G.O. Osagbemi & CO Law Office

04/07/2023

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 9)
AN ELEMENTARY PEEP INTO ELECTION LITIGATION/DISPUTES IN NIGERIA
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (with it's alterations), the 2022 Electoral Act, Practice Directions issued by the Court of Appeal are the basic laws regulating election petition litigation in Nigeria. These laws operate and are applied conjuctively to arrive at the justice and speedy disposition of the cases.

Only a candidate that contested an election and/ OR a political party that sponsored the candidate can file an election petition case before the appropriate Election Petition Tribunal to challenge the return of the candidate declared as winner by INEC and it is mandatory to sue the person returned as winner as a Respondent.

For an election petition to be competent, the case must be filed within 21 days of the declaration of results, hence any case filed after the 21st day is incompetent and will be struck out, thereby putting a permanent end to the complaints of the Petitioner against the election, no matter the merits of the case. For instance, if an election is conducted on 4/7/ 2023 and result declared on 5/7/2023, the petition must be filed latest by 26/7/2023.

When you have a competent petition filed within time, Unlike the general civil cases where you can amend or change your claims and pleadings anytime before judgment is delivered, in election litigation, NO amendment is allowed after the 21 days provided for filing the petition. This means that it is only when the petition is filed before the expiration of 21 days provided for filing that an amendment can be made and such amendment MUST be brought during the period of time remaining in the 21 days. For instance, if using the above example, the petition which must be filed latest by 26/7/2023 was filed on 20/7/2023, the Petitioner is then permitted to amend his petition between 21-26th July 2023. A Petitioner that filed on the very last day provided for filing CANNOT amend his petition.

The overall effect is that election petition is sui generis and in a class of its own and only a competent, experienced and specialized legal practitioner can handle election petition cases due to the applicable very strict rules and regulations.

Like election petition cases, Matrimonial cases are also sui generis and requires a level of competence and specialization. Members of the public therefore needs to consult not just any lawyer, but competent and experienced lawyers when they require legal services, as it is possible to lose a good case even before going to court by going through an incompetent lawyer.

Inset:
Pic 1 at the end of hearing before National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta State.
Pic 2 at the commencement of hearing before the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara state.

G. O. Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin
07039587559

12/12/2022

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 8)
ABUSE OF DIRECT CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AND PROSECUTION UNDER THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAWS.
The applicable laws in different states of Nigeria as well as the FCT make provision for direct criminal prosecution by citizens against persons who might have committed crime against them. Section 97(3) Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Kwara state ,2018 provides
"A complaint may be made by the complainant in person,or by a legal practitioner representing him, or by any person authorized in writing in that behalf"
Although, it can be argued that the provision provides access to justice for a victim of crime who does not want to route his case through the Police (for reasons I will not state), my experience in criminal prosecution and defence has shown that the provision is arguably the most abused section of the law, as it is often used to settle civil scores, used as a bargaining tool to force adversary in other cases into submission, can even be used to scandalize by simply "giving a dog a bad name in order to kill it" this is because once a weighty allegation is levelled against a defendant, he may just be on his way to prison with or without any form of investigation depending on the presiding Judge/Magistrate (investigation can be ordered after the case is filed).The law prohibits a criminal complaint based on civil cause but went ahead to create exception where it is with obvious criminal elements.
When some lawyers really want to deal with a defendant, they file Direct criminal complaint few days to Christmas where the defendant is a Christian or few days before Sallah where the defendant is a Muslim in order to embarrass the defendant and possibly get him remanded in prison throughout the period of festivities , as the court is at liberty to refuse to grant bail, may grant bail on stringent terms and conditions that cannot be fulfilled in good time and even if bail is granted, the perfection may not be completed without the defendant having to be a guest of the Prison for at least a day. The court can even adjourn for ruling on the bail for as long as a week or two(while the defendant is remanded in custody)
In one of the Direct Complaint cases I handled as a Defendant counsel, the Defendants (Husband and wife) lived in a 'Face me- I Face You' apartment facing a young lady whom I strongly believe is battling a psychiatric challenge. The lady retained a lawyer to sue 4 of her neighbors for Conspiracy and 'threat to life. The allegation was that the neighbors were always gossiping about her and she overhead the couple calling her a 'Ghost', therefore, they either wished her dead or were "planning to kill her".
Courts don't joke with cases of threat to life to prevent the threat from becoming a reality and it would have been too late to save the victim(no matter how frivolous the allegation might turn out to be at the end of the day).
Fortunately, we found technical errors in the complaint, and after about 2 hours oral advocacy, the court in a considered ruling agreed with us and struck out the case for incompetence.
Stepping out of the court, the complainant counsel threatened to file another case the same day which he indeed filed and we were back to the same court three days later.
We again challenged the competence of the case, and it was at that point the court advised the parties to settle since they were neighbors.
We went into meetings and eventually resolved the issues for all the parties, otherwise, a neighbor could have sent all her neighbors including a couple to prison because they were 'gossiping her'.

