Nigerian Newspapers
Prologue: Emergence of law reporting in Nigeria
The publication of the Nigeria Law Reports [cited as NLR] in 1916 signaled the beginning of organiised law reporting in Nigeria. That publication was at the initiative of the then Judicial Department. It is not often remembered that law reporting in Nigeria is thus almost as old as Nigeria. The publication of the Nigeria Law Reports ended in 1955 with the regionalization of the Judiciary in 1954. In all, 21 volumes of the Reports were published. With regionalization the regions and the Federal Territory of Lagos each soon began publication of its law reports.
It is recalled that as far back as 1933 at the appellate level there was the WACA Reports containing selected judgments of the West African Court of Appeal which at that time was the appellate court of the British West African territories consisting of the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Nigeria. As would be expected, with the establishment of the Federal Supreme Court there soon emerged the FSC Reports which contained the selected judgments of the Federal Supreme Court. It was published from 1955 to 1960. In 1961, there emerged the All Nigeria Law Reports which, as the name implies, contained selected judgments of all the superior courts in Nigeria.
One thing that these earlier reports had in common was that they were all officially sponsored publications, some domiciled in the respective Ministries of Justice and others in their respective jurisdictions; another is that they were not always published in time. Judgments were, more often than not reported months, sometimes years, after the decisions were rendered; unlike foreign judgments that were always punctually reported and published in foreign law reports; and readily made available to legal practitioners who could readily afford them as well as in some court libraries and the libraries of a few ministries of justice. The result is that in those days there was much reliance by legal practitioners and judges on foreign law reports. The reception of the English common law into the Nigerian legal system thus became firmly established through the several law reports of England, such as the Weekly Law reports and the All England Law Reports.
With this brief historical background of law reporting in Nigeria that shows that law reporting in Nigeria has been with us for a long time, that one is now writing about emergence of law reporting in Nigeria should be with the understanding that what is being described is the emergence of present day law reporting in Nigeria. It cannot be denied that, compared with the past, there is a significant transformation of law reporting in Nigeria in the past 50 years. This piece is a very brief story of that transformation.
Private Law Reporting in Nigeria
The story of formal private law reporting in modern Nigeria must start with the story of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports which was first published in 1964 even though the concept and preparation started 50 year ago in 1963. As an active participant in the birth of the Nigerian Monthly Law Report it is a story I can proudly relate, albeit rather sketchily.
The idea of publishing the Nigerian Monthly Law Report had its origin in the kind gesture of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir Ian Lewis who on his own, and as an individual private effort, used to prepare a monthly digest of cases decided by the Supreme Court. The digest was not for public circulation; but, somehow, he used to send me copies of the digest which I treasured and which were extremely useful. In the legal firm of Ayoola Brothers, [then a partnership of myself and my elder brother who later became the Hon. Justice Olu Ayoola] we used to study the digest avidly and would promptly apply for certified true copies of notable judgments included in the digest. In time we had quite a collection which, as could be expected, would often put us a step ahead of several others in the profession who did not have the advantage of early knowledge of latest decision not yet reported, law reporting in those days being lethargic. In time, it occurred to me that we would be helping the profession if we could embark on a publication of law reports that would be prompt and efficient. I broached the idea to my elder brother who easily bought into the idea and modified it. My intention was for us to publish the report as an exclusive private initiative of the legal firm of Ayoola Brothers; however, my brother thought we should involve a few other notable legal practitioners with undoubted legal and intellectual ability. It was thus that we incorporated Associated Publishers (Nigeria) Ltd and invited Dr (later Justice) Akinola Aguda, Chief Richard Akinjide (later Attorney general and Minister of Justice and SAN), Omotayo Onalaja, Esq.(later a Justice of the Court of Appeal}, Professor Odumosu to join us ( my brother, Olu Ayoola, Esq (later Justice and me) to become the pioneer Editorial Board of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports. Later Chief Folake Solanke (later SAN) was brought in and Professor Odumosu dropped out.
