At the Bus Stop end of Ibadan North Local Government Area, Agodi-Gate, Ibadan is a long array of roadside agents who specialise in backdoor processing of land agreement, affidavit and other sensitive documents for members of the public. AKINWALE ABOLUWADE writes on the trade and the concern by experts and members of the public about the adverse effects of patronising the unauthorised agents.
There are many shortcuts to getting things done at Agodi-Gate, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. One of such ‘smart’ ways is by fixing legal documents such as sworn affidavit, change of name and land agreement through roadside agents. This, legal professionals described as getting things done as fast and as cheap as possible through the illegal backdoor.
As you walk the footpath by the fence of Ibadan North Local Government Council Area, at the Bus Stop-Gate end of the secretariat, you would see a horde of roadside agents who specialise in the processing of legal documents for whoever requires their services. Some of them, waving samples of passport-sized photographs on their hands, would beckon as they announce the services that they render to passersby with a promise that they would be fast to deliver.
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The uncertified agents normally arrive at their spots, flanked with yellow umbrellas as early as 7:30am and close around 4:30pm, beginning from Monday to Friday. The agents, comprising an army of youth and middle-aged men and women, keep busy through the working hour. They act fast enough to keep pace with their customers’ demands and timing.
Although they are not grounded in the practice of law, as self-styled roadside agents, they make a living by processing and stamping of affidavits and other related legal documents some of which are considered as sensitive materials that should be handled by experts.
Whereas legal officials described the trade as an illegal racket, they opined that those who are into it are still in the business because the trade is booming. In their view, Nigerians like cutting corners instead of doing what is lawful. In Ibadan, the unregistered agents are predominantly at the Ibadan North LGA as well as around the courts in Iyaganku.
Dada Atanda, a hunter from Kereku Olola village in Akinyele Local Government area of Oyo State, who came to obtain a police report and sworn affidavit, said he needed it to retrieve his lost MTN sim card. According to him, he had begun the process at Akinyele Local Government about one week ago but decided to obtain the documents in Ibadan because the initial effort was slow.
Atanda said: “I paid some money to mobilise the service to a council worker at Akinyele but it is getting delayed and I need to retrieve my telephone line on time because it is not convenient for me not to stay connected. I am asked to pay the sum of N2,000 for the police report and the affidavit. This is the first time that I am doing this so I don’t know a better place where I can get it done.”
Mrs Bisi Ojo said she needed to obtain a birth certificate for her daughter since she misplaced the one that she did for her earlier. She expressed joy that she needed to pay a paltry N500 to get it done. The mother of two said she was told that going through the state ministry to get it done would cost her close to N4,000. She said: “A friend eventually advised me to do it at the roadside.”
An agent at Ibadan North LGA, popularly called Mama Blessing, explained that many people usually patronise them because “our sevices are genuine. We type the documents and get them signed by the appropriate authority. We don’t improvise and we don’t cut corners. We are not criminals.
“I have been doing this business for many years and I have never run into any trouble with anyone because I follow due process. We pay to get the documents signed; we don’t stamp documents by ourselves. For loss of SIM card, we charge N500; for land agreement, we charge N2,500 for the old type and N5,000 for the new type; N1,000 for affidavits and N1,000 for police report.”
Mrs Labode, a council official, said most of the roadside agents offer valid services, “but the problem is that it is difficult to identify the bad eggs. It is, therefore, safe to go through the lawyer or to come to the appropriate channel to get things done.”
Some contend that going through a lawyer may be slower or costlier because the lawyer would take time in perfecting the documents. The documents from a lawyer is valid. Rather than charging peanuts like the roadside agents, the lawyer would charge as a professional. For land agreement, a lawyer usually demands 5 percent of the cost of the property while some lawyers charge N10,000 for an affidavit.
A surveyor with the state town planning office, speaking anonymously, said majority of the people prefer to use the services of the roadside agents because it is cheaper. He said: “Most of them are doing genuine work; they are not fraudulent otherwise they will not remain in business. As a surveyor, if I have to work on a land agreement, I would go through a lawyer. I usually get it done for N20,000. It is good to do what is legal.”
An Ibadan-based lawyer, Mr Olugbenga Makinde, explained that it is the duty of lawyers to process legal documents such as change of name, land agreement and affidavit. He lamented that unfortunately, some people parading themselves as agents have taken over the business. He noted that the main attraction is that they gave rock-bottom charges that lure members of the public to patronise them.
He recalled a particular occasion when he saw some people arguing over a matter within the court premises one day. He was told that a particular woman was duped in a land matter. “I was shocked that the woman in question is a Master’s degree holder. Narrating her story, she said after paying for the land in contention the agent asked her to pay the sum of N10,000 for land agreement. That was a bad risk,” he said.
“Can you tell me how a surveyor or anybody else for that matter would lay claim to perfect handling of a legal document? That is not their job; they are involved in illegal trade. Only a lawyer is entitled to do a land agreement and other legal documents.”
Makinde said: “These people are not lawyers. I grew up to know that agents engage in the trade; I don’t know how it all started. One thing that I am sure of is that they are engaging in illegality because they are usurping the position of lawyers.
“It is unfortunate that when people are asked to go and swear to an affidavit, they would rather go to them to pay N400. They would bypass a lawyer would do a proper documentation for you.
“To answer the question of who to blame, I won’t blame the government. I blame the society. If the society does not condone the practice, the illegal agents would not be in business today.”
“It is surprising that our people take a huge risk of enlisting the services of roadside agents after buying priced properties. It is funny that when buying the land, the surveyor would get paid but it is difficult for people to pay a lawyer who will authenticate the sale process. Most of them have doctors, they have their personal drivers but they cannot put a lawyer on retainership. That kind of attitude is penny wise pounds foolish because at the end of it all, they end up doing the proper documentation all over or outrightly lose their property..”
Experts are of the opinion that those who engage the roadside agents are those who like to cut corners. They argued that relying on roadside agents for legal documents is like getting medical treatment through a quack is as deadly as getting medical care through a quack doctor.
A class teacher, Mr Salimon Rahmon, who relayed his experience while trying to obtain a police report, said he was asked to pay N4,500 for a sworn affidavit on the grounds that he listed four different items on the document which he presented at the station. However, when he approached an agent for the police report, he said he was made to pay the sum of N1,000.
Rahmon said: “You cannot imagine what people go through in the hand of the police when applying for police report. They will make things difficult for you so that at the end of the day, you will beg them to help you. They will then give you a big bill with an explanation that the charges would be determined by the number of items that you declare missing.
It is not always easy to get things done with the police because they will find a way to extort you. It is only when you meet a God-fearing police personnel that you can be sure that you will have a smooth interaction.
Charges for police report vary from station to staton when you go to do it on your own. As I said earlier, the charges also depend on how long or short the list of items that are lost is. Interestingly, one is not even sure whether the money is being remitted into government treasury or not.”
When Saturday Tribune inquired from the police whether a police report should be free or paid for, no clear answer was given as of the time of filing this report. Although the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Oyo State Command, Mr Olugbenga Fadeyi, said that the Force Headquarters in Abuja reserves the right to comment on whether police report should be paid for or not, he stated that the Nigerian Police is not a revenue generating institution.
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