Mr. Squib

'Justice Watch' Vol 2 No 4. January 2004 Page 25

PERSONALITY

Mr. Squib

It is the Bible that said that our children will dream dreams. Surely the babies in the legal profession are determined to cleanse the legacy of rot inherited from our older generation of lawyers who have allowed the profession to slide gradually into decay. One man who represents the new generation of dreamers is our personality of the month Adesina Ogunlana.

Mr. Ogunlana, popularly known as Mr. Squib can easily pass as a lover boy, black, handsome, debonair and always neatly dressed. But that casual look hides an uncompromising caste of character that will not tolerate corruption. He does not just preach against corruption; he tries in his little way to live it and to fight it. His magazine, Squib, revolutionalised the justice system in Lagos State. Judges who treated casually their duties saw their action in print few days after. Those that sit by 11 a.m. and rise by 12 noon were confronted in print with their lackadaisical approach to work. Gradually and surely, the attitude of judges began to change and today in Lagos State a judge came into court 9.02 a.m which is two minutes late and apologized to lawyers for coming late.

In this interview with Justice Watch, Mr. Ogunlana revealed to us the genesis of his dream, the struggles and the challenges faced and still facing. Enjoy Mr. Squib.

WHO INFLUENCED YOU IN LIFE?
My parents were the major influence in my life. My mother who died when I was 12 years old was very strict and never allowed me to misbehave. But my greatest influence was my father. He took great interest in our education. Even though he was not well off he made sure that we received good education. I remember the time he set out to teach me. I learnt the multiplication table by heart when I was seven years old and he did things I do not think I will do for myself to ensure that I receive a good education.

When I was thirteen years old and he wanted to change school for me, he actually knelt down for the principal while begging that they should accept me in their school. I was there looking and wondering why he should do that. I think to some extent the honourable Attorney-General of Lagos State Professor Osinbajo also influenced me. He was my teacher and I was touched by his gentility, brilliance and progressive mindedness. My wife has also been a comfort. She is very honest and sacrificially loyal.

But beyond these people I will say that my life has been shaped a lot by the books I have read. Before I studied law, I graduated in English studies from the University of Ife. The study exposed me to the classics, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austin, Somerset Maugham, etc. The classics open your mind and widen your horizon so much and help you to become progressive minded.

WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION?
I have very radical views about the legal profession. I believe the legal profession is very pompous and overrated vis-à-vis their contribution and conduct in the Nigerian polity. I think that the legal profession is the bastion of elitism in Nigeria and it is an unfortunate elitism we have in Nigeria. An unprogressive elitism. The average lawyer is arrogant and selfish. I don’t see lawyers working for the advancement of the nation. A lot has been given to them. They are the social scientists and social engineers. Law governs the engine of the society and to that extent lawyers are the first citizens because they operate that engine. You will agree that Nigeria is backward and underdeveloped and as leaders of this society lawyers must be blamed.

If you are unscrupulous, selfish and parochial and call yourself learned how can you be learned. To be learned you must be intellectually and mentally sophisticated and you must be a wise person. If you are filled with crass materialism, how learned are you? We are supposed to be the first citizens, yet we cooperate with political leaders to ruin this country since our independence.

JW CUTS IN ‘SURELY THERE ARE LAWYERS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED IMMENSELY TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS NATION

Name them

JW Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Yemi Osinbajo, Awa Kalu.

When you mention Gani, Falana, Agbakoba, Osinbajo, Awa Kalu continue mentioning. All those you have mentioned are in the painful minority. We are supposed to be shepherds. People respect us and seek guidance from us. But we are anxious to acquire property, wealth, position, etc. the ethics of our profession should make us at par with the clergy and yet where are we? It is not for nothing that most institutions ask for recommendation from the clergy and lawyers. They do not ask from doctors, or accountants or architects, etc. Yet many Senior Advocates of Nigeria win their cases by Jankara practice. Many lawyers say they are speaking from the bar and yet they are telling monumental lies. No wonder many believe we are liars.

WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT SQUIB?
Squib started in the region of the mind in 1995 before I became a lawyer. One day at the Law School a guest lecturer called Chief Debo Akande SAN came to deliver a lecture to teach us the practical aspect of law practice and emphasized that we must get results. In the course of the lecture he gave the distinct impression that he was deriding lawyers, who for reasons of religious principles will shy away from bribing and tipping even though such may hinder their success.

When he finished I was annoyed. Very angry. I felt my fate was insulted. It should have been a different thing if Chief Akande was apologetic about the Nigerian situation that makes it obligatory for tips or ‘egunje’ to be given, but he was not only justifying the situation but glorifying the practice. I may be mistaken but that was the impression I got. I was determined not to follow that kind of advice when I became a lawyer.

When I started practice I discovered that the system was egunje driven. Egunje to bailiff, egunje to court registrar, egunje to court orderly, egunje to registry staff; egunje to cashier, always egunje and one heard stories upon stories of judges and magistrates who are said or known to be egunje compliant.

It is even more of extortion and I understand that even outside Lagos, Lagos lawyers are notorious in other jurisdictions for corruption. Between 1997 and 1999 there were terrible judges, one outrightly eccentric. He resigned in 1996. Another one, Olugbani was notorious for late coming. Olorunimbe was not popular with lawyers not because of late coming or corruption but because of judicial terrorism. He abused lawyers anyhow; intimidated them no matter their age. I saw him reduce a lady lawyer to tears. In my presence he lampooned a lawyer as a fuji musician. Those days, judges were terrors.

I was young in the system but at a point it became unbearable to me. At the end of 1999 I started writing the learned Squib article and would distribute it to people expressing my opinion about what was happening in the judiciary. I wrote because I saw that the way we were going, the profession was dying of corruption and the NBA that was supposed to function as an internal regulatory agency was not strong and active enough.

