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Business Made Easy – CAC

Law & Society Magazine
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Business Made Easy – CAC

With determination, there is really nothing you cannot achieve. For us in CAC, we are encouraged to even do more because we’ve lifted Nigeria up on the global index of ease of doing business in the sense that Nigeria’s rating has really gone up.” That was the rousing remark made by Acting Registrar-General (CAC), Lady Azuka Azinge at a recent event while speaking about Nigeria’s emergence as one of the top 10 most improved economies globally and CAC’s role in the feat.

With Nigeria moving notches up in the World Bank’s Doing Business report and likewise emerging as one of the top 10 most improved economies globally, the federal government affirmed its support for the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to take the country much higher on the Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ladder.

Manifestly, the CAC has made no fuss about its dedication to delivering quality services and adequately deploying human and material resources to ensure that it is consistently meeting up with consumer’s expectations. Thus, in line with its statutory mandate, the Commission has deliberately embarked upon several reform initiatives aimed at easing business registration in Nigeria and the benefits are legion.

Decentralization of operations is one of them. With the decentralization, one can start and finish registration process for Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees in any of the State Offices nationwide without recourse to Head Office. With this innovation, people can now do business registration without travelling out of their locations. 

Filing fees payable for registration of small and medium size companies has also been reduced by 50%, while big companies enjoy 25% reduction. The idea was to encourage small enterprises to formalize their businesses and also support government efforts on ease of doing business and economic growth.

Also, the framework for direct registration has been revised for officers of the Commission to depose to statutory declaration of compliance in respect of applications submitted by the first directors or subscribers. This makes registration cheaper and easier for people registering by themselves without going through accredited agents. Likewise, private Notaries Public have been enlisted to notarize documents at a negotiated fee subject to the maximum charge of N500. The initiative is to reduce cost of registration and ease direct registration by Directors/Subscribers of Companies.

 A public search window has equally, been deployed in the Commission’s website which provides the names, addresses, registration numbers and dates of registration of all registered Companies, Business Names, Incorporated Trustees and those undergoing registration.

The information is also useful to persons that desire to register Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees to find out whether the name they proposed to reserve has already been registered. The information is available at no cost. www.cac.gov.ng.

It is important to note that this initiative has reduced instances of name denial and has made name search much easier and cheaper.

 Meanwhile, a new form CAC 1.1 has been introduced to replace the old CAC Forms 2, 2.1, 3, 4 and 7.

 The introduction of the new form has brought down the registration fee by about N4,000 from N6,000 as Customers only have to pay the sum of N2,000 for Certified True Copy (CTC) of the new form CAC 1.1. The consolidation has reduced cost of CTC by about N4, 000 in addition to the convenience of having all the information in one document.

“The deployment of Company Registration Portal (CRP) is one userfriendly initiative that affords customers online and real time access to CAC’s services from the comfort of their offices or homes. It has significantly impacted on the time circle of company registration and the achievement of 24 hours registration target.”

 The deployment of Company Registration Portal (CRP) is one user-friendly initiative that affords customers on-line and real time access to CAC’s services from the comfort of their offices or homes. It has significantly impacted on the time circle of company registration and the achievement of 24 hours registration target.  

Document upload interface is another key feature. It enables Customers’ to upload their registration documents online for processing.  Customers no longer have to submit documents physically before registration. Indeed, one can start and complete registration from the comfort of his or her home and office.

In addition, The Company Registration Portal has been integrated to the Stamp Duty   Portal of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Customers can now pay and stamp their documents online through the CRP. The new e-stamping system has dispensed with the physical submission of documents to FIRS for assessment of manual stamping, thus reducing the time for registration.

Moreover, the Commission has out-sourced the hosting of its main database and operating software to Main-One Data Centre in Lagos. This was to ensure 99% uptime resulting in efficient registration services as well as ensured seamless operation of the Company Registration Portal and zero downtime, making registration very easy, smooth and convenient.

 To attend to all forms of enquiries and complaints, a Help Desk has been established. The Help Desk has five dedicated telephone lines which are on from 8am to 7pm Monday to Friday for assistance to customers on their enquiries and complaints. The lines are: 08182299016, 08182298971, 09087401598, 09087401599 & 09087401600. The Help Desk also has an email service: [email protected].

On-going, to ensure the integrity of its database and provide for easy retrieval of registration records electronically, is the digitization of all the legacy records into suitable electronic formats. The digitalization of records of these registered entities i.e., Limited Liability Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees will serve the convenience of our Customers and stakeholders and will enable members of the public carry out searches and due diligence electronically. Once completed, real time online services can conveniently be extended to post registration services.

 The Commission carried out a comprehensive review of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 1990 to bring it in line with global best practices in Companies regulation and administration. The Senate has passed the Amendment Bill which is currently before the House of Representatives, for passage, before Presidential assent.

The new CAMA when signed into law will strengthen the regulatory and   enforcement capacities of the Commission to effectively discharge its function and thus promote good corporate governance in the management and operation of Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees.

Besides, CAC has reviewed its service timelines. The revised service timelines is as follows: 

  • Name reservation – 6 hours from submission of request.
  • New registration of Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees – 24 hours from filing of application.

Furthermore, the Commission is now opened for transaction from 8.00am to 7.00pm from Monday to Friday in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu and Port Harcourt offices. The extended working hours give people enhanced access to the Commission for people doing post incorporation applications which has improved delivery time. 

Finally, the requirement of proficiency certificates for registration of Companies,       Business Names and Incorporated Trustees has been dispensed with. L&S

“We’ve seen over time that countries that have the best economic growth are those that have good governance, and good governance comes from freedom of communication. It comes from ending corruption. It comes from a populace that can go online and say, ‘This politician is corrupt, this administrator, or this public official is corrupt”.

