…Says the judiciary as presently constituted not last hope of common man
By Simeon Mpamugoh
Mr Don Akaegbu is a Lagos-based legal practitioner and election petitions expert. He was the Southwest coordinator of the Peter Obi National Lawyers (PONL) in the last general elections.
In this interview with Sunday Sun, he speaks about the election, unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and making their roles in elections in the country nominal, and the need for reparation by the Federal Government to 15 communities in Plateau State for the killings there, among other issues. Excerpts:
You were part of the legal team of Peter Obi in the 2023 general elections. Could you share some of the experiences with us?
The role I played in the last election in respect of Peter Obi case was in the coordination of lawyers in the Southwest geopolitical zone. I was actually the Southwest Coordinator of Peter Obi National Lawyers (PONL). My job began when Tinubu lawyers filed an action to stop Labour Party’s first rally which was tagged “EndSARS” Memorial. That was when my representation in court for Peter Obi actually started. But after the election itself, I was not able to join them in Abuja as a result of other election petition cases I had in Lagos. There is no doubt, however, that Peter Obi won the February 25 presidential election. I may not be able to provide immediate empirical evidence, but I can state categorically that Peter Obi won the election by landslide. The deficiency with the legal team of Peter Obi was not about what the lawyers did, but what the party itself did. We had many polling units across the country where the Labour Party didn’t have polling agents and everyone knows that there’s what we called Form EC8A, which contained the data of what happened in the election proper. And that can only be given to accredited party agents. In any polling unit where a party does not have a polling agent, the party will not be given form EC8A. So, when you get to the court and you don’t have anything from a polling unit to prosecute your case, the only option open is to apply to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give you Form EC8A and whatever you find in it is what you’ll take because you didn’t have anyone in the polling unit to counter it. So, I’m sincerely not happy with the incompetence exhibited by Labour Party leaders at the national level. In Lagos State, I personally saw many polling units where there were no polling unit agents from Labour Party which was a testament of incompetence of the Labour Party national leadership. I am personally of the humble view that there was no difference between the national and state chairmen of the Labour Party (LP), their All Progressive Congress (APC) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) counterparts.
What informed the opinion?
I observed that a lot of them were LP in the morning, PDP in the afternoon and APC in the night. Without any fear of contradiction, what people are actually calling Labour Party was the Obidient Movement. Labour Party as constituted before the election was a lame duck party, but Peter Obi who happens to be the face of the struggle for liberation found himself in Labour Party as a vehicle to actualize his bold dream. This was the reason it was popularly called Obidient Movement not Labour Party. So, most Labour Party leaders saw it as an opportunity to cash out. They were more interested in the pecuniary gains than doing the right thing. I can say it unequivocally. Had they taken their time, were they minded to win the election, they would have done more by having enough materials to support the legal team. The legal team was practically struggling because Labour Party’s Chairman, Barr. Julius Abure and his co-travellers were more minded to make money than doing the right thing. So, Labour Party won the election as a result of the zeal and effort of the Obidients Movement, but winning the case was a different ballgame.
In recent time Nigeria has been enmeshed in several kinds of killings. The most recent one is Plateau State where 15 communities were destroyed in what many have said was an ethnic cleansing, among others. What do you think about suing the Federal Government for reparation to families who lost their loved ones as a result of Federal Government inability to protect lives and property?
We already have precedent. Reparation in simplest explanation is to make amends, to repair what has been spoilt. We had precedent somewhere in Odi, a predominantly Ijaw community in Kokokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of Bayesa State. The attack was carried out on November 20, 1999 by the Nigerian Armed Forces under Olusegun Obasanjo as president. The community eventually went to court against the Federal Government for the massive killings in that community and I think the Federal Government paid some form of compensation. In the case of Tudun Biri Village of Kaduna’s Igabi council area where Nigerian military drone attacked and killed 85 civilians in error, they were already headed for court, but it appeared they were kind of placated. They were given some money. So, the answer to your question is yes. The Federal Government can be sued to make amends. The 15 communities in Plateau State can jointly or independently file an action against the Federal Government. Some of these things can either be resolved through litigation or out of court. But as per reparation they are entitled to it for the evil. But how long will it go? I’m of the humble opinion that except there is a reprisal from the community, as some persons are beginning to talk about the rights of Nigerians to bear arms except bandits and Boko Haram, they begin to face stiff opposition from the community, they begin to have reprisals, they will continue. The reason they will continue is because I personally believe that people in government are complicit to banditry. It has become a lucrative and money-making venture. If people in government are not involved, the AK47 and other sophisticated weapons they carry; how did they get them? If you see these guys, rustic-looking guys bearing arms worth several millions of Naira, you’ll know that they didn’t send themselves. And if you interview some persons who were once kidnapped, they will tell you the story better. Some kidnappers had once confessed that those in government sent them. So, no matter the amount of money you spend purchasing arms, the end is not in sight until they begin to face stiff opposition and reprisals from the Nigerian people. Ordinarily, someone may see reprisal as an invitation to anarchy, but regrettably, we would continue to experience it because they are killing people and at the same time making money. Kidnapping is a lucrative business for those who are involved in it. It is a money-making venture. The Plateau episode is akin to ethnic cleansing. And if you don’t look inward, you would not know why people will rise up and start killing people. It’s more than meets the eye.
