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Judiciary

Justice for all critical to national security, says Supreme Court Judge

Justice for all critical to national security, says Supreme Court Judge
By Mohammed Lawal
Justice
Zaria (Kaduna State), Dec. 12, 2018 (NAN) Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, says justice for all is a critical element for national peace and security.
He made this known to newsmen shortly after declaring open the 19th Annual Judges’ Conference at Kongo Campus of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Kaduna State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the conference is: “Application of Islamic Financial Legislation in the Nigerian Judicial System: Challenges and Prospects”.
NAN also reports that the two-day conference was organised by the Centre for Islamic Legal Studies (CILS), ABU, in collaboration with National Judicial Council (NJC), Abuja.
Muhammad said: “The best path to ensure peace, stability and security of the nation is for judges to ensure justice for all irrespective of status or any other thing.
“As judges we must do everything possible to do justice between people, we must do what we are employed to do, if not we have broken our oath taken that we will be just in delivering judgment especially in Islamic Sharia law.”
On judges that take advantage of their position to harm one party in a case, the Supreme Court Judge advised those who felt cheated to report to the higher authorities for necessary action.
“We have several authorities in the judiciary whom if such a case is reported to, will definitely give orders for investigation.
“Any judge found guilty of such offence will be dealt with accordingly, if the gravity of his offence is big enough to be sacked, the judiciary will not hesitate to sack or demote him depending on the level of the offence.
“Therefore, it is not an excuse for somebody to keep mute while he is cheated in a court of law; if you feel you are cheated and you keep quite, you have cheated yourself,” he said.
Earlier in the conference, the Supreme Court Judge stressed the need for more collaborative input between CILS and NJI to enhance justice dispensation in Sharia and Area Courts, and the Nigerian Judiciary at large.
He said the theme of the conference was not only topical but also timely and suitable in view of the fact that it would allow discussion of nature and constraints of judicial proceedings involving matters relating to Islamic banking and finance.
The ABU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibrahim Garba, described the occasion as the best place that provides solutions to issues affecting the judicial system especially in Islamic Sharia.
Garba, who was represented by the Director, Institute of Administration, ABU, Prof. Ibrahim Aliyu, expressed satisfaction that the Islamic Financial System was gradually gaining ground in Nigeria.
He said the establishment and growth of JAIZ Bank had clearly demonstrated the success of Islamic Financial System, noting that the conventional banks, such as Stanbic IBTC and Sterling bank, were also operating a unit of interest-free banking system.
The Director, CILS, Prof. Muhammad Usman, lamented that there was no statutory framework for Islamic non-interest based financial transaction in Nigeria except for the guidelines drawn by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) For Non-Interest Financial Institutions.
“Another gap in the area is that of jurisdiction of courts to sit over conflicts relating to Islamic financial issues. Are the Sharia Courts empowered to do so? Are the Sharia Court Judges sufficiently educated to adjudicate over such matters?
“Are the Conventional Courts such as the High Court or the Federal High Court empowered to sit over such cases? If the answer is in the affirmative, are there competent judges to satisfactorily serve justice in the light of the objectives of Sharia?” Usman asked. (NAN)
KLM/CHOM/MST
Edited by Chioma Ugboma/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Judiciary

S/Court discharges, acquits man convicted of murder at age 12

S/Court discharges, acquits man convicted of murder at age 12
By Martins Odeh
Acquittal
Abuja, July 13, 2018 (NAN) The Supreme Court on Friday discharged and acquitted Yusuf Musa who was convicted of murder at the age of 12.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ejembi Eko held that the appeal had merit.
Eko, who read the lead judgment prepared by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, said both the Jigawa High Court and the Court of Appeal Kaduna, should have handled the matter better than they did.
According to him, no legal precedence supports the decision of the court of appeal which orders the detention of the appellant at the pleasure of the state governor.
He also said sufficient evidence was not adduced to warrant the conviction and sentencing of a minor to death by hanging.
According to him, the court of appeal had done well to have dismissed the death sentence but was wrong to have ordered the indefinite detention of the appellant.
“The appeal is meritorious and, therefore, the appellant is discharged and acquitted,’’ the judge said.
The appeal was against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, delivered on June 27, 2014.
The lower court had ordered that the appellant remained in detention at the state governor’s pleasure as the appellant was 12 years at the time of his conviction and sentence by the trial court.
The appellant was arraigned before Justice Ubale Taura for the offence of culpable homicide punishable with death under Section 221 (b) of the Penal Code applicable to the state.
The trial court however activated the full wrath of the law by convicting and sentencing the appellant to death by hanging on Dec. 23, 2008.
The court of appeal however partially upheld the judgment of the trial court by dismissing the death sentence passed on the appellant and ordering his indefinite detention by the governor.
The appellant was accused of doing an illegal act by hitting one Muhammed Hamza on the head and other parts of the body with a stick which led to his death.
Musa (appellant) had however pleaded not guilty to the charges as according to him, his action against the deceased was a self defence and not with intention to kill him.
The appellant had asked the court to determine whether the lower court evaluated the evidence and defence of provocation raised in his extra-judicial statement before affirming the decision of the trial court.
He also asked the court to determine whether from the facts and circumstance of his case the lower court was right in ordering that a minor be detained in prison at the pleasure of the governor.
Mr Damian Dodo (SAN), Counsel to the appellant, argued that culpable homicide was not punishable with death if the offender’s action was triggered by clear provocation.
He further argued that the trial judge and the justices of the appeal court did not properly consider the issue of provocation as provided in Section 222 (1) of the penal code.
Dodo had also submitted that there were material contradictions in the inadmissible evidence of the prosecution witnesses.
Mr Musa Imam, the Prosecutor, on his part, submitted that the defence of provocation could not be hung on the air without supporting evidence.
Imam argued that such defence could not also be built on scanty foundations as done by the appellant.
He submitted that it was the duty of the accused person to adduce credible or positive evidence to support the alleged provocation.
“Where the accused person fails to adduce evidence in support of his defence, as in the present case, the trial court has to rely on the evidence before it adduced by the prosecution,’’ he said.
He said the appellant did not raise any defence of provocation at the trial court, adding that the trial judge “suo moto’’ raised it for him.
He further submitted that the judge went ahead to consider and evaluate same and found out that it could not avail the appellant.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the appellant had in a deposition claimed that he only used a stick meant for the rearing of his father’s cattle to safeguard his life.
He said the deceased, also a cattle rarer, had vigorously hit him multiple times with a similar stick to avenge for a fight he (Musa) had with his younger brother the previous day. (NAN)
OMO/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Judiciary

