The Judiciary has undoubtedly played the role of a stabilising factor, in Nigeria’s democracy. But, in recent times, this role has been questioned by the public, on account of a few pronouncements, especially by the appellate courts.. For precedent setting judgements, law reporting is an absolute requirement. Lawbreed has since 1999, published quality reports of Supreme Court judgements, and other law publications. Onikepo Braithwaite and Jude Igbanoi caught up with Chief Layi Babatunde, SAN, the Editor-in-Chief of the Supreme Court Reports published by Lawbreed Limited and author of “Dark Hearts”, a compilation of short stories based on actual court cases. In this interesting interaction, the learned Senior Advocate spoke about a myriad of issues and challenges in the publishing sector, and also his concerns about the polity
Learned Silk, not only are you an advocate, you are very involved in legal publications. You are the Chairman of Lawbreed Ltd, the Publishers of Supreme Court Law Reports, and also the author of a book titled ‘Dark Hearts’ which is a compilation of short shocking stories that are actually based on real life court cases. Tell us about your journey as a legal practitioner, what led you to get involved in legal publications and also to write Dark Hearts
I was called to the Bar in Nigeria over four decades ago, and and conferred with the esteemed rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2004. I have always been engaged with advocacy practice, and added Arbitration practice to it down the line. Part of my interest, is to help the Practitioner and the courts in the performance of their respective duties, especially knowing that decisions of UK courts, particularly England, have become merely persuasive in our jurisprudence.
I became the Editor-in-Chief of Supreme Court Reports (S.C. Reports) in 1999, when the Supreme Court of Nigeria magnanimously granted us the permission to resume the publication of Judgements of Nigeria adopting it’s official citation – S.C. which simply means, Supreme Court.
Apart from editing the Supreme Court judgements, I have authored other publications, one of which you referred to: Dark Hearts (a collection of shocking short stories based on actual court cases). The publication of Dark Hearts was informed by the need to take to the general public some of what goes on in our superior courts, especially the Supreme Court, that would ordinarily have remained buried in Law Reports. Come to think of it, how many non-Lawyers, laymen, as we call them, buy Law Reports just to be informed of the goings on in the courts? Perhaps, only cases of public interest covered by the media such as yours, attract public attention.
However, there are very important decisions being rendered by the courts, that impact our daily lives. Decisions that we can be guided by and profit from, in our daily living. What I have done, is to render some of those judgements in simple prose for the benefit of Lawyers and non-Lawyers alike. For instance, there is the pathetic case of a ten year old who became a victim of kidnapping and eventual death in circumstances which show that, perhaps, the outcome would have been different if the school he attended had paid more attention to their security arrangements. I am encouraged by the feedback so far. Some have expressed the feeling that, they never realised that Lawyers and Judges go through so much, and are doing that much for the benefit of the society and indeed, mankind. One of the good things about our judicial system, is that in Dark Hearts, the Law caught up with the bad guys!
Plagiarism has become the bane of Law Publishers. What has been the experience of Lawbreed? How do you counter plagiarists?
Plagiarism is not peculiar to publishing in Nigeria. However, the law is more alive in some climes to punish and minimise such defiant behaviour bordering on economic sabotage, than it is in our country. I remember when I published the second edition of a practice book: ‘The Lawyers’ Companion’ meant to be released at an Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, where we were one of the Sponsors of the Conference. I was shocked to find pirated copies of the yet to be released book at one of the Conference Exhibition stands! I won’t tell you what I did, to make them pack up and go.
I believe there is the need to further empower the Copyright Commission, and fund their activities adequately. The Police needs to be educated, to appreciate the fact that intellectual theft is a serious crime, if not more serious than a criminal that breaks into a store to unlawfully remove their wares. I am not sure if ordinarily, any Police Station will seriously attend to such a complaint, except perhaps, they are being mobilised to execute an Anton Piller order issued by the court.
Kindly, tell us about The Layi Babatunde Case Law Series, and how it can assist Lawyers
The Layi Babatunde Case Law Series, as with my other publications, is a helpful hand maid to Legal Practitioners and the court. The series are in 23 Volumes covering diverse areas of the Law, from Evidence to Words and Phrases as handed down by the Supreme Court of Nigeria. They are not meant to be substitutes of Law Reports, but complimentary. As the final court on any legal disputation, I believe that it is important for legal practitioners to be acquainted with the principles of law, as distilled and set out by the Supreme Court. I want to believe, for instance, that what the Supreme Court says a particular word means in a legislation or an agreement in a given situation or circumstance, carries greater weight than how an English dictionary defines such words generally. This explains the Case Law Series on Words and Phrases, as handed down by the Supreme Court.
