Mallam Yusuf Olaolu Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), bares his mind on the myriad of challenges confronting the country, including politics, the economy and pervasive insecurity.
What do you think is wrong with our political system in Nigeria that we haven’t got right all this while?
Money is also set aside for those who will conduct and supervise election. If we want to make progress in this country, we must be truthful. And I give you an example. If a man has four buildings and he sold three because he wants to contest for an office, if he wins, the first thing he would do is to recoup his investment, and that’s what happens in this country. People sell property, mortgage assets to get to political office.
So, if they get there, it is almost a foregone conclusion… or even if they don’t sell their own personal things, others sell their things to sponsor them to get there, and who pays the piper dictates the tune. I do not see how a man will invest millions or billions on your election and you stand and say it means nothing.
So, once you come from such a compromised position, no matter the ideals, no matter your principles, it is three quarters gone. We must find a way of getting back to the politics of the past. In the First Republic in this country and I was old enough to know, members of political parties had contribution cards.
Whenever you attended the meetings of your party in your ward, you pay money. And that was the payment that sustained your name on the party’s register. Once you are not a member that was paying his dues, your name would be struck off from the register of the political parties.
Owners of parties
But we now have owners of parties in Nigeria, and you can identify them. And any party that is not owned by an individual, it is a conglomerate of individuals that owns it. All the parties that collapsed and became one, they had their own financiers differently. And my argument is simple: You can’t produce a clean government from a murky political environment. It is either you sold your own things to get into power or others sold their things to assist you to get to power. If you get there, you have to pay back one way or the other.
You either pay back in cash or in kind. And if you want to pay back in kind, it gives rise to nepotism, cronyism, which is a form of corruption. If people get positions or entitlements for which ordinarily they are not entitled by law, what are we talking about? So, I think there must be proper reformation of political parties. I know that in the Electoral Act, there is a provision that political parties should not spend more than some amount in an election, but INEC is too weak to enforce that provision.
All the money that is spent at different congresses and conventions, nobody puts it in any account. So, in a money economy like we have, where there is too much money outside of the monetary system, not even the Central Bank can keep tab of how much money is in circulation. And not only that, there are offences created by the Electoral Act.
I do not believe we need a special tribunal to try electoral offenders, no. We are creating too many things when the ones that exist are not being properly funded. We just need the political will to apprehend offenders. Getting things right starts from apprehending those who committed electoral offences.
How many people have ever been arrested for electoral offences and what happened to them? So, even if you create a court for electoral offenders, they would have to be brought there first before they would be tried. So, if there are no offenders brought, who do you try? That is where to start. We must first of all ensure that those who committed electoral offences are apprehended and they are brought to justice.
Issues ahead of 2019
I believe that we must look at all these issues as we approach 2019: How we reduce the monetization of our electoral process, starting from within the political parties up to time of elections. I think that is a serious challenge. I’m not a pessimist but I don’t see a bright future in the implementation of some of these suggestions, at least not in this immediate foreseeable future.
If INEC is empowered to check the funding of political parties and it is not doing its work, are there any options available in the system?
I don’t think INEC is equipped sufficiently to do it. I’m not sure of any system in place, to track what incomes the parties are generating, to track what they spend when they are having their meetings and congresses. We must, first of all, know the quantum of what is spent before you know whether it is in excess or under. I don’t think there is any machinery in place to know the amount political parties or the godfathers are spending.
For INEC to do that, it must be independent not only in terms of the law but also in terms of the personnel, the character of the people who work there; and the same thing goes with the issue of fighting of corruption. Once you put men of character in strategic places to do these things, you will achieve result. I don’t think law is the problem we have; it is the implementation of what we have. There is no offence in the world that is not penalised in our laws. I have tried to check, I can’t see any.
But what is the level of implementation of those laws, and that is where you have people of character and then you talk of strong institutions, not strong men; institutions that can withstand the vagaries of politics and political manipulations, institutions that can stand firm even in the face of those who appointed the heads, institutions where Nigeria will come first, not elected officials coming first, institutions that hold their existence to the people, that know that tomorrow, there would be a day of account.
