, Esq, Mrs. Teju Rhodes – Vivour Nwaogiu, Esq. and Justice Bode Rhodes – Vivour

L&S: How do you mean?

Answer: Now, nobody is interested in anybody. Then, you were your brother’s keeper. You go out, you buy something from the shop near the school and you don’t have enough money, they ask you when are you coming to pay, and you come back to pay on the said day. There was so much trust and you don’t have what we have now. You know, I read somewhere that Nigeria at that time, was arguably a place where no stealing was going on. Nobody stole anything. We slept with doors and windows open in Lagos. The gutters, the drains were very clean. We made paper boats and put it there to sail.  The place was clean, spotless. I am talking of mid late 50s; well before the war.

On Sunday you went to church. Most mothers wore stockings and broad hats. You go to church, Christ Church Cathedral, Marina. You come back and have launch. Thereafter you go for horse racing just like you have in Maryland in USA or in Ascot in England.

Mum and dad, Justice R.W.A Rhodes-Vivour and Mrs. Majorie E. Rhodes-Vivour

L&S: Did you get to ride horses?

Answer: No, no, no. Just to watch, that’s what Lagos was like in that race course. People placed bets on the horses. That’s what it was. Everybody knew everyone.

Graduation

L&S: Who were those riding the horses?

Answer: Jockeys. But there were families that owned horses. They don’t ride though. Jockeys did.

Dad (middle), R–L: Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Ben Nwaogu (brother-in-law), Teju Rhodes Vivour-Nwaogu (sister) and Olawale Rhodes-Vivour

L&S: Your father was a judge and your granduncle was also a judge. Could that have influenced your studying law?

Answer: Yes it did. I wanted to be a judge like my father because I liked the paraphernalia around him. From about the age of six, I made up my mind to be like him.

Swearing -in ceremony as High Court Judge in Lagos

L&S: Your father must have had a tremendous influence on you.

Answer: Not really. I see him around the house, and I liked what I was seeing not that he told me to go and be a lawyer. He didn’t tell me that.

As a High Court Judge

I can also say, I was not too good in science subjects. I loved medicine but I couldn’t go in. I’m good in the Arts. Maybe that encouraged me to go that way.

L&S: Were you a dad’s boy or mummy’s boy? Who were you closer to?

L-R: Sons, Bode Jnr. and Rotimi, Justice Rhodes-Vivour and daughter, Michelle

Answer: I think mummy’s boy. I was closer to her. We were very close. We say a lot of things together. She tells me things and I tell her things. I could tell my mother anything, and she will tell me how to go about it.

L&S: Why was it so?

Court of Appeal Swearing-in

Answer: My father was very strict, but my mother was more easy-going.

L&S: Was it because you were the last boy?

Answer: I was the 2nd. We were only two boys, with a sister so I’m the last boy.

L&S: Did you ever get smacked by your dad?

His Lordship and wife flank daughter, Michelle Vivour Adesokan during her Law graduation

Answer: Yes. Like when you don’t do your homework or something like that, and he gets to know about it.

L&S: Did you play so much that sometimes you forgot to do your homework?

Supreme Court of Sierra Leone Swearing-in

Answer: Yes, football. A lot of football.

L&S: You have two boys and a girl like your parents. Were they as playful as you were?  

Answer: No they did their work when they were little. They were not playful like me

Supreme Court of Nigeria Swearing-in

L&S: At the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, what was the most difficult case you prosecuted?

Answer: I won’t say I prosecuted any particularly difficult case. That was the time armed robbery was picking up. We didn’t have armed robbery before 1970.Armed robbery started coming in after the war, with the celebrated case of Oyenusi, that dare-devil armed robber. I did a lot of armed robbery cases, and they were dangerous at that time. They could kill you or sabotage you just like that. None of the cases readily comes to mind.

At first son Rotimi’s Call to Bar

L&S: Were there threats to your life or your family?

Answer: No, I didn’t have threats to my family, but I had things like people putting salt into the petrol tank of my car.

L-R: Rhodes-Vivour; Fmr. President Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi; Rotimi Rhodes-Vivour; Fmr. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice SMA Belgore and Mrs. Doyin Rhodes-Vivour, SAN at Rotimi’s Call to Bar

L&S: How did that happen?

Answer: When you park your car, they open the fuel tank and pour in salt. Luckily on the two occasions this happened someone alerted me so I didn’t start the car. If I did the engine would have knocked and that’s what whoever did it wanted.

Son-in-Law Akinjide Adesokan ‘s Call to Bar

L&S: Were you were handling some sensitive matters at that time? Akinjide Adesokan (Son-in-law

Answer: You can’t know, because you handle not only one case. You handle two to three armed robbery criminal cases, everyday so you can’t really know which one is responsible for what I mentioned.

Bode Jnr.’s Call to Bar

L&S: When does this happen, is it before or after the cases?

Answer: When you go into the courts and come out, you will see some salt on the ground, and people will tell you, don’t start that car. The mechanic comes, dismantles the engine and brings out the petrol tank. He then washes out the salt.

L&S: When you become a High Court Judge, what was the most challenging case you handled?

L–R: Ben Nwaogu (brother-in – law), Teju Rhodes Vivour-Nwogu (sister), Doyin Rhodes Vivour, SAN at the Supreme Court Swearing –in ceremony

Answer: One thing with me is no matter what type of case you bring before me, no matter the pressure from government or whatever is perceived I handle it with the ambit of the law. I go by facts, once am satisfied with the facts, I don’t give a damn about who is interested, and so far, I have survived this far.

Elder brother, Olawale and wife Nkechi are lawyers

L&S: In all your years, from the High Court to court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, no case readily comes to mind that was particularly difficult? No pressures from government?

Answer: No, I cannot say any case is difficult, but challenging. Nobody in government has ever told me look, “we want it done this way or that way”, no I have never experienced that.

Ben Nwaogu, Esq. Brother -in- law

L&S: There were reports that you were influenced to give favourable judgment to the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the contentious Osun election.

Answer: Osun was straight forward. What happened in Osun was that they lost on the basis of jurisdiction. The judge who wrote the judgement did not sit on a particular day when the two witnesses on the other side were taken. The Court of Appeal gave a decision that the Supreme Court affirmed and they were right. The High Court’s decision was two to one in the favour of the other side. But what Osun was all about was that a judge that sat on the panel, did not sit on a particular day and come back to write the leading judgment, and that Judge is still alive, he can be asked whether he sat or not.

Tejumade Rhodes-Vivour Nwaogu, Sister (Lawyer)

L&S: So that particular case could be seen as an error of counsel since the Senior Advocate of Nigeria who prosecuted the matter should perhaps not have gone on appeal?

Answer: Yes, that’s error of Counsel, error of Judge, error of everything.

L&S: How do you feel when you hear or read commentaries and criticisms on account of some of the decisions you have given?

Answer: There is only one case that I know of that some Pressmen did not agree with, and that is the Osun matter. I don’t know of any other one.

Michelle, Justice Rhodes-Vivour, Bode Jnr. and Rotimi flank Mrs. Doyin Rhodes-Vivour, SAN on her birthday

L&S:  How did you feel reading all those commentaries?

