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.