After about 12 editions of The Learned Squib somebody called me and suggested that I should turn it into a magazine. I thought about it and here is Squib with its motto, “the heavens will not fall.”

WHY THE MOTTO?
The heavens will not fall means nothing will happen. Nothing adverse will happen. We have lived intimidated by the power of judges. When we know that what they are doing is wrong, lawyers keep quiet. We say we will expose them. It is a cry of positive rebellion and to send a signal to anticipated foes that we have counted the cost and we are ready to sacrifice for our belief, trusting providence that good will always overcome evil. I will tell you something. I do not bribe court officials. They know me. Whoever dares to suggest tip I will advise to ask the government for increase in their salary if they are not satisfied with their paycheck. There must be a way to get government to pay them adequately; it is not for me to pay them. The court officers know that Squib cannot bribe them and yet we get our work done with dispatch.

SINCE SQUIB WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CHALLENGES?
My basic challenge is finance. People think we have made a lot of money because of the extreme popularity of the magazine. But we have not been making money. We are rather losing money. We hardly get any advert. We rely solely on sales. We have about 10 workers and even without paying salaries to me as editor-in-chief and to my deputy editor we still lose money. Readership is vast but sales low. About 10 people read one Squib. It sells for only N100 and yet they complain that it is too much. In view of its militant character the magazine has not attracted advert. It is entirely self-funded. What I get from my practice I put into it. Squib is in the market because I am fanatic about Squib. It is a gospel to me.

The second challenge is the hateful opposition of the Chief Judge of Lagos State,Mrs. Ibitola Sotuminu who has done everything except possibly assassination to stop me from continuing the publication of the Squib. My workers and myself were beaten. We have been dragged to 3 police stations, the G.I.D., Lions Building and Area ‘F.’ My workers were detained five times and charged to court 2 Ikeja for breaching the ban of selling magazine in court. I am happy that many magazines are now selling in the market; Justice Watch, the Gavel, Access to Justice, etc. We paved the way. I proved that you could fight the powerful and win.

After she was frustrated, she petitioned NBA for my expulsion from the legal profession. But by the grace of the Almighty God the CJ will not succeed.

WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE AT THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE?
Sometime in February 2003 I received a letter from NBA purportedly written by NBA Secretary General Mr. Dele Adesina. The letter was unsigned but asked me to make a response to a petition written against me by the Chief Judge of Lagos State Mrs. Ibitola Sotuminu to NBA. I wrote back to NBA Secretariat asking for confirmation from Mr. Adesina as to the authenticity of the letter. But unfortunately it was another person unknown to me who claimed that the letter was genuine. In the circumstance of the 2nd letter I could not accept it. I wrote again asking for Mr. Adesina to confirm it. He never did. After a long while, specifically on 15th October 2003 I saw my name in the newspaper that I am to appear before the Body of Benchers Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee. I went there with my lawyer Baba G.O.K. Ajayi SAN and six other lawyers including the chairman of my branch, Mr. Bisi Ade-Ademuwagun. The complainant did not attend and even though in the notice it was specifically stated that if the complainant fails to come the matter will be struck off, yet the matter was adjourned probably sine dine. We raised the issue of proper service.

The LPDC agreed that we ought to be properly served and it was held that I would be served and it was held that I would be served with the processes of the matter. Incidentally up to date neither my lawyer nor myself has received any papers.

ADVICE TO YOUNG LAWYERS
My advice to young lawyers is that they should enter the profession with a determination not to be corrupted. They should not subscribe to the philosophy that anything goes. They should be true to their ethical calling as lawyers and as such become useful patriotic citizens of this country. The lawyer should not be a liar. They should dress well and try not to give the poor excuse that they are poorly paid. They should stand up for their rights, for the heavens will not fall. They should join the Squib crusade of righteousness in the legal profession and not see themselves as hopeless and helpless because they are not. Almost single handedly the Squib has caused a revolution in the Lagos State Judiciary. Junior lawyers can do better because unlike us they now have precedent.

Doctor in Virginity Test Scandal Unfairly Treated

THISDAY Vol 9 No 29991 Tuesday July 1 2003

Online Reference:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/archive/2003/07/01/20030701law02.html

Law Personality
'Doctor in Virginity Test Scandal Unfairly Treated'


