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Gutter Juice… The dangerous teen addiction

By Olatunji OLOLADE, Associate Editor

  • Adolescents hooked on juiced cocaine,  cannabis, tramadol, rohypnol, codeine
  • Nigeria’s deadliest: Inside an omi gota cookhouse
  • The looming opioid crisis will consume us – Clinical psychiatrists

‘The good times are made, not sniffed, drunk or smoked‘ – Dr. Oluwayemisi Ogun FNPH, Yaba

Abiodun Toye “lost his wits” drinking an uncommon brew in common hours. He dipped his head in omi gota (Gutter Juice) and got drowned. The 16-year-old unravelled to the brew’s potent tang, head first.

Few minutes after he binged on the crude blend of cocaine, codeine, tramadol, rohypnol, Indian hemp (cannabis) and blackcurrant juice, Toye began to dance to a beat no one could hear.

Then he turned on his feet and reached for his dealer’s ample bosom, fondling it, feeling impatiently for her tits – his eyes glazed over.

“Initially, I fended him off. I knew he was high. He wouldn’t dare grope me while he was sober. Igi imu jina sori (I am way out of his league). But he crossed the line when he jammed his groin in my butts. My fiance and his boys pounced on him. They beat him silly. They didn’t care that he was high. They felt he actualised what he had secretly nursed in his heart,” said Sade, who brewed and sold Gutter Juice to Toye.

Afterwards, the teenager was hauled home by his friends, drugged out and blind drunk. They knocked on his apartment door and dumped him on the floor of the two- bedroom flat that he shared with his mother, Moyin, in Dopemu, Agege.

Moyin, 38, said she was surprised to find him sprawled on the floor, outside their door around 12.04 am. “A neighbour’s wife knocked on my window to wake me up. I never knew he had snuck out. His shirt was torn and stained with blood. He bled from the lips and his nose. And his eyes were swollen. I was very scared yet thankful to have him back,” she said.

But the 38-year-old’s gratitude was short-lived. While she dragged Toye into his room, he made a move on her. “At first, I excused his initial groping thinking he was drunk and unaware of his actions. But he became more aggressive and tried to force himself on me. I resisted and fled his room. Nothing happened till around 4am. I was fast asleep when he climbed atop me. He looked wild and very agitated. He flashed a knife at me and ordered me to strip naked. He said he would kill me and kill himself if I didn’t let him sleep with me.

“Somehow, I managed to escape. I ran out of our apartment half naked. I was rescued by a neighbour, a commercial transporter who was just coming in. He and his conductor wrested the knife from Toye and restrained him. They told me that he was not only drunk but also high on drugs. They tied him up with a disused vehicle fan-belt. My son seemed a total tranger to me. I couldn’t recognise him anymore. I had never seen him like that,” revealed Moyin.

Although he sobered up the next morning, Toye seemed withdrawn. He couldn’t recall his actions, the previous night and he couldn’t explain how he came by his scars. “But his friends explained it all to me. He wasn’t even contrite when our neighbours narrated to him how he attacked me the previous night. I didn’t want him to know to prevent awkwardness between us but the commercial transporter who rescued me insisted on telling him stressing that it would make him desist from using hard drugs. But rather than show contrition, Toye flew into a rage, and ordered him out of our apartment.

“He made me a laughing stock in the compound. Worse, he didn’t budge when I threatened to ship him off to live with his father, my estranged husband. Normally, he would plead with me and promise to change. He simply brushed past me and went to his room,” said Moyin.

omi gota

To forestall a repeat of Toye’s previous rape attempt, Moyin invited her unmarried male cousin to stay a couple of days with her. And things seemed to return to normal. Toye would go out at noon and return late in the night. He lost weight and stopped eating at home. He always said he had eaten out. “

He grew very lean and he smelled funny whenever he returned home. Then he started having these episodes when he talked to himself and imaginary people. I became very scared when it intensified. One night, he left his room to sleep in the public bath of the house next door. He said there was too much heat in his room and he needed some very cool place to sleep. At that point, I knew I had to get him help, fast,” said Moyin.

She took him to a local church where exorcism rites were performed on him. When his case didn’t improve, she took him to a traditional mental clinic in Agbara, Ogun State.

Teen addicts invisible in plain sight

Toye is simply one of several youths trapped in the rapture of hallucinogenic substances but ignored in plain sight by regulatory authorities. Between 2018 and 2019, nearly 15% of Nigeria’s adult population (around 14.3 million people) reported a “considerable level” of use of psychotropic drug substances, a rate much higher than the 2016 global average of 5.6% among adults.

The survey was led by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Centre for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the 

It showed the highest levels of drug use was recorded among people aged between 25 to 39, with cannabis being the most widely used drug. Sedatives, heroin, cocaine and the non-medical use of prescription opioids were also noted. The survey excluded the use of tobacoo and alcohol. It also excluded teenagers like Toye drowning in the stark fluid of Gutter Juice perhaps because it falls outside the radar of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other regulatory authorities.

“The government isn’t aware of Gutter Juice. The NDLEA doesn’t consider it a narcotic worthy of being outlawed. They need to do their investigations. Gutter Juice has attained prominence particularly among teenagers and the consequences of taking it is often devastating on the user and their families.

“Recently, after getting high on the brew, my niece got stabbed in the eye, in a knife fight with another girl, over a boy. She claimed to be fighting to protect what’s hers. She is just 15,” said Olumide Obanla, a Gbagada-based social health worker.

Enter ‘Science Students’

Gutter Juice gained prominence in the wake of hip hop artiste, Olamide’s track, Science Students. While the song got banned by regulatory authorities for glorifying drug use, and was widely condemned in conservative social circuits, it enjoyed airplay among the youth, teenagers in particular, who embraced it for its creative depiction and veneration of their addiction.

Fears of an imminent Gutter Juice epidemic are rampant in several parts of Lagos. It’s hard not to panic over the prevalence of a drug that leaves devastating marks on its victims.

Especially when it is so easy to make: an addict can cook up Gutter Juice using ingredients bought from the local pharmacy and underworld drug den. Public sale of some of its active ingredients, codeine, tramadol, rohypnol have been banned yet they are available over the counter and the backroom of local pharmacies, at outrageous prices.

Dealers mix blackcurrant juice with a brew including tramadol, codeine, rohypnol, Indian Hemp and cocaine. The result—a purple liquid with pungent smell—mimics the effect of injecting high-end cocaine at a fraction of the cost.