Answer: You begin to wonder why people do not know how elementary the issue of jurisdiction is. Legal authorities from England, America and Nigeria support what I did. The authorities are so clear. A court is properly constituted when the required number of judges are present. In this case, the required number of judges were not there on that day. What is the order to make? All what happened that day is a nullity. It is as simple and straight forward as that. That’s what the Supreme Court decided in the 1962 case of Madukolu and Nkemdilim. What it says is if the court is not properly constituted, any proceeding that takes place, no matter how well conducted is a nullity.

I don’t know if that is an issue to discuss. For example, if you go to the Senate and they discuss a bill today; after all the deliberations, at the end of sitting by 2 0’clock, they just realize the mace is not there. Everything they’ve done is a nullity. Everybody knows that. You go and start all over again. That is it. But some people are not bold enough to say what it is. I am bold to say what it is.

L&S: The conversation in the public space is that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who had an interest in Osun elections got you a fellow Lagosian to give APC a favourable ruling despite the widespread irregularities during the elections.

L-R: Akinjide Adesokan (Son-in-law); Michelle Vivour Adesokan holding her son, His lordship, granddaughter, Doyin Rhodes-Vivour, SAN, Rotimi and Bode, Jnr standing

Answer: Do you also realize that, before that judgment was given, there was a lot of write ups in the papers that I was not going to give judgment for APC? Do you also realize that there were wide spread reports in the papers that, there is no way I can give judgment for APC because I’m PDP? Part of the story was that my uncle, Yinka Rhodes was PDP, my nephew Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour ran for Senate under PDP in Lagos. Do you know that, there was another group that was saying, he will give judgment to PDP? The APC were saying that. So how do you relate that one with the Tinubu one now? You see, that’s how people are. When judgment was given for APC, the APC people kept quiet. When it’s in favour of PDP they keep quiet.

You see, by the time a judge gets to the Supreme Court, he’d have developed a thick skin. When you give judgment for them, you are the best Judge. When you give judgment against them, you are the most useless Judge. So you have to be bold enough to do the correct thing. And I stand by that judgment. Take it anywhere, it is correct and it is correct on the basis that jurisdiction wins the day.

L&S:  Do you see yourself as controversial?

Answer: No, no. I see myself as conservative. Most articles I read about me, describe me as conservative. I think I am conservative. But what I know about myself is that I don’t know how to dance around the correct position of things, and people tell me that I say it as it is. That’s how I know how to do it. I don’t know how to go about bending what is so obvious. If it is so obvious, you say it and get out of the place or you keep quiet. That’s how I see it.

L&S:  How do you relax?

Answer: I look at a lot of sports on the TV. They just finished the Australian Open Champions. I like TV stations like Aljazeera and I watch a lot of nice documentaries.

L&S:  So you like watching documentaries?

Answer: Yes, like problems in the Middle East, events in history and things like that.

L&S: What games do you play?

Answer: No, I just exercise now by walking. I don’t play any games.

L&S: With all the amount of work you have as a Supreme Court Judge, how do you find time to watch TV? Some Judges will tell you, they are so busy they hardly have the time to do any of those things.

Answer: You asked, “How do I relax?” There are times you don’t have anything to write, no judgment to write. Sometimes when I finish a judgment, I relax by either watching films and if I don’t have any strength, I go to sleep.

With wife and granddaughter

L&S:  Where are your favourite holiday places?

Answer: I like Europe. I go to Dubai too. France, Germany. Dubai is a nice place. There are lots of things to see there.

L&S: You’re married to a distinguished International Arbitrator of renown. She is also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Did you intentionally marry a lawyer?

Answer: When I met my wife, she was a lawyer but not an Arbitrator, so I did not set out to marry lawyer. It was by chance. We met at the Ministry of Justice in Lagos. As they say one thing led to the other and the rest is history.

L&S: What attracted you to her?

Answer: She is no doubt attractive, but I was carried away by her intelligence.

L&S: My lord you’re not one of those men that are intimidated by intelligent women?

Answer: I am very confident and at home with very intelligent women because we can communicate at a high level and it’s always quality time.

 L&S: What’s your opinion about men who are not comfortable with intelligent women?

Answer: Men that feel threatened by intelligent women should examine themselves. They have a strange ego that needs to be worked on.

L&S: Your sons are lawyers. Your daughter is a law graduate but also trained as an engineer. How come you didn’t win her over to the Bar?

 Answer: My daughter is a law graduate and a Chemical Engineer. She always wanted to practice as a Chemical Engineer. She’s a very intelligent young lady. Just like her mother. Her husband Akinjide Adesokan is a lawyer.

L&S: My lord your decision in Ukeje and Ukeje is an indication that you’re a girl child advocate.

Answer: I support girls having equal rights as boys. See Numbers 27 verse 7 and Job 42 verse 15 in the Holy Bible. Even God supports it. Women are Heads of State in several countries. See our own Okonjo Iweala. Once you give a girl education, she would achieve enviable heights. So, a girl child should be treated equally as the boy child.

L&S: Now you are about to leave the Supreme Court, what will you remember most and what will you miss most?

Answer: What I’ll remember most is that I met Judges from all parts of Nigeria and it was interesting sharing ideas with them. I met people that came from diverse backgrounds and really got to know what Nigeria is. We got on very well with all of them. What I’ll miss most is- I don’t know, because if you are retiring in good health as I am, it’s a thing of joy. No matter how long you stay in the court, there comes a time when you have to go. So I don’t think I will miss anything.

L&S: Would you support increase in the retirement age of Supreme Court Justices?

Answer: Yes, I would support the increase of retirement age.

L&S: Do you feel you still have more to give?

Answer: At 70, I still feel strong. I still have a lot to give society.

L&S: The Constitution provides that appointment to the Supreme Court could also be from the Bar. So far, appointments into the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in recent times have not reflected that.

Answer: The reason why it has not been implemented, that is bringing in lawyers as Judges to the Supreme Court is because of the requirements for going to the Supreme Court. The requirements are laid out in such a way that, before going to the Supreme Court, you must have written judgments. I am talking of how it is being implemented by NJC (National Judicial Council).

L&S: The SAN may never have written a judgment, but would have written briefs.

Answer: The NJC does not look at briefs. I am telling you the practicality.

L&S:  Why then were some senior members of the Bar selected for appointment to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court some time ago? It was never implemented though.

Answer: Why didn’t they go through? I’m telling you why they didn’t go through. How are you to assess a lawyer who has no judgment to present according to NJC rules?

L&S: Those are NJC rules. If the NJC really wants to comply with the Constitution, can’t their rules be amended?

Answer: Yes, it can be amended. I agree with you. Another way to look at it is that after we all graduated as lawyers, you decided to go to Bar. I decided to go to the Bench. You’ve made all the money you can think of and you became a SAN. I suffered and got up there, how can you eat your cake and have it? That’s another way people should look at it.

If you want to be a SAN, be a SAN and make all the money and leave me here. That’s another way those against it look at it. But I look at it in a slightly different way. I look at it that lawyers who have distinguished themselves should be considered for the Supreme Court so that, we have a mixture. Because in the Supreme Court, what we have are Judges from the court of Appeal, so virtually all of them think in the same way. So if you throw in one Professor there, you throw in some highly respected Senior Advocates there, you can have a menu. But what I am saying is, to choose that SAN or Professor is not easy because there is nothing to guide.