G. O. Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin
07039587559

08/12/2022

08/12/2022

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere

11/09/2022

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 6)
AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE DEFUNCT AND DISBANDED SARS OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE.
The young man was a Polytechnic student from a humble background who had to work very hard to train himself in school. He bought a motorcycle also known as Okada on Hire Purchase arrangement (not advisable for anyone) to be used for transportation business to raise fund while he runs his program in school. He would run early morning and late night hustle, while attending to his education during the working hours.

This was around October and by December of the year, he had developed pneumonia due to his exposure to cold and harmattan, so he decided to get a rider to run the business and make returns to him. Unknown to him, the boy he handed over to was a criminally minded fellow who rode the okada to commit a crime and was arrested and handed over to Ilorin SARS officers along with the Okada.

The criminal was charged to court but the Okada was detained at the police premises. The poor boy approached us with his story and we went to SARS with all the particulars of the motorcycle, including evidence a Memorandum of Understanding between our client and the Hire Purchase seller to apply for the release of the Motorcycle to him on bond, pending when the motorcycle may be presented/tendered as exhibit in court if and when hearing ever commences.

To SARS officers, I had already committed a crime for daring to approach them with such a request. They became very hostile and all efforts to explain that the law allows the owner of a property used to commit a crime have his property released to him on bond fell on deaf ears, the situation took a negative turn when I stated that since the criminal was being prosecuted, our client would even be helpful to the prosecution as he would be willing to testify against him in court.
The next minute, my client was ordered to be detained and statement taken from him for being criminal, in the court of SARS, my client having something to do with the boy arrested, had committed "conspiracy".... (this is someone whose duty to pay the motorcycle seller continued even though the business was on hold for months).
My plea for the innocent boy to be released fell on deaf ears and the next thing I heard was "lawyer if you disturb me again, I will detain you too and nothing will happen", in fact, officer... go and detain him"...... at this point I had to exit the office unsettled. How do you explain that a lawyer went to police station with a free client to claim a property and the property, the client and the lawyer got detained??
My mentor had to step in and we went back there, his experience, charisma and negotiation techniques came to play and we got the boy and his Okada released.

End-SARS protest happened nation wide shortly after, may SARS never return!

G. O. Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin
07039587559

29/08/2022

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 5)
A CASE OF CRIMINAL MISAPPROPRIATION AND BREACH OF TRUST IN
C.O.P.
v.
###X
She worked as a marketer in a micro finance company with a duty of collecting daily contributions from depositors and remitting same to the company.
Along the line, she started "borrowing" part of the money contributed by customers to meet "urgent 2k needs". She also claimed that an amount was stolen from her in her house which she didn't report anywhere(I don't know how true).
She was arrested and we were called upon to help, she confessed to us that she had borrowed/converted about #300,000 of the company money but the CEO and police in charging her to court decided to press a charge of misappropriating about #1,500,000 against her. (as if prosecuting a criminal matter was a business venture).
We secured her bail, she deposited about #50,000 as part of the bail conditions.
That's the last we have heard about the matter since 2020 as prosecution/CEO are unable to prove anything.