Since Adesina Ogunlana started publishing The Squib Magazine two years ago controversy has dogged him. He told JUDE IGBANOI at his Chambers last week, that the future of legal profession belongs to his generation of lawyers who are prepared to step on toes to restore sanity at the Bar and Bench
The Squib magazine is causing some ripples in legal circles, especially the current edition. As publisher of the magazine, are you surprised that after two years on the newsstands you are just beginning to get noticed?
Well, I wouldn't say we are just getting noticed. From inception, we have been getting attention, though limited to lawyers and the Judiciary. You know the magazine is a pioneer in its field. It's a peculiar publication in Judiciary activism. We have tried to use the press to highlight germane issues in the Judiciary. We have overwhelming support from members of the legal profession.
It's true we started over two years ago. March 22 to be precise. It was a four-page effort at the time and sold for ten Naira, but people bought it and we were encouraged. We are happy that people have come to recognize that if they want to know what is going on in the Lagos Judiciary, The Squib is the authority.
The magazine seems to focus mainly on the Judiciary and is highly critical of judges. What of the Bar and lawyers, you don't seem to pay much attention in that direction?
With due respect, I disagree with that position that we focus mainly on Judges. We focus on the Bar as well. There was an incident when two lawyers fought in the public in a Magistrate's Court, we wrote extensively on it. We did four consecutive editions highlighting the activities of fake lawyers. Not charge-and-bail, but fake lawyers.
We have had occasions to bring to light, some of the unethical practices of lawyers. There was recent incident when a lawyer used the court process in a peculiar manner, where a house worth over 70million was demolished at Ogba. We highlighted it. A lawyer recently aided his client to malign the character of a judge. This magazine investigated and lambasted the counsel involved. Of course, you remember the famous case of Mike Okoye and Justice Ade Alabi. The greatest defender of the judge within the legal circle in Lagos State is The Squib. We ran at least three editions on it.
So, we don't ignore the Bar. But you know it is the head that moves the body. The Bench occupies the position of primacy. We believe that if the head is clean, the body will be clean. Our focus on the judges is not only to criticize them. Those of them who sit on time and those who give fantastic judgments we give credit. We have a regular column for that. We call it speed case law. High Court judgments which you can't ordinarily find in law reports. We say good things about people who deserve it.
There is currently a case against you at the High Court by the Chief Judge of Lagos State. Kindly share with us the genesis of that case and how far it has gone.
There are two cases actually. The first one is at Magisterate Court II Ikeja. It is against ten of my vendors. The other one is a Fundamental Human Rights case that I brought against the Chief Judge of Lagos State in her personal capacity, the Chief Registrar, the Attorney-General of Lagos State and the Commissioner of police. These two cases are interwoven.
What happened was that in November 2001, some my workers came back from the court and reported that security men chased them out of the court premises. It thought it was because we focused on the newly employed security outfit that week. The next day, with my editors, we went out to Ikeja ourselves and the security men wanted to force us out of the court and we resisted. The Chief Registrar whotold me that my magazine had been banned summoned me upstairs. I asked her if other newspapers were allowed to sell in the court premises, she said yes. I told her I was going to sell The Squib.
They brought in policemen on the second day and there was a confrontation. One of my workers was badly injured. A baton was used on her head and it broke into two. The next day their security men could not restrain us, so they brought policemen from Lion Building. The DPO asked them, ‘where is the directive that this magazine should not be sold?’ They showed him and he found that the order was not signed. It was not even dated. He asked them if the order was based on any duly enacted law in Lagos State, they could not answer. They were so ashamed! So the DPO dismissed them and asked us to go and continue with our lawful business.
I thought the matter had ended, but I was surprised that they started chasing me all over the place, from court to court. It was at that time that I felt I couldn’t take it any more. So I went to court and filed a suit to restrain the judicial authority in Lagos State from harassing me and to pay for the unlawful confiscation of my property.
In all this, I must commend the police in this matter because the higher police authority has been very nice in their handling of this matter. They have displayed an understanding of the law. But I can tell you that the Chief Judge whom they listed as the Chief complainant has never showed up in court, since November 2001.
Bearing in mind the personality of the complainant, the Chief Judge, how confident are you that you’ll get a favourable and dispassionate judgement at the end of the case?
Let me tell you this. Whatever label people may give us, we are very optimistic and confident about our Judiciary. That is why we have decided to confront the lion in his den. My belief is that you may not like The Squib, but you must follow the law. As a judge, sworn to an oath, if they call the case of The Squib before you, you may regard The Squib and its publisher as a peculiar mess but once we advocate a good and relevant law, a good judge has no option than to do justice for us.
At any rate, the court is not limited to one tier. If we don’t get justice at the High Court, we’ll go to the Court of Appeal. If we don’t get justice at the Court of Appeal we’ll go to the Supreme Court. You must understand that any judge worth his salt will not want to give a wishy-washy judgement in any case involving a lawyer because at the Court of Appeal that judge will have his integrity dragged on the floor.
So many judges have come under your sharp criticisms in the magazine. What is the attitude of such judges when you appear before them any time you have a matter in their courts?
We have about 55 judges now in Lagos State and the magazine has only focused on a few. Atilade, Wusu, Olugbani, Shitta-Bey and of course the CJ. Wusu and Olugbani are now out of the system. I have never appeared before the CJ, but the ones I have appeared before have been quite courteous.
When I come to court, I believe in clear conscience. I don’t feel victimized. I do my cases very well. I win some and I lose some. I cannot say that any judge the magazine has focused on has victimized me in any way. I must give credit to the judges for that.

The last two editions of The Squib came out with a scoop about the Magistrates who were appointed into the Election Petition Tribunal Panels. From your investigation, would you say the Chief Judge of Lagos State deliberately appointed unqualified Magistrates into the tribunals? Isn’t it possible that it was an oversight on the part of the Chief Judge?
Aaahh! Aaahh! My brother there is no way the Judiciary can be absolved. I think it’s better for the Judiciary to accept, whether it is President of the Court of Appeal or the Chief Judge of Lagos State. Remember it is the President of the Court of Appeal who appoints on the recommendation of the Chief Judge of a state. It is better for them to say that it was done deliberately.

If they come up and say that it was a mistake, an oversight, that means they don’t know their law. It means they are ignorant. A judge who does not know his law, especially its constitutional requirement, having national dimensions and implications that can lead toa constitutional crises that can engulf the whole nation! Aaaah! Aaaah! It is terrible. I don’t believe Umaru Abdullahi JCA does not know his law. I want to believe it was deliberate.

I have spoken informally to Professor Yemi Osibajo, SAN, the Attorney-General of Lagos State. He was of the opinion that it must be a mistake. Then if it is a mistake, that means you are appointing people on a tribunal when it is so clear in the sixth schedule of Section 285 of the Constitution. If nobody checked in Lagos State, does it mean nobody checked in Abuja?
Aaah, aaah! My brother? Remember that honourable Justice Hunponu Wusu is at home today, not because he collected bribe, but because he admitted before the panel that was set up by the NJC that he did not know as a judge after 12 or 15 years on the bench that he ought not to sign an execution of warrant the same day he delivered a judgement. If somebody could be relieved on that basis, well if somebody does not know the constitutional provision to appoint a Magistrate to such a panel, then it’s terrible, it’s terrible! That’s all I can say.

