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Nigeria’s cattle routes

By Lasisi Olagunju

(Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 14 September, 2020)

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, a few days ago, declared that Nigeria was becoming a failed state. He said the nation’s hitherto healing fault lines had been reopened by Buhari’s Fulani-first regime. Victims of the ongoing tragic experiences applauded Obasanjo. They said he spoke their pains and gave voice to the tears in their wreckage. The Buhari government and its ally, the Arewa Consultative Forum, abused the former president. To them, the country is perfect even in its manifest unwellness. In blithering chorus, they said the shrill in Obasanjo’s cries was mere politics, doleful and howling.

The Buhari administration has widened Nigeria’s fault lines. That is the accusation – and it is a serious charge. Check the meaning of earthquakes and their relationship with fault lines. A crack on a rock surface is a fault. And faults do not just form; they are caused. Science tells us that a fault is formed as a brittle response to stress. The synonym is fracture. When the stress on a rock is great enough, it cracks. That is what Obasanjo spoke about. Mismanagement of our diversity has cracked the foundation of Nigeria. The country has become a sad metaphor for structural engineering failure. Do we really need an Obasanjo to tell us that this project has failed, if we are a normal people? What does it take to know you live in a failed state? You know that the house has fallen when nothing works except crime; when the state blocks punishment and deterrence from pursuing crime and ‘anything goes’ is planted in the heart of the nation. You know Nigeria has failed when you remember that it has a president and a government but the country has been allowed to become a huge camp of 200 million internally displaced persons.

I will explain. The president is from Katsina State but there are fear-stricken Katsina residents who work in Nigeria but sleep in Niger Republic. They fear death and abduction and know Nigeria won’t save them from murderous bandits and invincible kidnappers. Their coping strategy is to do their daily businesses in Nigeria and move, at dusk, to Niger Republic to have fear-free nights of undisturbed sleep. It is their way of staying alive; their Nigeria has failed them. If you doubt me, read Daily Trust of January 20, 2019. In case you are too scared to venture out to look for it or you simply cannot get it to read, I am posting quotes here from that newspaper of the North. It said a visit to Jibia and Magama border towns by its correspondent “showed that most of those who moved to Niger spent the day running businesses in Katsina and returned to Maradi or Dan Issa (in Niger) to pass the night.” All their businesses and social life are based in Nigeria, but their new homes are in Niger.

“I can tell you about 25 of us are presently living in Niger Republic. I, for example, have been there since a botched attack on my residence. This is my fifth year in Niger; I’m there with my 11 children. I was renting a house for three million CFA for three years, and decided it would not be wise to continue that way, so I decided to buy my own house, which I’m presently residing in. Now I have gotten a resident permit, a national identity card, and all entitlements of my landed property, and my children attend school in Niger,” the report quoted one of them as lamenting while pointing at a scar on his head which he said was from a cutlass wound he got from an attack on his home in Jibia.

He continues: “Every day I come to Jibia and attend to friends and businesses at my friend’s stall. I can only return home when things normalise. Even yesterday, we coughed up N500,000 to secure the release of one of our sons. He had been in captivity for 30 days,” the man said and stressed that they relocated to Niger out of necessity because “we only have one life to live.” The report added that most of the villagers of Fafara, Shinfida, Tsambe and Gurbi, all of Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, slept in neighbouring Nigerien villages of Bimma and Gabi, even though the villages on the other side of the border were not better off in terms of development, but they had peace. A resident of Fafara village in Jibia said bandits had constituted themselves into the law in the area. “They determine what happens and when it happens,” he said.

That was last year. If anything different has happened in that corridor of blood and mass suffering since that report was published, it could only be something worse. And the fracture is not only in Katsina. Remember the unending tragedy called Southern Kaduna and the killing fields of Zamfara, Sokoto and Niger states?

Now I ask the ACF and its government: what is the definition of a failed, fractured state?

Let us come a little down south. Is the taste of the poison different here? The Yoruba-speaking people of Kogi State sent a memorandum to the Senate last week. There are about a million Yoruba (Okun) people in that state. They want a sovereign national conference that would free them from the atrocities of “some groups who kill and pillage at will while the Federal Government is unable or unwilling to stop them.” A further movement down south completes the story: The body of a one-time captain of Nigeria’s scrabble team, Paul Sodje, was found in a bush in Idoani, Ondo State, on September 1, 2020, according to recent reports. Sodje was said to have taken ransom money to suspected herdsmen who kidnapped his brother, Chris, when he was killed. His killers were apparently the kidnappers. A newspaper said “Chris was going for his uncle’s funeral in Okwagbe, Delta State, on August 28 when he was kidnapped at Ifon, Ondo State. The Fulani men demanded N100 million but later reduced it to N1 million. His wife, Flora, and friends rallied round to raise the ransom. Then his elder brother, Paul, and a friend took the ransom to them; yet, the Fulani men murdered the two of them. Chris has not been found and the kidnappers have stopped communicating with the family. Idoani elders who were searching for their kinsmen, who were also kidnapped, saw Paul Sodje’s body and that of the man that accompanied him to the herders’ rendezvous. They took the bodies to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.”

You also remember that on September 5, last year, Gideon Okedayo, a professor of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State, was kidnapped at Akoko junction by these bandits. His decomposing body was found days later in the bush. There are several other cases. The list is endless. There is hardly any part of the country that is free of the blight of general insecurity, banditry and kidnapping.

