Justice and Security in Partnership: A Dialogue Between the Bar and Law Enforcement (Pt. 1)

By Prof Mike Ozekhome

 INTRODUCTION

The relationship between the Bar and Law Enforcement is as obvious as it is vital: they are, at once, mutually-reinforcing and mutually-complementary. The Bar (and, indeed, the Bench) depend on law enforcement (defined as the Police and its affiliates, EFCC, ICPC, etc) to give teeth to court orders and judgements which are, almost invariably, procured (or obtained) through the intermediation of counsel, i.e., officers of the Bar. Without enforcement, a court order or judgement is a dead letter, lifeless, negating Section 287 of the Constitution which enjoins “all persons, authorities and courts of subordinate jurisdiction” across Nigeria to enforce and give effect to such decisions.

Despite the clarity of this provision (and its provenance – the Constitution, no less, which is the grundnorm – the ultimate source of our laws) it is not unheard or for court orders to be flouted with impurity. In fact, in many instances, such decisions are only observed in the breach – sadly, even by members of the Bar themselves, notwithstanding the very first provision of our Constitution which enjoins us to observe the rule of law. So high is this exhortation that it amounts to professional misconduct (and indeed, infamous conduct in a professional respect) for a lawyer to wilfully frustrate a judgement or other valid decision of a court of competent jurisdiction. Many Counsel have paid a steep price for flouting this salutary prescription – which is as it should be.

Beyond court orders, however, equally important is the relationship – as aforesaid – between the Bar and the Citizen’s first-line of defence as far as crime and criminality are concerned. By that, I mean the Police, the EFCC, ICPC, etc. The harrowing experiences of many Counsel at the hands of the former are too well-documented to bear repeating. Many of us have been at the receiving end of such brutality and have been dehumanized and traumatized for simply insisting that they respect our clients’ rights. Needless to say, the fact that some of us are also members of such agencies (effectively wearing two hats, as it were), seldom, if ever, makes any difference, as such incidents continue to recur with alarming regularity.

What is the solution? How can we curb this ugly trend? Hopefully, this session will come up with some answers and that is precisely what shall I attempt in this brief presentation. So, come along with me. Before then, however, some context in terms of the overarching role of Government in the entire Bar/ Bench/ Law Enforcement ecosystem or interface.

BACKGROUND

In Nigeria, the partnership between the bar (represented by the Nigerian Bar Association – NBA) and law enforcement agencies, particularly the Nigerian Police Force, is multifaceted and evolving. While tensions exist due to issues like police harassment and misconduct, there’s also a growing recognition of the need for collaboration to improve the administration of justice and uphold human rights.

Areas of Collaboration:

• Police Duty Solicitor Scheme (PDSS):

This scheme, supported by the NBA and the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, provides free legal advice to suspects within 48 hours of arrest, aiming to reduce unnecessary pretrial detention.

Strengthening Prosecutorial Coordination:

Training programs and collaborations between government and police prosecutors are improving the efficiency of legal proceedings.

Combating Corruption:

The NBA is working with agencies like the ICPC to address money laundering, terrorism financing, and other financial crimes, emphasizing the role of lawyers in these efforts.

Human Rights Promotion:

The NBA actively engages with law enforcement to promote human rights, advocating for police accountability and training officers on human rights principles.

Addressing Violence Against Women:

The NBA is collaborating with the National Human Rights Commission to address violence against women and advocate for specialized courts for such cases.

National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER):

This partnership between the NBA Section on Business Law, the National Assembly, and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group aims to review and create laws that support business, investment, and job creation.

Sensitization and Training:

The NBA conducts workshops and training sessions to educate lawyers and law enforcement on relevant laws, procedures, and human rights.

Challenges and Tensions:

Police Harassment and Misconduct:

A significant challenge is the ongoing issue of police misconduct, including harassment and assault of lawyers, which the NBA actively addresses.

Lack of Cooperation:

Perceived lack of cooperation between legal practitioners and anti-corruption agencies has been identified as a barrier to effective collaboration.

Misuse of Checkpoints:

The NBA has spoken out against the misuse of checkpoints by law enforcement officials for extortion and other abuses. Overall, the relationship between the NBA and law enforcement in Nigeria is a complex one, marked by both areas of collaboration and ongoing challenges. The NBA continues to advocate for police reforms, human rights, and improved administration of justice, while also working with law enforcement to address specific issues and improve the overall legal landscape.