On average, users spend N9,000 per day on cocaine. This amount is half of the national minimum wage per month. Methamphetamine users spend an average of N 4,000. Heroin is obtainable at a street price of N4, 000 but adulterated ‘rocks’ often flavoured with thinner, is available at a range between N3, 500 and N4, 000.

However, one litre of standard Gutter Juice costs N3,000 while a 50cl bottle costs N1, 500. Adolescent users often pool resources and contribute to purchase a bottle, which they share using disposable cups at the several liquor stores across Agege, Agbado, Yaba, Ijora-badia, Ajegunle, Fadeyi, Akala, Ajah, Lekki and other parts of Lagos Island.

Those who can afford it simply purchase a litre of the brew at sales point, and depart for home or a more private location to consume it.

Inside an omi gota cookhouse

Many dealers mix different drugs to produce a premium blend of Gutter Juice. At The Nation’s visit to Solape Ojo’s cookhouse at Powerline, Agege, for instance, she explained, step-by-step, how she prepares her brew. Ojo mixes blackcurrant juice with cocaine, tramadol, rohypnol, cannabis and codeine.

“Sometimes, the condiments vary, likewise the preparation. Some users specifically request that I add vodka and boil their cannabis in hot water before distilling it into the brew. That often gives it greater kick. By the time I add tramadol, codeine,  rohypnol, blackcurrant juice and cocaine, the brew attains premium tang,” she said.

After preparation, there is no way to distinguish the brew on a shelf of alcoholic beverages. Its craftily disguised as blackcurrant juice – a sweet, harmless soft drink made from berries. But users know better as they troop to Ojo’s lab or shop to binge on the psychoactive potion.

“I deliver it to offices too. Some alakowe (white collar workers) book in advance and collect it on their way home from work. But a greater fraction of my customers are teenagers and Yahoo Boys (internet fraudsters). They pay good money. Many who seek the good stuff demand that I mix their brew with ‘level’ (cocaine). I charge up to N5, 000 for one litre depending on the quantity of ‘level’ (cocaine) you want in the brew. If you want it to be very sharp, you pay between N5, 000 and N6, 000 but if you want normal high, one litre is N3,000 and 50cl goes for N1,500,” said Ojo.

Business is so good that Ojo has moved from her Powerline base to Maplewood Gardens.

Chasing the dragon at severe cost

Addicts pay dearly for Gutter Juice’s cheap high (known as chasing the dragon) – some dealers too. Ask Biola Iyanda, 19, who got raped in her sister’s shop soon after consuming the hard drug.

“My sister had gone home and left her bar in my care. She had these customers who often visited at night. Last Tuesday, they invited me to drink with them. The last thing I remembered was that they tried to grope me and I fell in the gutter in front of the shop. They raped me, right there in the gutter. I was rescued by members of a vigilance group, and they helped me get compensation from their parents. Each boy paid me N25, 000. I got N50, 000 as compensation and my sister banned them from her shop,” she said.

No doubt, many users totally lose their wits after consuming the hard drug. At another drug den in Amoo, The Nation observed several teenagers struck in different states of inebriation far into the night. Many were hyperactive, continually raising a ruckus over minor incidents. They laughed hard, fought hard and partied hard.

Their intoxication varied according to their brew. A user who was identified as Esin (stallion), due to his acclaimed soccer skills, started soliloquising and laughing by himself after downing 25cl of the brew.

“That is what Pamilerin does to you,” explained Michael Babatunde, 18, a retailer of the brew. Pamilerin contains a combination of boiled cannabis, alcohol, tramadol, rohypnol and codeine. It loosens your tongue and makes you very giddy. You tend to laugh even at the driest jokes,” he said.

A visit to Oju Irin…Ganja paradise

Indian Hemp, Eja, Pot, Ganja, Hashish, Spiff, Marijuana, Obi, Cannabis or Igbo is a major ingredient of Gutter Juice and widely available across Lagos metropolis. One major sales point of the narcotic is the Oju Irin drug den, along the rail tracks behind the Agege abattoir.

omi gota
•Teenagers smoking cannabis in a drug den at the Adeniji-Adele Housing Estate.

Strolling along Oju Irin, the modern-day Mecca for Lagos addicts, a suspicious mix of darting eyes and dank smell gives you the impression that the sea of shops and stalls offer something slightly more sinister than your standard cannabis, SK and heroin replicas.

At my entry into the enclave, a dealer sidled up to me. “Forget my name. Just call me Sure Guy,” he said. Swaggering through the shanty settlement, Sure Guy sought to establish his repute as a cocky prince of the purlieu. Fingering a pile of cannabis loosely in his palm, he laid it out in wrap of rizla and deftly rolled it out into a blunt.

“Wetin you want? Talk to me, I go sort you. But e be like say you know sure sef. I no know you. I never see you before. I no know if you be drugs (NDLEA agent)” – What do you want. Tell me and I will sort you. But you seem suspicious. I don’t know you. I have never seen you. You could be an NDLEA operative,” he said.

His demeanour belied his prodigious street smarts. Sure Guy is happy to tell you that he rakes in at least N10, 000 a week selling cannabis and crack, known as gbana among dealers and in the seedy parts of the drug den.

He proudly advertised his fledgling dominance in the seedy and ultra-violent settlement, and he brags that he uses his drug money to maintain two families.

Few minutes later, he led me down the rough tract along the rail tracks, and explained to me how to locate a dealer’s drug den.

Strolling along the dingy tracks to one of the stalls, I was confronted with a stunning stash of drugs — authentic cannabis, cannabis clones, crack and potent potions with names like omi gota (Gutter Juice), colorado, pamilerin.

The hard drugs are designed to mimic the effects of Schedule I and II substances like cocaine and amphetamines — and every single one of them is illegal. Indian Hemp and SK are obtainable at N100 each.

Death by tramadol

The typical life span of a teenage addict is just two or three years, baring urgent intervention, argued Sarat Ilyasu, an addiction psychiatrist. For instance, Theophilus Adeoye died of excessive consumption of vodka and tramadol one year into his addiction. He died at 17, few months after he graduated from high school. Adeoye’s death was a tragedy that Ronke, his widowed mother could make no sense of.

“I never saw it coming,” she said. On the day her son would die, he downed several cups of vodka laced with tramadol and a fizzy energy drink to celebrate his university admission. “When we finished the bottle of vodka, we prepared another bottle and another one with cognac,” revealed Augustine, the deceased’s childhood friend.

Adeoye died 1 hour and 48 minutes after he was rushed to the clinic for respiratory problems. The doctor who confirmed his death stated that he abused tramadol by taking it in extreme dosages with alcohol.

