For participants at the third Annual Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Epe Branch held in honour of Honourable Justice George Adesola Oguntade, JSC (Rtd), themed, Administration of Criminal Justice: The Journey So Far, it was time to beam the searchlight on the corrupt tendencies ravaging Administration of Criminal Justice in the nation.
The Keynote speaker for one of the sessions was renowned Lagos based constitutional and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), who spoke on the topic, ‘The Danger of Unequal Criminal Justice System in Nigeria’ asked lawyers to halt the two criminal justice systems inadvertently operating in the country, accusing corrupt politicians and some senior lawyers of hijacking the criminal justice system and working together to frustrate the effective prosecution of corruption cases pending in several courts.
Falana urged progressive lawyers to team up with other patriotic forces to ensure that all defendants are treated equally under the criminal justice system, adding that “apart from two former governors, namely Messrs Joshua Dariye and Jolly Nyame the list of convicted persons is made of lowly placed individuals in the society. Owing to abuse of court process, rich defendants have continued to frustrate their prosecution with the connivance of some senior lawyers.
“By virtue of section 17 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law. But in practice, the rich and poor defendants are not treated equally by Nigerian courts. Apart from the fact that rich litigants have the means to hire the services of the best lawyers in any area of the law the courts are manned by judges who are not neutral in the class struggle being waged daily by the Nigerian people,” Falana said.
He added that due to the unequal justice that has become the hallmark of the nation’s criminal justice system the prisons and police cells are filled with the victims of the unjust socioeconomic system, explaining further that, “the Nigerian Bar Association which does not hesitate to mobilise hundreds of lawyers to defend indicted senior lawyers and judges has not deemed it fit to extend free legal services to indigent defendants facing trial for poverty related offences in the courts.
“It is common knowledge that Nigeria operates a double criminal justice system, one for the rich and one for the poor. Majority of indigent defendants are tried in the magistrate and area courts have no access to lawyers. Because of the gravity of certain offences, indigent defendants who are represented by young and inexperienced lawyers assigned to them by the State,” Falana said.
He concluded that since law alone cannot curb the crisis of unequal criminal justice in the country, “I am compelled to invite all members of the legal profession to appreciate that Nigerians cannot guarantee law and order under the peripheral capitalist system being operated by the government. In other words, the country will not know peace without economic empowerment of the people. Instead of relying on market forces as dictated by the neo-liberal elements in the government the State should empower the Nigerian people to control the economy.
“It is my submission that the economy of the country cannot be transformed in favour of Nigeria on the basis of the dangerous prescriptions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Since all capitalist governments are violent because capitalism is an ideology of violence, Nigeria cannot be an exception. Therefore, Nigerian lawyers should make a strong case for the actualization of the socio-economic rights embodied in the fundamental objectives and directive principles and set out in chapter 2 of the Constitution,” Falana concluded.
Other activities for the law week include Jumat prayer at Aleke Central Mosque, Epe, Pro Bono Legal Clinic, Novelty Match between the NBA, Epe Team and Lagos State Judiciary Football Team (LSJFT), thanksgiving service at St. Michael’s Anglican Church, Epe and training of police officers.
Other lecture sessions include keynote speech on the ‘ Past, Present and Future of Criminal Justice in Lagos State by the Secretary and Solicitor General of Lagos State, Mrs. Funmilola Odunlami while Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), delivered a keynote speech on Arbitration in Criminal Justice.
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