OVERVIEW

It was Ronald Reagan, the late American President who once said, “The first duty of government is to protect the lives and property of its citizens. If it fails in that duty, it has failed in everything.”

There are moments in the life of a nation when silence becomes complicity; when to remain unmoved is to be morally vacant. Nigeria, once heralded as the Giant of Africa, now lies crippled under the unbearable weight of insecurity, fear, hunger, and betrayal. Not by foreign invasion, but by domestic abdication. The government has not fallen, yet governance has disappeared. The State has not been overthrown, yet the citizen no longer feels protected.

A few days ago, some law school students of the Yola Campus were abducted on their way back to school. The kidnappers demanded 10 million naira ransom for each of them. The recently released students have narrated their ordeal and blood now speaks more loudly than ballots. From the north to the middle belt, across sleepy towns and forgotten villages, a grim and ghastly soundtrack has replaced the national anthem with gunfire, wailing, tears, blood, sorrow, pains, pangs and silence. In Benue State, the Yelwata massacre saw over 100 civilians slaughtered in a single night, men butchered, women raped, children scattered like leaves in the wind. Some years ago, the parents of kidnapped school children were ordered by abductors, if they wanted their children to continue to be alive to purchase and drop at a named location, food items such as rice, beans, millet, palm and vegetable oil, salt pepper, tatashe, tarodo, onions, and even garri. This is not war by name, but war by every consequence. The soil of many communities across Nigeria is crimson red with the memory of lives unlived: gaping unhealed lacerations on body and in heart. Nigeria has been virtually arrested by state captors who possess equal and occasionally more deadly power than the legitimate government. They have seized some swaps of land in Niger and Borno states, planting flags of sovereignty, collecting tax and issuing identity cards and passes to the natives.

But bullets alone are not the only weapons of war as shown by kidnappers, bandits, terrorists and other hoodlums. Hunger, a silent killer, now stalks the land with greater precision than any terrorist. In Katsina State, 652 children died from malnutrition in just six months. A death toll that should shake the heavens, but barely caused a stir among the ruling class. Nigeria is not a poor nation. It is a rich nation governed poorly, where oil flows like wine, yet millions go to bed tasting only sorrow. The minimum wage is a mockery. Dignity has become a luxury for the few. What do rights mean when a bag of rice costs more than the minimum wage? When a man cannot feed his family, his Constitution is a joke. Why do we wash our hands with spittle while living by the banks of a river?

The Nigerian Constitution in section 14 declares the people’s security and welfare as the primary duty of the government; yet that duty has been treated more like a mere campaign slogan, often mouthed during election campaigns, but never honoured in practice. Banditry spearheaded by Boko Haram has swallowed up whole states. ISWAP is no longer a distant threat; it is well organized, armed and expanding. The military bleeds in silence, with over 100 soldiers and 200 civilians lost in the past few months alone. Kidnappers no longer hide to operate, but now openly issue press statements. Terrorists now record documentaries with unveiled faces and release them to a now unshockable nation. And the people? They first hide and then vanish without a whimper.

The violence is not merely physical. It is also economic, mental, psychological and moral. A very tiny few elite cling tightly to obscene ill-gotten national wealth while the vast majority of the masses drown in scarcity and abject penury. The elite fly over the carnage in private jets while farmers are beheaded on their fields. Political leaders promise reforms, yet live like royalty. It is no longer corruption; it is organized looting and grand larceny; no longer negligence; but sanctioned abandonment.

To live in Nigeria today is to live in a state of controlled decay and fear. It is to watch one’s rights eroded, not by dictatorships, but by the very structures that were meant to defend them. The right to life, to dignity, to security, to housing and to economic survival are no longer guaranteed. They are gambles. And for many, losing that gamble means death.

This is not the collapse of a system. It is the system itself. A system in which the powerful eat fat on the prayers of the desperate: where State budgets are shamelessly padded while emergency relief is rationed; where public office is longer service but harvest. Political leaders offer cheap speeches. But speeches alone do not stop bullets. Promises alone cannot feed the hungry. Press conferences do not resurrect the dead. Let this not be mistaken: Nigeria is not at peace. It is at war. A war waged not by foreign powers, but by a silent alliance of apathy, greed, corruption and neglect. And in this war, the casualty is not merely the body, it is the very soul of the Nigerian people. (To be continued).

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe” – Frederick Douglass.