Yet, the ACF and its federal government say Nigeria is working.

And in almost all the cases, the word ‘herdsmen’ pops up, many times in muffled tones. What do they want? Power. Money. Land. Water and waterways. Rivers and river beds.

If Nigeria’s fault lines have become widened in the last five years, it is largely because of the structure of the security forces, the criminalities of the herdsmen and the apparent accommodation they get in the Federal Government’s body language. When a people believe they are superior to others in a union and can do whatever they like because they are in power, that union is doomed. F.W. de St Croix was the Inspector of Livestock at Nigeria’s Veterinary Department in 1945. St Croix had a very close affinity with the Fulani in his years in Nigeria. He explored (exploited) that familiar opportunity to write ‘The Fulani of Northern Nigeria’, a 75-page seminal, close-up portraiture of the Fulani and their cattle. While describing the Fulani as “reticent regarding his affairs” including “his wrongs, real and fancied,” St Croix says the Fulani would not mind “to stoop to the meanest tricks in order to revenge themselves on another.” He says the Fulani is also “not liable to run away in fights in which knives, swords or other weapons are used.” He added for great effects that the Fulani’s “feeling of superiority tend to erect a barrier between them and their neighbours.” That should explain Obasanjo’s thesis on Buhari’s mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity and the riposte from those to whom the pains of failure and of insecurity are signs of ethnic victory. Herdsmen are Fulani, the president is Fulani, the presidency has never condemned these elements whatever they did. Whenever the state is forced to speak, it wrings its tongue in duplicitous helplessness and holds out appeasement as food for the felons.

Five-Star General Douglas MacArthur of the US army warned long ago that, in war, appeasing the enemy never works. With an immense sense of history, the legendary General held that “appeasement begets new and bloodier war.” He likened it to blackmail and explained that “it lays the basis for new and increasingly greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only alternative.” We have seen the truth of this in the foggy amnesties for bandits, terrorists and kidnappers of northern Nigeria. Like MacArthur, our president is also a General but with a radically different conviction on how to win a war from his side of the country. Last week, he veered off to his favourite terrain – the herdsmen matter. He spoke with trenchant vigor on the injustice Nigeria did to cattle and the special men who drive them. Buhari accused Nigeria of criminally taking over Fulani herdsmen’s assigned exclusive portions of our landscape. Our president said: “I asked the minister of agriculture to get a gazette of the early 60s which delineated the cattle routes…Very very Important persons, they encroached on the cattle routes, they took over the cattle rearing areas.” That was President Muhammadu Buhari last week at a strategy meeting with his ministers. Amidst horrendous tales of atrocities of herdsmen, the solution our leader could think of was in the provisions of the Fulani Amenities Proposal of 1954, the Grazing Reserves Gazette of 1964 and the 1965 Grazing Reserve Law of Northern Nigeria. Was he talking about the reserves that are today’s abode of bandits or the very ancient Fulani routes from Kano and Zaria and the line through Sokoto, Jega, Yelwa, Bussa, Nikki and Yashikera – all meeting in Ilorin?

Is it not a shame that while 21st century world leaders are thinking about the latest technology to rebirth their nations, all that our president could think of were bovine routes that would make his kinsmen and their cattle move from Sokoto down South “in a thirty to thirty-five day trek” and further take triumphal stroll from Kano to Lagos “for fifty to sixty days.” But Nigeria cannot trek, with its fractured spine, to greatness nor will it ever strike gold by riding cows through ancestral routes. And certainly we cannot talk peace when cows plow through southern farms as a right and without consequences.

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Why Bola Ige Was Murdered – Son

Muyiwa Ige, a former Commissioner for Lands and Physical Planning in Osun State, has said his father was killed as a result of envy.

Chief Bola Ige, SAN, and former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, was murdered by unknown assailants at his Bodija, Ibadan home on December 23, 2001.

Ige, who was the Deputy National leader of Afenifere, a pan Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, was assassinated at age 71.

Muyiwa, who spoke in Ibadan during the 90th posthumous birth anniversary of his father, an astute politician and legal luminary, at St. Anne’s Church, Molete, Ibadan on Sunday, said his father’s assailants shall “continually be hunted by their evil deeds”.

According to him, his late father bequeathed legacies of selfless service, good leadership, integrity, honesty, and commitment to the plight of common men to his children and loyalists.

Muyiwa recalled that his father, at age 29, was on the global platform with the late Martin Luther King Jnr. in Athens, Ohio in 1959, moving the motion for the blacks to be able to exercise their voting right in America.

He said, “My father really loved young people. He also believed in the emancipation of the common man and elevating young people. A lot of his peers didn’t like him for that because they could not understand the young people.

“But, that was the essence of Bola Ige, and it was part of the envy that ate into the souls of some of those who didn’t like him. Nonetheless, that was their problem. Bola Ige came to this world, did his bit, and his legacy lives on.”

Punch

Jega, Onaiyekan to Buhari: Nigerians battling with double sufferings

The Nigerian Working Group on Peacebuilding and Governance has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to initiate dialogue at the national and sub-national levels to address the country’s security challenges.

In a statement on Sunday, the group said Nigerians are suffering from rising insecurity to lives and properties, as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their standards of living.

The statement was signed by Attahiru Jega, a former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC); John Onaiyekan, the former Catholic archbishop of Abuja; Martin Luther Agwai, a retired military general; Jibrin Ibrahim, a professor; Aisha Mohammed-Oyebode, chief executive officer, Murtala Muhammed Foundation, among others, who are all members of the group.