Proven Ways to Increase Your Confidence (1)

Law & Society Magazine
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Proven Ways to Increase Your Confidence (1)

By Sonia Thompsom

Confidence has a hypnotic effect on people. The first time I recognized it was at a flamenco show in Barcelona a few years back. I was mesmerized by the performance of a beautiful full-figured middle-aged woman. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her as she danced. My friends and I eventually dubbed her “the most confident woman in the world.” It was like she bathed in a tub full of confidence on a daily basis. I knew if I had just a piece of what she exuded while on that stage, I would be unstoppable.There’s data to back that up. Studies show that confidence is closely correlated with success, and even more so than competence. That’s why it feels like some of the people we most associate with being successful appear to have an abundance of the coveted trait.

But the reality is, confidence is something we all can develop and increase. Even better, science has shown us specifically how to do it.

In their book The Confidence Code, authors Katy Kay and Claire Shipman went on an extensive quest to find out how people could increase their confidence. Here’s how they summarized their findings:

“And so fortunately, a substantial part of the confidence code is what psychologists call volitional: our choice. With diligent effort, we can all choose to expand our confidence. But we will get there if we stop trying to be perfect and start being prepared to fail.”

Take imperfect action. Fail. Use what you learn to take action again. Repeat until you consistently get results you can feel proud and confident about.

Let’s take a closer look at how to start implementing these methods:

1. Surround yourself with confident people. In her best-selling book Grit, Angela Duckworth explained that one of the ways to develop grit, or any other trait you aspire to have, is to spend time with a group of people who are doing what you want to do or possess the skill you desire to develop.

“The drive to fit in—to conform to the group—is powerful indeed. Some of the most important psychology experiments in history have demonstrated how quickly, and usually without conscious awareness, the individual falls in line with a group that is acting or thinking a different way.”

Thus, if you struggle to be confident, start hanging around confident people. Not only will you start embodying the mind-set that helps them be successful, but you’ll start to latch on to the activities that enabled them to get there, too.

When I started learning how to dance Argentine tango, everyone I knew danced better than me. My confidence level was at zero. But they kept encouraging me to dance, to go to classes and to try new things while on the dance floor. Their confidence in me fuelled my own. And their commitment to practicing to get better made it easier for me to do the same.

I stand for a restructured Nigeria – Fidel Albert

Law & Society Magazine
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I stand for a restructured Nigeria – Fidel Albert

From a Facebook post

“California is the 6th largest economy in the World. Its economy is larger than that of France and Brazil. The little problem is that California is not a Country. It is a State in the United States of America (USA).”

This is the reason we demand restructuring of Nigeria: California is the 6th largest economy in the World. Its economy is larger than that of France and Brazil. The little problem is that California is not a Country. It is a State in the United States of America (USA). It has little offshore oil, yet its economy is larger than States in the US that are famous for their oil reserves, like Texas.California generates much of its revenue from non-oil products. It found a way to absorb and domesticate much of the intellectual output from its premier university, Stanford University, into saleable products within its economy.


As a matter of fact, much of California’s economy is built around Stanford University. So with this, Silicon Valley developed… Now with Silicon Valley came Companies like Apple, eBay, Cisco, Lockheed, Hewlett Packard (HP), Google, Netflix, Facebook, Oracle, Tesla…and the list goes on and on ad infinitum.

These are multibillion-dollar companies. The yearly budget of any one of these companies might be larger than the entire yearly budget of, say for example, Akwa Ibom State.

I’m taking about companies that are richer than countries. They are all in California. But that is just in the technology industry where the technologies and inventions spewing out of Stanford are caught mid-air and converted to money spinning enterprises.

But there is also the entertainment industry in California. Yes, Hollywood is in California. The US movies industry contributes about $504 billion to USA’s GDP. Hollywood, as you know, contributes over 70% of that figure.

Most iconic movie studios are in Hollywood. As a matter of fact, the “Big Eight” consisting of 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, United Artists, Universal Studios and Warner Bros are, or were, all in Hollywood. These again, are multi-billion dollar companies generating revenue for California.

Despite the above, California also thrives on agriculture. As at 2014, California had nothing less than 77,000 farms and ranches raking in about $55 billion in revenue yearly. It produces over 400 agricultural commodities, a large chunk of which it exports. It is the leader in producing exotic fruits in America. Its wine industry is unique. California wine is drunk with relish the world over…

This is just one State in America. You see, California actually had a choice of sitting back and striving to get a piece of the revenue generated from Texas’ oil. It could have depended solely on Federal allocation to survive so that every month end, it will send its Commissioner of Finance to Washington DC to receive monthly allocation so that it can barely pay salaries of its workers and nothing more.

Then San Francisco would resemble Ajegunle in Lagos. And there certainly would not be those beautiful sights and sounds that make California what it is today.   California gives to the centre and, because of its wealth, despises the idea of depending on it for survival.

That is America. The local government, the government closest to the grassroots, is deliberately made the strongest level of government. Items like variances (adaptation of state law to local conditions,) public works (yes, public works!!), contracts for public works, licensing of public accommodations, assessable improvements, basic public services are all left for local county governments to handle.

The State handles weightier matters like Property Law, Education, Commerce Laws of Ownership and Exchange, Banking and Credit Laws, Labour Law and Professional Licensure, Insurance Laws, and Electoral Laws, including Parties and Civil Service Laws. Items that the Federal Government, the centre, handles affecting the States are actually very negligible.

Nigeria on the contrary will never do well unless we restructure. We pretend to have a Federal system but we are actually operating a unique form of unitary government, and it is weighing the polity down. Can you imagine a country where the school curriculum is regulated by a national central body and states have no powers to vary or amend their curriculum?

You would think this is not a problem until you understand that Nigerians spend over ONE TRILLION NAIRA every year to study abroad. You see, the reason why you have Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, etc. is not only for academic excellence of the citizens of the countries which have these schools. No. They invest in their institutions so that they can earn revenue from foreign students from countries like Nigeria which has destroyed its educational system.