America is not a super country. It is because they have strong institutions. In spite of the fact that (Donald) Trump had won an election, they continue with the probe of Russia meddling in the election of 2016. I can imagine that if it were to be this country, people would say why are you troubling them since they have won the election? But they are doing that because their institutions are strong. Until we build strong institutions in Nigeria, we will just be dancing round.
Since the 2019 elections are around the corner, don’t you think it is time a bill is sponsored at the National Assembly to curtail this pervasive money politics in the country?
It is the willpower that we need. You can make the law, human beings, by nature, look for loopholes in things. It is everywhere in the world. Why our own situation is dire, and very serious, is because there is no willpower to enforce the laws, and because there are no consequences where there are infractions. In other countries, people know that there are consequences and they are careful. But here, it appears impunity is part of our system, and few people who say things must be done properly are called names or sometimes be hounded and forced to recapitulate.
We deify human beings here. The ideal thing is, don’t be abusive, be respectful but you can criticise people. But criticising people in power here is a very dangerous venture. It doesn’t matter whether they are civilian or anything, because people tend to think that those who are in power can never go wrong. For those who take positions, for example in most places in our country even at the national level, the government would do an N250million project and, to declare it open, you will spend almost the same amount, because of the funfair that would attend it. Quite frankly, I think Nigeria is a country of jokers, by jokers, for jokers.
Are we there yet in terms of democracy in Nigeria?
Let me say that America is not even there yet. That is why, after 2016, they are still talking about meddling in their own election. It is a process. Democracy is not a cut and dry thing. It is like a newborn baby, there are stages of development. When you give birth to a baby, he has to be taught how to suck the breast. From there, you try to introduce some external things. He later learns to sit down, crawl and walk. That is a human being. That does not mean we are re-inventing the wave. It doesn’t mean that we have to start where America started. Because we already have a template, it is just for us to get it right and, of course, adapt it to our peculiarity as a people. I think that is the issue.
A former Defence Minister, General Danjuma, alleged military complicity in the conflict between farmers and herdsmen. Looking at the quantum of recent killings, do you think the position of the general is justified?
Nigeria and Nigerians will be making a big mistake if Danjuma, given his vantage position in this country, makes that kind of allegation and we think he has said nothing. In Nigeria, we are very dismissive of anything we don’t like. Transparency International has said that you have gone down on corruption index, we dismissed it. Danjuma has been on the military landscape since 1967. He rose to become the Chief of the Army Staff; he was our Defence Minister and retired as a full general in the army.
If such a man sees something that has to do with security, in other places, people will take it serious. I’m not saying what he said was right or wrong, because I have no means of knowing. But the fact that we keep on having heightened security challenges should tell us you cannot be doing the same thing in the old way and expect a new result. It wouldn’t happen.
I think there is need for us to go back to the drawing board and look at the totality of our security architecture, both the human and material, and even the psychological part of it. Because we are easily fixated, we jump to conclusions about very complex issues when we have not done proper investigation. What I said the other time that when you criticize people in government, you run a lot of risk, see even what is happening to Danjuma, he has now become the butt of abuses, left, right and centre, and that is because of his stature. If it had been a lesser mortal, if gold rusts, only God can save lesser metals. I think it speaks volumes.
Nigeria was recently rated as the poorest state by Broken Pot despite the on-going war against corruption. What do you make of this?
That is why I once said that recession only went off the Central Bank books; it is still living with Nigerians. For an average Nigerian who lives on his or her sweat, he or she would tell you that things are difficult economically. I have heard instances of law firms downsizing even in Abuja, because of the economic condition. For those of us who grew up around here and in other places, if you know Ilorin well, this Ajase-Ipo Road was an industrial hub. In Ibadan, it is the same. So, I think there is poverty in the land except we deceive ourselves.
A Federal High Court in Abuja granted a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (ret.), bail. This is the sixth time such a bail will be granted but the Department of State Service has continued to keep him in detention. Is Nigeria not aware of the danger of not obeying a court order?