L&S: Then NJC should mend its rules.

Answer: That is if they want to. I am not making a case for them. I think they should look at it, but what I am saying is that, when you want to implement, it’s is not easy bearing in mind what’s on ground. I’m not saying it can’t be done. You are saying it can be done. I agree with you. If you amend the rules, of course, you can say lawyers, we want to see your briefs or cases you did and won. Those are good requirements.

L&S: We have had appointments from the Bar during the military rule. Justices Elias and Nnamani.

Answer: There was no NJC then. That was the military. Obasanjo did it. The last was during the military era. At that time, there were not too many Judges. Not like now, where Judges are all over the place.

L-R: Fmr. Governor of Lagos State/Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Rhodes-Vivour

Answer: The constitution didn’t say when you apply, they must take you. It doesn’t say that. They won’t tell you it’s impossible. They will tell you to go and test it. Like in England, you can be appointed from the Bar. But, if the Constitution said when you’re 15 years at the Bar, you can go to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, those provisions should be complied with. For that to happen, I believe the NJC should amend its guidelines in line with the constitution for appointments to be made from the Bar.

L&S: Wouldn’t you say that technically, NJC is breach of the Constitution? I’m talking about the Constitutional provision.

Answer: The constitution didn’t say when you apply, they must take you. It doesn’t say that. They won’t tell you it’s impossible. They will tell you to go and test it. Like in England, you can be appointed from the Bar. But, if the Constitution said when you’re 15 years at the Bar, you can go to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, those provisions should be complied with. For that to happen, I believe the NJC should amend its guidelines in line with the constitution for appointments to be made from the Bar.

At an event

L&S: What’s your take on interlocutory applications coming to the Supreme Court? It’s an issue that has been on over the years.

Answer: Interlocutory applications are applications requesting the court to restrain the offending party from doing whatever he wants to do for the duration of the case. We have always warned about bringing appeals from interlocutory applications to the Supreme Court. We always say wait for the case to be finally decided before you appeal, but that’s an advice, because no law stops it.

L&S: But it keeps coming and clogging the wheel of progress.

Answer: Yes. The judge grants it. One way or the other you go back to the High court and it spends 30 years before it is decided.

L&S: Would you rather that some kind of law is made regulating interlocutory applications from coming to the Supreme Court?

Answer: Yes. That is what Leave is all about. You refuse leave. The court, the Court of Appeal should refuse leave. Interlocutory appeals from the Court of Appeal should be by a leave of that court. So if that court refuses leave and gives no reason it cannot come up to the Supreme Court.

L&S: What if counsel in the matter files a petition against the judge at NJC?

Answer: These are the things that come up. But ideally you cannot remove a judge for the way he handles a matter in his court. You remove a Judge when he takes a bribe or is compromised. You don’t remove a Judge because he gave an injunction or he didn’t give an injunction, because if you start doing that, you start making them afraid to do their job.

L&S: How do you see the judiciary in Nigeria today compared to 20-30 years ago?

Answer: There is not much difference. What we hear nowadays is that the judiciary is very corrupt. My thinking is that when you tarnish the judiciary with corruption tag, you are doing a disservice not only to Nigeria but to a vast majority of judges who preside with distinction. Whilst to be candid there is no profession that does not have bad eggs, we should build a strong judiciary capable of meeting the expectations of stakeholders. If you go into history of the judiciary of countries like the USA and England, you will see that they had and still have cases of corruption; but they addressed it and today they are amongst the best judiciaries in the world.

L&S: But you know the position of the judge is similar to that of God Almighty Himself. That I guess is why people are crying out for justice to be done and seen to be done.

Answer: The people that are crying are the people that corrupt the judiciary, who are those crying out? That’s how we are in this country. When it favours you, you don’t cry out, but when it doesn’t favour you, you cry out.

It is surprising that lawyers who are meant to be major stakeholders in building up a strong judiciary are the ones that cast aspersions or try to pull it down, oblivious of the fact that in most cases of corruption, a judge cannot be corrupt without a lawyer. All well-meaning lawyers should work together with judges to improve the judiciary

With wife on her 60th birthday

L&S: But people are crying out. In rape cases for instance, where a man rapes a minor and he gets a slap on the wrist even when the facts are there, many have cried out for justice to be seen and done. Instead of giving the rapist maximum punishment a lot of times, some judges go for the minutest, and you begin to wonder at the justice in it all.

Answer: When they say rape, you have to look at the facts of the case.

L&S: I am talking about a situation where, the facts are evident. Where it is clear that this man actually did it and you expect that he will get the hardest punishment. I’m talking particularly about the case of minors. Violation of 8-year olds and below. All those kind of crazy things we read these days, and one wonders why a judge who has seen all the facts will slap the rapist on the wrist instead of sending him off to spend the rest of his life in the jail. It is very prevalent now

Answer: One will like to see, because I know the maximum punishment for rape is 14years to life.

L&S:  The VAPP Act proscribed and cancelled some portions of the Penal Code including the part that has to do with rape but the police still prefer to prosecute with the Penal Code that gives lesser punishments.

Answer: It all boils down to corruption, but I think you have to look at the facts because I have seen rape cases where the judge gives maximum. I have seen where they give less than the minimum and where they give minimum sentence. I think it’s the facts.  Why did he give six months when he can give 10 years or 14 years? I don’t know unless I see the facts that motivated him to go that way.

L&S: If you can convict him at all for rape, why give him 6 months?

Answer: It’s too lenient. I agree it’s crazy.

L&S: My Lord, what advice do you have for people aspiring for the bench?

Answer: You just have to hang in there and read, read, read. And by hanging in there, I mean if you are in practice, you just have to go to court and make a name. Be well prepared any time you go to court. People will see you and recognize you. When it is time to go to the Bench, it will be straight forward, or if you go to the ministry, you work harder. You could end up at the top as a Permanent Secretary or Director of Public Prosecution or you are in the Magistracy, you rise up. But the bottom line of getting there is just hard work, and have a lot of patience. Be focused.

L&S: Is it really hard work Mi Lord, for people who want to get in?

Answer: You have some people that become Judges from some strange background. You have that everywhere; only that here you can say there are quite a few. That’s what one can say. But I don’t think there’s any short cut to hard work, cause if you become a Judge without hard work, or you become a judge when you are not supposed to be, you will be exposed on the bench. Everybody will know you don’t know anything. It’s good for a lawyer who wants to be a judge to know his onions.

L&S: Now you’re exiting the Supreme Court, is there anything you will like to say in closing?

Answer: I don’t think so. I wish everybody well. I wish myself well too, in good health and that all those that I leave behind, I pray they stay in good health, work hard to the glory of the Judiciary. Whoever gets in control of the judiciary should try and improve it and make it a better place and get a better reputation than it has now.

Doting grandparents

L&S:  Doesn’t it have a good reputation now?