How many car manufacturing companies would we have in Owerri near the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) where students are constantly doing and selling their research products to burgeoning engineering and manufacturing companies?

“As you are reading this, do not forget that without Harvard University, there would not have been Facebook, and this our interface would have been impossible.”

Do your research, most of the World-class products we buy today off the shelf, at great cost, were invented by University Students. As you are reading this, do not forget that without Harvard University, there would not have been Facebook, and this our interface would have been impossible.

But our Students in Nigeria are not entirely without inventions. We invented the Pyrates Confraternity, the Black Axe, the Eiye, the Vikings and what not!! Students resume school with guns and bullets, rather than books and scholastic ideas, as though academic institutions were a War College. Lecturers fly colours as do students. And when the turf war begins, people die in droves.

So every year, all sorts of characters are vomited from Nigerian Universities to take their place in Nigerian Society. So you have Judges, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors and so forth, whose first and primary allegiance is to their cult group, before the country. The multiplier effect of this is a treatise for another day.

But suffice to say that as long as this problem persist, let’s forget about Silicon Valley in Nigeria, because there will never be a Stanford University here to provide an infinite supply of ideas and prodigies to feed the invention value-chain!

Nigeria cannot wake up from its slumber today because it cannot lift its head. The entire weight of its existence is concentrated in its head. From the viewpoint of government, the weight is in Abuja. From the viewpoint of revenue source, the weight is in the Niger-Delta. We need to urgently restructure and evenly distribute this pressure points and weights to diffuse tension in Nigeria.

We need to revisit the exclusive legislative list in the Constitution and systematically reduce the responsibilities of the Federal Government vis-a-vis the States. 

Resources have to be handed back to the States that generated them, but place an obligation on each State to contribute an agreed percentage to the common federal purse to service obligations of the Federal Government. L&S

My Notes

Lillian Okenwa
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My Notes

There’s hardly any parent who is not worried about the rising incident of drug addiction among youths in Nigeria. To say that this situation has taken a worrisome dimension is stating the obvious, but even more troubling is government’s attitude to the ill. Is banning codeine and tramadol the magic potion? Parents on their part cannot be totally absolved. How well do you know your children? Do you suppose that supplying them with more than enough cash, providing them with latest gadgets and whatever catches their fancy is same as having a relationship with them? In this second edition of L&S, we bring you an incisive interview with a former Chairman of NATIONAL DRUG LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (NDLEA). It is a must read.

On our cover is an insightful article on restructuring. Several views have been posited but we leave you to take your position. We featured the story of a motorcycle mechanic who became Senior Advocate of Nigeria as well as other intriguing reports in the last edition. This time you’ll meet lots of significant people who scaled hurdles, refusing to be stopped.

National issues, human interest reports, judiciary, education, business and many more, this edition touches on a potpourri of subjects that affect our daily lives. Please don’t hesitate to share your views with us.

Lillian

The Team

Editor-in-Chief/CEO

Lillian Okenwa

Managing Editor

Kirsten Okenwa

General Editor

Clare Chika

Deputy Editor

Eke Ojim

Consulting Editor

Joe Dauda

Correspondents

Samuel Attah

Chris Madu

Ladidi Sabo

Ngozi Agueze

Website: www.lawandsocietymagazine.com

Email: [email protected]

17 Tunde Ogbeha Street, Durumi II, Gudu, Abuja.

07017638994, 07010699490

“There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed.”  -Ray Goforth

Appeal Court Introduces Appellate Mediation

Ngozi Agueze
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Appeal Court Introduces Appellate Mediation

The word lawyer is easily linked with litigation and the courts. Consequently, when one is said to be a lawyer, people are likely to relate cautiously with him or her. Perhaps because of the unique wiring of lawyers, they are often more inclined to litigate than explore alternative means of resolving disputes. In spite of the fact that a large number in the profession have been championing the win-win, value of alternative dispute resolution, most legal practitioners view it
appeal Court Introduces appellate Mediation with suspicion. This is aside from numerous court connected multi-door courthouses and mediation centres but all that is about to change with the introduction of appellate mediation at the Court of Appeal.

President of the Court, Hon. Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa during the commissioning ceremony at the Court’s headquarters in Abuja emphasized the importance and speedy nature of mediation in the administration of Justice.

“The case that involved the former Vice President of Nigeria, Late Dr. Alex Ekwueme is a locus classicus on this subject. The former Vice President was a party to a contract involving the sale of land in his capacity as chairman of an investment corporation. A dispute arose with the corporation and Estate Agents and the matter was subsequently litigated. The matter was before the Court for 17 years until the trial Court referred the matter to the Lagos Multi-Door Court house (LMDC). At the LMDC, the matter was recommended for Mediation, and the matter was successfully resolved in one day between 10:00am – 8:30pm.”

Hon. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, (JSC) represented the Chief Justice of Nigeria (Hon. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen at the event.

Trade disputes and National Industrial Court

Law & Society Magazine
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Trade disputes and National Industrial Court

It has been said that strike actions remain the most easily recognisable form of relationship breakdown in labour law.  Indeed the adverse effects including loss of productive man hours; attendant difficulties in meeting demand for services within the period; breakdown in communication, law and order as well as major threats to economic development are all known attributes of strike actions. However, there are also all kinds of trade and industrial disputes.

Presently, efforts of successive administrations in Nigeria to check all these and possibly enthrone better labour relations has yielded what we now have as the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. But, we must go back in time to observe how it all started.