The position of the group comes after ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo accused Buhari of driving Nigeria into becoming a “failed and divided” state.

Speaking at a virtual meeting last week, Obasanjo accused the Buhari administration of mismanaging the country’s socio-economic development.

He said old fault lines that were disappearing have opened up under Buhari, adding that hatred, disintegration and separation are “being heard loud and clear almost everywhere”.

But the presidency condemned the ex-president, saying he has fallen from the status of Nigeria’s commander-in-chief to its “divider-in-chief”.

The group said Nigeria is rapidly approaching a tipping point, adding that there is an urgent need for Buhari and state governors to commence a dialogue process to address the rising insecurity in the country.

“Nigeria, like the rest of the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic. However, citizens in Nigeria are facing double the suffering because they also have to contend with rising insecurity and violence across the country,” the statement read.

“The Nigerian government must immediately address the rising insecurity if it is to succeed in the fight against the pandemic. A recent USIP-commissioned survey in Nigeria found new linkages between COVID-19, instability, and conflict.

“In particular, the survey found that victims of recent violence are less likely to trust the government’s coronavirus response measures compared to those who have not experienced violence.”

The group said it engaged in series of consultations with a diverse group of stakeholders and policymakers between May and July.

It said this is the time to offer its key observations and recommendations on how the government can strengthen its efforts to manage the coronavirus pandemic by addressing the rising insecurity across the country.

The members recommended that the national council of state should initiate a dialogue process at the national level while the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) would ensure it reaches the grassroots.

“A government strategy to address the coronavirus pandemic without sustainable strategies to also confront rising insecurity and violence poses a significant threat to the democratic development of our country, and could potentially undermine the government’s efforts to address the spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria now, and in the future,” it said.

“Kidnapping for ransom is an acute concern across Nigeria. The North East is witnessing a resurgence in Boko Haram activity, and thousands of people are internally displaced by banditry across rural communities in the North West.

“Criminality in rural areas further complicates the situation by undermining food security, as many farmers have been unable to go to their farms for months for fear of losing their lives.”

The group asked Buhari to direct more training and re-orientation of the police force towards building community partnerships and promoting durable peace in the conduct of their duties.

It said the government should sack the service chiefs if it would ensure an improvement in the security situation.

“There is a growing public consensus that the current leadership of our security agencies have failed woefully, and that our Commander-in-Chief has so far refused to act. This cannot continue. Mr President, you must show more concern and do what is necessary to improve the effectiveness of our security agencies, even if it means replacing the current leadership of our security agencies,” it read.

“The government has been incapable of assuring Nigerians that it cares about our predicament. Numerous conspiracy theories about the causes of the violence continue to circulate, without any reassuring counter-narratives coming from the government.

“Our country is rapidly approaching a tipping point. Enough is enough. The time for action is now.” (thecable)

FROM CEE-C TO TACHA AND ERICA: BBNAIJA – LESSONS AMIDST THE LUSTRE OF LUST

Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) is a competition-based Nigerian reality television show in which a number of contestants live in an isolated house and compete for a large cash prize worth millions of Naira. The Show is currently in its 5th season titled Lockdown House (a name obviously coined from the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown). Perhaps the general idea of the Show regarding isolation from the outside world best describes the stay-at-home injunction during the pandemic.

BBNaija series is viewed by many especially the youths across the country. The Show is basically an entertainment show which attracts all the glare of the entertainment industry. A clearer understanding of how the Show commands attention is found in the meaning of entertainment itself:

“Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience’s attention.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Entertainment comes in different forms (music, films, concerts, games, sport, etc) and serves different purposes (mainly to amuse, educate, teach a moral lesson, keep busy, etc) for different audience (children, adult, religious, etc).

BBNaija series tend to tick many of the boxes of entertainment.

House of Ability and Business

As a House of Ability, Housemates in BBNaija House are made to showcase some of their skills and abilities through the games they play and tasks executed within the House. We also see reward for victories. Importantly, being isolated in the BBNaija House presents Housemates with the hard task of having to live with people they probably have not met before, while nearly the whole world are at liberty to watch them live. The struggle is also between attempting to be real amidst the pretentious tendencies.

As a House of Business, many businesses market their brands through the Show and the sponsorship deals are high source of revenue to the organizers of the Show who are purely in business. The Show also present Housemates with an opportunity to grow their personal and business brands through the publicity and visibility they enjoy while in and out of the House.

House of Lust

BBNaija Show is strictly for adult viewing. Children are excluded, given the adult content especially its sexual appeals which makes it a House of Lust. Although children are excluded, many parents find it difficult to activate parental controls to shield their children from corruption of the mind through TV programmes generally. More so, a large number of the youths especially those within the age bracket of (18 and 25) are still victims of the corrupting ends of the Show. They watch their mates in the House (the Housemates) perform sexual stunts that appeal to their sexual drives and they inadvertently see these as a subtle approval of the otherwise already existing moral decadence.

But sex sells, and the organizers of the Show are cashing out on the trade while mixing it up with other touches of soft talent display. Undoubtedly, if sexual advances and nudity are prohibited and Housemates are only permitted to sleep, play games, eat, pray and read, the Show may die a natural death, as the core spicing ingredients of the Show would be missing.