G. O. Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin

21/08/2022

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 4)
A CASE OF CULPABLE HOMICIDE AND ARMED ROBBERY IN
STATE
V.
MARCUS XX

The young man was alleged to have chattered an Okada rider to take him to farm, the okada rider was later found dead with matchet cuts and Marcus was later arrested with an Okada alleged to belong to the deceased. Marcus was arraigned for armed robbery and culpable homicide punishable with death.
The trial lasted for five years during which he was remanded in prison. Apart from defending him pro bono, this boy would always request for pocket money to eat well in prison, saying that the prison authorities don't serve his meals with meat...lol
We discredited the reliance of the prosecution on the circumstantial evidence of "last seen" and the court agreed with us, eventually discharged and acquitted Marcus of the offences of culpable homicide and armed robbery but convicted him for being in possession of stolen good(okada) and sentenced him to five years imprisonment for the offence of Theft.
The five years sentence was with effect from the date of his arrest and detention, which meant that he went home a free man after the judgement.

G. O Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin
07039587559

12/08/2022

DIARY OF A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST(Vol 3)
A CASE OF FORGERY AND IMPERSONATION IN
COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
V.
###XX

Baba was a Community leader and a committed member of his very large land-owning family. A former member of the Family land allocation committee that helped the family secure their large expanse of land from trespassers by instituting and winning several civil cases, apparently administration and control of his family land allocation committee pitched him and his people against themselves as his committee was dissolved and a civil case filed to challenge the dissolution, thus criminal cases were now being used to out-wit and settle scores.

A member of the family was being prosecuted in a criminal matter and was granted bail by the court, one of the terms amongst others, was that he should produce "one of the family heads" from his family to stand as surety.

'One of the family heads' will later become a court case.

As a leader of one of the four sections of the large land-owning family, Baba had to go to court to secure the release of his direct line family member. As a part of verification to perfect bail, he presented his appointment letter as a representative of the family in the land allocation committee and the court was satisfied and released the defendant on bail.

Members of his family from other sections wrote a petition to the court, alleging baba of impersonating and laying claim to be the "family head"/ "paramount chief" and forging the appointment letter he presented.... remember I said the word "one of the family heads" will become a court case?

Acting on the petition, the court referred the case to police for investigation and the police for reasons best known to them arraigned baba for Forgery and Impersonation. At over 90 years of age, Baba was remanded in Oke Kura prison for about two weeks before he eventually regained his freedom on bail. M.K. Abdulkadir-Jaylaw toiled day and night to make this possible.

The matter went on to hearing and five prosecution witnesses (one IPO and four family members) testified and tendered several irrelevant documents. During cross examination, all the witnesses agreed with us that Baba was by all standard, a leader within the family, none of them however seemed to comprehend the meaning of the word "one of the family heads" as used by the original court in granting bail as they insisted that Baba had gone to court to present himself as the Paramount Chief (family head).

At the close of prosecution's case, we made a No Case Submission for Baba.
(No case Submission means that the prosecution has not successfully proved any element of the charges against a defendant warranting him to defend himself) and the court agreed with us that the prosecution has not made out any case against Baba, thus Baba was discharged of the ill-motivated charge without him having to say anything in his defence.

As we stepped out of court, Baba began to request that we institute an action of malicious prosecution against his persecutors who gave false evidence against him, a brief we intentionally delayed and pretended not to understand, trying to encourage harmonious family relationship until we had to file a case of giving false evidence to a public servant against the PW5.

Baba passed on shortly afterwards.

G. O Osagbemi Esq,
aka Legallion,
Lead Counsel
G. O. Osagbemi & Co, Ilorin
07039587559