Attempt by the Nigerian government to provide an efficient legal framework for the settlement of trade disputes dates back to 1941 with the promulgation of the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and Inquiry) (Lagos) Ordinance of 1941. Under this ordinance, only ad hoc bodies in the form of arbitration tribunals could be set up to handle trade disputes and thus the role of government was merely discretionary at the instance or invitation of parties. This Ordinance was only applicable to Lagos until 1957 when the Trade Disputes (Arbitration and inquiry) (Federal Application) Ordinance of 1957 was passed. This period (1941-1957) gave way in 1968 with the promulgation of the Trade Disputes (Emergency Provision) Decree No. 21 of 1968 and the Trade disputes (Emergency Provision) (amendment No. 2) Decree No. 53 of 1969. These Decrees made it obligatory for parties to deposit three copies of any existing collective agreement for the settlement of trade dispute with the Federal Commissioner for Labour and also to report the existence of a trade dispute to the commissioner.

The Decree of 1969 in particular, banned strikes and lock-outs under pain of imprisonment without option of fine and also imposed stringent duties on the employers and employees to report strikes and lock-outs within 14 hours to the Inspector General of Police. It also established on a permanent basis, a tribunal to be known as the Industrial Arbitration Tribunal.

To address some of the problems with the above Decree, the Trade Disputes Act of 1976 was passed. It introduced new dynamics to the legal framework for the settlement of trade disputes in Nigeria. This Act created a comprehensive procedure for the settlement of trade disputes combining voluntary and compulsory measures. The Act gave so much power to the Minister of Labour, which to a large extent negatively affected its efficiency. The National Industrial Court was established by the Act with jurisdiction in respect of settlement of trade disputes, interpretation of collective agreements and matters connected thereto. In all these matters the Act gave exclusive jurisdiction to the Court, though it was not created as a superior Court of record.

A major amendment was introduced to the Act in 1992 through the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Decree No.47 of 1992 which made the Court a superior court of records to give proper meaning to the exclusive jurisdiction given to the Court. It also provided that appeals would lie as of right to the Court from the Awards of the Industrial Arbitration Panel without necessarily seeking the leave of the Minister of Labour on matters contained in section 20 of the Act.

On the 31st day of May, 2006 the National Assembly passed the National Industrial Court Act, 2006. The Act was assented to by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria on the 14th June 2006. The Act established the National Industrial Court as a superior Court of record and conferred exclusive jurisdiction on it with respect to labour and industrial relations matters.

At inception in 1976, the Court was basically a Lagos Court, having its office in Lagos state alone. It spread its tentacles to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja only in the late 90s. However, since 2003 when His Lordship, Hon. Justice B.A. Adejumo, OFR assumed duties as President of the court, and since the passage of the National Industrial Court Act, 2006 twenty four (24) additional Judicial Divisions have been established across the six geo-political zones of the country pursuant to the powers conferred on his Lordship by section 21(1) of the said Act.

In addition to Lagos and Abuja, the new Judicial Divisions include:- Ibadan, Calabar, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Enugu, Owerri, Akure, Makurdi, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa, Uyo, Bauchi, Kaduna, Gombe, Sokoto, Minna, Abakiliki, Awka, Asaba, Ekiti, Yola, Lokoja and Jalingo Judicial Divisions. In states where Judicial Divisions have not yet been established, Court Registries have been opened to fast-track filing and processing of cases. Meanwhile the Court continuously plans to upgrade these registries to full-fledged Judicial Divisions as budgeted resources become available.

The constitutional albatross hanging over the Court’s neck was eventually unshackled with the passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Third Alteration) Act, 2010. His Excellency, the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, assented to the Bill on the 4th day of March, 2011 after it had successfully passed through all the laid – down processes of the 1999 Constitution in the Senate and House of Representatives; and 33 of the 36 State Houses of Assembly in the Federation. The other three State Houses of Assembly could not sit to consider this Bill and other matters of the state due to internal prevailing challenges they faced at the material time. The National Industrial Court of Nigeria is thus the first court to be included in any Nigerian Constitution by a democratically elected Legislature.

A key feature of the 1999 Constitution, as altered, is that now the National Industrial Court of Nigeria is constitutionally recognized under sections 6 (5)(cc) and 254A of the Constitution as fourth on the list of superior courts of record. The Court now consists of the President of the Court and such number of Judges of the Court as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. The Court has exclusive jurisdiction in civil cases and matters relating to labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations, national minimum wage, international best practices in labour and industrial relations matters, discrimination or sexual harassment at the workplace, application or interpretation of international labour standards, child labour, child abuse, human trafficking, interpretation and application of collective agreements, payment or non-payment of salaries, wages, personnel matters arising from any free trade zone in the Federation, etc.

The Court has also established an Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) Centre within its premises; with Headquarters at Abuja and centres in six (6) geographical zones of the country (Kano, Gombe, Enugu, Calabar, Ibadan and Abuja).

By the powers conferred on him by section 254 (F) (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended by the Third Alteration Act, 2010) and Section 36 of the National Industrial Court Act, 2006, His Lordship, the President, National Industrial Court of Nigeria, has revoked the 2007 Rules of Court and made the 2017 Rules. The new Rules are tailored towards facilitating the practice and procedure in the Court with regard to the expanded jurisdiction and powers of the Court under the new dispensation, and the emerging global trends in labour jurisprudence and industrial relations practice in Nigeria. The new Rules took effect on the 3rd day of January, 2017; and can be accessed on the court’s website (www.nicn.gov.ng).

Onnoghen and the new face of judiciary

Samuel Attah
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Onnoghen and the new face of judiciary

When Hon. Justice Walter S. Onnoghen took oath of office as the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) on March 6, 2017, the judiciary was in dire distress. Yet, with an assurance that he intends to carry on from where his predecessors stopped, modify certain areas but with the ultimate aim of having a better judiciary befitting the nation, he set out to straighten the badly dented third arm of government. This he did by introducing some reforms. First was a 13-man committee mandated to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the administrative structure and operations of the three arms of government with a view to exploring areas of comparative advantage and mutual cooperation.