On Wazobia FM, an advert for BBNaija is currently running. In the advert, viewers are encouraged to tune in for “The plenty lovee lovee and stubborn head wey full ground…”

From the above advert, the commodity of the Show is apparent. Also, the issue of “Stubborn head” is interesting. Display of stubborn behaviours are seen, as some Housemates showcase poor characters which, in addition to sexual scenes and nudity, also appeals to some of the young viewers who look up to them as role models.

Here, we recall former Housemates like Cee-C, Tacha, and recently, Erica. These young ladies command beauty and class. Among other females in the House, they join in the advancement of the dress-to-kill syndrome ravaging our society and low character display which is having its toll on young people. As observed, this low character display earned two of the trio (Tacha and Erica) disqualification from the House during their times there for violating the House rules. Tacha went down in her time for violent behaviours while Erica followed in the same fashion this season for multiple strikes against the House rules. Cee-C was of the same feather in her season but escaped disqualification in controversial circumstances. Incidentally, they all had the potentials to win but their “intellectual property” in low character stood in the way. However, they cannot be termed losers. Their intoxicating clout, “merchantable quality” and brand are assets. For instance, Erica, an enigma, reportedly raised $15,000 in five hours and Tacha has already hit a million mark followership on Instagram.

House of Rules

BBNaija is a House of Rules. A number of rules are laid down (e.g. no whispering, no violent conduct, etc) . Any Housemate who observes any of the rules in breach will automatically face the consequences. It is immaterial how much the Housemate is loved by the viewers. Big Brother (the unseen and ubiquitous Eye of the House) enforces the rules without fear or favour. Rule of Law reigns in the House. This is one of the positive demonstrations of the Show.

Big Brother, a Social Experiment

In many ways, this annual reality show is (in theory) a celebration of diversity, in that people with varying backgrounds, financial might, values and belief systems are put together in a (relatively) small enclosure to interact for a given number of weeks. They usually have to strategise, collaborate, fall in love, play politics or engage in trysts, whatever the occasion demands. On the surface, it would seem that the searchlight is wholly on the housemates.

But it is also pertinent to take a look at how the supporters outside react to the show. Year after year, millions of Nigerians throw their weight behind one housemate, doing all they can to support the one they identify the most with, and casting aspersions on the credentials of those they don’t like. The reasons for such devotion differ – it could be beauty, intelligence or identifiable humble beginnings – but from the first day to the last, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes. From Instagram fan pages to Whatsapp groups, these adoring fans mobilize to cheer their own, in a manner and with such enthusiasm you would wish could be applied to our politics.

Per usual, things get heated, and people go to whatever lengths possible in making a strong case for their housemates, sometimes resorting to trolling, cyberbullying and brazen smear campaigns. In the end, the attitude of the fans says much about them, even more than the housemates who are theoretically the subject of an experiment.

Conclusion

Of the few available lessons to be learnt from the Show amidst the lustre of lust, young people need to see that no matter how far you fly, anger and low character can possibly strike you down and cost you the big prize in life.

Ultimately, the Big Brother Show is a microcosm of how Nigerians would actually apply themselves in a given society. It is hard to avoid the temptation of alluding to George Orwell’s novel “1984”, but in many ways, we would act very similarly to the housemates when we are fully aware that we are being watched, and that there would be full consequences for actions.

The voting system in the BBNaija House also provides remote pointers to what could be, given the availability of a functional system. People are more interested in spending airtime to vote on a reality TV show than cast ballots at the Nigerian general elections because they feel they are part of something they can identify with, because they feel their votes count. Much is made about how the show distracts the youths from agitating for political cum economic changes, but you have to agree that if people are made to feel like they matter in any given system, then they would devote themselves to that system.

When Courts Must Refuse To Consider Issues/Applications Before It.

 Daily Law Tips (Tip 651) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LL.M, ACIArb(UK)

Where there are disputes, parties are allowed to approach a court of law for settlement of their dispute. Courts in Nigeria, have rights to entertain disputes of varying degrees and types and must rule and determine all issues raised by a party. However, there is an exception, where a court may refuse to rule on issues or applications before it. This work reveals the circumstances that may allow a court not to determine an issue/application before it. 

Jurisdiction is the power and the authority of a court to sit, entertain and determine a case. It is said to be the blood of any case. Without jurisdiction, a court and its activities in a case are invalid, unlawful, null and void. Since jurisdiction is the foundation of any case, where it is lacking, any concerned case must fail and fall. You cannot keep something on nothing. 

Although, every court must determine all issues and applications presented before it, no matter how stupid they may be, there is an exception to this. Where there is no jurisdiction, a court cannot proceed with the determination of any case, issue or application before it. The only thing a court can do, when or where it lacks jurisdiction is to strike out the case, so that a rather competent court with jurisdiction can entertain and determine the case. 

