Nigerians are impatient with delayed criminal trials – Hon - Vanguard News

By Innocent Anaba  MR Sabastin Hon, SAN, is not just a legal practitioner but also an author of repute. He has written several books on Law of Evidence and Constitutional Law which are sometimes quoted by the courts. blogspot.com In this interview, he shares his views on legal practice, justice sector reforms, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, elections and sundry national issues. Excerpts:  THERE have been calls for the over haul of the Justice sector to expedite justice delivery in the country, what is your view about this? These calls have been resonating for a very long time now, but I think gradually, things have started taking shape. We have had strict timelines in the determination of election petitions, leading to expeditious determination of such matters. We also have the Criminal Justice and Administration Act, which has also had great impact on the length of time of criminal trials. I will, however, quickly add that the major players in the system &#8211; the lawyers, the judges and the litigants must be  ready to accept that this is a new dawn in Nigeria, where dilatory tactics are no more condoned by Nigerians. I have been watching the trend on social media, and I can confirm that most Nigerians are impatient with delayed criminal trials. Mr Sabastin Hon, SAN For my colleagues, I will counsel that  if a matter against your client is not favourable to him, either do not accept the brief or advice him on how best he can go about it without injuring the collective sensibilities of Nigerians. A lawyer is not a magician or an omnibus superpower who can do the impossible, even when the facts are very adverse. And I boldly say that taking up somebody’s defence just for the purpose of endlessly asking for adjournments or deliberately frustrating the trial is unethical and immoral. So what is your advice on this issue? If you have a bad case, either do not accept the brief or accept it but advice your client on the needful. Our attitude of late is lampooning the professional standing of lawyers and Click this link for more Yohaig image is not good for anybody. I will also suggest the establishment of state or at least Regional Supreme Courts and Courts of Appeal &#8211; as done elsewhere in other Federal political setups. It’s not every matter that must get to either the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court. If these and more other steps are taken, then the docket of our courts will become more manageable and the terminal life of most cases will be shortened. Your book on the Law of Evidence in Nigeria is one of the important books for lawyers. How do you feel about this? This is a very difficult question, because I would have preferred  an independent opinion poll among lawyers, judges and the academia to get a more accurate answer. However, I really thank God for that work. When I was researching on it, a Pastor whom I had not met before came around and prophesied that even though he did not know exactly what I was researching on, God had commanded him to tell me the book will take me to places I never imagined. Thereafter, we prayed together and all I will say for now is that Faithful Jehovah has fulfilled his prophesy delivered by a hitherto unknown servant of His. I can proudly say that I am about the most quoted author in Nigeria &#8211; courtesy of that book and some others I have authored. I return all the glory to God. Your latest book on Constitutional and Migration Law in Nigeria is due for presentation to the general public. When did you become a constitutional lawyer? One thing people don’t know is that I wrote a wonderful book on Constitutional Law which was published in 2004. I can proudly say, but again giving thanks to my God, that the said book has also been a constant resource material in Nigeria and beyond. Google this and see for yourself. Only source  material  Let me quickly add that because of the proactive way I write, that book was the only source material used in 2010 by the Federal High Court to validate Goodluck Jonathan’s acting Presidency, when the late President Yar’adua was flown out for medical treatment without he being able to transmit a letter to the National Assembly that Jonathan be sworn in as acting President. Remember that I wrote the book in 2004 and without having any inkling that a sitting President would be so ill six years afterwards as not to be able to transmit that crucial letter, I wrote authoritatively in the book that if for any reason, including ill-health, ill-will or other factors, the President was unable to transmit such letter, the Vice-President should automatically be sworn in as the acting President. That effort, therefore, took care of the vacuum existing in our constitution then, until the recent amendment that took care of it. Back to my latest book, I can mention some features of it which cannot, to the best of my knowledge, be found in any other book in Nigeria. First of all, I have reported and commented on