Respect for human rights in Nigeria has been at a low ebb from post independence to date. What is your impression about it?
Human rights in Nigeria is something that is academic. What I mean is that there is no political will, no intention whatsoever to uphold it. That was why people like Fela Anikulapo Kuti sang: “Animal wan dash us human rights.” Our type of human rights is something our leaders think they are doing us a favour. Human rights in its purest definition starts from God. For instance, rights to life. It is not government that should give me rights to life. Government’s duty is to protect the rights to life. And that is why it is called human rights. Let me give you a perspective. In Nigeria, the dehumanization of the Nigerian people is deliberate in the sense that there is no way a man who is striving to survive can challenge his taskmaster. Almost all Nigerians are contending with daily bread. And the poorer they become, the more powerful their rulers – not leaders, become. It is like Machiavellian principle. So, what type of human rights protection do you think a government like APC will give to empower the citizens? An average Nigerian has a mental challenge resulting from hunger, rent, school fees and food. Is that the type of person that would be challenging government for human rights? There is not going to be any meaningful protection in Nigeria by her rulers. If you travel to America or Canada, an average human being will pick up his phone, call the police and police will arrive in record time, but here in Nigeria, it is like the dog that eats the bone that has been given to him to protect, the vampire that devours the baby he is supposed to protect or take care of. Those who have been regular visitors to our police stations or our roads will be aware of this.They said we don’t have sufficient number of police officers, yet almost all of them who have no business being on the road are on our roads. And rather than looking for the hideout of armed robbers and criminals, everyone is looking for money. And when he (police officer) doesn’t find any violator, everybody becomes a violator, everybody is netting it off from somewhere. The allegation is that those police officers in hierarchy eat the money. The lower police rank and file are netting it off by extorting and dehumanizing Nigerians. At each junction of the road, they must find a reason to ask the danfo driver to park and every money he has made for the day will be collected from him before he is left of the hook. As a result of which he would not be able to deliver to the owner of the vehicle. If he is on a hire purchase, the vehicle will be recovered from him and he’ll begin to think how to go into armed robbery, join cult group or become a street urchin who also joined the extortion chain. The truth remains that there is no end in sight of the dehumanization of Nigerians, no political will, and no demonstrable intention by our rulers to protect our human rights.
It has been said for umpteenth time that the judiciary is the hope of the common man. With what happened during the last election where our judiciary was ridiculed with a hashtag “AllEyesOnJudiciary” due to the kind of judgements we experienced in the election year. What danger does this portend for democracy and our people?
Obviously everybody knows that the judiciary as presently constituted cannot be rightly defined as the last hope of the common man. And this has given rise to a lot of alarms being raised everywhere. Even skitmakers are coming up with videos on that while movies are hitting the cinema with what is happening to our judicial system. Our judiciary is gradually becoming a cash and carry centre to the extent that you are no longer going to be sure of winning a case just because you think you have a good case or the law is on your side. There is no need to shy away from this development because we are in the system. An average Nigerian knows that our justice administration system has nosedived. Today, people are more concerned about the money they want to give to a judge than the one they want to pay lawyers to defend their cases. We have had clients who tell us in our chamber that they don’t have money yet when the trial is drawing to a close, they start troubling us about finding a way to reach the judge. I personally tell them, “well I don’t know how to reach the judge. I have done my best.” The client(s) will respond: “You are an intelligent lawyer. We can see you have done your best. But Barrister I’m telling you if we don’t see the judge, we are going to lose this case.” And they will indeed lose the case because of my refusal to meet the judge. So, an average Nigerian is aware of the goingson in our judiciary. They believe that no matter how well grounded and intelligent a lawyer is, he must have one on one discussion with a judge to win a case, but not until you have paid for the judgment. This is not just my views. An average Nigerian knows and we cannot be shying away from the reality of the time.