The appellate courts, have at several times, upheld this position. Below are the words of the appellate courts; 

  1. ”It is apothegmatic that a Court should consider and determine all issues properly raised before it. But in certain circumstances, it would be unnecessary so to do. These circumstances include where the decision appealed against is declared a nullity for want of jurisdiction. This is so because such issues may possibly arise in a fresh action before a Court seised with jurisdiction. See BRAWAL SHIPPING (NIG) LTD vs. F. I. ONWADIKE CO. LTD (2000) LPELR (802) 1 At 13-15, EDEM vs. CANON BALLS LTD (2005) 12 NWLR (PT 938) 27, SHASI vs. SMITH (2009) 18 NWLR (PT 1173) 330 at 356 and IFEKAUDU vs. IBEAGWA (2012) LPELR (14436) 1 at 19-20.  “…The abecedarian law is that the proper order to make where it is held that a Court has no jurisdiction is to strike out the case: ADESOKAN vs. ADETUNJI (1994) 6 SCNJ 123, ADELEKAN vs. ECU-LINE NV (2006) 6 SC (PT II) 32 and FHA vs OLAYEMI (supra) at 56-57.” Per UGOCHUKWU ANTHONY OGAKWU ,J.C.A ( P. 44, paras. B-F ) in the case of FIRST DEEPWATER DISCOVERY LTD & ANOR v. FAICECK PETROLEUM LTD (2020) LPELR-49783(CA).
  2. “It is trite law, that it is the duty of a court to entertain and decide on the merit, any application brought before it by any party, notwithstanding the perceived strength or weakness of such an application. The application may be downright stupid or unmeritorious, but it must be heard. A refusal by a Court to hear a motion is a breach of a right to fair hearing guaranteed under the Constitution. The refusal of the Court to hear the appellant’s motion or make pronouncement on it in its judgment is a violation of the appellant’s right to fair hearing and has occasioned a miscarriage of justice. See Newswatch Communications Limited v. Atta (supra) at 168 170, Onyekwuluje v. Animashaun (1996) 3 NWLR (Pt 439) 637, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited & Anor. v. Chief Simeon Monokpo & Ors. (2003) 12 SCNJ 206 at 215, Nalsa & Team Associates v. N.N.P.C. (1991) 8 NWLR (Pt. 212) 652, Otapo v. Sunmonu (1987) 2 NWLR (Pt. 58) 587, Afro Continental (Nigeria) Limited & Anor. v. Co-operation Association of Professionals Incorporation (2003) 1 SCNJ 530 at 531.” Per ADAMU JAURO ,J.C.A ( Pp. 17-18, para. A ) in the case of IFEKAUDU v. IBEAGWA (2012) LPELR-14436(CA)

Click to read other works on courts in Nigeria.

My authorities are:

  1. The judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited & Anor. v. Chief Simeon Monokpo & Ors. (2003) 12 SCNJ 206 at 215,
  2. The judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of FIRST DEEPWATER DISCOVERY LTD & ANOR v. FAICECK PETROLEUM LTD (2020) LPELR-49783(CA)
  3. The judgement of the Court of Appeal in the case of IFEKAUDU v. IBEAGWA (2012) LPELR-14436(CA)

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How to Get Bail After 24 Hours of Arrest in Nigeria.

How to Get Bail After 24 Hours of Arrest in Nigeria. Daily Law Tips (Tip 648) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LL.M, ACIArb(UK)

In Nigeria, every person (including suspects and defendants/accused persons) is assumed to be innocent until a court declares a person guilty. This is a constitutional right that should not be violated by any person (including law enforcement agencies, institutions, leaders and government).  However, the reverse is the case, with overzealous law enforcement agencies, going in the circles of; abuse, arrest, abuse, detain and abuse again before taking the suspect to court (if the suspect is fortunate to be arraigned). In Nigeria, “Bail” is mostly seen in law books and movies, since many suspects are detained without bail for weeks in all parts of Nigeria and lawyers get beaten up for seeking bail for clients. This work reveals the quickest means of obtaining bail after 24 hours of arrest in any part of Nigeria. 

There is a big gap between criminal law and human rights as contained in our law books and as applied in reality. There are three groups of law enforcement agents in Nigeria; the first group understands the law and applies it thoroughly, the second group understands the law but will not apply it due to corruption, nepotism and fear while the third group does not understand the law and does not care. Unfortunately, the last group seems to be dominating followed by the second group, as such human rights suppressed. Among the concerned human rights are; right to life, right to dignity of human person, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing and right to freedom of movement. 

The essence of bail is to enable a suspect to go home and about his affairs while ensuring the suspect will at a later date, appear in a given place (like the office of a law enforcement agency or in court for investigation or to answer to his case). Bail is not a privilege or favour done to a suspect rather a right of a suspect. Remember that a suspect is not guilty so he/she should not suffer or be treated as if he is guilty. Consequently, a suspect that is detained for an offence not punishable with death (non-capital offences) is entitled to bail within 24 hours of being arrested.  Click to read more on offences that are bailable within 24 hours in Nigeria.

The police (any law enforcement agency) time for detaining a suspect arrested for an offence that is not to be punished with death (non-capital offences) is 24 hours. Time starts counting from the moment a person is arrested, ceased or appears to answers an invitation of a law enforcement agency (whatever the language/term, so far as a person is no longer free). So, once a suspect is arrested, the law enforcement agency must ensure that its further investigation, bio-data capturing, granting of bail and seeking for advice, approval and any indoor management/protocol is completed within 24 hours. Where a suspect is detained beyond 24 hours for an offence that is not punishable with death, the suspect can be granted bail by a court having jurisdiction over the offence.  

In Nigeria, a detained person may not be allowed to approach a court to seek his own bail or to even access a lawyer of his/her choice, by overzealous law enforcement agents working on ignorance or corruption. Hence, where a suspect is not granted bail by a law enforcement agency within 24 hours over a non-capital offence, any person can go to court and institute a case against the concerned law enforcement agency (and its agents) on behalf of the suspect. The court will order the suspect to be produced (brought to) court and inquire into the circumstances of the detention. Where the court desires, the court will grant bail to the suspect. The required application for bail in court, can be written or oral, even if the court is a superior court (High Court/Federal High Court/National Industrial Court). 