Answer: You yourself said it. So I am saying let us have a new phase of life. I pray that whoever comes in as time goes on will look at things and improve it. If we start saying it’s bad, it’s bad, we are not saying anything. Let us try and improve it. I think that is the way to go. If I was CJN today, I will like you to come and tell me, look my lord, the perception of this judiciary is bad, what are you doing about it? That makes sense instead of you to come and ask me, ‘what do you think about the judiciary? When we say it is corrupt, we are not saying anything. Let us stop saying it is corrupt. Let’s think about what we should do to improve and not just talk about it. I think that will be better for generations unborn. What we need are solutions.

Rhodes-Vivour: The girl child advocate bows out of Supreme Court

By Lillian Okenwa

When Gladys Ada Ukeje took her mother and brother to court, seeking to be included in the administration of her deceased father’s estate, many might have considered her insane. A girl child in Igbo land never inherits her father’s estate; so what was she thinking?

Over the years gender inequality continues to hold women and girls back, depriving them of basic rights and opportunities. On account of this, more women are seeking inclusion in the nation’s decision-making process and level-playing field with their male counterparts.

As pressure continues to mount for an equitable and healthier society devoid of discrimination, it is fitting to commend the Supreme Court of Nigeria for its progressive judgments particularly in promoting rights of women.

Female children in Nigeria for instance, will eternally remember Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes Vivour for his landmark decision in Ukeje v. Ukeje(2014) 11 NWLR (PT.1418) 384.

In that decision, his lordship entrenched an equal world where every girl child’s right is acknowledged and defended as a human right in every level of the Society.

During a recent chat with Law & Society, His lordship re-emphasised his position with these words: “I support girls having equal rights as boys. See Numbers 27 verse 7 and Job 42 verse 15 in the Holy Bible. Even God supports it. Women are Heads of State in several countries. See our own Okonjo Iweala. Once you give a girl education, she would achieve enviable heights. So, a girl child should be treated equally as the boy child.”

At an event marking the just concluded 2021 International Women’s Day celebration, Idayat Hassan, Executive Director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) remarked that societies making progress around the world are those that have come “to the realisation that they cannot afford to discountenance the talents, abilities and human resource embedded in their women.”

Hassan further noted that: “Those societies worked systematically to address the injustices, prejudices and narrow mind-set, which held women back”, adding that: “The call for inclusion and an end to marginalisation should not be misinterpreted as a divisive call for women to ‘take over.’ It is a call for partnership, collaboration, and amity, without which a society cannot take the strides it requires in its march to progress.”

Perhaps, it was in this spirit that the Court through his lordship in 2014 went forward in time to endorse the International Women’s Day 2021 campaign theme of: ‘Choose To Challenge.’

Rhodes Vivour in that decision annulled the ancient Igbo custom whichbarred a girl child from inheriting from her father’s estate; insisting that it is discriminatory, unjust, repugnant, and a violation of Section 42(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Prior to that decision, a determined Gladys Ukeje maintained that being a child of Lazarus Ogbonnaya Ukeje, her exclusion from the administration of her father’s estate was discriminatory. The Lagos State High Court agreed with her, but her mother and brother went on appeal.Eventually both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court stoutly condemned the customary law with Rhodes Vivour holding at page 408, paragraphs D – E that:

“No matter the circumstances of the birth of a female child, such a child is entitled to an inheritance from her late father’s estate.

“Consequently, the Igbo customary law, which dis entitles a female child from partaking in the sharing of her deceased father’s estate is breach of Section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution, a fundamental rights provision guaranteed to every Nigerian.

“The said discriminatory customary law is void as it conflicts with Section 42(1) and (2) of the Constitution. In the light of all that I have been saying, the appeal is dismissed. In the spirit of reconciliation, parties are to bear their own costs.“

The action leading to this judgment illustrates the discriminations women in Igboland face with regards to acquisition of property and inheritance of those properties when a husband or father dies intestate.

Nigerian women and girls, like most of their African counterparts, are excluded under customary law from inheriting land or landed property from their deceased intestate husbands or fathers. This discrimination is rooted in ancient traditions that view women as part of the inheritable estate of their deceased husbands.

Thankfully, Sections 34, 42, and 43 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) guarantee the fundamental rights to human dignity, freedom from discrimination, and the right to own property anywhere in the country.

It is then perverse for any customary law to bar women and girls from inheriting property from a husband’s or father’s intestate estate.

And a final thought. After an eventful 10 years and six months, Hon. Justice Bode Rhodes Vivour exits the apex court on 22nd march, 2021. It is our prayer that his lordship enjoys a health-full and restful retirement. Congratulations my lord!

Sexual Harassment in the Legal Profession- making a case for the female lawyer by Adaeze Anah

I predicted that if the NBA does not take a sharp, clear stance against the sexual harassment of lady-lawyers in the profession, we would have on our hands a movement more compelling than the #metoo movement and as it is with all revolutions powerful men fall face flat. At the time when I was having this conversation with friends and Colleagues (including people who have had to or were still dealing with sexual harassment) they thought I was being petty, idealistic, unserious and indeed a “Wet blanket”. The last description nearly crushed me. So a lady trains, becomes a lawyer and sets out to acheive her goals but has to be ‘fun’, ‘entertaining’, endure lewd jokes with smiles just to get the patrochial endorsement of not being socially awkward… I worried. I worried even more because personalities that are naturally warm and extrovert have it worse… I worried. Why is it that the world is defining work etiquette in a way that is safe and balanced for both genders but the profession, the vanguards of Human Rights was quiet? Who is this silence convinient for? I worried.

The first time the profession proferred any help, Mrs. Boma Alabi, SAN was the mouthpiece of God that day. It was an International Women’s Day programme organised by the President AB Mahmoud SAN led administration. When she was asked how She has had coped with sexual harassment through the span of her very successful career, proferred the solutions that has worked for me till this day. Before, I tell you what the solutions are, let me first of all point out that she was not in denial of the fact that there was a huge problem in the system and neither was she elitist about it. (This for me was a major win;finding someone who not only understood that there was a problem, she understood the problem and publicly she acknowledged not just the existence of the problem but also an empathic understanding of the problem). This for me meant gold.
Mrs. Alabi blessed us with hands-on tolls for handling sexual harassment which she tagged ICE. I for ignore; sometimes a good approach would be to ignore the offender depending on the nature of the harassment, C for Confront which provides an platform for refress and accountability and E for Educate to prevent further occurance and bring to speed persons who resort to harassment because of cultural, religious and soceital misdirections.
Mrs. Alabi gave me these important gifts and I have taught this as well. It provided an intervention but it did not entirely solve the problem. I yearned for a lasting solution. A system that would call out this evil and provide laid-down rules on how redress would be sought and consequences to be met with where necessary. Again, my friends thought me a dreamer.

The last NBA National elections was keenly contested. During the campaigns, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade , SAN openly confronted the issues and promised to tackle this menace; he even made a video about it. Another bag of Gold for me; precious. It was the first time I witnessed a Presidental candidate stir up this conversation at the frequency that he did whilst offering to combat the menace. He did not win that election, but the conversations that arose from the campaigns whipped up the confidence of many who spoke publicly and attracted the attention of other lawyers. Dr. Ajibade’s campaigns changed the trajectory. It was not International Women’s Day, Day of the Girl-Child or any other gender inspired ceremony that forces us to look in the mirror. This is a man, a successful and powerful lawyer identifying the problem and offering to bring this conversation to the table of power where it rightly belongs and use the position if elected to not only give an institutional nod to the fight against Sexual Harassment and other Gender – related issues but also to infuse solution based methodologies into the profession. Gold, Gold, Gold!