While many lawyers commend your efforts at publishing The Squib, some are of the opinion that the language and your choice of words is unbecoming of our noble profession. They think that the Bench deserves some respect in the style and manner you write about them.
I respect the opinion of these observers. I appreciate it. It does not mean that I accept it. I think they care for the profession too. They feel for the profession too, but I think they are operating from a wrong ideological position. A Greek philosopher once said, ’this person I love, that person I love, but I love the truth more.’ The question we should ask ourselves is what this man is saying, is it the truth? I agree that our profession is noble indeed, but our profession is not greater than the society.

The society is supposed to be the mother of all professions. Every profession is supposed to be a blessing. I am talking of the normal professions, not armed robbery. Now if you are supposed to be a blessing to the society and you now choose to bastardize and prostitute your position and become a curse to that society, do you know how much havoc a corrupt judge can wreak? Do you know the terrible things a corrupt lawyer can do? If we use a language on a judge and we found out that what the judge has done is horrible, all these people criticizing The Squib, what have they done?

A particular judge who is out of the system today, used to be called ‘afternoon judge.’ Many of these lawyers will go and grumble in their chambers. Even the senior lawyers we met in the profession could not do anything until The Squib came. A judge is supposed to be the example for us lawyers, but we found out that there is a lot of hypocrisy in the system. A very senior lawyer of about 34 years at the Bar, I asked him what they had been doing, He said, ‘let’s just leave that.’ Then the profession is getting worse and we young lawyers are suffering.

When people no longer have confidence in the profession they use self help. They go to OPC, MASSOB, Bakassi Boys and Babalawo. They use any other thing except thelaw courts. Then where does that lead us? We don’t get jobs as lawyers and we cannot put food on our table. So this is why we just have to purge the system! I must say that as a reformer, you will not have much time for niceties. Jesus Christ flogged some people out of the temple. Some people will criticize him for that and say it is ungentlemanly, but he is our Lord, he is my Lord. Look at John the Baptist. If they say I am too harsh and sectarian, my plea is that I have predecessors!

You are also into active legal practice but most of the cases you handle are of a controversial nature. It’s on record that you handled the Guru-Maharaji murder case. It’s on record too that you handled the Clifford Orji case of cannibalism. There is also the case of the people who gorged out the eyes of a young girl for rituals and you are currently handling the case of the medical doctor who allegedly conducted a virginity test on secondary school students. Now, how do you find such briefs, or how do such briefs find you?
How do the briefs find me? I believe reputation speaks. It’s not that most of my briefs are controversial. It’s just that occasionally a controversial case comes to me. You just mention only about four or five cases and I have done hundreds of cases. But then it’s reputation mainly. Some of the cases come purely by chance.

The case of the people who gouged out the eyes of a girl, I was in Justice Oduneye’s court and I saw that the accused were not represented by any lawyer. Out of curiousity I just asked and found out they had no lawyer representing them. One of them is Hausa and I can speak a smattering of Hausa. So I asked them if they wanted a lawyer, they said yes and I jumped back into the Bar and said, ‘My Lord I am appearing for these people.’ I was challenged. Not by the enormity of what they did,but that lawyers were running away from defending them.

That case actually, I did free of charge. I only managed to get one of them out because the case was already half way done. I came in late. Later, the Guru-Maharaji case came. The case had been in court and one day the followers of Guru came to my chambers and I was surprised because they had a lawyer already, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. But they said some lawyers asked them to come to me. People wondered if I was a member of the sect. But I am Christian. I only saw that he had a good case and I took it. As for Clifford Orji, some people brought that to me from the Ministry of Justice, basically because he could not afford the services of a counsel. So I went to defend him. If I was unscrupulous, I would have got him out. Because, you will not believe it, there was nothing in the police file against him! But on personal investigation I found out that he was actually mad. Some people were asking me if I was briefed by some of the people he used to supply human meat and I laughed. There was nothing against him, but I concurred with the prosecution that the man was actually insane. Today he is held at Ikoyi prisons and there are no facilities there for insane inmates unfortunately. He has been there since 1999.

What is the moral judgement of accepting these controversial cases. Some of the cases attract quite a lot of public outcry. Like this case of the medical doctor who is involved in the virginity test scandal. Most other lawyers will not accept such briefs on moral grounds.
What do I understand by morality? You see, morality is different from sentimentality. First, am I a lawyer? I don’t sell land and I don’t sell houses. I enjoy the courtroom war, the intellectual war that is there. The only thing you can accuse me of is I take up a case and I try to pervert justice or I try to colour evidence. If I try to hide evidence or do anything to ensure that my client gets out by all means. That is what I will call immoral. Let the prosecution earn his money.

Look at the case of Guru Maharaji, there was a lot of sensationalism. When I took up the case, it was the belief in legal circles that the Senior Advocate had realized that there was no way that Guru could be brought home free. That was why he left it for a young man who had not made his name, who could afford his name to be dented. That was the press. When you enter the court it’s a different matter entirely. If lawyers are lawyers, what they look at is the case against the accused. You must agree that there are two sides to a story.