It is better to engage a lawyer to assist with bail application in court. Bail is a right and not a favour. Bail is free because it is a constitutional and fundamental human right, provided freely by the Constitution of Nigeria. Report any law enforcement agent, court staff, magistrate, judge or legal practitioner that request for money/gift in order to grant bail. However, a legal practitioner is entitled to charge for his legal services but no to charge any fee to be paid as bribe or gift for bail. Click to read earlier works on Arrest, Bail and the Rights of a Suspect in Nigeria.

My authorities are:

  1. Sections 32, 161, 162, 163, 164, 494 and 495 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and its equivalent in states across Nigeria. 
  2. Sections 34, 35, 36, 230, 237, 249, 255, 260, 265, 318 and 319 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. 
  3. Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (on the nature and effect of Bail) in the case of SULEMAN & ANOR v. COP PLATEAU STATE (2008) LPELR-3126(SC)
  4. Judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (on bail) in the case of UGWU v. STATE (2020) LPELR-49375(SC)
  5. Judgement of the Court of Appeal (that every person is presumed innocent) in the case of ALAYA v. STATE  (2007) LPELR-8841(CA) citing Eyu v. The State (1988) 2 NWLR (Pt.78) 602 at 610, Abiola v. FR.N. (1995) 7 NWLR (Pt.405) 1 at 155
  6. Judgment of the Court of Appeal (on whether bail can be granted in non-capital offences) in the case of OGEDE v. FRN (2018) LPELR-46816(CA)
  7. Judgment of the Court of Appeal (on whether bail can be granted in capital offences) in the case of OGEDE v. FRN (2018) LPELR-46816(CA)
  8. Judgment of the Court of Appeal (that oral bail application can be made in any court, including courts of record) in the case of Chief Alhaji Moshood Kashimawo Abiola V. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1995) NWRL PART 370 P.155.
  9. James Ezeh, “Nigerian Lawyer Hospitalised after Police Assault, NBA Demands Justice” (Premuim Times, 13 October 2019) <https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/357339-nigerian-lawyer-hospitalised-after-police-assault-nba-demands-justice.html> 1 September 2020.

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A Nigerian With Dual Citizenship Can Contest For Any Election In Nigeria.

A Nigerian With Dual Citizenship Can Contest For Any Election In Nigeria. Daily Law Tips (Tip 650) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LL.M, ACIArb(UK)

It is common to find Nigerians with dual and multiple citizenship (dual nationality). There are deep misconceptions about the eligibility of such persons to contest for elections or be appointed to political offices in Nigeria. At some point, some persons have been unlawfully and ignorantly led/forced and cajoled to deny their dual citizenship. So the salient questions are; Are persons with dual citizenship prohibited from contesting for any election in Nigeria? Can the President of Nigeria have dual citizenship? These and more questions will be examined and answered in this work, using case laws and the Constitution of Nigeria.

The greatest of all laws in Nigeria, is the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is greater than all other national, regional or international laws, conventions and treaties. The constitution has a chapter containing 8 sections dedicated to issues of citizenship. 

Specifically, section 28 of the constitution of Nigeria is on issues of dual citizenship. Also, many other sections in the constitution, make reference to citizenship and made citizenship a condition to certain rights and privileges. For example, some fundamental human rights are only open and accessible to Nigeria citizens (like, the Right to Private and Family Life, the Right to Freedom of Movement, the Right to Freedom From Discrimination and the Right to Acquire and Own Immovable Property. Also, elections to any office in Nigeria, is only open to Nigerian citizens.

To understand the impact of dual citizenship on eligibility of Nigerians to contest for elections, one must critically examine the constitution of Nigeria. In the interpretation of the constitution, the first and easiest approach is to read the constitution in whole and in its plain language. It is dangerous to read any section or part of the constitution in isolation. The resultant danger will be shown below. 

Among the sections of the constitution of Nigeria, that make reference to section 28 of the Constitution (ie, relating to Dual Citizenship) are sections relating to disqualification/requirements for persons to be elected into offices in federal and state levels. The specific sections, are:

  1. Section 66 of the constitution which is on disqualification/requirement for election into National Assembly (the House of Representatives and the Senate)
  2. Section 107 of the constitution which is on disqualification/requirement for election into the House of Assembly in any state in Nigeria.
  3. Section 137 of the constitution which is on disqualification/requirement for election of the President of Nigeria and section 142 for Vice-President of Nigeria 
  4. Section 182 of the constitution which is on disqualification/requirement for election of the Governors and section 187 for Deputy-Governors in states in Nigeria.

All the above sections make citizenship a requirement for any person to be elected into legislative or executive office in Nigeria. The sections of the constitution cited above refer readers back to section 28 of the constitution. So the strength of those sections is founded on section 28. At this point there is need to examine section 28 of the constitution. 

Section 28 of the constitution of Nigeria, clearly provides that a person that is a Nigerian citizenship by birth can have dual citizenship and be a citizen of another country. However, a person that is a Nigerian citizen by naturalization or registration and also a citizen of another country not by birth, automatically losses his Nigerian citizenship. The key determinant here is citizenship by birth. A person that is a citizen of Nigeria by birth can afford to have another citizenship from another country (even countries) and that does not affect his/her citizenship or his/her right to vote or be voted for in any election in Nigeria. 