Then he set up the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO) led by Hon. Justice Suleiman Galadima, JSC (rtd.). The committee was amongst other directives expected to drive the National Judicial Council’s (NJC) new policy on anti-corruption war by regularly monitoring and evaluating proceedings at designated courts for financial and economic crimes nationwide.

Not long ago, COTRIMCO identified poor prosecution, absence of counsel for parties in Court, reliance on irrelevant documentary evidence, multiplicity of charges, non-adherence to Court rules\procedures, retirement\transfer of Judges, re-assignment of cases to start de-novo, and cumbersome record transmission process to Court of Appeal amid others as some of the factors militating against speedy disposal of corruption cases. These were in the interim report presented by Chairman of the Committee, Justice Galadima, at the 86th meeting of the National Judicial Council.

Earlier the CJN, disturbed by public perception on slow prosecution of corruption cases, had directed all heads of courts to compile and forward comprehensive lists of all corruption and financial crime cases being handled by their various courts to the NJC. They were further directed to designate more courts, as special courts for the purpose of hearing and speedily determining corruption and financial crimes cases, while Supreme Court of Nigeria and the Court of Appeal were to fix special date in each week for hearing and determining appeals from such cases. In the last six months, these Special Courts delivered 324 judgments, struck out 12 cases and reserved 62 cases for judgment. 

“The delay in our justice delivery system is of great concern to me as it must be to you all. This unacceptable situation inevitably dictates the need for a thorough and comprehensive reform of our justice

“The delay in our justice delivery system is of great concern to me as it must be to you all. This unacceptable situation inevitably dictates the need for a thorough and comprehensive reform of our justice sector to ensure access to justice at affordable costs and within a reasonable time…”

sector to ensure access to justice at affordable costs and within a reasonable time… In my view, a good place to start this change is the lower Courts – the Magistracy and Customary Courts. These Courts are the first contact most citizens have with the Judiciary, and most times, the only contact they would have.” That was his position at the opening ceremony of the 2017 All Nigeria Judges’ conference.

Unrelenting in the drive to enthrone justice, he has issued a directive to States’ Chief Judges including that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to implement the provisions of Section 34(1) and 34 (2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) to reduce incidents of police brutality and other forms of human rights abuse. The sections provide:

Section 34(1)

The Chief Magistrate, or where there is no Chief Magistrate within the police division, any Magistrate designated by the Chief Judge for that purpose, shall, at least every month, conduct an inspection of police stations or other places of detention within his territorial jurisdiction other than prison”

Section 34 (2)

“During the visit, Magistrates may:

a.    call for, and inspect the record of arrest;

b.    direct the arraignment of the suspect;

c.    where bail has been refused, grant bail to any suspect where appropriate, if the offence for which the suspect is held is within the jurisdiction of the Magistrate.

This move was actually precipitated by a petition from a Non Governmental Organization (the Gavel). The group had in a 4th June, 2018 letter titled: The Role of Magistrates in Curbing Police Brutality Under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act sought the CJN’s intervention over what they described as the growing scourge of Police brutality and inordinate arrest, detention and extortion of innocent Nigerians by Police officers

“Thankfully, his lordship’s attention is not directed towards the bench alone as he has approved a roadmap developed by the National Judicial Institute for the introduction of Long and Short Term Courses for Judicial Officers and their support staff.”

especially the Special Anti-Robbery Squad Unit (SARS) across Nigeria. Obviously, their prayer that the CJN direct the implementation of the relevant provisions of the ACJA to forestall the ugly trend has yielded results.

Conversely, Onnoghen has ensured that the NJC took the initiative in the disciplinary aspect of its duties with so many officials dismissed, suspended or recommended for various disciplinary measures. 

Such a Reform Agenda must of necessity require the cooperation of the three arms of government, namely, the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary, as well as other relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, internal cohesion and stability of the justice sector will not be complete without the contribution and input of legal practitioners and the general public.

Another area that lawyers and litigants alike find worrisome is the courts’ registries and attitude of some judicial support staff members. Corruption, unprofessionalism and general poor attitude to work has plagued this sector.

Thankfully, his lordship’s attention is not directed towards the bench alone as he has approved a roadmap developed by the National Judicial Institute for the introduction of Long and Short Term Courses for Judicial Officers and their support staff. He has since announced that “requisite structures are in place and residential courses shall soon commence in earnest.

In the meantime, efforts are being made to amend the National Judicial Institute Act, as this will give statutory backing to the proposed expansion of the Institute’s scope of activities with regard to continuing education for Judicial Officers and their supporting staff. We therefore seek the support and cooperation of the Legislature in ensuring speedy passage of the proposed Amendment Bill.”

Clearly, Chief Justice Onnoghen is setting Nigeria’s judiciary on an enviable path. L&S

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”

– Harold S. Geneen

New drug epidemic and FG’s quick-fix solution

Law & Society Magazine
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New drug epidemic and FG’s quick-fix solution

“Prohibition kills, education saves lives” ― Dominic Milton Trott, The Honest Drug Book: A Chemical & Botanical Journey Through The Legal High Years

Nigeria is fighting wars on many fronts and as the days go by, it does not appear that there is any end in sight. While Boko Haram insurgency which the government claims to have technically ended is still claiming lives and herdsmen attacks are turning erstwhile arable lands into rivers of blood of slain farmers, what is arguably the biggest rage in the country right now is the love for psychotropic substances by Nigerian youths. Unfortunately, this silent rage has been ignored for too long.

It took a few minutes documentary by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to jolt us back to acknowledging a malaise we have lived with all these years; one that has eaten deep into our already battered lives and wrecked countless homes.

While the country is carrying on as if all is well with our youths, thousands, perhaps millions of lives of young Nigerians are wasting away mainly due to addiction to these substances. What, however, makes this case of dependence on hard drugs ironical is the fact that while a number of street kids and young adults are hooked, a lot of other victims are children and wards of the well-to-do in the society. 