“When they brought him in, he presented with acute respiratory distress syndrome. He had a blood concentration of 21.5 mg/L tramadol, with toxic levels of nicotine possibly from excessive smoking and other drugs. Subsequently, he developed multiple organ dysfunction and suffered severe seizures every 20 minutes. He suffered sudden cardiac arrest. He could not be resuscitated,” he said.

Mixing hard drugs exposes addicts to great risks, argued Tayo Emmanuel, an addiction counsellor and social health worker. According to her, “Combining vodka and cocaine in one brew is every shade of dangerous. Alcohol is a depressant and cocaine is a stimulant. Mixing the two in large quantities can overstimulate the heart and nervous system, leading to, in extreme circumstances, heart attacks,” she said, adding that such potions impair users’ ability to make sound, rational judgment on risks thus leading them into dangerous situations.

Rohypnol: a tool for date-rape

Rohypnol (Flunitrazepam) is a tranquilizer about ten times more potent than Valium. Asides mixing it with Gutter Juice, users crush the pills and snort the powder. They sprinkle it on cannabis and smoke it. Sometimes, they inject it. Users often describe its effects as “paralyzing.”

Rohypnol has been used to commit sexual assaults because it renders the victim incapable of resisting, giving it the reputation of a “date-rape” drug. The murder of Cynthia Osokogwu by a Facebook acquaintance revealed how Flunitrazepam, a sleep enhancer, is abused. The pill otherwise known as Rohypnol was used to sedate Osokogu before she was raped and strangled. It was acquired without prescription from a registered pharmacy in Festac, Lagos.

Cocaine got in the mix – Drug dealers

C17H21NO4. A derivative of Erythroxylon coca. Otherwise known as cocaine, coke, C, Charly, World Cup, snow, nose candy, Peruvian, White toto. A vegetable alkaloid derived from leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine is fast becoming a teen addiction and a fancy addition to the now ubiquitous Gutter Juice.

A blizzard of the white powder has blown through the country’s rich neighbourhoods into the suburbs, enticing teenagers thus posing a disturbing problem. While a high from snorted cocaine will hit you in about 1-5 minutes, attain a peak within 20-30 minutes, and last 1-2 hours. A high from inhaled or injected cocaine will hit you in less than a minute, be at its peak within 3-5 minutes, and last 30 minutes to an hour, explained.

The onset and peak occur much faster with inhaled [if smoked] and injected cocaine, and the user experiences the effects of the drug ‘all at once.’

Cocaine prevents dopamine from recycling, causing excessive amounts to build up between nerve cells. This flood of dopamine ultimately disrupts normal brain communication and causes cocaine’s high. Users get hooked on for its short-term effects of extreme happiness and energy, mental alertness, hypersensitivity to sight, sound, and touch. Some of the long-term effects of cocaine include constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, nausea raised body temperature and blood pressure, faster heartbeat, tremors and muscle twitches.

Law enforcers as ‘part of the problem’

The NDLEA is tasked with disrupting the supply of illicit drugs, arresting dealers and supervising programmes intended to reduce the demand for drugs. It is a difficult, multifaceted job that is made even more challenging by resource shortages, notes an International Alert report.

NDLEA field officers described funding gaps and logistical challenges, stressing that they were often forced to pay for fuel out of their own pockets and complaining that they received less logistical support than other enforcement agencies.

The NDLEA is presently short of staff. There is a massive movement of staff from departments that are supposed to play a supportive role to other departments. Officers who were recruited primarily for drug use reduction and officers who were recruited primarily for legal and administrative purposes all want to move to operational departments that are seen to be more lucrative than the other departments. There is a lack of ethics among such members in carrying out their duties since they want to amass wealth, lamented an NDLEA officer.

But the police and the NDLEA are also part of the problem, argued Iyabo Sunmonu, a retired teacher and resident of Idi Oparun, Agege. She blamed them for collecting bribes and releasing suspects even after they have been identified with evidence.

A Gutter Juice dealer with branches and Powerline in Agege, stated that some NDLEA officers come around to collect ‘settlement’ (bribe) from her and other dealers. “They come around every Monday morning,” she said.

Taming the dragon

Recently, the Medical Director (MD) of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital (FNPH), Yaba, Dr. Oluwayemi Ogun raised the alarm over increasing prevalence of drug abused induced mental disorders among children, adolescent and adult Nigerians saying over 150 new cases are admitted at the hospital and its Child and Adolescent Centre, Oshodi Annexe every week.

Reacting to teen addiction to Gutter Juice and other psychotropic substances, she said, in an exclusive interview with The Nation, that: “Only disturbed people drink Gutter Juice. Each of the substances mixed in the juice is highly dangerous. Codeine, cocaine, Indian Hemp, Tramadol and Rohypnol are seriously dangerous to health the way they are abused.”

Dr. Ogun disclosed that just last week, a teenager was rushed to the emergency ward of FNPH by his mother after binging on a variant of the Gutter Juice called Colorado. She said, “He admitted that he had been smoking Indian Hemp (cannabis) and subsequently, he went out to consume Colorado. Whatever the mixture of Colorado, I don’t know but it made the poor boy run amok. They had to sedate him at the private hospital where he was taken, initially, in order to calm him for onward transfer to our facility. When he became sober, he started pleading with his mom for forgiveness.

“There is need for a lot of counselling and education of the youths. They must be made to understand that taking psychotropic substances would have adverse effects on them and possibly wreck their lives. Since the lockdown, the number of people taking drugs has sky-rocketed. Many of them ended up as our patients at the psychiatric hospital. Troubled teenagers especially must understand that the good times are made, not sniffed, drunk or smoked.”

The senior psychiatrist recommended that to combat the trend, serious counselling must be initiated by parents at the homefront. “Parents must rise up to the challenge and educate their wards about the dangers of experimenting with hard drugs and drug addiction. Parents who drink and smoke should stop doing so in their kids’ presence. Schools and religious groups must also intervene positively to assist parents and government efforts at stemming the tide.

“We must act fast before this thing engulfs us. Many like Boko Haram and so on, are spurred to violence after taking hard drugs like Gutter Juice, Colorado and so on. Many resort to drugs to escape their daily problems, to forget their battles with unemployment, poverty and so on. But hard drugs do not take away problems, they add to the problems and compound them for users,” she said.

