Ogunlana: Gadfly of the Judiciary

Daily Independent, Thursday December 4, 2003

Online Reference:http://www.news.biafranigeriaworld.com/archive/2003/dec/04/0125.html


Ogunlana: Gadfly of the judiciary

By Rotimi Durojaiye
Law Correspondent, Lagos
www.squibanticorruption.com

When Adesina Ogunlana, 39, decided to embark on the publication of The Squib, a weekly law journal, in March 2001, his mission was (and still is) to correct and change the many unhealthy traditions and unprogressive developments in the legal profession and the Judiciary. This young and witty Publisher/Editor-in Chief has not deviated from his stated objectives. His medium has been a very critical and sharp one as far as the judiciary is concerned.

He has been so critical of the institution to which he rightly belongs that he has incurred the wrath of the authorities that be. Since 2002, there has been an unsigned notice in the premises of Lagos High Courts, prohibiting the selling and reading of The Squib magazine. The order purportedly emanated from the office of the Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Ibitola Sotuminu.
But the publisher is neither repentant nor apologetic for stepping on powerful toes through his incisive criticisms of the Judiciary. Already, the Chief Judge has dragged Ogunlana before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC). He has been to various police stations and his workers have been beaten and pursued out of the court premises for daring to sell the “offensive” magazine there.
Ogunlana told Daily Independent last week that he wouldn’t obey the order prohibiting the sale of his publication “because the order was unsigned and undated. “I am not going to obey that order because I know my rights”, he said.
Ogunlana accused the CJ of trying to expel him from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), saying that he had been accused of insulting and abusing High Court Judges.
He said that a letter purportedly written by the General Secretary of the NBA, Deacon Dele Adesina, summoned him before the LPDC on October 21, 2003. In his words, when he appeared before the body with his lawyer, Chief Godwin O.K.Ajayi, SAN, neither the complainant (CJ) nor her representative was present,though he said that the rules of the committee do not allow representation He said the matter was adjourned indefinitely.Since then, he said he has not heard anything from the LPDC.
“The Chief Judge of Lagos State is against anti-corruption in the Judiciary, or else why must she be against The Squib”, he queried.
Ogunlana wondered why the CJ does not sit, saying there was no basis for this absenteeism. “She has two judges assisting her in the persons of Justices Fatai Adeyinka and Augustine Alabi. These are administrative judges who assist her, so she has no basis not to sit in her court.
“On an account of the CJ’s constant, unrepentant and unchanging act of absenteeism from her court, despite the presence of two administrative judges, my own reasonable conclusion is that my Lord does not have the energy to be a judge or a CJ,and it is ironic that this time that the Federal Government is even singing anti-corruption tune, the CJ of Lagos State continues to harass a foremost anti-corruption crusader in the Lagos State Judiciary”, said the lawyer cum publisher.

Ogunlana said he was told that the CJ was uncomfortable with his publication because he makes judges in the state uncomfortable.
“The Judges that are uncomfortable with The Squib in Lagos are the lazy and corrupt ones who have skeletons in their cupboards and those who do not know enough as judges”, he declared.
But he said those who are hardworking, knowledgeable, who are men and women of integrity need not fear his magazine. He listed some reputable Judges in the state as Justices Adefope Okojie, Doris Okuwobi, Joseph Oyewole,Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Bode Rhodes-Vivour, Dolapo Akinsanya,Idowu, Falase, Olateru-Olagbegi and Dayo Oyebanji.
He told Daily Independent that those who claimed to be against his magazine secretly buy it by sending their messengers to vendors with big brown envelopes to conceal the magazine, adding that “those Judges still see us secretly”.
When reminded of the consequences of his actions on his future career as a legal practitioner, Ogunlana said he was neither interested in becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) nor a Judge. He said he was prepared to confront corruption in his own profession, arguing that lawyers are not in any way superior to the society.
The lawyer who defended the leader of the One Love Family, Sat Guru Maharaji, in a murder case in 1997, said the SAN title should be bestowed on lawyers who deserve it, averring it was morally wrong for lawyers to apply for the title.
He said pre-2001 magistrates and lawyers in Lagos State were extortionists who were prepared to frustrate cases if not bribed. He said things were getting better now as a result of his sharp criticisms. “I am carrying out an effective and radical approach and not merely a revolutionary monitoring of the sitting and rising of Judges”, he stressed.
Ogunlana said there would be no easy escape route for corrupt Judges in the state anymore, adding that when these ugly factors are removed, corruption will come down in the Judiciary.

According to him, people give money to Judges because they want the pendulum of justice and the favour that comes with it to swing to their side,rather unfairly.“I know Judges who give black market injunctions and I have named them. That is why the CJ is uncomfortable with me, but I have no apologies for that”, he said.
Born in Ibadan, Oyo State in 1964, Ogunlana obtained his first degree in English from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. He later read Law at the Lagos State University (LASU). In the course of his Law programme at LASU he was expelled and later re-instated by Professor Jadesola Akande, the former Vice -Chancellor of the institution, for leading students to agitate for payment of certain funds and allowances to lecturers.
He was once a school teacher at Senior Secondary School, Kazaure, Jigawa State(then in Kano State) between 1985 and 1990. He said he had to study law for economic empowerment. He enthuses that his lot has improved both financially and status-wise since he became a lawyer.
He is not interested in seeking financial assistance for his magazine from foreign agencies and donors. “Foreigners can recognise us, but we will not solicit for their support. This is a Nigerian affair. I don’t subscribe to that for the sake of independence and integrity”, he said.