In the case of the medical doctor who conducted the virginity test, if as a lawyer you look at what they say on Newsline, NTA and condemn my client, then that lawyer does not know what is fair hearing. See what NTA did. They brought the parents and brought the children. They didn’t make any effort to contact the doctor. Go and read Encomium magazine of yesterday June 24, the same thing. It was only the House of Assembly that invited all the parties. Even then, they summoned the principal of the school, they didn’t summon the doctor. So I insisted that my client will not go there until they serve him a letter. When they served him, we went. They said my client should just say his side of the story before the committee and I said, ‘gentlemen, you don’t do that. Let’s observe the principle of natural justice. Bring the accuser and bring the accusation.’ One of the committee members who is a lawyer, got offended. He said I was bringing the technicalities of the courtroom before the committee. I was really surprised. This is not technicality. This is the principle of natural justice. Jesus said, ‘where are your accusers?’

If you want to accuse my client, go ahead. But you must give him the opportunity to defend himself. What is morality? Go and read your own THISDAY editorial I shook my head when I read it. I don’t think they weighed the story properly.

For instance, I am doing Chief Layi Balogun’s case. Anybody reading that story in the press at that time will think my client is a criminal. But this is the man who bought the wristwatch of Chief Layi Balogun. Really this is a man who sells wristwatches. He has a shop and they came and sold the wristwatch to him. Even the man who sold the wristwatch to him said he did not know it was stolen property. Can you believe that the police is not charging that man who sold, but they are charging the man who bought!

From the perspective of The Squib, you seem to believe that the bane of our Judiciary is corruption. In your opinion, what do we need to reform in our Judiciary and how do we go about it?
Thank you. If you use the word corruption, it’s just to envelope it. Inefficiency is part of it. If the Judiciary is corrupt, it’s because the society itself is corrupt. Why is the society corrupt? It’s because there are people who see criminality from the position of morality. But I tend to see criminality differently. The country is very poor. In 1995, when I was doing my court attachment in Honourable Justice Ope-Agbe’s court, he told us in chambers that if not that people like him love the job, they would not be on the Bench. As at 1995, he said his salary was less than 5,000 Naira. That apart from the big house they give them at Ikoyi and the police escort, they have children in the universities. These are judges presiding over cases where people can come and offer them gratification.

When you give judicial officers living wages, you will stem corruption. If you want to improve the Judiciary, there has been too much of a focus on judges. Professor Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Bola Tinubu deserve commendation for what they have done so far for the Judiciary. But if you really want to improve the Judiciary, the remuneration should not be limited to the judges. What of the Registrars? You find that in Lagos state the total package for a judge is now about 300,000 a month. Yet you still find Registrars receiving less than 15,000 a month. I don’t think it’s fair!

The NBA should wake up! We have a rather docile NBA. People write letters everyday about the misdemeanors of lawyers and nothing gets done much. I am not talking about the disciplinary committee at the national level. Even the local Bar! When you write a petition against a lawyer in the local Bar, they settle it amongst themselves. That is not fair. The lawyers don’t want to rock the boat. You see charge-and-bail lawyers. Look at Ikeja High Court, swimming in iniquity, in the Magistrate Court area! You see lawyers doing charge-and-bail, running after ambulances, some dressing badly and the NBA cannot do anything.

A case was reported to me recently of a lawyer actually appearing before a judge without a coat! He used his gown to cover his shirt! When Chief Idowu Sofola, SAN sees you improperly dressed he will call you and admonish you.

Look at the wind that would have swept off Justice Ade Alabi. The lawyer, though he has apologized, that was just to escape criminal conviction. What has the NBA done about it? Look at some lawyers standing trial for 419, whose names have become synonymous with 419, what has the NBA done? It is me who is publishing Squib that they said they want to flush out of the system!

It is only a multi-dimensional approach that can help the Judiciary. Good people should be appointed. Look at what is happening in Lagos state. Many of the newly appointed judges have shamed their critics. Most of them displayed if not necessarily brilliance, but intelligence. I can mention names. Dada is exemplary, Obadina, Coker, Oyewole, Gbajabiamila, Oshodi and Abiru. He was transferred to Badagry as a punitive measure and the loss of Ikeja has become the gain of Badagry, very hardworking. He has transformed the place.

We don’t want judges whom people will nickname Ghana-must-go! We don’t want judges who will sit at 1.p.m or judges who don’t know their law, who will say, ‘let me go and consult my senior’ before he delivers a ruling. The NBA must focus on discipline within the Bar. What I am doing now is what the NBA is supposed to be doing. Practicing and publishing a magazine every week. As there are judges who are irresponsible to their oath of office, they will have to deal with people like us. We have been called names. We have been called thugs. But this profession and the future of Nigeria belong to people like us! If we don’t fight this corruption and inefficiency, it will tell on us in time to come. That is my message.

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.

Lawyer Takes On Lagos Judiciary

The Sun, Monday May 26, 2003 p.35
Lawyer takes on Lagos Judiciary

By Ola Agbaje

What began like a simple domestic quarrel that could be likened to that between a mother and her son has now become a full-blown war of attrition with the Lagos State Judiciary. The gladiators are the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Adebisi Ibitola Sotuminu and a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Adesina Ogunlana.

What sparked off the feud was Ogunlana’s foray into the publication of a news magazine titled: The Squib, with primary focus on the judiciary and an uncompromising mission statement of sanitizing the third arm of government. “The Squib is born to correct and change the many unhealthy traditions and unprogressive developments in the legal profession and the judiciary” and a rather defiant motto: “The Heavens Will Not Fall.” http://www.squibanticorruption.com/ . It was just a matter of time before The Squib got onto a collision path with judicial authorities.

Week after week, since its inception in March 2001, the magazine has been churning out stories and articles that have tended to expose the less-than-desirable practices of the third arm of government in Lagos State.

Indeed, The Squib makes the monitoring of events in and around the courts its primary focus.

To underscore its objectives, a column was devoted to the monitoring of the sittings of the High Court judges. Indeed, the hours of sitting in each court was always recorded and published.