“Priscilla Benjamin-Olaoye, a mental health expert, stated that Gutter Juice as known offers only a temporary sensation. Once the drug wears off, individuals put themselves at risk of developing a dependence as they try to reach the same high and avoid withdrawals.

“The behavioural impact of the abuse of Gutter Juice is not only living a reckless life like having unprotected sex, driving recklessly, or engaging in life-threatening activities, there is zero desire to keep safe, and zero inhibition for self-preservation from harm or danger. They drop out of school, having the inability to process situations with a sense of sound judgment. A first-time consumer can die instantly, go into drug-induced coma, or experience brain injury.”

Should parents resort to spiritual homes or visit orthodox psychiatric hospitals?

Benjamin-Olaoye argued that although the first assumption to make is that drug addiction is a spiritual problem, substance abuse is actually a chronic relapsing disorder, leading to mental and behavioural challenges.

A spiritual problem, she stressed, is one in which the individual has no control over, but “in this case, substance abuse is one which the individual behaves themselves into.”

You cannot pray yourself out of what you behaved yourself into, she argued, urging parents to implement a healthy balance of both. She said, “Don’t focus on the spiritual aspect, while the emotional needs of the child are left unmet.”

Benjamin-Olaoye could save her homily for desperate parents like Moyin. Moyin dismissed The Nation’s findings pointing to Toye’s need of psychiatric help, stressing that her son’s problem is spiritual – even as his friends revealed that he eventually graduated to a stronger brew of Gutter Juice spiced with stronger doses of cocaine, boiled cannabis, codeine, tramadol, and rohypnol.

“Occasionally he smoked thinner and crack. I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t mix gbana (heroin) with cocaine,” said his friend, Bolu. The latter revealed that after chain-smoking and binge-drinking Gutter Juice two weeks ago, Toye went off the deep end.

When exorcism failed with Toye, his mother shipped him off to a traditional asylum in Agbara, Ogun State. When The Nation visited the home, the 16-year-old was found tied to a steel bar interred in the concrete floor. He looked gaunt with flecks of eko tutu and agunmu (cornmeal and herb) spattered over his parched lips.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets and his skin bore red welts from sustained beating. He looked spent and lost in an alternate universe but his caregiver, Fashina Alani, paused from using the whip on him, to assure that his case had remarkably improved.

2020 Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA) Luncheon To Provide High Value Insight To Nigeria’s Ailing Healthcare Sector

As plans are concluded for the first virtual Annual Business Luncheon of the Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), which holds tomorrow Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the Chair of the 2020 Planning Committee and Partner, Corporate Finance/Business Advisory Group, at George Etomi & Partners, EFEOMO OLOTU in this interview, speaks about the CMSA flagship event and highlights of this year’s outing.

How are preparations for the forthcoming Luncheon?

The CMSA Annual Business Luncheon is the highlight of every Member’s calendar and given the social gathering restrictions and health and safety measures in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the responsibility of planning and coordinating the business luncheon has been interesting, to say the least. I am especially thankful to my committee members for their dedication, innovation and immense capabilities, despite the current circumstances, as only teamwork makes the dream work.

What do you consider the essentials of a Capital Market Solicitor?

Every capital market deals with intangible instruments, which makes it both complex and sophisticated. Therefore, the most essential quality of a Capital Market Solicitor is complete knowledge of the operations, legal and regulatory framework, and peculiarities of the capital market in its jurisdiction. This enables the Solicitor to provide the client with the appropriate legal advisory services regarding any capital market transaction.

What sort of collaborations exist between the CMSA and capital market regulators? And how has it developed the market over the years?

The CMSA actively collaborates with capital market regulators in the drafting and/or review of rules and regulations applicable to the market.

An example is where the leadership of the CMSA attends regularly held meetings of the Capital Market Committee (CMC). The CMC is an industry-wide committee comprising members of the Commission, representatives of capital market operators and trade groups, and other stakeholders. At these meetings, very important issues facing the capital market and other policy matters are discussed. The CMSA, at these meetings, also brings to the fore issues that affect solicitors in the capital market. These discussions are taken into consideration in the rules and regulations that are later presented to the capital market for comments.

The CMSA also receives draft rules and regulations from capital market regulators and sends these to its members for their input and opinions. This feedback is collated and reviewed by the CMSA executives and sent to the applicable regulator, and I must say that these engagements have helped in addressing legal concerns in the industry.

What is the nature of the CMSA Annual Business Luncheons and how are these conferences driven?

The Annual Business Luncheon targets solicitors, regulators, capital market operators, investors, and other sector participants. Each Business Luncheon has a theme, carefully selected to examine topical issues affecting the Nigerian capital market, to promote the growth, development, and expansion of the market in line with the global economy and international best practices.

How does the chosen theme for each year drive participation? Are your participants largely the same every year or would you say the audience is driven either by the theme, the sub-topics, or the selected panel at each conference?

Topical issues are always chosen by the Association as the theme for the event. Every year has a different theme, depending on what is trending in the capital market space. The theme for this year is ‘Financial opportunities in the Capital Markets – An Aid to Improving the Nigerian Healthcare Sector”. Currently, we cannot ignore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and—closer to home—the Nigerian healthcare sector, which is why this year’s Event is so themed.

Participants differ every year based on the theme. For instance, we can expect more people from the health and medical field and representing the pharmaceutical industry at this year’s Event because the theme concerns the medical value chain. It is imperative that the voices of critical stakeholders in the medical field are heard when important discussions take place and as such, panelists have been carefully selected to reflect this critical objective.

What sort of engagement should we look forward to, from the line-up speakers and panellists at this event?

Attendees should expect high-value content which touches on practical solutions to our ailing healthcare sector and what the capital market can do in healthcare sector recovery. Strategies in easy capital access which solve a majority of the sector’s problems would be at the fore of the discussions.

You can expect to see the Director General of the apex regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Lamido Yuguda, who would be giving the Opening Remarks. The Keynote Speech would be given by Mr. Bode Agusto, the Chairman of the Advisory Board of First Cardiology Consultants and the Founding Managing Director of Agusto & Co.

The discussion sessions contain two segments which tackle, on the one hand, the Health Practitioners’ Perspective and, on the other, the Financial, Legal & Regulatory Perspective in improving the health sector. The planning committee curated a wide range of Panelists, ranging from the medical and pharmaceutical fields, HMOs, insurance companies, securities exchanges, investment firms and capital market solicitors, with vast knowledge and expertise in the pertinent areas. The Event promises to be illuminating and knowledge-packed.

How does the CMSA achieve its objectives with its annual business luncheons?