Ours is a profession that depends on performance and peer reviews for assessment, appraisal and promotions ( whether at the Bar or Bench). If Peer Review is an important tool in the profession then it is important that it is neither tainted nor is it allowed to become a weapon in the hands of perverted assailants. It not only encourages this menace, it downplays Performance and relagates merit to the back burner. Young Lawyers would rather strive to be in the good books of their colleagues rather than be actual good lawyers. Sad. The term ‘Godfather’ is not a jargon for the political arena only, it has sadly come to our house and is being established as a need sold to young, success-hungry, lady-lawyers. Worse still, beacuse this falsehood stays uncontroverted generally, it is often employed by person who are in dire need in their careers and are even in no place to play God-father over anyone. This popular narrative eats up the foundation of the Profession I met. How do we root out this tragedy threatning to become a tradition???

I am elated by the conversations reported from the just concluded NBA-NEC meeting at Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state. I thank Amaka Ezeno Amazon for raising this Issue at the meeting of one of the highest decision making bodies in the profession. I salute the President of the Bar, Olumide Akpata for the promising conversations reported from the just concluded NEC. Again I feel. Like i have hit gold again. I hope it is an indication of an institutional clamp down on this menace before it becomes too late. I dream that sexual harassment of Lady-Lawyers should be spelt out as a Professional Misconduct and i hope that massive education and a comparative review of corporate norms ofNBA and other BAR Association be done to filter best international practices and apply as needed. Good practices that promote safe and balanced work spaces for Lady-Lawyers should be applauded and incentified.

Thank you.

International Women’s Day: NBA Women Forum set to host power-packed virtual conference

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, the NBA Women Forum (NBAWF) is set to host a power-packed virtual conference starting on Wednesday, 24th March 2021, themed, “Pathways to Diversity: Challenging Blindspots and Powering Up for Inclusion”.

The conference aims to spotlight the achievements of women at the bar while charting solutions to address areas of necessary improvement such as diversity in the profession, stereotypes, representation in governance, and growth acceleration for young female lawyers.

Speaking about the conference, the head of Media and Publicity for the Forum, Theodora Kio-Lawson, said that in line with the global theme for the 2021 IWD, the women of the bar are choosing to challenge blind spots and stereotypes within the legal profession.

She said, “By actively choosing to challenge these stereotypes, we are saying no to bias, no employment inequity, no to wage gap/unequal pay, no to sexual harassment and all the other issues that keep us down and continues to widen the gender inequality gap.

“We hope that as a direct fallout of this conference, more women would learn to constructively interrogate issues of inequality and broaden their perceptions to embrace this cultural transformation and drive the agenda forward, particularly as it relates to the legal profession,” Kio-Lawson added.

The Conference which will be declared open by Her Excellency Anna Ishaku, first lady of Taraba State, will also feature a keynote address by Oby Ezekwesili, Public Analyst and Former Vice President, World Bank’s Africa Region; Terry Mazur, Chair of the Women in Law Section of the New York State Bar Association; Olumide Akpata, President of the Nigeria Bar Association; Hon. Justice Roli Harriman and Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Others are, Bidemi Ademola, General Counsel, West Africa Unilever, Seye Kosoko, Company Secretary, FBN Holdings and Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Officer/Company Secretary, Oando Plc, Joyce Oduah, General Secretary of the NBA, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose, SAN, Chairperson, NBAWF, Chinyere Okorocha Vice Chair, NBAWF, Ummahani Amin, Convener, African Internal Conference on Islamic Finance (AICIF) among other distinguished speakers and discussants.

The sessions will cover a broad range of topics including, Leadership, Board Participation and Equal Representation in Governance: The Anomaly of Sexism; Gender Diversity and Unity in the Legal Profession: Working Together to Normalize Equality; The Future is Female: Actions for Accelerating the Growth of Female Lawyers In-House’ Gender Bias: Challenging Stereotypes and Reinforcing Diversity and Inclusion. And Leading the Charge for Gender Development: Role of the Nigerian Female Lawyer

Day two of the conference will feature a special training for young female lawyers, organized by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Network Nigeria (UNGC) with the theme: #NBAWF #Choosetochallenge

Register here http://nbawomenforum.org.ng/iwd-conference

NBA Abuja Young Lawyers Committee, Law & Society Magazine hosts webinar on Mental Health

Law and Society Magazine and a Non Governmental Organisation, Media and Teens Network is hosting a one day webinar on Mental Health, in conjunction with the Young Lawyers mentoring and Pupilage committee NBA Abuja Branch (Unity Bar).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Mental health is an integral and essential component of health. The WHO constitution states: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” An important implication of this definition is that mental health is more than just the absence of mental disorders or disabilities.

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Mental health is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life. On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world.

The rising cases of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in our world today begs the question as to why and how,  the coming of the COVID 19 pandemic exacerbated seems  the rise of Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV cases especially as it affects minors, some persons relate this with the state of mental health of the perpetrators and their psychological problems.
It is Indeed a tragic situation. Join us on the 23rd of March 2021 at 2pm as we discuss and dissect the issue thoroughly.


Find log in details  below:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://tinyurl.com/NBAABUJAYLF
Meeting ID: 867 4701 6862
Passcode: 316685

Ibori, Okowa, Obasanjo, Ribadu, Atiku, UK; Politricks As Empire Strikes Back (1)

Question: How serious is Nigeria’s anti-corruption fight? 

Answer: That depends on the accused, the accuser and the amount of prejudice (bias, preconception, prejudgment, predisposition, partiality) and the “politricks” involved. 

Item 1: Bureau of Public Enterprise (under Nasir el-Rufai) chose the management-contract option to improve NITEL before privatisation and advertised for OPERATORS ONLY, not CONSULTANTS and CONSORTIUMS. Yet, a consultancy, Pentascope International B.V Private Ltd of Belgium, emerged first, ahead of BNSL/ TCIL of India, A CORE OPERATOR. BNSL/TCIL charged US$35 million over three years for its services, Pentascope charged US$45 million …and won. 

On January 16, 2003, NITEL Board kicked against the deal and only signed the contract after the weight of Obasanjo’s administration was invoked against it. So, BPE, under el-Rufai, had its way. 

A report had informed BPE and the government that Pentascope was a small consulting firm with a share capital of €5,000 (five thousand Euros) and an unsubstantiated annual turnover of €25,000 (twenty-five thousand Euros), and it was coming to manage an outfit worth over a $1bn. Most of all, while Pentascope claimed a turnover of €25, 000, the company that came second in the bidding had a verifiable year 2000 turnover of US$2.560bn READ ALSOCOLUMNIST

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Nigeria’s loss: NITEL’s N15 billion profit in 2002 turned into a loss of N19 billion in 2003, turnover dipped from N53 billion to N41 billion. Yet, Direct Costs and Overhead Costs increased from N21.3 billion to N26.3 and from N19.4 to N30 billion. NITEL collapsed. Nobody was punished for that misadventure and the man who headed BPE went on to become a Minister and state Governor later. The EFCC under Nuhu Ribadu, never looked into BPE and the self-decorated anti-corruption crusader, Obasanjo, hardly asked any questions. And so too our journalists. Did some Nigerians float Pentascope, registered it on New Year day (a public holiday everywhere) just to defraud Nigeria? We will never know. 