Even the appellate courts in Nigeria, have emphasized on this in the following words;

  1. “… it is clear and I hereby hold that the acquisition of dual citizenship by a Nigerian per say is not a ground for disqualification for election to the National Assembly particularly where the Nigerian citizen is a citizen by birth. That is the clear meaning of the provisions in sections 66(1) and 28 of the 1999 constitution when taken together. The only Nigerian citizen disqualified by the said sections is one who is a citizen of Nigeria by either registration or naturalization who subsequently acquires the citizenship of another country in addition to his Nigerian citizenship…”  Onnoghen JCA (later, Chief Justice pf Nigeria) JSC) in the Case of WILLIE OGEBIDE V. MR. ARIGBE OSULA (2004) 12 NWLR Part 886 page 138 paras C-E.
  2. “… when a Nigerian by Naturalisation or Registration acquires the citizenship of another country he loses his right as a naturalized Nigeria. Such a person would not be able to contest any election into any elative office in Nigeria. However, a Nigerian by birth who thereafter acquires the citizenship of another country i.e. America as in the instant case does not lose his right to vie for any elective office in Nigeria being a citizen by birth and not by naturalization or registration.” Per, MUDASHIRU NASIRU ONIYANGI ,J.C.A ( Pp. 18-23, paras. F-A ) in the case of LABOUR PARTY & ORS v. ISHOLA & ORS (2014) LPELR-24386(CA)

Hence, dual citizenship cannot prevent any Nigerian citizen by birth from voting or being voted into any elective position or being appointed into any position or office in Nigeria. However, dual citizenship will prevent any person that became a Nigerian citizen by registration or naturalization from being elected into any elective position in Nigeria. Citizenship by birth is ultimate and superior to any other form of citizenship and there is not limitation to it. Click to read earlier works on citizenship in Nigeria.

My authorities are:

  1. Sections 1, 25, 26, 27, 28,  37, 41, 42, 43, 66(1), 107 (1), 137 (1), 142(2), 182 (1), 187(2), 318 and 319 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999.
  2. The judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of Dr. Willie Ogebide v. Mr. Arigbe Osula (2004) 12 NWLR Part 886 page 138 paras C-E.
  3. The judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of LABOUR PARTY & ORS v. ISHOLA & ORS (2014) LPELR-24386(CA)

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Igboman and his God

  • Insights Into His Stubbornness, Resilience & Attitude Towards Overbearing Human Authorities…
    By Anayo M. Nwosu

A natural Igbo man is a born rebel even to his own God. The stubbornness of the Igbos to their various deities and to even the Christian God is very legendary if not more defiant than any race I can think of.

Igbos continuous worship of a deity or a supernatural force is based on the deity’s performance and not entirely out of fear.

Therefore, it’s a common saying in Igbo that “Arụsị nyebe nsogbo egosi ya osisi ejiri pịa ya” meaning that “if a deity becomes unreasonable, it will be shown the wood from which its symbol was carved”.

It is a common practice in Igboland to “dis-God” a deity by a general consensus or acclamation in a properly constituted meeting of all the village heads or kindred.

Once a sentence of “no more worship” or “sack” is passed on a deity in a general meeting of the worshippers, the shrine of the dis-goded deity is destroyed and the deity is expected to take a flight and leave the community.

The same goes for the evil forest owned by powerful deities.

Nnewi people capture this by a saying that “ọ bụ mmadụ sịrị Edo nwelu Nkwọ” meaning ” that Edo deity owns Nkwọ market land and the adjoining thick forest was because it was so decided and dedicated by human beings” and that the same citizens could as well repossess their property from the deity if they so wish.

Edo is the supreme deity of Nnewi people.

The power of Igbos in abridging the influence of their gods was proven in the 1980s at Nnewi when the town agreed to clear the dreaded Edo thick forest to build the Agbọ Edo International Market.

The initial attempts by the state government’s contractors to clear the forest were resisted and frustrated by the deity as powerful snakes, bees and mysterious birds openly chased the workers away even with their earthmoving equipment. They were too hasty.

It wasn’t until all the Ndị Isiobi (or village heads) led by the traditional ruler of the town, Igwe KON Orizu, assembled at the precinct of forest and announced to the deity, the decision of Nnewi people to repossess their land, that the clearing of the forest became possible.

The Igwe symbolically felled a shrub and the other village heads of Ụshuagụ, Ụmụdim and Nnewichi followed suit, one after the other. By this singular act, the supreme deity had been subdued. She had to comply. After all, she was not being sacked.

The contractor who was asked to commence clearing after this common ritual was surprised that none of those dangerous animals or spiritual soldiers opposed or harmed their workers until the entire evil forest was cleared and a modern market erected.

There is a long list of many deities in Igbo land sacked for either demanding more expensive sacrifices or acting against the interests of the general populace or their worshippers.

It is noteworthy that no one person, not even the chief priest of a deity can summarily sack or de-god a community deity. There must be a consensus otherwise a unilateral action without general support is severely punished by the deity itself.

Many ignorant converts of new religions have gone mad or their children seriously afflicted with misfortunes because they single-handedly destroyed shrines of their community gods or appropriated property belonging to a deity without first securing the permission of the entire family or community members.