S/Court orders no re-trial of N25.7bn fraud case involving Atuche, wife

S/Court orders no re-trial of N25.7bn fraud case involving Atuche, wife
NAN-H-10
Order
By Martins Odeh
Abuja, Sept. 27, 2017 (NAN) The Supreme Court on Wednesday made an order against re-assigning the N25.7 billion fraud trial of former Managing Director of Bank PHB Plc (now Keystone Bank), Francis Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth.
In a unanimous ruling, Justice Ejembi Eko held that the September 2016 order of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, directing the Chief Judge of Lagos State to re-assign the case to a new judge remained nullified.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had approached the apex court to challenge the decision of the court of appeal.
Eko said the court of appeal did not give any reason for directing the re-assignment of the case to a new judge, adding that the lower court decision did not serve the interest of justice.
“The order was a contentious one. It requires the lower court, in making the order, to give reasons for the order.
“Transferring the case to a new judge would have required that it starts de novo (afresh),’’ he said.
Eko held that the order of the Court of Appeal was “perverse”.
“Neither Justice Lawal-Akapo nor Justice Okunnu was accused of any wrongdoing by the parties to the case to warrant the transfer of the case to a new judge entirely,’’ Eko said.
The Judge noted that considering that the case had almost reached the level of exchanging final addresses the court of appeal ought to have ordered Justice Okunnu to continue with the case.
Eko went on to direct Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the Lagos State High Court, before whom the prosecution had closed its case with 18 witnesses to continue in the handling of the case.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the defendants had also opened their defence by inviting eight witnesses to testify.
The EFCC had in 2011 arraigned the Managing Director of the bank, Atuche, his wife and the erstwhile Financial Officer of the defunct PHB Plc, Ugo Anyanwu, before Justice Okunnu.
The defendants were accused of defrauding the bank of N25.7 billion.
NAN recalls that the case had been stalled since July 2014, when the court of appeal, Lagos, ordered the re-assignment of the case to Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, instead of Justice Okunnu who was assigned the matter since 2011.
NAN reports that Justice Dattijo Muhammad had led the five-man panel that also included Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Justice John Okoro and Justice Paul Galinje. (NAN)
OMO/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

Audio Attached: Law practitioner advocates overhaul of Nigeria’s judicial appeal system

NAN-H-66

Appeal

By Magdalene Ukuedojor

Abuja, March 22, 2017 (NAN) Mr Edward Ubon, a legal practitioner, has called for the overhaul of the country’s judicial appeal system toward speeding up the dispensation of justice.

 

Ubon told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that in overhauling the appeal system, a time frame for concluding cases should be set.

 

Cue in audio (Ubon)

 

“I would want to see a complete overhaul of the appeal system because at the moment, the appeal system does not speed up the dispensation of justice in a sense.

 

“You realise that some appeals take longer periods for you to get at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

 

“You (also) realise that at times even the appellants pass on and then the heirs would have to inherit some of the cases.

 

“So I would like to see a system where there is a time frame within which to hear the appeal and then hopefully that would also motivate the lawyers to be prompt in the way and manner within which they approach the system.’’

 

Cue out audio

 

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that many lawyers and litigants have made numerous calls on the judiciary to set a time frame for cases to avoid delays in the delivery of justice across the country.

 

They decried a situation where some cases have taken a decade or more to be concluded. (NAN)

MUK/ORD/HAS/YEE

Edited by Hajia Sani/Emmanuel Yashim

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