One would have loved to tell the story of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports in more details, but that would not be appropriate in this brief writing. It suffices to recall what I said in a lecture to mark the 25th Anniversary of another notable law Report, The Nigerian Weekly Law Report, when I said:
“The Nigerian Monthly Law Reports which is the first indigenous unofficial law reports came into being in 1964 out of the perceived need for efficient and timely law reporting in Nigeria. Although the first edition of the NMLR was presented to the public in 1964, back-room work on the publication commenced in 1963 during which a publishing company was incorporated and support and recognition for the proposed law reports were sought and readily obtained from the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Chief Justices of the Northern, Eastern and Western States and Lagos. The support of the various heads of the Judiciary assured us of regular supply of authenticated judgments and recognition of the reports as authoritative reports without the need to name a barrister as reporter of the individual judgments contained in the reports.
As a pioneer in the field of indigenous private law reports the editorial board of the NMLR set for itself a high standard to meet the responsibility that rested on it to produce qualitative law reports acceptable to the legal profession both locally and internationally. The Editorial Board became rather over-selective in regard to cases to be reported and very demanding in regard to the quality of editorial contents. The desire for excellence compelled the board to be extraordinarily selective in those invited to the editorial board and to be uncompromising in ensuring a high standard of editorial quality. With the benefit of hindsight the board was probably more demanding than was required or called for. The result was that the Editorial Board became a virtual closed shop the ranks of which gradually began to shrink as, one by one, members took up appointment on the Bench or were called upon for very important national assignments that left them with no time for law reporting. As could be expected the absence of advance planning that would have ensured successors to take over the task spelt doom for the sustainability of the NMLR; particularly at a time when judicial activities had increased tremendously with judgments pouring in without a compensating increase in the number of persons groomed to undertake quality reporting. If one lesson is to be learnt from the collapse of the NMLR it is that it takes more than passion and interest to sustain law reporting. Like any other enterprise designed to be sustainable advance and careful planning towards sustainability is a must.”
The story of law reporting in Nigeria today will not be complete without acknowledging a number of success stories in modern law reporting in Nigeria. In this, The Nigerian Weekly Law Reports which recently, in 2011, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary of unbroken law reporting and publication must be given pride of place for its consistency and reliability. The story of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports cannot be told without mention of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, whose singular effort brought the NWLR into being and who laid a solid foundation for its durable publication. That the NWLR continues to be published till today is a tribute to that great Nigerian and a credit to his successors who ensure the continuing publication of those reports.
There is also the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria published by Lawbreed Ltd which is notable for comparatively prompt reporting of the judgments of the Supreme Court. There are, of course, several other law reports published through private initiative.
Two recent development in law reporting is worthy of celebration and note. The first is the resuscitation of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports through the efforts of Dr. Wale Babalakin, SAN, and the publishers, the Optimum Law publishers Ltd. The second is the introduction of electronic law reporting by LawPavillion Ltd.
The resuscitated Nigerian Monthly Law Reports introduced a more modern format in law reporting in Nigeria while it also brought to life again the tradition of the NMLR in reporting selected and notable decision of the High Courts. The LawPavillion Electronic Law Reports (LPELR) for its part is worth celebrating for its introduction of electronic law reporting into Nigeria.
Much as success stories in law reporting in Nigeria may engender a euphoric mood, that fact, however, should not blind one’s eyes to the multifarious challenges that law reporting must cope with if it is to remain an enduring success story. In this regard I had occasion to observe as follows and it is worth repeating here, that:
Quality of reporting entails editorial accuracy. Editorial accuracy and clarity of judgment go hand in hand. Law-reporting fulfills its cardinal purpose only when it satisfies and promotes the doctrine of precedents an ultimately, the rule of law. A law reporter that fails to appreciate the difference between the ratio decidendi of a case and an obiter dictum fails to reflect the essence of a law report. The law reporter is assisted in his/ her task when the judgment itself reflects appropriate judicial technique. Yet, sadly often failure of judicial technique manifests in judgements in which the principles on which the judge acted are obscure and cannot be ascertained. In the early days of the NMLR we adhered strictly to the guiding principle that a judgment is not reportable where the judgment exhibits a failure of judicial technique or where the judgment merely repeats and applies an uncontroversial principle or is based mainly on facts. We may have preferred to err on the side of over-selectivity resulting in slim but qualitative monthly editions. Distributors often reported that some lawyers preferred bulky reports with which to fill the shelves!