Item 2: 3pm Wednesday 29 March 2006, a top-secret business was at last nearing conclusion; and €107,500,000.00 (One hundred and seven million, five hundred thousand Euros only) was wired out of Nigeria from a bank in Abuja Central District; half of the total payment. 

The contract demanded that the Israeli company “design, develop, manufacture, install and prepare for operation three Aerostar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle intelligence systems (drones) and three Seastar systems for aerial and marine use”. 

At the prevailing exchange rate, the €215m contract sum equaled $US260m. Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said: “As for the Aeronautics Ventures deal, experts estimate that, according to the value of the equipment, and even if Aeronautics profits from the deal reach 100 percent, the scope of the deal will not exceed $150 million”. 

And that was when Nuhu Ribadu was EFCC Chairman. He was too busy chasing Obasanjo’s perceived enemies. And when Obasanjo’s National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen. Aliyu Gusau (rtd) denied knowledge of it, Obasanjo dropped him. When I reported the contract scandal in the Daily Independent, I was arrested. 

Item 3; Obasanjo attempted to tar and destroy former Vice-President Atiku Abubaka using the hallucinated Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) sins. Obasanjo sent the EFCC’s stupid report on Atiku, to the Senate, after the Administrative Panel of Inquiry he had set up had used it to ban Atiku from contesting elections. A court threw out the Panel’s decisions. The Senate Committee heard from Atiku that the PTDF funds was used to pay a lawyer that owns a higher institution N250 million in September 2006 for registering a company (Galaxy Backbone) with the Corporate Affairs Commission; paid up share capital – N1b (so it should not attract more than N23m CAC fee) . 

On 10 May, 2006, during Third Term scheme, PTDF requested for N20b for its projects and got approval same day, plus for N10b immediate release. By 2005 December PTDF outfit had N20b and $150m in fixed deposits, N533m and $6.3m in current accounts. Five months later only N12.9 remained of the N20b. The dollar account dwindled too. PTDF Management spent N60m to renovate its head office, N36m on a lift for the two story building. Even Aso Rock’s Media Office under the late Mrs. Remi Oyo got N100m for progress reports and photograph productions for the Villa Library. A bazar was on. 

Item 4; President Obasanjo himself doubled as Petroleum Minister. Yet, did Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s records become transparent from May 1999? The Department of Petroleum Resources record shows that between Jan. and Sept. 2000 NNPC was statutorily allocated 82,200,000 barrels of oil but NNPC told the House of Representatives that it only got 80, 848, 507 barrels; a discrepancy of 1,351,493 barrels. The House of Reps took the matter seriously and queried the NNPC; here is tip of the iceberg: “1; The value of the 53,076, 173 barrel of crude oil purchased by NNPC from FG for domestic processing, January to June 2000, at US $9.50 per barrel amounted to US $504,644 which converts to N42.86 billion. But NNPC claimed it totaled N42.19b. The exchange rate was N85/US$ then. Discrepancy; N670m” in just eight months. 

To be fair to Obasanjo, his administration issued new guidelines for lifting Nigerian Crude Oil and other activities in July 1999. But over a year later, those guidelines were still being ignored. According to a House of Reps Ad- Hoc Committee report, “NNPC is known to be the only supplier in the world offering generous payment options known as advance payment and prompt options. By this practice, buyers are free to choose their buying price and this gives room for manipulations by the key buyers. The ramifications extend to the New York mercantile exchange and even legal suits. In a typical month, Nigeria losses approximately $300m”. Perhaps, this explains why our refineries are inoperative; to keep open a swindlers’ paradise. 

How did NNPC choose companies that would import petrol and other things? NNPC told Dr. Christopher Kolade’s Panel on Review of Contracts that it was unaware of the existence of the Federal Ministry of Finance’s Operational Guidelines on tender’s board procedure and powers of spending in the Public Service; as well as guidelines on administrative procedures. Thus, the corporation never observed any of such. Now please note this: according to NNPC’s figures, it imported 1,933,929.88 quantity of refined petrol (no indication if it was calculated in barrels or litres) costing $452, 566,158.00 between May and December of 1999, but six months later between Jan 2000 and June, it had imported 3,357, 438.93, costing $1, 912,242,771.39 – an increase of 7346%. Why such a drastic increase? Did the number of motor vehicles increase so dramatically? 

A Reps Committee report said: “Since no organ of government seems to keep record of what NNPC exports or imports, it is near impossible to verify NNPC’s figures as it concerns revenue accruable from sales of unutilized/ export crude. It is equally difficult to ascertain allocation of such revenue for the same reason. For example, the DPR claims that the PPMC has consistently failed to obtain permits to import petroleum products, and when imported, no returns are made to DPR despite persistent reminders on the same – irrespective of laws/regulations governing the petroleum products imports into the country”. 

Item 5; Late President Umaru Yar’Adua received, 25 May 2009, “Halliburton Bribe Scandal Allegedly Involving High Government Officials” interim report. Soon after, his illness worsened and he died in office. Case closed! Was an ailing Yar’Adua poisoned, hastened to his grave, because of that case? 

The bribery scandal’s timeline extended from 1995 to 2004/5, when Gen. Sani Abacha, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and Obasanjo led the country. $178,575,675 in bribes (the highest ever in Nigeria) was paid out to highly-placed Nigerians for a Liquefied Natural Gas contract given to TSKJ Consortium for $1.8bn instead of BCSA whose bid was $100m more than TSKJ’s. So Nigeria lost $100m there. TSKJ won additional contracts for construction of subsequent trains, up to train 6 in 2004 for $6bn. Yes, in 2004. Till today, no Nigerian has been punished. On March 27, 2013, under President Goodluck Jonathan, the case was finally buried: six small fries were prosecuted for being conduits for the big fishes. Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar of Abuja High Court, said the PROSECUTION HAD FAILED TO DILIGENTLY PROSECUTE THE CASE. 

Now, hear Nuhu Ribadu’s excuse why he didn’t catch the bribe takers: “I put in a request letter but after a year of trying to get French authorities to help us, the investigation magistrate told me that they could not get anyone to translate my letter from English to French. I knew it was a hopeless case. But Nigeria has an Embassy in Paris that could have translated the letter or written a fresh letter in French for Ribadu. That Ribadu didn’t know that, shows the stuff he is made of. Or, was translating the letter just a lame excuse from someone whose heart and soul wasn’t in the quest? No matter, Britain crowned him an anti-corruption crusader, Azu Shiekwene, Segun Adeniyi and other journalists applauded. 

Now the question: If Obasanjo, Ribadu, and crusading Nigerian journalists have been terribly opposed to corruption, why was the Halliburton scandal and 99.9% of corruption cases, never investigated? Why did the kind of noise over the mere signing of an MOU between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, for the return of £4.2 million pounds to Nigeria, money seized from three female associates of Chief James Onanefe Ibori, never arose over the items listed above? Some, began to demonise Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa administration in Delta state, manufacturing reasons why the £4.2m should not revert to Delta, forgetting that Nigeria is a Federation. Politricks had crept in. 