What are your thoughts on the configuration of our judicial system?
To answer that question I want to ask: Why should the Attorney General be Minister of Justice? Why should the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) be the head of National Judicial Council (NJC)? And at the same time approbates and reprobates. What is actually the role of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria (NHRC)? The commission is working like the Attorney General. It is on the side of the people, yet it is appointed by Mr. President whom he does not want to offend. So, there’s nobody actually defending the people. What has the commission achieved in Nigeria and for the Nigerian people? Nothing. Because It is not going to do anything seriously against its master. So, I am saying that the Attorney General of the Federation is not supposed to be the Minister of Justice. NJC needs to unbundle a lot of things in the system. There is also the hypocrisy of the Nigerian society on the polity. Nigeria is the only country on the planet earth that is practicing the unitary system of government and labelled it federal system of government. I guarantee with the best intention that President Bola Tinubu-led government as presently constituted is not going anywhere. Countries like Canada, United States of America and others who go by the tag of Federal Government, check how they operate, they have regions. Here, we call it states and they are independent. Today, the American Supreme Court wants to look at the judgment that is about to be given by a Supreme Court of a state. Were we not having regional Supreme Court in Nigeria before? The Western Supreme Court. Because that is how a federal system operates. Imo State, for instance, should be in charge of their resources, including their natural resources, and the constitution prescribes what should go to the federal. Here we call it resource control. What we call resource control is simply federalism in a capitalist society. And there will be competition which is the reason New York, a state in the United States of America is the fourth largest economy on earth. In other words, United States is number 1, and the 4th is also a state in the United States of America. Because it is a federal system of government. In a federal system people think outside the box: how do we generate money to run the state? The sharing formula and stealing by governors will never end in Nigeria because we have rulers who don’t think. They are not intelligent and creative. The Federal Government is paying them salaries at the end of every month. The Federal Government will pay the states, the governors will withhold it, they will pay the local governments under the states, the governors will equally withhold it with their left hands. Why then would he think outside the box? Because whether he is brainy or intelligent or not does not matter because money is always coming into the state coffer from the Federal Government. As a result the Federal Government is the owner of the oil and anyother natural resources in the states. Why do you think Kenneth Max Copeland is a very rich man in America? Because he had oil. If it is in Nigeria, that would be impossible. If oil is discovered under your house, they pay you compensation as they like, devalue the house by themselves and you cannot challenge it. Even if you challenge it, you’d fail and your house will be brought down and you build your house somewhere else just because oil is found in your land and that oil belongs to the Federal Government. With the best intention, we would not develop because there is no need to actually think and put our creativity to work in Nigeria. It has become needless to have sense. If you have lived in Northern Nigeria like I have done, there is hardly any state apart from Kano and Kaduna that pay salaries to workers if they don’t collect ‘salary’ from the Federal Government in one month. In fact, they will die of hunger. The states are not viable. Prof Ben Nwabueze died regretting that he was part of the people who put the country into the mess we are in today. What is federalism? Wikipedia defines it as “a mode of government that combines a general government with regional government in a single political system, dividing the powers between the two.” Is that the type of federalism being practiced in Nigeria? The answer is no. And these are the issues we (lawyers) should speak out. We need to file actions against them even though we are not going to win them. Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) had a good attitude towards them. He was always filing actions against them. Let us create awareness, one day Nigerians will revert to them, truth is like moon and sun, it cannot be hidden. When you do a bit of comparative analysis, you will see why with the best intention we can never develop moving in the same direction. Look at the way the present government panders to the desires of the National Assembly. Is that the way we are going to develop? The president gives the National Assembly members whatever they asked for, so that they can allow him have his way. It was the same thing former President Muhammadu Buhari did for eight years, and looted the country blind. The three tiers of government had been the problem of Nigeria and it is time to unbundle them for a true federalism. The lie has become normal that at every point, you hear everyone echoing the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the intellectuals, professors, and the elite. This is laughable.
Let’s also look at the INEC.What do you think about the commission becoming a necessary party to elections in Nigeria?