When The Sun asked Ogunlana why he should take it upon himself to monitor the judges’ sittings, his response was quite instructive. “There is a need to wake up the system. How can a judge say that he can conduct his court anytime he likes, while litigants are suffering? Somebody must start the struggle. And I believe by the time we continue to expose such idle practice, they will surely wake up.”

It was not long before the judicial authorities reacted to Ogunlana’s effrontery and the seeming excesses of The Squib magazine. The sale of The Squib in the premises of Lagos State courts was banned. The directive for the ban, which allegedly emanated from the Chief Judge’s office, was neither signed nor dated. To effect the ban on The Squib, security personnel at both the Ikeja High Court and the Lagos High Court were reportedly directed to see to the compliance with the ban.

Stunned by this development, Ogunlana instituted a suit against the chief judge, both in her person and in her official capacity, and three others to thwart the move to silence The Squib.

The lawyer-turned-publisher also joined the Registrar of Lagos State High Court, the state’s Commissioner of Police and the State Attorney General as co-defendants in the suit where he sought the court order to upturn the ban placed on the magazine. The chief judge was undaunted with Ogunlana’s desperate moves. She and the other defendants picked up the gauntlet and joined issues with the legal practitioner. In their preliminary objections, the defendants prayed the court to dismiss or strike out the suit for lack of merit. After listening to the counsel for both parties, the trial judge, Justice B.O. Shitta-Bey, upheld the objection and struck out the suit with N5,000 cost in favour of each of the defendants. He also drove another nail into the coffin of The Squib when he pronounced thus: “For the avoidance of doubt, I hereby place a ban on the sale and distribution of The Squib magazine in Lagos State court premises henceforth.”

But the lawyer refused to give up. He picked holes in the March 6, 2003 ruling of Justice Shitta-Bey and carried his battle to the appellate court. In his notice of appeal, Ogunlana contended that the ban placed on the sale and distribution of The Squib magazine was never an issue canvassed for by the disputants in the Ikeja High Court. For that and other reasons, he wanted the Court of Appeal to void the ruling of Justice Shitta-Bey. The appeal is still pending. He also filed application for stay of execution to the execution of the order of March 6, 2003.

Out of Court
The festering battle between the lawyer and the chief judge was not limited to the court. Indeed, Justice Sotuminu, in her determination to silence The Squib and bring its publisher and editor-in-chief to his knees, has dragged Ogunlana before the legal practitioners disciplinary committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). In her petition dated, January 23, 2003, the chief judge chronicled the sins of Ogunlana, allegedly perpetrated through the publications.

She complained that though Ogunlana was cautioned “about the effect of some stories considered defamatory and disrespectful to the sanctity of the office of a Honourable Judge, and the need to uphold the integrity and reputation of the Judiciary,” rather than heed the caution, Justice Sotuminu alleged that “Ogunlana became more confrontational and bizarre in his subsequent publications.” According to the chief judge, “Mr. Adesina Ogunlana has declared war on the Lagos State Judiciary, using the obnoxious magazine as a medium of intensive publication.”

Besides, the chief judge alleged that, “Mr. Adesina has assumed the position of the National Judicial Council in his attitude as he has arrogated to himself the power to try and pass judgement on ‘erring’ judicial officers of the Lagos State High Court by way of publicly embarrassing them through his Squib publication.”

Based on the several allegations against Ogunlana, Justice Sotuminu wants the NBA Disciplinary Committee to determine, among others, “whether Ogunlana is fit to be a legal practitioner in spite of his unambiguous intention to destroy the legal institution to which we all belong.” The chief judge also wants the NBA committee to determine whether Ogunlana “should continue to publish the notorious magazine despite this worrisome intention.”

To underscore the seriousness of her intention, Justice Sotuminu copied her petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Attorney General of Nigeria, the Attorney General of Lagos State, Chief FRA Williams (SAN), the Secretary, Judicial Service Commission and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association.

“Why is Mama doing all this?” was all Ogunlana asked when confronted by The Sun on the moves of the Chief Judge. “I believe we are all concerned about the integrity of the Judiciary. In any case, nobody has accused The Squib of publishing lies. If we do that, then the proper place to seek remedy is the court,” he said.

The Sun investigations at both the Ikeja and the Lagos High courts revealed that the ban may have only helped to spur demand for The Squib which is now selling like hot cake. The readers of the magazine cut across judges, magistrates, lawyers and other officers of the judiciary. In fact, some of the notable law chambers receive their weekly supply of the magazine through subscription.

The Sun gathered that the NBA Ikeja Branch has waded into the crisis in a move to quench the fire. The Nigerian Bar Association, it was gathered, has set up a committee to look into the chief judge’s complaints against Ogunlana and make recommendations. Whether The Squib and its publisher will survive the war against the chief judge or not, only time will tell.

Lawyer sues Lagos CJ over magazine ban

The Country newspaper Vol.1 No. 7 page 13, Monday, April 1, 2002

Lawyer sues Lagos CJ over magazine ban

The ban placed by the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice (Mrs) Ibitola Sotuminu, on the sale of a weekly judicial magazine, Squib, is now a subject of legal contest at the Ikeja High Court.

Sotuminu had earlier this year ordered that the magazine should not be sold within the premises of the state judiciary.

Published by a lawyer, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, Squib which is sold for N50 per copy, has been addressing issues connected with the state judiciary particularly those considered corrupt and indecent.

The magazine, which was first published in March last year, had launched a direct attack on alleged misconduct of many judges and judicial officers, leading to its ban by the CJ. Early this year, its vendors were arrested by policemen and later released on bail for contravening the CJ’s order.

Ogunlana was himself nabbed by the police for publishing and selling the journal.
Apart from columns which address several issues bordering on judicial corruption, Squib deploys monitors to all the 42 courts at the Lagos Ikeja division of the High Court.