Answer: When the Obedient Servants of the British Empire were failing to stop Ibori, in stepped the UK to keep the Nigerian part of its empire in check. The Niger Delta region was getting restless, Chief James Onanefe Ibori was giving the “natives” ideas. His resource control agitation, sensitisation and mobilisation was a threat to UK’s interests. Two other Governors had joined him; so he was getting “dangerous”. Then the Empire Struck Back; Ibori had to be decoupled from politics and leadership … like King Jaja of Opobo, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah and other Africanists who attempted to THINK INDEPENDENTLY. The UK used DFID immensely. It sponsored Respect Nigeria, Save Nigeria and other groups either through EFCC or directly in London locally and internationally, groups that died once Ibori was jailed. It financed saharamalreporters through stupid awards through third parties. Now, Ibori’s case is over and the online publication is struggling for breath. A death sentence was passed on Ibori – to be arrested DEAD OR ALIVE – April 22, 2010. Ibori should thank God that he is alive today. Jonathan, the Obedient Servant of the Empire who issued it was kicked out shabbily. He has finished his service and the Nigerian outpost is safe again for the Empire. (independent)

Tragedy as 18-year-old girl stabs brother to death

An 18-year-old girl, Idowu Biletiri, on Saturday allegedly stabbed her elder brother, Kehinde Biletiri, to death at Igbokoda in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that trouble started when the suspect returned home after leaving the house for some days without any trace of her whereabouts.

“Her deceased brother queried her on her returned, seeking to know where she had been since she left home.

“It seemed she was angered by the question and then went straight for a kitchen knife which she stabbed her brother with to death.

“Only the two of them were at home when the incident occurred, this have thrown the whole community into confusion and mourning,” the source said.

The state Police Command’s spokesman, ASP Tee Leo-Ikoro, said the incident had not been reported officially to the command.
Leo-Ikoro said the case was rather reported to the Ondo State Security Network code-named Amotekun Corps.

“I can confirm that the incident occurred but it was reported to Amotekun Corps and they are in charge of the case now and until it is reported to the police, we cannot carry out any investigation,” he said (NAN) (theconclaveng)

For Disparaging School Girls, NFF Asks Ayade to Sack Education Adviser

• Seeks inclusion of more women in decision making

Tobi Soniyi

The Nigerian Feminist Forum (NFF) has asked the Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade to sack his Special Adviser on Education, Castro Ezama for allegedly disparaging schoolgirls in the state.

NFF, in a statement quoted Ezama as saying on a radio show that “about 60% of girls in secondary schools in Cross River State are not virgins”.

Reacting to the remarks, NFF said: “We, at the NFF consider this claim to be deeply misogynistic, irresponsible, and a gross abuse of our fundamental human rights as women and girls, to spend time speculating on the veracity of the virginity of young women and girls.

“Once again, we are reminded of how individuals in their official capacity as government officials, are more concerned with policing the bodily integrity of young women and girls; how they dress, how they sit, where they are sitting and with whom they are sitting with.”

The NFF therefore asked Ayade to immediately disengage Ezama even as it called for “an immediate retraction from Ezama and the Cross River state government under whose mandate he committed the gross human rights abuse and flagrant abuse of his position of power.”

Sacking him, the NFF argued would stop him from abuse rights of girls in the state.

It stated that Ezama’s statement is capable of causing and placing undue embarrassment and reputational damage to all young women and girls in the educational institutions in Cross River state.

It contended that the students Ezama referred to are minors who are under the Child Rights Act.

“We all have a duty of care to minors in our care and custody, to be able to speak for those without a voice, the vulnerable, disabled and minorities, whilst designing public policies that seek to solve problems and not create stigma and additional problems”, the statement added.

Why questioning how Ezama arrived at his conclusion, NFF asked “Did Cross River state subject all the minors in educational institutions to virginity testing, and if they did, is that not illegal without consent of their parents or legal guardians?”

It stated that Ezama’s comment failed to acknowledge the undue sexual and gender-based violence young women and girls face in educational institutions in the state, perpetrated by boys and men.

NFF called all persons working with state governments in their various roles to recognize that a state of emergency on sexual and gender-based violence had been declared by the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, acknowledged by the Federal Government and a coalition of partners.

Meanwhile, NFF has called for legal and structural reforms aimed at reflecting and enforcing improved women participation in Nigerian politics and their representation in decision-making offices.

NFF Focal Person, Chinonso Okechukwu, made the call at its zonal conference in Lagos themed: “Legal Reform and Women’s Participation in Political Leadership in Nigeria”.

Okechukwu said the reform was also aimed at achieving the mandated 30 per cent affirmation as enshrined in the Beijing 1995 declaration for women’s political empowerment or even the 35 per cent National Gender Policy (NGP).

The declaration requires governments, international organizations and civil society groups to take a range of actions to enhance women’s political emancipation.

Okechukwu stated that women in spite of the major role played in population, were still underrepresented as voters, as well as in leading positions, whether in elected office, the civil service, the private sector or academia.

According to her, available statistics reveal that only about 51 per cent of women are involved in voting during elections, with 7 per cent overall political representation.

She attributed the development to structural barriers through discriminatory laws and institutions, patriarchy, stigmatization, low level of education, unfavourable meeting schedules, lack of financing, political violence, religious and cultural barriers.

“Globally, women constitute over half of the world’s population and contribute in vital ways to societal development generally, assuming some key roles as mothers, producers, home-managers, community organizers, socio-cultural and political activists.

“Under international standards, both men and women should have equal rights and opportunities to everything worldwide, most especially to participate fully in all aspects and at all levels of political processes.

“In spite of the major roles we play with our population, women roles in the society are yet to be given recognition due to some cultural stereotypes, abuse of religion, traditional practices and patriarchal societal structures.

“This occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in democratic governance.

“In spite of these, women are still under represented in both elective and appointive positions with Nigeria recording low participation of women in both elective and appointive positions and this is a growing concern to many of us, especially younger women.

“The under representation of women in political participation gained root due to the patriarchal practice inherent in our society, much of which was obvious from pre-colonial era till date.

“The re-introduction of democratic governance has witnessed once again an increase in women political participation both in elective and appointive offices in Nigeria.

“In spite of all efforts put in place, we are yet to meet the 30 percent and 35 per cent affirmation as contained in Beijing platform for action and National Gender Policy respectively,” she said.

Okechukwu recommended that political parties create a support network for prospective aspirants by pairing them with established women politicians to play key roles as mentors and provide capacity building for young or aspiring female politicians.

She also urged for the creation of an enabling environment that allows women to engage meaningfully in the decision making process in a sustainable and effective way free from violence and harassments of any kind.

“We must build a mass Coalition of women support and advocacy group using Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) and Grassroot women associations to coordinate support and advocacy for fellow women aspirants.

“There should also be the establishment of legal funds to assist women politicians to challenge electoral malpractices of any form at all levels of political processes.

“Government must also introduce a quota system at all levels of government and identify and engage relevant stakeholders such as the Independent National Electoral Commission and political parties to ensure strict adherence to it,” she said. (thisdaylive)

Book Review: Strategic Turnaround – Story of a Government Agency

This is a special book that can transport you to the inner workings of government institutions and how they can be reformed and repositioned to deliver effective and efficient services. Every person who reads this book will be inspired by its unique approach to solving complex institutional problems applying simple management and leadership principles in an easy to understand manner. 