Otunba Lanre Ipinmisho, a former Director-General, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) spoke with us on these issue and more. He spoke with lillian Okenwa and Eke Ojim. EXCERPTS

Sir, is government’s ban on codeine the appropriate step to take in dealing with the issue of drug abuse? Some pharmaceutical companies were even shut down in the wake of the ban though they have since been re-opened.

Everybody still pretends about this problem. Even people whose children are battling drugs in their homes. Some of these children are threatening the lives of their parents, and some parents have been killed. In Abuja alone, I know of three cases, let alone Kano State. Therefore, is government fighting drug abuse now? No. I say emphatic no, because you don’t fight what you don’t know. How much of drug abuse does the government know? One or two stories that they are being told? That is not how much we are under the attack of drug abuse in Nigeria. 

So, what do I suggest? On three occasions, I have talked to the management of NDLEA and asked how they expect government support in this battle if they do not present the drug situation in Nigeria to them in a graphic way? I advised them to make sure they present the drug situation on ground to the Federal Executive Council, FEC. and see who will say it is not a priority. It took only a 30 minutes story on BBC and people are panicking; and the government is taking some funny actions. Imagine if NDLEA has taken that step; taken interviews and pictures and forwarded them to the FEC.  Go and check their annual budget, you will see that the government has no plan to fight drug abuse. How many contractors go to NDLEA? Because they know that it is not a government priority. 

Secondly, banning cough syrup with codeine, at least shows that these people even listen some times. But it has no real effect as there are too many options. Banning itself is one step, but enforcement is difficult in Nigeria, because of the level of corruption. The police will now see it as another avenue of making fraudulent money. So, the government has just opened another avenue of ‘chop’ for law enforcement personnel.

“It took only a 30 minutes story on BBC and people are panicking; and the government is taking some funny actions. Go and check their (NDLEA) annual budget. You will see that the government has no plan to fight drug abuse. How many contractors go to NDLEA? Because they know that it is not government priority.”

There is nobody who wants to buy cough syrup with codeine content that will not get it. The only thing is that codeine sellers will make it more expensive. The ban on television will not stop an addict, even if you hide it in the mother’s stomach. 

If you open my bathroom door, you would see that it’s been broken several times by some boys that were brought here for counselling. So, I’m not talking of theory, I’m talking of something that I see and do all the time. One sat here, and said to me, ‘oh, you are a Sheik. Okay, but I’m God whom the Sheik prays to. ‘The boy’s father was here crying. I insist on serious advocacy because there are alternatives to codeine and all. During an advocacy campaign a parent once said, ‘ah, you have not mentioned Maggi yet (food seasoning). She said: ‘I caught my security guard with six cubes of Maggi from my kitchen and insisted he must tell me what he was going to do with them. He said they put it inside malt drink and it makes them get high.’ 

Have I told you about old newspapers? From a stack or pile, just pick the ones underneath, light and smoke; it will get you high. What about, solution, petrol, smells emanating from soak-away pit? They actually crack open soak-away pit to inhale the odour. Zakami and Agama lizard dung?

This issue requires a more holistic approach. And what is the approach? What is it that will appeal to these children to listen to counselling on drug abuse? Now, on my own, I have been to all these universities around here; because I have seen prevalence, and what you see that confronts you is that almost every student carries a bottle and more than 70 per cent of those bottles are not water. They contain mixtures of all sort of things even if it appears clear like water.  Hence, it is not something we give ceremonial attention to and expect that we are solving problems. No. It requires a more serious attention than that. 

There is an inter-governmental agency on drug abuse which hardly meets now, because they are not funded, it should be resuscitated so that if the Ministry of Health’s representative is talking from the angle of health other representatives will speak from the peculiarity of their own sector. Actually, it’s a health issue. It’s not a criminal matter. That is why people accuse law enforcement agents that they arrest people with cough syrup and fail to lock them up. No they can’t lock him up because it’s not a criminal offence. The addict is someone who needs help. So, you need to take him to a rehab centre.

Does the NDLEA have a rehab centre? 

No. They do not have. What they have are cells where they lock up people and say addicts have stopped using drugs and that they have started reading the Quran and the Bible. That is not how rehabilitation is done. A rehab centre is more comprehensive than we think in Nigeria. It is a more comprehensive thing than just locking someone up.

“Parents’ availability for the upbringing of their children is very key to fighting drugs. As we speak now, there are children that will never touch alcohol because they see that in their home, it is an abomination…”

The first thing you do in a rehab after the administrative step of registering the person is, he goes for a test and then for the talks.  When you finish with the talks, you put him in another place where he gradually tries to live without drugs. It’s a very difficult period. After that you take him to the next step where he can look back because during the talks, he really can’t look back. All that he is concerned about is where will he get the next drugs from. So, after 90 days, depending on each case on its own merit, you now release him and you still don’t leave him like that because this is someone who has been on drugs for years. 

How do you then cut the demand in the instant situation?

Parents have serious roles to play. When we were growing up as children, there were children that smoked the native mat. It has hole inside like cigarettes. You light it with matches and hide to smoke. Why were we hiding in those days? Because we knew that we must not be seen.  Parents’ availability for the upbringing of their children is very key to fighting drugs. As we speak now, there are children that will never touch alcohol because they see that in their home, it is an abomination. They have never even bothered to ask why, but they know that it is a no-go-area. Whereas there are homes where each of these boys have cartons of cough syrup and codeine and no parent has entered the room, and he knows that no one is going to enter and therefore needs not to be careful. Even the cars these children ride have all the equipment for smoking marijuana. It is just for you to look in one day and see what your son is doing. 