The monitor reports on the time each of the judges begins sitting, when they proceed on recess and when their courts rise for the day.
When a court does not sit or when its monitors did not go to a particular court, the Squib would expose this in its column that tends to measure how hard each of the judges work weekly between Mondays and Fridays.
Last February 18, Justice Shitta Bey granted Ogunlana the application for leave to enforce his fundamental rights against the CJ, the police and the Attorney General of Lagos State.

He had filed a N5 million lawsuit on February 5 seeking the order of the court which the judge granted.
Meanwhile, the ding-dong affair continues as Ogunlana intensifies the sale of his magazine.


Related links: www.learnedsquib.blogspot.com
www.squiblogg.blogspot.com
www.coverstory.blogspot.com
www.squibpublications.wordpress.com

Playing Abacha the Tyrant

P.M.News Monday December 24 2001

Playing Abacha the Tyrant

The Lagos state Chief Judge’s directive and clampdown on a gist bearing magazine reminds media practitioners of their experience during the military era. ADEWALE BUSARI reports the face-off between the publisher of Squib magazine, the CJ and her security agents over the ban on SQUIB magazine.

Twenty-two year old Funmilayo Mendez got more than she bargained for when on Wednesday 22 November, 2001, a combined team of security officers attached to the Ikeja branch of the state judiciary from Continental Guards picked on her in a very hostile manner. After much argument, she was bundled out of the premises of Ikeja High Court like a leper with a stern warning never to come back to that court again to sell her magazine.

This followed an administrative directive of the state Chief Judge, Justice Ibitola Sotuminu purportedly banning the sale of a gossip magazine, The SQUIB through an unsigned statement from the office of the Chief Registrar, Mrs. O.A. Taiwo. Taking the directive lightly, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, led a team of his reporters to the High Court the following day, 23 November, 2001 to distribute leaflets and press releases condemning the Chief Judge’s draconian directive as well as declaring his resolve to break the law.

Again, the private security guards descended on the team with a determination to effect the CJ’s directive even if it involved using violent means. After much hullabaloo, the publisher was directed to meet the Chief Registrar (CR), Mrs. Taiwo who expressed disgust about Mr. Ogunlana’s daring posture. According to her,the CJ has directed that the SQUIB magazine should no longer be sold within the premises of the state judiciary. A notice to that effect emanating from the judiciary was subsequently released as backup to the security officers’ action.

Expressing her determination to carry out the order, she enjoined Mr. Ogunlana not to join issues with the CJ. The publisher in his reaction however, promised to break the law. According to him, since people who are not lawyers sell their products in the court premises, the CJ cannot intimidate him by banning the sale of his magazine. He took the Chief Registrar through memory lane, explaining some of her predecessor’s oppressive moves that failed. He claimed that the CJ was violent by her order, adding that there are other alternatives that should have been employed by the CJ either by reporting him to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) or take legal action against the publication.

The event took a new dimension later when the private guards attached to Lagos High Court, Igbosere, acting on the CJ’s order, descended heavily on SQUIB and its agents. They violently drove them out of the premises after beating them to pulp. The publisher was seriously assaulted. At the Lagos High Court, two agents of the magazine, Bola Maxwell Olubayo and Funmilayo Mendez were severely beaten by the security guards on duty. The warring factions later dragged themselves to the Lion Building at Oil Mill Street. A divisional police officer there was said to have been alarmed at the written directive banning the sales of the magazine while he dismissed the parties. “…If they are serious, let them bring a proper order,” he declared.

But if Funmilayo Mendez and Bola Maxwell got reprieve immediately and suffered less from the security men, Olanrewaju Marcus and 9 other vendors who volunteered to sell the magazine would not forget ina hurry the event of Wednesday September 28, 2001. Unaware of what was waiting for them, around 12.30p.m., men of MOPOL 20 led by their commander, one Momoh invaded the Ikeja High Court premises in a commando style and roughly rounded up the vendors. The security men claimed they were acting on a tip that suspected militant members of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) had been drafted to sell SQUIB and probably eliminate the CJ. Knowing police, especially Mobile Police (MOPOL) for what they are, the defenceless vendors were thoroughly humiliated and stripped. Sympathizers watched helplessly as the vendors who did not resist any arrest were beaten up by the police and had their shirts torn; most embarrassing was the way some lawyers, especially Mr. Ola Agbede who had copies of SQUIB magazine with them were beaten for daring to read a “banned” magazine. It took the intervention of some lawyers to have the boys released while they were charged to court the following day. The charge against them before Magistrate O. Ademaye alleged that the accused presented themselves in a manner likely to cause breach of public peace by distributing for sale copies of SQUIB magazine which the Lagos CJ has banned from being sold with Ikeja court premises and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 66 of the 1994 Criminal Code Cap 31 Volume II Laws of Lagos State. They were released on bail in the sum of N20, 000 with one surety following the application of Mr. Ola Agbede who led fifteen other lawyers which included Mr. Wahab Kunle Shittu and Mr. Adetunji Rufai for the accused persons.

After this incident, both the CJ’s agents and SQUIB, especially Miss Funmilayo Mendez, have been avoiding themselves like sworn enemies. Men of Area ‘F’ Police Command usually come to the court brandishing their guns to arrest vendors, thereby making nonsense of the earlier belief that police cannot arrest within the court premises.

The situation reminds one of the dark era of General Ibrahim Babangida and the late General Sani Abacha; the duo employed maximum force to oppress and frustrate the press in order to cover up their bad deeds. The NEWS/Tempo and P.M.News will never forget the invasion of their offices by ACP Zakari Biu led presidential Task Force on Terrorism. The publications had their staff clamped in detention, losing Bagauda Kaltho in the process.