This important book by Dr. Dakuku Peterside on strategic management turnaround demonstrates several important theoretical, policy and practical principles well laid out in the different chapters. For one, it points attention what is currently lacking in Nigerian public life, which is the need for those who manage public assets to share their experiences and knowledge at the expiration of their tenure. This book does that with considerable diligence.

It is an important case study of how to reform and revitalise an ailing public enterprise and in so doing, bring them back to top level performance. Second, the book shows the nexus of theory and policy in the understanding of strategic management. The author understands both the theory and concepts of strategic management, which undoubtedly contributed to the success of the big reform that he envisioned and executed at the agency. The practical lesson here is that we will do well for the country by appointing subject matter experts and those with  requisite capacity to the headship of economically critical agencies. 

Third, this book is a balanced mix of theory and practice and therefore provides sound knowledge for students, practitioners, leaders  and politicians all in equal measure.  From different perspectives, every intellectual mind and those in managerial function have something to take away.

Altogether, the book has 13 chapters that cover the main areas of strategic management. The author “sought to build a knowledge based organisation and ensured that NIMASA, as a regulatory agency, is driven by the knowledge and implementation of laws, regulations and policies that are in line with international instruments adopted by the International Maritime Organisation and the International Labour Organisation for maritime laborstandards”.

In this book, I believe Dakuku succeeded well in doing what he set out to do, that is, turnaround an underperforming state institution  into “a model maritime administration for developing countries”. 

The author seeks to capture and document in this book, the main essence of the four years that he spent at the helm of NIMASA as chief executive officer (CEO). He traces the challenges, the triumphs and the process outcomes of a well thought out set of reforms. It takes the reader into the workings of a critical public institution. The focus of his thesis is on how regulatory institutions should regulate and not be captured by the political powers that birthed them. For the most part the Achilles Heel of public agencies is regulatory capture in a spoilt dystem such as we often find ourselves. 

In economic theory,  regulatory agencies are themselves  dominated by the industries or powerful interests that they are set up with regulating. The result is that an agency, charged with acting in the public interest, instead acts in ways that benefit the political actors or industry owners it is supposed to be regulating. This is prevalent in developing countries such as we are due to significant levels of poverty that in turn bestow political office holders a larger-than-life status. Clearly, Dakuku’s reform focus helped stem regulatory capture, which is a corruption of power, and authority that occurs when a political entity, policymaker, or regulatory agency is co-opted to serve the commercial, or political interests of their constituency. In Nigeria, these are mostly sub-national ethnic groups, represented by a particular geographic area or tribal affiliations. This book serves us a rich menu of lessons to prevent regulatory capture. 

The turnaround of NIMASA equally shows the critical importance of investing in broad and specific skills and knowledge capabilities if national agencies will meet the demands of the 21st Century. The need for competent staff and expertise, competitive salaries, and management autonomy. The management requires assured  political cover for the CEO to make tough decisions and carry out bold structural changes; these are some of the imperatives for the emergence of a credible agency and the framework with which to create a culture of performance. 

Clearly, Dr. Dakuku built a solid foundation on which NIMASA could thrive and prosper in the years to come and as he set out to do, become an excellent maritime regulatory agency. The turnaround of NIMASA shows clearly that with leadership that is visionary and purpose-driven, blessed by committed workforce to implement well laid out plan, a regulatory agency can carry out its purpose even within an environment of a spoilt system. As a corollary, it is also evident that state enterprises and public institution that were mismanaged could experience a radical turnaround. I highly recommend this book to students of management,leadership ,policy makers, politicians and academics alike. (sundiatapos)

A/COURT SCREENING: ‘I PLAYED KEY ROLE IN NJC DUMPING NOMINEES,’ SAYS CAROL AJIE

Fiery Bar Activist and former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch, Dame Carol Ajie has said that she contributed to the dropping of two candidates who allegedly performed poorly during the National Judicial Council (NJC) screening of the nominees for elevation to the Court of Appeal.

In a rejoinder to CITY LAWYER‘s report on the matter, Dame Ajie narrated her high-profile interventions on the controversial screening exercise, adding that CITY LAWYER did not credit her efforts as contributing to the reversal of fortunes suffered by the affected jurists.

Below is the full text of the rejoinder which was sent to CITY LAWYER.

NBA vs NJC Appellate Court Nominees: Mr Emeka Nwadioke – Unfair Reporting

As you privately twice acknowledged yesterday Saturday 20th Match I wrote self inspiringly interventionist views on the above subject many including Gambo Saleh NJC Secretary received it I I also sent it to Ms Hadiza Supreme Court Chief Registrar on my contact list via WhatsApp and email to a former CJN Mariam Muktar GCON. I believe a number of people were surprised that I backed Akpata on anything cos they had perceived I won’t and couldn’t back him.

Perhaps I don’t know the part of the real reason for NJC U Turn arose from the shocking endorsement I have Akpata though you are too dishonest to admit it in your poor article which I have trashed.

A former NBA GS who shall not be named wrote me a long whatsapp text yesterday to dump support for Akpata on this I didn’t buckle. I said Akpata is right.

I sought on my own initiative to back him that is why I wrote my interventionist text like that. If I didn’t want to back him I know how to write Read a draft of what would have appeared anti Akpata

An NBA President Akpata who never hid his aversion for the court room suddenly becomes an advocate of who a good appellate court Judge should be. Please Distinguished readers trash it. You know Akpata is conventionally greedy he has zero record on public interest chances are that as NBA President he probably had his preferential candidates who didn’t pass the mark set by CJN/NJC A transactional lawyer indeed should not be telling a CJN who is eligible for the bench when not his turf. Thank U
End

Chidi Odinkalu himself cannot file a motion he knows nothing about litigation he has no practice he was never in practice.

But why put down Akpata or Chidi they are my Brothers I said one from Midwest plus Akpata actually is UNIBEN Alum. As a Catholic Christian I said he has taken a right step let me publicly support him. That z it. As for Chidi he is my Brother I call him Brother CAO hus (sic) initials

If I wrote that anti Akpata and shared it within half an hour it would get to CJN through Ahmed Gambo.Saleh and Madam Chief Registrar SC or other sources. Trust me they will say Iroko Tree Ajie is against Akpata and she is for us CJN CR SC NJC Secretary and the fight goes on . Note there is no NBA nominee into FJSC I didn’t support Usoro and they read me and as you know CJN has not yet resolved it

My friends may not be happy with me that I backed Akpata openly I mean my friend Madam CR SC and then I am now reading a dishonest report in City lawyer magazine that failed to give credence to efforts in a struggle I courageously took part in my name on it

If you don’t know how to address me I am a Georgetown scholar I read for it on my degree certificate are the appellation Professor Scholar Juris I didn’t inherit it and as a renowned Constitutional Law lawyer I changed a few provisions in the Nigerian Constitution through documented struggles google search Carol.Ajie and Constitutional Law I have an Intl human rights certificate from Georgetown which cannot be bought with all the money in the World I worked to get my credentials Dues fully paid. (citylawyermag)

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