The CMSA is concerned with developing the legal and regulatory framework within which the capital market operates and the Annual Business Luncheon serves as one of the avenues through which we meet this objective. We ensure that the regulators and market participants are in attendance of the Event. This creates a forum within which a conversation can be had between all Parties in order to influence policy and legislation, thereby fostering the growth and development of the capital market space.

What would count as success for you after this event?

The holding of the event alone is a success. However, if we are able to record high attendee participation, we are fully confident that the takeaway of the Nigerian capital market’s capacity to revitalize the declining Nigerian healthcare sector can shape sector recovery and improve the healthcare legal and regulatory framework, especially in response to the pandemic and for the future.  This satisfies the main objective of the CMSA, which is policy and advocacy for the advancement of the Nigerian capital market and the creation of increased opportunities for Members of the Association.

Appointment Of FCT Judges: Group Heads To Court Over Non Inclusion Of S/East

The Registered Trustees of Social Justice and Civil Rights Awareness Initiative has instituted a legal action at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja over the non appointment of a south easterner as judicial officer in the Federal Capital Territory High Court.

Specifically, the suit is seeking an order of court compelling President Muhammadu Buhari to include at least one person from the South East into the list of newly appointed judges of the FCT High Court.

The group wants a declaration that the “appointment and/or attempted appointment of judges to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory without the inclusion of at least one person from the whole of South East Nigeria is unlawful for contravening the 1999 Constitution.”

The group is seeking the court to mandate President Buhari, the National Judicial Council, the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Senate and the Federal Character Commission to discontinue the recruitment exercise of appointing new judges to the FCT High Court forthwith until they comply strictly with the Federal Character principles as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

Therefore, the group is praying for, “A declaration that the attempt to appoint eleven judges to the bench of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory without the inclusion of a single person from any state in the whole of South Eastern Nigeria is discriminatory and against good conscience.”

The suit was filed by Alozie Nmerengwa Esq.

Meanwhile, following moves to swear in the newly appointed judges (today) Monday, Barrister Nmerengwa has written the Senate and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, drawing their attention to the suit in court, and demanding action.

“It will interest you to note that in the year 2018, seven persons were appointed as judges of the FCT High Court and none was considered from the entire South East Zone.”

Again, Again, sometime around 7th July, 2020, eleven names were forwarded to the Senate for confirmation as judges of the FCT High Court and none again was from the South East zone”, Nmerengwa wrote.

Two Sharia Court Judges Kidnapped — Cleric

Two Sharia court judges from Zamfara State were kidnapped while on transit from Niger Republic on Friday, an official has said.

The judges, Sabiu Abdullahi and Shafi’i Jangebe, were abducted on their way back to Zamfara after a trip to Niger Republic.

Mr Abdullahi is also the deputy chief imam of Usaimin Jummu’at Mosque in Gusau.

His colleague, the chief imam of Umar bin Khaddabi Juma’at mosque, Gusau, IUmar Kanoma, confirmed the incident during Friday prayers.

The two judges were travelling back home following a programme they attended in Niger Republic, the cleric added.

“We appeal for prayers from Muslims faithful and the general public for the safe release of the judges who were abducted on their way back from Maradi in the Niger Republic,” he said.

The imam called on governments at all levels to secure lives and properties.

It is not clear where exactly the judges were abducted.

The police spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, did not respond to phone calls and a text message requesting information.

Court Sentences Lawyer To 7 Years Imprisonment For Failed Land Transaction

A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has convicted a Calabar-based legal practitioner Ezechi Okereke, Esq.

Ezechi was sentenced to seven years over a failed land transaction. He was arraigned and convicted on a one-count charge of intent to defraud one of his clients in a Suit No. FHC/CA/CR/33/2015 between the Inspector-General of Police (Complaint) and Ezechi Okereke (Defendant).

In the judgment delivered by Justice I. E. Ekwo, the judge convicted Mr. Okereke on the one-count charge and held that he obtained money under false pretences.

He ruled that the defendant is convicted as charged and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment with effect from 8th July, 2015.

He further ordered that the convict must pay the sum of N2,950,000.00 before his release from prison.

The judgment read in part: “In the one count charge dated July 8, 2015, the allegation against the defendant is that with the intent to defraud, he obtained the sum of N3,450,000.00 from Enwono Abasi Emmanuel Eyo by false pretences to enable him to release allotment paper for a plot of land situate at Satellite Town Calabar alloted to him by the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing Calabar, a representation he knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 1 (a) (b) and 2, 3 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related (offences) Act Cap. D11 (Vol.2) LFN, 2006.

“On the whole, I find that the case of the prosecution has been proved beyond reasonable doubt and I so hold.

“I find the defendant guilty and I make an order convicting him as charged.

“The convict is sentenced to seven years imprisonment with effect from July 8, 2015”, the judgment read.

ECOWAS Court Judge Proposes New Approaches To Improve On The Enforcement Of Decisions Of The Court

A judge of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Justice Dupe Atoki has expressed concern at the ‘unsatisfactory’ level of enforcement of the decisions of the Court by Member States which stood at 34 per cent and suggested the involvement of political actors in the enforcement process in order to emulate the best practices from other jurisdictions.

In this regard, the judge recommended in a paper delivered at a virtual panel discussion on “Rule of Law Crisis: Enforcement of Court judgements and the fight against corruption,” that a committee of regional ‘Ministers be constituted to monitor and supervise the enforcement of the decisions of the Court as is the case in the European court and other international systems.’

In the paper which was on the ‘Enforcement of judgments of the ECOWAS Court of Justice,’ Justice Atoki suggested that the President of the Court should also be allowed to provide a report on the Court to the political authorities to apprise them of the judgments of the Court and their enforcement status for a holistic understanding of the Court.

Justice Atoki cited the provisions of the ECOWAS Treaty and Community Texts on the Court which cumulatively demonstrated a ‘clear indication of the purposeful intention of the founders of ECOWAS to establish a court that can deliver enforceable judgments.’

She however noted that the non-enforcement of judgment in the ECOWAS Court should not be seen as an African syndrome but a global disorder citing the 2004 report of the European Court of Justice which showed 144 cases where Member States failed to fulfil its obligations under Community law and a total of 2,497 since its inception.

In assessing the effectiveness of the enforcement mechanism for the decision of the Court, the judge noted that gaps were created in leaving enforcement to Member States in accordance with the rules of civil procedure of the Member State and obligates them to appoint a competent national authority for the purpose of receipt and processing the execution and notification of the Court as only six States have complied.