I will answer the question with an analogy which might sound funny. INEC is an umpire, an official enforcing the rules of the game just like a judge. You sued me and we are in court. And you lose the case and in my appeal I’m suing the umpire, the judge who gave the judgment as a necessary party. The umpire (Judge) now has to come to defend the judgment he gave. Do you think he (Judge) would ever say that the judgment he gave is not good? He would do anything to defend the judgment as long as you have made him a party. Why in the world should INEC be a necessary party in election cases? The commission is an umpire and we are told it is independent. But we have a situation where the commission will do anything, including hiring a senior advocate to come and defend an election it conducted thereby working against one of the parties. Yet it remains an independent umpire. What type of democratic process are we operating in Nigeria? Why is it difficult for us to understand simple English? We say INEC is an independent body and it is in the court as a necessary party saying “yes! Tinubu won the election.” And in order to defend the results, they announced they would do anything, including delaying releasing of results sheet to their victims if you like or the one against whom the votes were counted if you like. Does it sound reasonable and competitive? That the person you claim is independent has never been independent at any point particularly in a society like ours where 99.9 per cent of all political electoral battle ends in court and the “independent umpire,” will come to court. INEC is supposed to be a nominal party if at all. It is either we amend our laws to say that “INEC should not be joined, but obey the judgment of the court.” Because the commission is joined to make them a party to enable them to obey the judgment of the court. It is either we amend our electoral laws to make the commission a purely a nominal party whose submission must be limited to the presentation from the bar of electoral materials in their custody, not the one that will come and file a statement of defence, full blown respondent against the person they were supposed to be independent for. By the time INEC files full blown respondent briefs, with documents to defend themselves, conclude the process by telling the court vehement to dismiss the case of the petitioner with substantial cost, are they still independent? The answer is no! Something is wrong with us and the system we operate, and we must look at it with a view to amending it.
Not-too-young-to-run bill was signed into law during the Buhari-led government. How would you assess the reflection of the law in the 2023 general elections?
The law is principally dead letter law in the sense that it is not something that can be fully enforced. Becoming a young contender in an election had a lot to do with your party and internal mechanism of the various parties. I like the law and today some young people have been able to contest and won. The law is not different from the agitation of women participation in politics. Even if you make a law now, and say “women should participate,” and it is a masculine society, how are you going to enforce it? Can a woman go to court and say; “my party denied me ticket.” If a woman has been allowed to participate in the primary election of her party and they said she didn’t win the ticket, if she goes to court what would she be looking for? There has to be a willingness by our rulers or leaders to hand the baton of leadership to the younger generation. Our electoral system is highly monetized. How much is the form for the Senate? In some parties it N3 million, in others it is N5 million, yet there is “not too young to run,” law. What this means is that the young man who is probably not a millionaire should go and look for N3 million or N5 million to purchase form when this kind of millions are still in the hands of the adults who have overstayed their welcome. So you see that whereas there is a law, there’s no enabling environment for young people to actually participate except some that are lucky to have the money. So, the law is like Greek gifts; giving you something with right hand and collecting it with the left hand. And as long as we continue to deceive ourselves by making the process extremely expensive, young people faith in politics will still be hanging in the balance. Apart from the fact that the process doesn’t allow young people to compete, it is also the bedrock and foundation for corruption in the polity. Imagine somebody who spent millions of Naira contesting election to the point where he has to sell his filing station to get the ticket from primary, go to court to defend his ticket from a fellow party member which we can primary pre-action cases, spent too much money on campaign, bribe INEC, go to court from tribunal to perhaps Supreme Court, as a human being he would like to recoup his investment. And no one should believe it honestly that when he gets to the National Assembly, he will be thinking about his constituents. The truth is that we are not minded to change the country. If we truly want to change the country, we should begin to look at some indices. Why are politicians demonstrating insatiable appetite for corrupt enrichment? Why is the corruption, which leads to inexplicable wealth in Nigeria? An appointee minister who has looked for money to induce senators to confirm him as a minister is not going to go there to work for Nigerian people. He is going there to recoup the money he spent. This is why in the first four years, they are already grappling with the issue of coming back for second term. The whole thing is all about elections. Right now talks about who becomes the next governor of Lagos State is already ongoing, when the incumbent has not worked. How does one expect them to work, when it is all about elections? They will never work.
On a lighter note. You were once a hawker in Idumota who turned out a reputable lawyer today. How did you literarily smash the table?