What is your message to political players as we prepare for the 2019 general elections?
Let all politicians know that power is a trust from God and that there would always be a day of account. To us the ordinary people, let us stop selling our franchise because once you sell your vote, you don’t have the moral right to challenge those who get elected if they perform less than expected. But once you vote according to your conscience, whoever emerges the winner, you can challenge and hold him or her accountable for your vote.
So, once you sell your vote, you lose your moral voice, and it is very important that we are able to keep our moral voices. Not only for us but generation yet unborn, because when you sell your votes, you are selling the votes of your children and you are helping to destroy the country. I believe it is important for us, the leader and the led, let’s play by the rules.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mallam Yusuf Ali, said the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate in last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, Prof. Kolapo Olusola, has asked him to lead his legal team to challenge the victory of Governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the election tribunal.
Olusola, who lost the election to Fayemi, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, according to the results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, has vowed to challenge the poll outcome.
Fayemi, a former governor of the state, defeated Olusola in 12 out of the 16 local government areas of the state, polling 197,459 votes while Olusola scored 178,121 votes.
Ali told COLOSSUS GISTS on Friday that he had accepted to lead other senior lawyers to reclaim Olusola’s mandate.
The senior advocate however said he would need to discuss details of the brief with his client to know the grounds upon which the candidate was contesting the poll results.
Ali added that he would not be able to give an accurate figure of other lawyers that would join him in the legal battle against the APC candidate.
He said,
“I have just been contacted to represent the PDP (at the tribunal). The (legal) team is just being put together; so, I don’t know the number of SANs and other lawyers that will work with me yet because it is the client that will determine who they want to bring on board.
“On the grounds of the petition, I was just briefed (to take up the matter); we would need to engage in further discussions before I will know exactly what is involved.”
Tribunal constituted before election –A’court
Meanwhile, the three-man panel for the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has been set up to sit on the disputes arising from the July 14 governorship election in the state, COLOSSUS GISTS learnt.
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, is empowered to constitute the election petitions tribunals for governorship as well as for state and National Assembly elections.
The Head, Media and Publicity Unit of the Court of Appeal, Mrs. Sa’adatu Musa, responding to an inquiry by COLOSSUS GISTS on Saturday, said the tribunal for the Ekiti State governorship election was constituted two weeks before the election held on July 14.
“The Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal was set up two weeks before the election,” Musa said in a text message in response to one of our correspondents’ enquiry.
Section 133 (3)(a) of the Electoral Act provides that the tribunal “shall be constituted not later than 14 days before the election.”
The registry of the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal was said to have been opened in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, one week after it was constituted.
By virtue of Section 134(1) of the law, an election petition to challenge the validity of an election must be filed within 21 days after the date of the declaration of results.
“An election petition shall be filed within 21 days after the date of the declaration of results of the elections,” the law states.
With the result of the election declared one week ago, it implies that aggrieved persons have only two weeks left within which to file their petitions before the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the poll.
Section 134(2) of the Electoral Act provides that “an election tribunal shall deliver its judgment in writing within 180 days from the date of the filing of the petition.”
Olusola had, on Sunday, alleged that he was robbed of victory in an election he claimed to have received over 70 per cent of the votes, having won in almost all the 16 local government areas in the state.
At a press conference after INEC declared Fayemi the winner on Sunday, the PDP candidate, who is the deputy governor of the state, alleged that security agencies threw all caution to the wind by taking sides with the APC and Fayemi.
He accused security agencies of not only supporting but also supervising the indiscriminate arrest of PDP leaders and agents while also harassing voters on a massive scale, especially in Ado Ekiti, Ikere and other places.
He equally alleged that security agencies gave tacit and active cover for thugs imported into Ekiti by the APC to snatch ballot boxes, create confusion, cause mayhem, and drive away voters in PDP strongholds.