But in order to help change the landscape of impunity by Member States that exhibit outright disregard for the decisions of the Court, Justice Atoki argued in the paper that the time is apt to exercise the powers of the ECOWAS Court to impose sanctions in line with the provisions of the 2012 Supplementary Act of the Community on sanctions for failure by Member States to fulfil their obligations to the Community and consistent with practices of other international courts.

Consequently, she said that the ‘lacuna in providing the modalities for non-enforcement of sanction by the court calls for urgent attention which will involve a review of the Protocols relating to the Court,’ adding that  ‘a systematic process of enforcement akin to the political sanction should be considered.’

She also challenged public spirited individuals and Non-governmental Organisations (NGO’s) to engage the process provided by Article 15 of the Supplementary Act to hold Member States accountable to domesticate Community Texts.

The panel discussion was organized by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a Nigerian NGO in collaboration with the MacArthur Foundation.

Of Malami, RPC And The Nigerian Bar Association

By Raymond Nkannebe

It is almost a mute point, at least to legal practitioners and political scientists that the paramount objective of any lawmaking exercise, is to achieve advancement in the affairs of a society, group or organization. In this connection therefore, lawmaking is a response to the identified problems within a state or organization. Classical thinker, Socrates probably put it best when he argued that “only decrees based on knowledge of objective justice can count as true laws”.

As human societies continue to evolve, so too her laws, rules and regulations in line with the dynamic and organic nature of laws and societies respectively. All over the world, the act of legislation is a forward-looking endeavour and never an exercise steeped in backwardness, much less tyranny. The reason is not far-fetched: human societies do not proceed in a retrogressive movement.

Lawyers are all too familiar with the Mischief rule of interpretation of statutes that traces its ancestry to the Heydon’s Case. Under this principle, lawmaking is informed by the need to suppress a mischief, and advance the remedy. This principle unarguably strikes at the core of the lawmaking process and demonstrates the philosophy behind the lawmaking power that rests with parliament as well as other institutions saddled with the power of making subsidiary laws and regulations.

Against the foregoing background, the vacuity of the purported amendment to the Rules of Professional Conduct of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria (RPC) 2007 by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN, which has rightly agitated the legal community for upwards of 48 hours, can be better appreciated and interrogated.

With a tooth comb in hand, I have gone through the purported deleted sections of the RPC, namely sections 9(2); 10; 11; 12 & 13 thereof and it is clear to my mind that if allowed to stand, would precipitate the beginning of the end of legal profession in Nigeria which remains the envy of other professional associations.

On many fronts, the so called amendment is dead on arrival. Firstly, by the tyrannical manner in which it purports to have been made, it is unconstitutional, ultra vires  the powers of the learned Attorney General, null and void. And in terms of what it portends for the legal profession, it is conservative, backward-looking and seeks to set the clock of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) backward, at a time when the theme of its just concluded Annual General Conference (AGM) speaks of stepping forward.

Let me attempt a brief overview of the sections purportedly deleted by this unilateral, perfunctory and arbitary exercise of power, against the mischief behind their ‘enactment’ in 2007 by the Bayo Ojo SAN-led Council of the Bar.

Section 9(2) which to all intents and purposes gives fillip to section 8(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, L11  LFN, 2004 (which provides for mandatory payment of practicing fees by every legal practitioner), seeks to ensure that lawyers who continue to derive revenue from the practice of the ‘trade’, pay their due practicing fees. The logic behind this provision is so elementary that it should not be adumbrated. But for completeness I hasten to submit that Payment of fees is an incidental obligation of membership of any group pr association.

Section 10 seeks to wean off quacks and impostors in the profession by the aid of unique stamps and seals provided by the NBA. Of course at a fee. The wisdom behind this salutary provision was underscored by no less an authority than the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the famous case of Yaki v Bagudu (2015) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1491) 288 thus, “the rules are made by professionals to protect and guard jealously the enviable legal profession .

Section 11 instructively provides for the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) of lawyers through attendance of courses, seminars, lectures, workshops etc. Who can fault the thinking behind this ethical and professional imperative? Lawyers, do not trade in articles or goods like traders in Balogun or Bodija markets. Quite to the contrary, they trade their knowledge and skills. Today, the average lawyer is as relevant as the amount of information at his disposal. In our current world of broadband and information highway, of what use is the lawyer who would not enlist in continuous professional development in meeting the highly technical demands of his/her calling?  Strangely, this is what the leader of the legal profession in Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, SAN recommends for the Nigerian legal community at a time when the ‘business space’ of lawyers continues to suffer encroachment from other quarters.

Finally, sections 12 and 13 seeks to ensure due compliance with the provisions of section 11 on mandatory career development, and proper regulation of the profession by due notification to a local branch of the Association upon the setting up of a law practice by a lawyer either alone, or in association or partnership with another respectively.

Assuming Malami succeeds in foisting his will and weal on the legal community,  the instruments of ‘control’ and paraphernalia of due regulation that have held the profession and the Bar Association close knitted as well as in good esteem would be eroded: lawyers would not be obligated to pay their practicing fees to the NBA, or their branch dues at the local level; any Tom, Dick and Harry would be ‘entitled’ to practice in our courts or settle pleadings provided they can afford a wig and gown, or are able to muster some legal jargons; the importance of professional development would be denuded and finally, law practices would spring up arbitrarily with no standards of regulation. In effect, the floodgate of the prostitution and bastardization of the noble profession would be opened with consequences that are better imagined. Can this be the wishes of the General Council of the Bar (the “GCB”) for the legal profession in Nigeria?

This brings me to the manner in which this purported instrument was issued. The commencement note reads, “in execrise of the powers conferred on my by section 12(4) of the Legal Practitioners Act Cap L11 LFN, 2004 and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I, Abubakar Malami, SAN Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and President General Council of the Bar make the following rules”

The GCB is made up of at least 50 members per, section 1(2) of the LPA and the quorum of the Council is pegged at 8 members per section 1(4) of the same Act for purposes of the proceedings of the Council. As at the time of this writing, there is no word yet, of when the hallowed Council sat to approve of the so called amendments as it should be with any lawmaking process.

All we hear is of a power-drunk Attorney General arrogating the powers of the Council to himself and making orders in a manner that would make the worst despotic regime cringe with both envy and scorn. Yet, the purported amendments are made to be binding on an Association of arguably the finest minds and whose members run in excess of 100,000. Is that the best approach to law making? Can the whims and caprices of one man modify the fundamentals of an Association only because he is a nominal president of an arm of the Association? The answers to the above posers do not task serious thinking; they however help to unmask the leprous hands of the so called “New NBA” in the unfolding drama.