No amụful Igbo man or one that suckled his mother’s breasts will kill or would fight a war or shed blood to secure converts for any God. The Igbos wonder how a deity, God, or Allah would expect mere humans to help it punish its enemies. Such abdication of duty by a supreme being is incomprehensible to an Igbo man or woman.

In Igbo land, a deity that worths its reverence or worship demonstrates its ability to fight its own battle.

An Nnewi man would ask “ewulu isi m chụọ àjà ka ana dị mma, agam esozikwo lite ya ulu” meaning that “if my head is used for appeasement sacrifice, does it make sense as I won’t be alive to benefit?”

The tested power to strike dead (as Amadiọha deity has) or the power to cause a bloating stomach of offenders (as Udo deity does) are the marketing tools employed by the deities to awe their worshippers.

It is by afflicting miserable diseases and misfortunes on enemies and showing instant justice to innocent supplicants that the obeisance, trust, and greater worship are obtained from Igbo followers of a spiritual being.

Igbos believe that the job of a drummer should be separated from that of a dancer. Hence, Igbos would never obey an instruction from any deity that asks them to beat the drums and at the same time expect them to do the dancing. A god should fight its own fight.

For an Igbo, it smacks of a high fraud for a spiritual being to recruit them to kill and coerce unbelievers to worship it when simple miracles or signs and wonders which should be hallmarks of such a deity, Allah or God, can do the job.

If an Igbo man must kill a fellow human being, it has to be for an earthly gain or an instant reward, not a reward that would be received hereafter.

This is the belief of the Igbos; the very same reason why they fear no human authority just like they can and fearlessly disinherit, banish and even sack their own gods.

You can now see how dangerous a road it is for some other Nigerians who work and interact with Igbos and who attempt to play God in their careers and lives. It is a matter of time before that Igbo will de-god you.

[email protected]
Ikenga Ezenwegbu Nnewi

COVID-19: NOTAP Shelves 2020 African Intellectual Property Day

By Mohammed Mohammed

The Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. Ibrahim DanAzumi,

has said expressed regret that the Office has to inevitably shelve the commemoration of the African Intellectual Property Day (AIPD) because of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.

Usually, 13th September of every year is commemorated in all African States as African Day for Technology and Intellectual Property (IP) Right, the Office affirmed in a statement made available to SHARPEDGENEWS on Sunday night.

This commemoration, the agency said is usually in compliance with the resolution made by the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) now African Union (AU) Council of Ministers and Assembly of Heads of State and Governments at Addis Ababa-Ethiopia in July, 1999 to celebrate the day across the continent.

According to the DG, the event is usually held to arouse the latent creativity and inventive spirit of young inventors and innovators being one of the ways through which rapid development of a nation can be assured.

He added that it was also to further sensitize and facilitate the domestication of Technology and development of the Intellectual Property Right (IPRs) system in Africa and reawaken the creative ability of the people in the continent to eradicate poverty and drive sustainable development.

He further stated that no nation of the earth can grow without adequate development and deployment of science, technology and innovation.

‘NOTAP as an agency saddled with the responsibility of promoting the inventive and innovative spirit of Nigerian has over the years, on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology commemorated this day to demonstrate to our children and youth the importance of IPR to nation-building.”

He reiterated that technology and intellectual property systems have long been recognized to be among the foremost important factors in nation-building and wealth creation. “Ideas and knowledge are increasingly becoming veritable instruments in international trade relations as codified in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement to which Nigeria is a signatory since January 1, 1995”.

He further said that NOTAP had in the past celebrated the day through technology exhibitions by secondary and Vocational schools within and around FCT, Nigerian young inventors and innovators as well as the Association of Nigerian Inventors (ANI).

He said that young Nigerians have demonstrated high intellect and commitment to the development of the Nigerian innovation sector through their products.

He said because secondary schools children are the major exhibitors at the event and in accordance with the global and Presidential Committee on COVID-19 protocols, the Office decided to shelve it and prepare adequately for 2021 Commemoration.

He stressed that in today’s knowledge-based economy and global business environment, absorption of new technology has become a veritable component for companies to survive through maintaining their competitive positions in the market place and for a nation-state, technology is used as a tool to enhance national competitiveness. “Nations are no longer valued in terms of their population, geographical landmass or mineral resources but on the organic mass of knowledge in its citizenry.”

According to him, “Unless Nigeria develops the technical manpower to attract and domesticate foreign technology for our daily operations, it may be difficult for it to meet up with the challenges of unemployment, poverty, wealth creation and youth restiveness.

He said NOTAP is working seriously in collaboration with other stakeholders to ensure rapid technological development of the nation, hence the need to continuously sensitize Nigerians and indeed other African Countries on the need to develop indigenous technology.

BREAKING: Driver, passengers escape death as bus rams into train in Lagos

An unidentified driver and his passengers narrowly escaped death  on Monday as the bus taking them to their destinations rammed into a moving train around the PWD area of Oshodi, Lagos State.

The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the vehicle suddenly veered onto the tracks and collided with the train.

He noted that some of the victims, who sustained injuries resulting from the impact of the collision, had been provided with immediate medical care.

Oke-Osanyinntolu said that the wreckage of the bus had been safely removed and normalcy restored.

“The agency received distress calls on the above. Upon arrival at the scene, it was discovered that a passenger motor GGE 972 GE had veered onto the train tracks while crossing the rail at PWD inward Oshodi and subsequently collided with a scheduled commuter train”, he said.

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