hundreds of the most current (up to 2016) relevant cases in Nigeria, the European Court of Human Rights, the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, Ghana, among others. Second, I have treated topics hitherto not treated in Nigeria, again, to the best of my knowledge. These include migration into and out of Nigeria and in the ECOWAS sub-region, extradition process and proceedings, refugee movement and status in Nigeria, residency rights by foreigners, etc, under the Chapter dealing with Migration  Law. Chapter 5 of the book deals with Fundamental Rights and it is close to 500 pages. Under this, topical issues like wearing of hijabs by Muslim women or niqabs, unauthorised snapping of public personalities, unauthorised exposure of medical records of patients by hospitals, etc, have been elaborately treated while discussing right to privacy. Right to  privacy  Under right to life, we have treated apparently new topics in Nigeria, like assisted pregnancy, surrogate pregnancy, assisted suicide, mercy killing or euthanasia, refusal to take medical treatment by oneself or his parents/relations, abortion rights, refusal of medical doctors to treat patients rushed to their hospitals, failure of government to protect life, etc. Under freedom of the press, the Freedom of Information Act, free speech, hate speech, mass media laws, etc, have been lavishly discussed. I have also done annotations on the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, with the use of the most current cases. I can go on and on. Remarkably, the book is more than 1,200 pages and has covered the entire field of constitutional law. That is why other topics like proclamation of a state of emergency, immunity of the executive branch of government, status of the FCT Abuja and a host of other topical issues have been discussed lavishly. Above all, the entire 1999 Constitution, together with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd slterations thereof, have been amply treated. betayan.com What more do I tell you? This is an election year for the Nigerian Bar Association NBA, what qualities do you expect from the next NBA President? There are two candidates Chief Joseph-Kyari Gadzama, SAN and A.B. Mahmud, SAN. Both of them are respected Senior lawyers. Even though I enjoy right of privacy as far as the candidate I will vote for is concerned, I will counsel members of our respected profession to vote for the candidate who will be with them through tick and thin and not abandon them midstream. He should be able to stand up to anti-people policies of the government, not minding whose ox is gored. He should also be able to objectively support the government of the day on its good policies. He should be outspoken and not reticent or reclusive even in the face of tyranny or injustice. He should be able to defend the interest of his colleagues and the NBA and not pander to some primordial cleavages or tendencies at the expense of the rule of law and due process. The NBA President and other exco members should be elected by popular vote and in this wise, I will strongly warn against manipulation of the electoral process. The President of the NBA, Augustine Alegeh, SAN, came on board via a thoroughly transparent electoral process, hence should also pass this legacy on to his successor. It will be shameful if the Port Harcourt fiasco of the 90s repeats itself again in 2016 under the watch and presidency of my friend, Mr. Alegeh, SAN. Electronic version  While I support electronic voting, I will suggest it should be done on branch by branch basis. In other words, each branch should vote while the final collation is done at the centre. All members of each branch should gather at a designated venue (not more than one venue per each branch) and vote there. Collation should be done and printed out at each such branch and the results signed by all the agents before the electronic version is sent to the centre for final collation. To enhance transparency and acceptability, each candidate should have their agents at each of the voting centres and at the central or national collation centre. liveschoolnews.com.ng Again, I must counsel, if not warn, that the NBA electoral process should not be manipulated in any way. As one of the leading lawyers in the country today, what is the secret behind your success in the legal profession? The key to every successful career is, whether we like it or not, God Almighty first of all, He provides the needed divine blessings and then hard work. In our profession, honesty and ethical conduct are also important factors, because without a good name, one would fizzle out easily. As a matter of fact, for one to be successful in legal practice, he must take it as a vocation or profession and not as a business to make money. If you lay a good foundation, money will always come, God permitting. So, I will give all the glory because after graciously giving the gift of knowledge, he also protects me and strengthens me to muscle my way through hard times. facebook.com 				twitter.com 				google.com