How many of these children have dropped out of school for several years and they keep lying. There was a couple that went to see their child in the UK. They didn’t prepare for the shock that they got. They went with a colleague from their office to check on the boy. The school authorities said they had no student by that name. Meanwhile, he had called the preceding week telling them how well he was doing at school. Eventually, they got a Nigerian who had finished from the school about three years earlier. He said, ‘yes, this boy was with us. He didn’t finish and he has been rusticated, though I can get somebody who knows where they smoke.’ By the time the father got there, of course, he didn’t even recognise the father.  That was all they got for all the thousands of pounds sterling they have been sending to England.  Parents need to pay more attention to their children. They think that they could use money and material things to buy off the children. The moment they see the child is unhappy, they pump in more money, and his friends are already aware that he is the supplier of money. And one thing with drugs is that the more, the merrier. You can’t stay in your room and be making the wild dances alone. It won’t make sense unless they are people who are looking at you.  We used to have about 168 porous borders when I was at NDLEA. I don’t know but it must be more now. On these 168 porous routes, nobody would ask you, ‘where are you going or coming from?’ 

What is the way forward out of this problem?

We still require the Federal Government and private individuals to invest in rehabilitation centres. 

What is the role of religious and traditional institutions in the battle against drugs? 

In the north which I am more familiar with, the north has a terrible culture of silence. That has affected the religious organisations that are northern based. When they have a problem, people in the north that constitute membership of those organisations, don’t discuss it. There is a culture of silence. In the north, they would rather gossip about a problem. And this they need to stop! You bring up children collectively so that everybody in the neighbourhood can have their peace. So, I believe the religious organisations are beginning to wake up to their own responsibilities with regard to drugs. I have been going from one mosque to the other as well as from one traditional ruler to the other, trying to awaken them to the dangers of this problem. Luckily, the people I have spoken to have also been going through hard times with their children and wards on the issue.  You would see an Emir that is afraid of entering his own house because of the havoc drug is doing in the house. So, I believe a more holistic approach is for non-governmental agencies to wake up and for relevant government agencies to wake up to their responsibility. But how would they wake up to their responsibilities when government is not treating it as a matter of priority?    Admission into universities now should include test for drugs.  University authorities should insist that students, who test positive to drugs, should go and clean up, and then come back. 

Why did you say earlier that drug addicts are not criminals? 

No. They are not criminals; because the law says that there must be action backed by intention. How would you convince a law court that somebody who is drug addict has an intention to commit crime? He cannot form an intention. Secondly, the United Nations had long come to the conclusion that it is a medical issue. Thought it may be behavioural, but it’s a medical challenge. L&S

“The mentality and behaviour of drug addicts and alcoholics is wholly irrational until you understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and unless they have structured help, they have no hope.”
-Russell Brand: Actor, Comedian, Author

What the Law Doesn’t Know About Suicide

Ibe Ikwechegh
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What the Law Doesn’t Know About Suicide

Most of us insist that it is wrong to take one’s own life. We conceive both a religious and a moral ‘duty’ to maintain life. Christianity abhors suicide as contradicting its doctrine of sanctity of human life and Koran expressly inhibits it. In this sanctity, there is no difference between murder and suicide. This Christian sentiment, more than anything else, must have influenced English moral development and consequently the English Common law development.

Blackstone thinks that both God and the King were violated by suicide, for who commits suicide ‘invades the prerogative of the almighty and rushing into his presence uncalled for and for the king who has an interest in the preservation of his subject’.

Our moral value in Nigeria is no different, even while oblivious of English moral impulses and common law. In many traditions of Nigeria, suicide victims were buried in dense forests to show our disdain for their ‘ill choices’.

We must at least accede to this very thing that laws are habitually reflective of the morals, values and opinion of society. If there are instances in which law and morality parley, it is in the instances of the laws against suicide and its attempt. And so against this backdrop, the words of the Nigerian law saying that any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour punishable by one year imprisonment, must also be understood.

But have we really preserved our lives because of this legal duty to do so together with the sanction that ‘butters’ it? Does the law re
Ibe Ikwechegh the lAW & yoU What the Law Doesn’t Know About Suicide ally think that our efforts to nurture life and keep it emanates out of any sense of duty to the law or fear of punishment? Does the punishment serve any useful purposes?

Duty carries with it the connotation of unwillingness, burden and drudgery. The task of living is not such. We love our lives. We cherish them and do all within our powers to preserve them. It seems more likely to just say that we strive to live because we love our lives and are predisposed to keep it, with self preservation being our mentor.

We preserve our lives as law requires but not necessarily in fidelity to law as it is to inclination and desire. This inclination subsists as long as we enjoy life, as long as the relish for it remains or at least as long as good hope abides. 

But it could happen that adversities and pain will take away every sweetness to life. Can the law really sustain any effort to preserve life in such moment of eerie darkness in which no light of hope is ever cast?

It is perhaps then that no philosophy would offer any more profound meaning or exert any more direct influence than that which assures man that ending pain is nothing but both a rational choice and an expression of autonomy. It is this pragmatic philosophy that the law is up against.

To criminalise suicide then seems analogous to criminalizing despair, disillusionment, depression and disease all which are completely outside the realms of duty. It is possible that the Church of England saw this as far back as in 1958 when it examined issues concerning criminal prosecution against persons who attempted suicide and published a book titled ‘Ought Suicide to be a Crime’ which documenting their report urging that attempted suicide should cease to be a crime.

Like some oxymoron, the law has not asked us to take better shelter from the things that put us at risk of suicide nor is it watching out for any of our lapses in that respect. In legislating on suicide, the law draws a blurry line between an omission and a commission. We can omit to take all necessary steps to preserve life, to cloth the body or to medicate for illnesses but we may not actively take a positive step to end our lives.