Unable to understand the attack on him, the publisher when contacted could only link it to his daring approaches to reporting some alleged ills in the judiciary known to lawyers who are part of the system. Recently, a story indicting an administrative judge in Lagos was reported by the SQUIB while many linked the immediate ban on the magazine after the story to the closeness of the affected judge to the CJ. It was reported that the CJ told some peace makers that his judges were complaining about the SQUIB, while Mr. Ogunlana said they were only feeling uncomfortable because their hands are stained. According to him, his SQUIB Monitor which monitors the sitting and closing hours of judges has changed the judges’ attitude to work. While many of them in the past sat and rose anytime they like, keeping litigants and lawyers waiting, they are now aware that somebody is watching and have since changed their attitudes.

Reacting to the ban, the publisher said it was the joke of the century. The ban, according to him, is a mere directive, not one a lawyer should follow. He vowed to continue publishing the magazine for a virile judiciary regardless of any attack from the judges. Mr. Ogunlana said if they gang up against him at the state level they (judges) would fail at the Appeal and Supreme Court. “First of all, a good judge worth his calling would never gang up with other judges against any legal practitioner…And if they gang up against me, those involved in the unholy alliance won’t find it funny. You know a marked man is dangerous too…” he said.

Sensing danger about possible disaffection between the Bench and the Bar as a result of the publication and its purported ban, the Ikeja branch of NBA rose from a meeting and sent delegates to the CJ, deploring the manner the SQUIB was treated. The delegation was led by the branch Chairman, Alhaji Olalekan Yusuf. P.M.News gathered that the delegates were referred to the CR who merely expressed her personal opinion about the SQUIB and its publisher. She also reaffirmed the CJ’s directive that SQUIB remained banned in the court premises.

Following the uncompromising attitude of the judiciary, some lawyers decided to be in the forefront of selling the magazine. One of them, Mr. Kembi canvassed sales of the magazine openly even to an Inspector from nearby Area ‘F’ Police Station whose instruction was to arrest the vendors. From all indications, the police are tired and wish not to be dragged into the battle while the CJ has moved a step further by directing that any lawyer found reading the magazine should be arrested. Sources from the judiciary revealed that arrangements are in top gear to effect the arrest of the “trouble maker,” Mr. Adesina Ogunlana over the face-off.

Now that the CJ is yet to rescind her directive, her agents are bent on carrying out the directive while SQUIB is also determined to publish and sell the magazine in the court. However, many believe that since we are in a democratic era where the rule of law is supreme with specific provision for fundamental rights, the right to information should be upheld.

Lawyer Threatens Showdown With Lagos Chief Judge

P.M. News Tuesday November 27 2001

Lawyer Threatens Showdown With Lagos Chief Judge

A Lagos based lawyer, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, has threatened to sue the state Chief Judge, Justice Ibitola Sotuminu over her recent decision to ban the sale of SQUIB magazine within the court premises.

Speaking with P.M.News, Mr. Ogunlana, who is also the publisher of the magazine which specializes in reporting the ills of the state judiciary, described Justice Sotuminu’s action as illegal and dictatorial.

According to him, since other wares are displayed in the court premises, it is unfair for the Chief Judge to ban his publication.

Earlier, SQUIB agents had a raw deal from the private guards employed by the state judiciary when the security men ordered the ejection of its vendors from the court premises.

The ejection followed a notice signed by the state Chief Registrar, Mrs. Taiwo, who announced the ban on sale of the magazine.

The statement titled: “Ban On Sales of ‘SQUIB’ Magazine Within Lagos State Court Premises” stated that “following the directives of the state chief judge, the sales of the magazine is banned.”

Reacting, the publisher said the battleline has been drawn with the Chief Judge as the only legal thing for her to do was either to report the publisher to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for a disciplinary action or at worst institute a libel suit against him.

The situation got worse when three policemen from Area ‘F’ Police Stattion Ikeja were invited to stop the sales and distribution of SQUIB at the High Court premises.

In the statement, Mr. Ogunlana said the magazine is freely committed to fighting all manner of injustice and would never be intimidated by those who feel offended. He, however, demanded an apology from Continental Guards, a security company employed to provide security in the court premises for violation of his rights.


Related links:
www.thesquib.com
www.squibdiary.wordpress.com
www.learnedsquib.wordpress.com
www.squibanticorruption.com

Sat Guru Sacks Lawyer

Daily Monitor, February 15, 2000

Sat Guru Sacks Lawyer
Further hearing in the murder charge leveled against Sat-Guru Maharaji at the Ikeja High Court in Lagos took a dramatic turn last week as the accused changed his lawyer.

The self-acclaimed perfect master having been unsatisfied with the service of his lawyer, Chief C.O. Ihensekhien (SAN) hired the services of a junior lawyer who he felt could perform better on his charge.
When further hearing in the murder trial commenced at the weekend, the lawyer, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana led six other lawyers to defend Guru and eight of his members charged along with him for the murder of one Nobert Afesi on July 7, 1999.

The presiding judge, James Oduneye sought clearance from the new lawyer, Mr. Ogunlana whether he had the consent of the accused person in taking over the matter.

Ogunlana, however, said that there was no place in law where change of counsel in a criminal matter needs to be communicated to the court.
Justice Oduneye reacting to the comment said the notice of change of counsel required in a civil case is aimed at protecting the lawyer’s interests so that litigants would not dump them without paying their fees.
Oduneye also added that his court would prefer a speedy trial since the case is as important as any other case.

The case was then adjourned till February 17 and 29 for further hearing following the absence of the third witness who is to come from Ghana even as Justice Oduneye urged the prosecutor, Jide Bakare to ensure that the accused persons are brought to court when due to enhance speedy trial.