We had seen a letter written to the Honourable Attorney General issuing from the promoters of that contemptuous group and titled, “RE: NOTIFICATION OF THE FORMATION OF NEW NIGERIA BAR ASSOCIATION (NNBA)” in the wake of their white elephant project, where they had sought the “understanding” of the Honourable Attorney General. Could this be a statement of that solicited understanding? There are no reasons to think to the contrary.

At a time when the Honourable Attorney General should be occupied with efforts at saving Nigeria from paying a whopping 9.6 billion dollars, in judgment debt to the British Virgin Island company, P&ID Ltd, it beats one hollow that he is rather more interested in meddling in a “proxy war” within the NBA that is as baseless as it is irrational even if it means prostituting his nominal office as the president of the GCB and by extension, the Chief Law Officer of the Federation.

Having won a historic victory at the last election into the National Offices of the Association, there is no reason not to imagine that these ugly developments are strategic landmines by some reactionary forces within the “establishment” to distract Mr. Olumide Akpata from delivering the goods he had promised thousands of Nigerian lawyers who had voted massively for him at that important election.

To this group, striving for a schadenfreude moment like Shylock, It must be told: if we should bring down the NBA today because of one moment of unjustifiable grievance, there’ll be no NBA for any of us to savour tommorow. Let it be known that the future of the NBA exceeds the brief 2-year tenure of the current administration. If there’s anything therefore we must do, it is to support the administration and quit this obsession with courting a needless ill wind that would blow no one any good. Two wrongs after all, do not make one right.

Raymond Nkannebe, a legal practitioner writes from Lagos. He tweets @RayNkah.

Justice Salami Orders Magu’s Lawyers Out Of Panel Sitting

TWO lawyers – Prof. Zainab Duke Abiola and Mr Aliyu Lemu – were on Monday barred by the Justice Isa Salami-led Judicial Commission of Inquiry from appearing for the suspended Acting Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

They (lawyers) were appearing for the first time to beef up Magu’s defence team.

The panel, which walked out the lawyers, said it recognizes lawyer-activist Wahab Shittu as Magu’s only defence counsel.

Although the development caused a stir at the sitting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Justice Salami stood his ground.

A source said: “Trouble began at about 11.50am when Mr. Wahab Shittu, who has been appearing for Magu, stood up to introduce other members of the legal team.

“But, Justice Salami was said to have interrupted Shittu and insisted that only him would be allowed to defend Magu.

“The former PCA thereafter directed the security agents to bundle out the lawyers from the venue.

“Shittu has appeared for Magu for the past two months and raised certain issues including fair hearing for his client and the need to cross-examine witnesses who testified against his clients.

“Due to the seriousness of the inquiry, Shittu reportedly led Prof Zainab Duke Abiola (MNI) and Mr Aliyu Lemu to the venue of the panel on Monday.

“Abiola is a globally renowned human rights activist, anti-corruption crusader, member of the British Bar and the Akasoba of Kalabari Kingdom. She is also the widow of the late Chief MKO Abiola who lived and died for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria.

“Upon arrival at the venue, Shittu introduced members of his team before the panel and as soon as he finished speaking, Justice Salami ordered that only Shittu would be allowed to represent Magu.

“He insisted that other members of the team dhould leave the venue. Attempts by Shittu and Abiola to explain the sanctity of legal representation for Magu were resisted by Salami and other members panel who refused to listen to their explanations.

“But, Monday’s proceedings took a new dimension when Salami immediately ordered security agents to escort Abiola and Lemu out of the venue, thus denying Magu the constitutional right to be represented by the legal practitioners of his choice.”

Reacting to the incident, Prof Duke Abiola expressed her disappointment with the conduct of the panel.

A statement by Magu’s defence team quoted her as saying: “What happened today has highlighted the nature and manner the panel of inquiry has been conducting its sittings secretly against the presidential directive and the instrument setting it up, that it should hold a public. It is unacceptable and patently illegal”.

She said it was unfortunate that she was given such a treatment meted out to her.

The professor added: “The development is unprecedented in the history of Nigerian legal system as even in the worst days of the Nigerian Military junta, Nigerians had the right to be represented by lawyers of their choice.

“The conduct of the panel indicates a descent into a Hobbesian state where the powerful trample upon the honest and upright citizens’ quest to serve their country with honour and integrity.

She asked Nigerians to stand up in support of their anti-corruption champions.

Abiola also called for an “end to the travesty and charade being conducted by the panel, saying that its action may ridicule Nigeria in the international anti-corruption community.”

It was learnt the panel was angry because there was no formal letter from the defence team to engage more lawyers.

A source said: “What happened was an ambush because the commission had no knowledge of new lawyers joining Wahab Shittu.

“I think there ought to be a formal process of announcing additional representation for Magu which was not done.

“This is a Judicial Commission of Inquiry which should be well-respected.”

101 Reasons You Need A Lawyer -By Ujong Okpa

A few weeks ago, a client walked into my office complex and after having some chats and semi-informal conversations with one of my colleagues at the office Reception Area, he said to this colleague of mine, “nobody wants to come to a law firm because nobody wants to be involved in a law suit”. This did not come as a shock to someone like me who has heard similar phrases from the lips of many, both the formally educated and formal illiterates. And I know most of us would not be surprised either. For if you’ve heard phrases like “the law, the law, I fit look for trouble now o”; “if I get matter I go call you”; or even seen stickers like “I am a lawyer, I find trouble”, then you know what I’m ranting about.

This is not just a mindset held by society  members, it begins from the very reason held by most parents and guardians for sending their children to study law in our Tertiary Institutions, what our classmates in Secondary Schools think studying law is about and what we sometime believe law encompasses. Little wonder the catalogue of suits congesting our law courts relentlessly.

In this Article, my goal is to cure the myopic ills held by the general society on the relevance of a lawyer in an evolving Nigerian society; ‘a hundred and one reasons you need a lawyer’ you may call it, even though the reasons won’t make up to fifty when severed. My advice, take note of every point and don’t skip the detailed explanations. Someone, if not you, needs it.