“INEC, on its own part, reneged on its promise to have results counted, declared and pasted on the wall of each polling station. There was nowhere INEC transmitted results from the polling centres as earlier promised.
“Ballot boxes were illegally moved to INEC offices while our agents were disallowed from following the process,” he stated.
Source
PUNCH
The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the national legal adviser, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Barrister Babatunde Ogala respectively, have been warned against the huge legal implications of the planned fresh congresses in the Imo State chapter, which is scheduled to start this Friday.
In a letter addressed to the party’s national chairman by K. C. Nwufo (SAN) on behalf of APC’s stakeholders in the state, he warned that it would be "contentious of the court for any congress to be held in Imo State, let alone appointing any caretaker committee during the pendency of a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction pending the determination of the appeal against the judgement in suit no. FHC/OW/CS/69/2018.’’Relaying on the judgement of the Federal High Court, sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital, dated July 6, 2018, which ordered fresh congresses in Imo State chapter of the party, the national secretariat of APC had scheduled to commence the congress tomorrow.
But informing the party of the pendency of appeal against the judgement, Barrister Nwufo (SAN) informed the national leadership of APC that it is a settled matter by the Supreme Court that
"after the defendant has been notified of the pendency of a matter seeking an injunction, even though a temporary injunction be not granted, he acts at his peril and subject to the power of court to restore the status wholly irrespective of the merits as they may be ultimately decided.’’
The senior lawyer further explained that once a suit seeking an injunction is pending in court, anybody who acts contrary to it is doing so at his own peril, as he is liable to be committed to prison for contempt of court.
"Since we believe that we are in a democratic dispensation, we shall allow the rule of law to prevail. For the rule of law to prevail, we must not take the laws into our hands’’, the SAN warned.
"In a civilized society, such as Nigeria, once a matter is pending before a court, parties should stay further extra-judicial actions and allow the sacred wisdom that flows from the temple of justice to guide their conducts.’’
Similarly, in a letter dated July 18, 2018 by a law firm, Ahmed Raji & Co on behalf of the Imo State Chairman of APC, Chief Hilary Eke, the national chairman of the party was also informed of the pending appeals and motion for stay of execution in the same suit.
The letter signed by Ahmed Raji (SAN) on behalf of the law firm, averred that in the recent congresses of APC in Imo State, Chief Eke and those he represents were elected as party officers in different capacities at the local government areas and state levels.
He added,
“The said election was recognised and accepted by the party. However, certain aggrieved members of the party instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Owerri Judicial Division (suit No. FHC/OW/CS/69/2018) to challenge the election, on the primary ground that it was inconclusive.’’
The SAN further argued that while the court agreed with the plaintiffs, Chief Eke and other officers of the state chapter of APC, had lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal in a bid to challenge the judgement of the Federal High Court.
He added that a motion for stay of execution of the said judgement was also filed to ensure parties remain at status quo, pending the determination of the appeal, and until the motion for stay of execution.
On his part, the immediate National Organising Secretary of APC, Senator Osita Izunaso through his lawyer, Chief Soronnadi A. Njoku, in a letter dated July 17, 2018, also informed the National Legal Adviser of the party about the pendency of motion for injunction pending appeal in the same suit.
He equally advised the party to respect the judicial process by not taking any step whatsoever in respect of the subject matter of the said suit until the matter is fully and final resolved by the court.
Ace lawyer and leader of the National Intervention Movement (NIM) Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Thursday said that Pesident Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet has failed and should be disbanded.
The former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President accused President of Buhari of “sleeping on the job”, urging him to take it more “seriously”.
Among Buhari;s cabinet are: Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister and Transportation and among others.
Agbakoba, at a briefing in Lagos on NIM’s objectives, said the movement aims to mobilise Nigerians to hold government accountable at all levels.
He said, “We want government to work for Nigerians. Presently, it does not. President Buhari needs to take his job seriously. He is sleeping on the job. He needs to sack his entire cabinet because they have failed.
“Why for instance has nobody been fired for Mainagate? What is government’s plan for unemployment? Seventy per cent of our young people are unemployed. It is alarming! What is the Federal Government’s plan for power?