Beyond indistinct lines of passivity and activity, we suspect that the law sees suicide as behaviour. Those who commit suicide are not in the common run of criminals. The aim is not to harm anyone else but to end their own pains. Except in cases of mental diseases, accident, and drug use, a great number of those who commit suicide pass through the process of darkness, despair and resolve. There is something about cause and effect which is resonant with suicide. The law which focuses on effect and response

“One of the easiest things in life is to judge others. One of the simplest things we can ever do is to tell how wrong people are. One of the most thoughtless things we can ever do is to show people their faults unconstructively. It is always so easy and common to do such things but, before you do that, find the uncommon reasons for the faulty life.Yes! before you do that, identify how to correct a faulty life and before you do that, think of what drives and invokes the joy, slothfulness or the melancholy in people. Until you go through what people have been through, until you experience what has become a part of people, until you understand what drives the real interest of people and until you become fully aware of the real vision, aspirations, desires and the needs of others, ponder before you criticize!”
–Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

and blind sighted to causes will remain ineffectual in addressing the problems.

At the centre of most suicide is depression. Yet depression only in the eyes of the law may not meet the threshold of insanity, enough to provide exculpation. But depression is as bad as insanity, depriving us of the volition to sound judgment. As lately as in 2014 , the World Health Organization for the first time saw suicide as a disease and by that brought it within its scope of affairs. Invariably, the law chooses to discriminate and punish for the disease of depression and spare malaria and glaucoma.

Suicidal instinct longs for love, for emotion, for genuine human sympathy, for touch, for a heart to heart talk and understanding which cannot be provided for by criminalizing it. Charles Edward Garman, who was professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at Amherst, taught that ‘it is the contact of mind with mind that is the only condition of a human life’. We must add that it is a vital therapy for suicidal instincts. A common thread among people who committed or attempted suicide is that either they could not share their grief or their grief was never understood. A mechanism for this mind to mind scheme for solving suicidal problem is not something beyond the realm of the law. Units can be developed at work places, schools and other of such didactic institutions to deal with the emotional demands of citizens. Rather than criminalize suicide, the law probably needs to criminalize lack of care for suicidal people and bad press on something so profound.

Our punitive law for attempted suicide does not square up well with our criminal justice theory of punishment. It does not protect society since no one else is supposedly at risk except the attempter who is both the criminal and the victim. There is no evidence that it deters future attempt. After Ogunwande was arrested for his attempt to kill himself at the Lekki toll bridge, he attempted a second time while in police custody. Rehabilitation is a ‘fleeting illusion’, for any effective rehabilitation must address the specific rehabilitation need. Lastly, to say that it is retributive is to insult the question. Retribution ‘demands an eye for an eye’, and perhaps with this thought, one Titilayo Momoh said to the Ebute-Meta Magistrate’s court, ‘I never tried to kill anybody, it is myself that I wanted to kill’.

Rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation, retribution and all other of our theories of punishment run aground in suicide. Criminalizing suicide attempt may at best intensify the effort so as not to fall short of its goal.

The weak still deserve the sympathy and the help of legal institutions and the law. Indeed the law must apprehend the moral, social, psychological, and philosophical underpinnings of the problems of suicide and create institutions of help and succour and not only ones for vilification and punishment. L&S

Moroccan Dining

kirsten Okenwa
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Moroccan Dining

Lunch, called rada, is the main meal in Morocco so it’s also the largest and often includes several courses, according to Raphael Chijioke Njoku, author of “Culture and Customs of Morocco.” Most families eat the  midday meal at home together before going back to work. The meal starts with green vegetables or salads called tapas, which are followed by tajine, a stew or soup. Hard-boiled eggs, bread, lamb or chicken and couscous are common parts of a Moroccan lunch as well. Breakfast, called futo, usually includes bread, jam, butter and olives, and dinner, called asha, is usually leftovers from lunch.

Sharing Food

In the Moroccan culture, many people believe in “Al Baraka,” which refers to a type of spiritual energy that occurs when families join together to eat, according to a 2013 article published in “Morocco World News.” This means that some Moroccans eat collectively, even going so far as to share food from common bowls. While some people in Morocco dish food onto individual plates from a bowl placed on the table, it’s part of the eating culture for everyone to take bites from the same dish without placing it on a plate.

Typical Moroccan Meals

If you love spicy, aromatic foods, then Moroccan meals are for you. Rich in healthy spices including cinnamon, ginger, cumin, and caraway, local ingredients, such as olives, figs, and dates, are often used to prepare lamb and poultry stews. The Chef Amanda Mouttaki notes, “ Moroccan food is known for the complex blending of spices, slow-cooked home-cooked meals, and generous portions. But that doesn’t mean you have to have loads of extra time to make a delicious Moroccan meal.”

Here is Amanda’s Moroccan salad recipe:

MOROCCAN CARROT, CHICKPEA, DRIED FRUIT AND ALMOND SALAD Barely adapted from 101Cookbooks Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

For the dressing: 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/3 cup olive oil 2-3 Tbs fresh lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste

For the salad:

2 large carrots

2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed if they´re from a can

6 dried apricot halves(or mangoes), sliced

4 black dried figs(or dates), sliced ¼ to 1/3 cup sliced, toasted almonds Fresh mint and dill, coarsely torn or left whole

Directions:

For the dressing:

In a skillet, heat seeds over low heat for 1 or 2 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer to a mortar or grinder and coarsely grind.

In a jar mix the rest of the dressing ingredients and add the ground seeds.
Reserve in the fridge while making the salad.

For the salad:

Peel carrots, and with the vegetable peeler, make long ribbons, letting them fall onto the serving plate. Add chickpeas, a few tablespoons of the dressing and mix lightly with your hands, mounding a bit. Scatter the dried fruits and herbs on top, drizzle more dressing, add toasted almonds and serve. L&S


Courtesy: dewfieldtravels.blogspotcom /2017/11/moroccan-dining.html

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