Yes! I was a hawker. The journey began when I came to Lagos in search of my sister in 1998. There was no mobile phone at that time. When I got to Lagos I couldn’t find her. I stayed put where I found myself which was under the bridge in Idumota, Ojooba in Isale Eko Lagos to be precise, the Third Mainland bridge descending Adeniji Adele. It’s called under the bridge. In that place also harbours destitute and the homeless. it was that place I was living. While I was there I saw myself as one God sent to liberate my family from poverty. Because I was born into a very poor home. And the desire to cause a change was dear to my heart. My intention visiting my sister was to locate her and plead with her to send me to school. Well, it took me four months, around Easter 1998 to locate her house in Mafoluku Oshodi. Unfortunately, my sister told me that in my family and among our kindreds, no one has gone to school. So, I don’t necessarily have to go to school to make money. She suggested I join her husband who was into knock down of old and abandoned vehicle parts which in Igbo language is called “Ngbuka.” I refused to accept the offer and she asked me to leave her house. I went back to Ojooba in Isale Eko Lagos where I commenced my hawking endeavour. I hawked pure water, ice cream, and the major one was puff-puff. While I was hawking, the desire to go to school was still there. As an Igbo man I could have done something else like going to learn trade or apprenticeship and make money, but I was looking beyond just having money to becoming an educated person who has money to liberate my family from poverty. The condition of my family was my waking thought. We were living in a thatched house and people were collecting my father’s farmland because as a poor man, there was nothing he could do. He had no money to go to court. In fact, a lot of people thought that I went to study law to reclaim my father’s property, which is not the case.
As a hawker what was the level of your education then?
I was already armed with my West African School Certificate (WASC) from Niger State, but I had no English. My English was pass. So, when the time came, I picked up General Certificate of Education (GCE) form. I went to Oyingbo to get key points. I had to wake up early in the morning as someone who has no house. The only place we had as a house was a room where more than 20 people hawking puff-puff for one person kept their show- glasses. It was the same place I kept my secondary school notes, which I brought from Niger State. It was my hope for writing GCE. But some smarter puff-puff hawkers, my colleagues in the hawking business, stole them to sell puff-puff, which was my reason for going to Oyingbo to buy key points to prepare for my GCE exam. I wrote the exam principally to make English, but I had to write other papers. I made my papers when the results came out and later picked up JAMB form, wrote the exam with theatre arts as first choice because I love acting. I once acted in UK Bello Art Theatre in Minna. So, when the JAMB results came out I had 198 which I cherished especially for someone who was not reading, and had no roof over his head. When I got to the University of Benin with the results, they told me that the cut off mark for theatre arts was 200. While I was crying and praying, I had God asking me to go for law instead. So, I spoke to one Chibogu who I passed the night in his house, he confirmed what God told me by asking me to go for law. And as a Deeper Lifer, I didn’t know whether it was good for me to go for law. All of a sudden, the desire for law came. The problem was how I was going to go back to Idumota to live outside for another one year waiting for another JAMB exam. But reading through my lips Chibogu said: “If that is the case, there is diploma in law.” He used his money to obtain the form for me and I wrote the exam and passed. I was one of the best students who sat the exam. I was offered admission. But one funny part of it was, as at the time the result came out, I was already doing a job as a car wash attendant opposite IBM near bar beach Victoria Island, Lagos. And I had thought one cannot resume classes except one’s school fees had been paid. I didn’t resume with the intakes and I didn’t attend lectures because I had no money for the school fees. One day as the semester was drawing to a close, and it was very close to exam I began to cry inside one of the cars I was about to wash and the owner of the vehicle saw me and asked what the problem was, I told him. He said: “You don’t have to pay school fees to attend classes. They may not allow you to write exams depending on the policy of the school, but nobody will stop you from attending lecture classes.” Imagine my naivety. That was how I immediately picked up my “Ghana-Must-Go,” bag and headed to school. It was two weeks to the exam. The timetable was already out. It was difficult for me because I didn’t attend the classes. But I have always depended on prayers. So, one night I was praying and asking God to help me to understand what to write as I resort to reading and praying. It was only one course the lecturer came to review in my presence before the exam and that helped me a lot. Law is one course that when you know one, it’s likely going to help you in others because they are inter-related. I wrote the exam without matric number, and I didn’t pay school fees. What I now did throughout my year 1&2 diploma was to be in school for two weeks and back to Idumota to hawk for another two weeks. When I got back to school I collected notebooks and handouts from course mates and photocopied them and by the grace of God I graduated with good result. After one year I was given admission for a degree programme in law. When I returned for my degree programme at 300 level I could no longer be going to Idumota to hawk. I discovered a company in Benin city where we were engaged as students to hawk electric iron, and umbrella with bonanzas. At a point I began to teach in nursery school in Benin city. With determination and resilience I’m a lawyer today and I have taken it a notch up with Masters of Law (LLM) degree from the Lagos State University. This is a case of a Lagos hawker who became a topnotch Lagos lawyer.