“Should the privatization process be reversed? Why is our bidding and procurement processes failing? Why is government still appropriating billions of naira for turnaround maintenance of dead refineries?,” Agbakoba said.
According to him, governors must deploy resources efficiently at the state level.
He cited instances of Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode who he said “is fixing federal roads when Lagos State roads are deplorable;” and Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha who Agbakoba said “is erecting statues of all kinds of people when Imo State owes pensioners.”
He said Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose “is making Christmas clothes for children but has not paid Ekiti workers”; adding that his Rivers State counterpart Nyesom Wike “is using state money to buy SUVS for members of the National Assembly”.
“Is it not a scandal that oil producing states like Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Delta etc owe salaries?” Agbokoba said.
The Senior Advocate said NIM’s mission “in the long run” is to wrest power from the political elite.
“We believe strongly that the way forward is for civil society (including the media) to wrest power from this ruling political elite to achieve a new system that is inclusive and works for all and not a few,” Agbakoba said.
To him, more is expected of the judiciary. He said: “How come corruption cases involving politicians never terminate in our courts? Governors accused of corruption after office get judicial immunity? Politicians charged with corruption present themselves for public office in every election circle. Some are senators making laws for the country.”
According to Agbakoba, it was unfortunate that a country that produces crude oil cannot refine it. He said queues were returning due to fuel scarcity when “dead” refineries ought to have been “sold a long time ago”.
“We need to ask simple questions. If APC promised us ABCD, how many have they fulfilled? How many ministers are actually competent to deliver on their ministries? For instance, the good friend of mine Dr. Kayode Fayemi has no competence to be Minister of Mines because that’s not his background.
“What is the competence of another good friend, a nice chap and a successful man, Udo Udoma (SAN), to be the Minister of Budget when he is a lawyer? So, the President should be called upon to dismantle his cabinet and pick the right people because the best guys are not there.
“The President needs to either say: ‘I’m tired’ or get rid of people who have no competence. Another good friend Geoffrey Onyeama is an intellectual property lawyer. He has no competence to be a foreign minister, but he’s there. The Federal Cabinet lacks competence and that’s what’s causing our problem.”
“We want a functioning democracy where political office holders are accountable to the people, public institutions are strong and there is the rule of law,” he said.
According to him, the APC and PDP lack ideologies, which he said was why Nigerians “are in a sorry situation.”
“We live a failed state, and unless we articulate the elements of this failure, we’ll continue to fail. Governor Ambode says he runs the fourth or fifth largest economy in Africa. But we’re all in Lagos. This is a completely broken city and in the index of the harshest cities to live in the world, it’s third from last. We need to look at what the states are doing.
“Look at the joker in Imo – Ministry of Happiness. And we’re there, saying nothing, and this people are screwing us. How come we have about 11 governors facing trial sitting as Senators and EFCC says they’re doing a fantastic job? And they transfer it to the judiciary, which I think also has a part of the blame.
“This is a government that says: ‘We’re on top of corruption’. But the NNPC is a cesspit of corruption. And Nigerians don’t know that the President cannot be minister of Petroleum Resources!
“We said to ourselves: When will this rut stop? Everybody is in his house grumbling – no jobs, no money, no healthcare. We spoke among ourselves that what is needed is a coherent political movement.
“Look at what #EndSars achieved. It shows you the power the people have. We’re going to use social media to mobilise Nigerians. We want Nigerians to claim ownership of the movement,” Agbakoba said.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof Ilochi Okafor and Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, yesterday disagreed on the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) during the 2017/2018 legal year of the Anambra State judiciary led by Chief Judge of the State, Justice Peter Umeadi.
Umeadi in his remarks assured members of the judiciary in the state of a better working condition.
But, Obiano through his Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Anali Chude, described the Indigenous People of Biafra as enemies of the state for calling for a boycott of the November 18 poll in the state, while Prof Ilochi Okafor SAN) said the secessionists group had the right in law for agitation.