Emergence of law reporting in Nigeria imposes fresh responsibilities which can only be ignored at a great cost to our legal system. Unless certain factors are actively promoted the emergence of law reporting in Nigeria will not bring any long lasting quality into our legal system. Some of these factors are: the need to ensure sustainability of law-reporting and quality of reporting; timely publication of reports; reliable continuity of the publication; availability of the reports and businesslike distribution mechanism. All these require a core of skilled and permanent staff in all sectors of the project, namely: reporting, editorial, production and distribution.
I once predicted and I repeat here that: “Until law reports are seen as a product that has to be attractive, qualitative and predictably available there cannot be any reasonable assurance that they would remain as sustainable as to outlive the founders and their immediate associates.” That notwithstanding, there is great optimism about the future of law reporting in Nigeria. There is still great room for development and there is a great need to catch up with law reporting standards of other jurisdictions.
•Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola, CON, is a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and onetime Chief Justice of The Gambia.
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•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Tribune Online
Sourced From: Tribune Online
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The people of the South East region have been urged to explore the power of negotiation and mutual settlement in the face of ongoing killings and security challenges in the zone because the east can not afford another war at present.
Stakeholders from the South-East geo-political zone made the remark on Thursday, at the unveiling of the book, “Igbo, 50 years after Biafra,” written by Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Joe Igbokwe, held at Ikeja G.R.A.
Speaking at the unveiling of the book, the chairman of the occasion, Mr. Cutis Adigba,
urged the people of the South-East to learn to build bridges across the country, so that they can realise their ambition of producing the next president of Nigeria.
Adigba urged leaders from the zone to discourage the move and agitation by some youths in the South East to go to war and secede out of Nigeria.
Also read: Banditry: Disregard viral video, Niger State gov’t urges residents
He said that Igbo have always found it difficult to rule Nigeria because they refused to build bridges across the six geo-political zones that made up Nigeria.
While describing the agitation as uncalled for, Adigba noted that after two decades that Nigeria returned to civil rule, the Igbo has predominantly identified with only one political party.
He maintained that remaining in one party can not advance the cause of the people of South East and cannot make them realise their objective of producing an Igbo man as president.
He maintained that the publisher of the book, Igbokwe played politics outside his state, so that the Igbo race can be integrated with one another race.
Adigba said the failure of the Igbo to reintegrate with other ethnic nationalities politically was responsible for the retrogression of the race in Nigerian politics.
Igbokwe, also addressing guests on the occasion, maintained that the Igbo are not advancing politically because they refused to be integrated into National politics, lamenting that, despite their success in business, they are not successful in playing politics at the national level.
Corroborating Dimgba, Igbokwe noted that there was the need for the Igbo people to stand up and build bridges so that their objective of producing the next president of Nigeria could be realised.
According to him: “I have decided to raise my voice, I hope my people will hear me while trying to quell the effect of the war, our people are spoiling for another war, mayhem is being unleashed in Igbo land, and there is palpable fear.
“Those who could speak have lost their voice, mindful of the consequences of their actions, I am calling on all Igbo leaders to speak up because all actions carry consequences, consequences of the silence will be too dastardly to sustain.
“Those silently supporting the wild wind should be careful or else they hand over to their children,” he said.
Igbokwe urged those spoiling for war to jettison their plan and embrace dialogue, urging them to learn from the South West region that despite the challenges faced after the annulment of the June 12, 1993, election, they did not go to war, and the region had the opportunity of producing two of her sons for presidential position in 1999.
“You have to build bridges to become president of Nigeria, but it is unfortunate the Igbo are burning bridges.”
Speaking at the event, Chief Uche Dimgba who is the coordinator of Igbo in All Progressives Congress, APC in Lagos, described Igbokwe as “a Frank, fearless and reliable leader, who based his views on issues and stand by his opinions, and we the Igbo have confidence in him and believe he can lead us aright.”
“He is a leader we Igbo believe in and we will follow him. If he can serve all the governors produced in Lagos State since 1999, he is a better man to follow because he possesses all the experience that can be of benefit to Igbo both at home and in the diaspora.”
The post Attacks on S’East: We must explore all options of negotiation — Stakeholders urge Igbo appeared first on Vanguard News.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
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Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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