  1. TO DRAFT LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENTS.

We live in a growing society where entering into agreements have become an inevitable routine of life, some oral and some express. Agreements that wield  the capacity to change the financial life or otherwise of the individuals entering into them; agreements that may culminate into law suits where the terms are orally made or poorly drafted in the case that they are expressly stated (deduced in writing). This is a vacuum a lawyer is trained to fill. A lawyer trained in Nigeria is equipped with the skill set to draft legally binding and acceptable agreements. And by agreements, I mean and include tenancy agreements, sale of property agreements, other forms of contractual agreements whether between corporate entities (companies), between individuals or between companies and individuals. Under the category of contracts are kinds of agreements too numerable to mention.

And, as a tenant or a Landlord, you need a valid agreement. Yes, you do.

I shook my head when I recently stumbled upon an agreement for the supply of goods between a company and an individual. The binding part of the agreement (the signature section) was so shabbily and negligently done that I assumed the company had no legal department or a lawyer at their rank. The document I saw was, definitely, not going to be a valid evidence in court in the event where the other party fails to perform his part of the contract. Such a case will be lost in arrival.

  1. TO ESTABLISH LEGALLY RECOGNIZED ORGANIZATIONS.

Organizations are both profitable and nonprofitable in objective. Businesses, companies, Churches, Schools, Clubs, Foundations are all organizations that are required by law to be registered as a condition for recognition and enjoyment of certain forms of protection and prerogatives. You should know where I’m heading by now but in the case that you don’t, you need a lawyer to get those organizations registered; for there is no legal protection of your organization or business without registration. And the scope of this protection is wide.

Mind you, the requirement for an accredited CAC agent (a lawyer) is not for the payment of the required fees to the Corporate Affairs Commission but for getting all your documents ready for swift and hitch-free incorporation, mostly for companies, not for profit organizations (NGOs), churches, schools and clubs.

  1. TO INFORM AND/OR REMIND YOU OF YOUR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN.

‘With knowledge comes power’ it is said and the issue of fundamental human rights is one area more than one-half of the citizens of the Nigerian territory are somewhat unwilling to be schooled in. (Here is a disclaimer: this population estimate of one-half is only speculative). Most citizens (and you may be inclusive) are totally oblivious of their constitutionally guaranteed rights and have consequently become helpless victims to acts breaching those rights.

More than often, the rights enshrined in Chapter Four of the Nigerian Constitution are merely paper work unless brought to life by a lawyer.

4.TO INFORM AND/OR REMIND YOU OF YOUR OTHER RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES.

The rights of a Nigerian citizen goes beyond those in the Constitution. Rights and liabilities in contractual agreements, workplace rights, and the likes, are rights and liabilities individuals and parties need to be in full awareness of, and a lawyer can do a great job spotting and interpreting hidden and glaring terms in a contract. It is what he is trained for after all. And doing so could save you from appending your signature in a suicidal document, or put you on check to the teems in the document you ought to sign or may already have signed . Moreover, the terms are, presumably, written by another guy who equally scaled through the Bar Finals.

Mind you, these rights and liabilities apply to Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike.

  1. TO ENFORCE AND PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS.

We’ve pitched our tents in a society where infringement of rights have become a mainstay if not an impossibility, and it is only one is knowledgeable of his rights that he can enforce them when entrenched, workplace and constitutional rights inclusive. The rights to be protected and enforced extend to right against unlawful arrests, right against physical abuse and assault by military or paramilitary officers, right against discrimination, right against threat to life, and etcetera takes over. You could google up the case of ETENE V. NIGERIAN NAVY with suit No. FHC/CA/M88/2010 for a classic, enjoyable epitome.

  1. TO KNOW HOW TO ENFORCE YOUR RIGHTS.

As individuals, enforcement of rights is one of the first things on our minds. On the contrary, the importance of knowing ‘the how’ – proper way to execute your rights – cannot be overemphasized, as the adverse effect of enforcing it can be devastating. In the recent case of KURE V. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE, for instance, the Supreme Court, once again, condemned the act of using Police Officers as debt recovery and contract enforcement agents. The pitfalls for doing so have been seen in celebrated cases like MCLAREN & ORS V. JENNINGS and GUSAU & ORS V. UMEZURIKE & ANOR.

  1. TO DRAFT AND EXECUTE YOUR WILLS.

The death wish of a man is usually very important, and the drafting skills of a lawyer cannot be waived here. Properly drafting a will with all its relevant content is one thing, executing it is yet another bridge. Making sure the testamentary intentions of the testator are divest on the intended beneficiaries is one role a lawyer can play to the exclusion of professionals in other realms and walks of life.

  1. FOR APPEARANCE FEES.

Don’t pay serious attention to this sub-head, take it as the pun that it is.

However, the reminder it is meant for is that the lawyer’s appearance fee in a full litigation is not optional. If he appears in your matter, please, don’t utter or think words like “you’re not entitled to any appearance fees because the matter did not proceed or go on”. The appearance fees are his entitlement for appearing in Court to attend to your matter and not for the matter going on, which may or may not be from his end.

Forget the appearance fees and heed to my advice of not taking it seriously. The synopsis of this gist is that you need a lawyer in most of the activities you’re daily involved in, and saying “as the court pleases” every here and then is not an exception.

If you were looking forward to a classic conclusion, I am happy to dash your hopes with the following remarks. As good, imperative and popular as litigation may be, it is not the only realm a lawyer thrives in. If you get yourself a lawyer, a good lawyer actually, you’ll avoid many things as many things will find a good way to avoid you also. Advice yourself and get a lawyer today, the years of practice notwithstanding. You need him more than you think.

UJONG OKPA (JAN)

Counsel, Milkman Karel & Co

[email protected]

Flood sweeps away two children, displaces families in Lagos

Residents of Alapere area of Lagos on Saturday recorded another tragedy as two yet-to-be-identified children were swept away as people battled flood after a downpour that lasted for hours and submerged many parts of the area.

The incident occurred about 8:00pm at Oyebanjo Street, Ketu.

While the rain forced some residents to stay indoors, a few others suffered personal tragedies as the downpour and flooding led to destruction of property.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency in a situation report (sitrep) on Sunday said a search operation was ongoing to find the missing children.

LASEMA’s Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, noted that it was discovered that the children were missing around 8:00pm on Saturday.

He said, “The agency received distress calls concerning the above. On arrival at the scene of the incident it was discovered that, around 8:00pm, two children had been caught up by floodwater.

“A joint team of responders comprising agency responders, LASG Fire Service and LASAMBUS was at the scene.

“The agency’s tiger team commenced a search and rescue operation along the path of the floodwater.

“Initial observations revealed a sloping topography with a direct channel of drain water into the canal. This has proven to be rather challenging to navigate. Rescue operation remains ongoing.”

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