Gov Obiano urged the people to go out en emasse on November 18 to exercise their franchise without fear of any molestation.
He said, “Enemies of the state wanted to take the advantage to plunge Anambra State into chaos by directing that elections will not hold in Anambra State.
“It is the stand of the state government that elections must hold in Anambra State. We shall stand up to the occasion and refuse to allow people who do not wish Anambra State well to drag us to a situation whereby we will be turned into the guinea pig in Nigeria polity.”
But, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Prof Okafor, said demonstration towards the realization of the right of self-determination was recognized as fundamental rights in International Law and the United Nations Charter.
He said the military had no role to play in quelling civilian demonstration where the police had not failed.
prof Okafor further said Igbo had faced and lived with pogroms and threats of extermination for 100 years in the country.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Nwobike, on Wednesday told an Ikeja High Court that the N750,000 he gave to Justice Mohammed Yinusa of the Federal High Court was not a bribe but to assist him in settling his mother’s medical bills.
Nwobike said this while testifying in a corruption trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC had filed an 11-count charge against Nwobike for allegedly perverting the course of justice and offering gratification to public officials.
The anti-graft agency alleged that Nwobike offered gratification to some judges of the Federal High Court and National Industrial Court in a bid to influence them to act contrary to their official capacities.
The EFCC also claimed that Nwobike engaged in illegal text messages with four registrars of the Federal High Court in a bid to unduly influence cases he was handling before the judges.
Nwobike, however, denied all the charges.
Nwobike, led by his counsel Mr Olawale Akoni (SAN), said he became a legal practitioner and an arbitrator on Dec. 16, 1992.
“I am a SAN, who was sworn in 2010 for the 2009 set; since I was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1992, I have been in uninterrupted legal practice in Lagos and all over the country.
“My primary duty as a legal practitioner is to respect the court in conduct either in physical appearances or my processes before the court.
“Since I was called to the Nigerian Bar, I have never been a respondent to any form of complaint or been a party to any disciplinary proceeding before anybody constituted for that purpose,” he told the court.
Explaining to the court how he was confronted by the EFCC and the reasons for giving the judge N750,000, Nwobike said: “I recollect that I did a few cases against the EFCC.
“On a particular day, I came back from court and received a phone call from a fellow who described himself an official of the EFCC.
“He introduced himself as Mr Zakari and I recollected that in the past, I had cross-examined him in a case involving my client and the EFCC.
“He (Zakari) said I should come to his office to clarify an issue. I went to the EFCC thinking that the issue has to do with my client and the EFCC.
“Thirty minutes after I arrived at the EFCC office and met him, he showed me a document which I found out was a UBA statement of account of Nwobike and Co.
“He showed me an entry where there was a transfer of the sum of N750,000 from the account of Joseph Nwobike and Co. to the bank account of Justice Mohammed Yinusa.
“Zakari requested that I put in writing the reasons for that transfer.
“In my statement, I said I knew Justice Yinusa for quite a long time back when he was a counsel at the Federal Ministry of Justice and we became friends as lawyers.
“On one occasion, I saw him by chance and he told me that his mother was ill and was undergoing dialysis and he feared that she will die soon and N250,000 was spent daily on her treatment,” he said.
Nwobike added:
“I pitied him not as a judge but because he had been my friend for over 19 years. I told him that I had no money on me but I will send money when I had some money.
“He gave me his account details and we parted.
“When I had some money, in my own signature, I transferred N750,000 only for that purpose.
“I saw him again by chance and he told me that his mother was getting better but I later found out that she died because she could not continue with the dialysis.”
Nwobike denied giving any other sum apart from the N750,000 he gave to Justice Yinusa and denied discussing any of the cases he was handling before the judge with Yinusa.
“As in practice, I do not discuss cases with judges or persons in authority. I do not discuss matters before, during and after they are heard.
“The money I gave the judge was not to make him refrain from acting in his official capacity.”
Justice Raliatu Adebiyi adjourned the case until July 3 for continuation of trial.
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