As an aside, I used to order my Practice Diary faithfully from a bookstore in England, until one day on a flight from the UK, I took time to review the Diary and concluded that the information about British weather and underground stations have no bearing on my life in Nigeria; so, I came up with an indigenous SC Report Diary, with information and materials relevant to our practice environment. This is the background to, and approach to my publishing endeavour. We appreciate the positive response of our colleagues and the Bench, to our modest contributions.
Most are of the view that the Supreme Court is overburdened; that it is not only a question of appointing more Justices to the Apex Court, but that there are many appeals, some of which should not lie to the Supreme Court. Take for example, election petitions; that we should revert to the time when only the Presidential election petitions went to the Supreme Court, that all others should terminate at the Court of Appeal. That appeals from the Sharia Court and Customary Court should end at their Courts of Appeal or at the most, the Court of Appeal, since constitutionally, they do not even have criminal jurisdiction. What are your views on this?
The problem is perhaps, deeper than meets the eye. The starting point, is to thoroughly examine why supplicants want to take their search for justice to the highest avenues possible. An appeal up to the Supreme Court is no child’s play and it costs more than peanuts to do that, except in pro bono cases. Without an understanding of the problem, prescribing a solution may miss the point. So, one will need to strike a balance between those who are in search of justice, and those whose burden it is to render the justice being sought.
One practical problem that has become manifest even in the last and on-going dispensation, is the issue of conflicting judgements emanating from different divisions of the Court of Appeal on similar matters. Unless such contradictions are resolved at a higher level, the doctrine of judicial precedent lays comatose. With due respect, it is not as if the Supreme Court has been completely free of such conflicting judgements, but the law allows you to fall back on the latter of the judgements. In the situation we have found ourselves, it may be better to leave things things as they are in terms of exercising right of appeal to the Supreme Court, with a rider that such appeals be with the leave of the Supreme Court. Being heard on whether or not leave should be granted is still, in my view, preferable to being completely locked out of Nigeria’s highest court. The Supreme Court can filter it’s docket, through this process. In that event, practitioners before the court would have to realise, as is done in other climes, that being granted leave to appeal is not a walk in the park.
Most importantly, we must find a way to moderate the involvement of the Judiciary in the electoral process. A system whereby the electorate are made onlookers in the eventual outcome of whom they wish to choose to represent them, should not be the norm as it appears to be presently. Unfortunately, because of the burden of proof cast by law on a Petitioner, and other extenuating circumstances, the outcome of most petitions, can hardly be free of controversies. Election petitions and their outcomes, either out of ignorance of the law or otherwise, are giving the Judiciary a bad name, and it’s an issue that all stakeholders must address headlong, in the interest of our fledgling democracy and the future of our country. It is unfortunate that, the hard work of our Judges are being rewarded with doubt and suspicion. The Judiciary should not be dragged into politics. The people’s will expressed freely, must be respected at all times. There is no other way, to practicing democracy.
So much has been said about the state of the Nigerian Judiciary, from the opaque method of appointment of Judges, decline in standards of judgements, to lack of independence of the Judiciary, poor remuneration of judicial officers to mention but a few. Kindly, share your thoughts on what you think may be the solutions to these issues. Will the method of appointment judicial officers help to resolve some of these problems, or are you satisfied with the present appointment process of judicial officers? Given the blight that has trailed the integrity of judicial officers recently, what kind of Justices would you like to see at the Supreme Court to fill the vacant positions?
Lest we forget, the Abacha administration set up what is generally referred to as the Justice Esho Panel on the Judiciary. Even though the Committee’s Report which was submitted sometime in 1994 did not see the light of day, it’s Chairman confirmed in an interview that he granted a national newsmagazine, that one of their most ugly findings was that a sitting Judge who claimed to have had a BSc from London School of Economics & Political Science and an LL.B from University College, London, in fact, possessed none of those degrees. According to Justice Esho, of blessed memory, the so- called sitting Judge ought not to have been a Lawyer, but he became a Judge. While we have moved further away from that ugly past, there is no doubt that much work still needs to be done, in order to continuously improve on the system of appointment and ensuring performance on the job.
Appointment to the Bench should not be an end in itself, nor reward to political associates . Only the best, ought to adorn our Bench .
Practically every Nigerian election in the Fourth Republic has been fraught with controversy, from accusations against INEC, to allegations of election rigging, vote buying, questionable candidates – the list of complaints is endless. The election petitions imbroglios, are no better. What do you believe is the panacea for the conduct of better elections?
Between the Electoral Act 1962 and that of 2022, a number of amendments have been introduced to our electoral process, but we are yet to attain the desired results of rancour free, free and fair elections. Let us go back to the Justice Uwais Panel Report, which recommended the unbundling of INEC and shifting the burden of proof on INEC where an election conducted by it is challenged, among other recommendations. The Panel identified poverty and corruption, as some of the factors militating against the conduct of free and fair elections and thereby, frustrating the will of the people. Unfortunately, the poverty index is worsening. We should not sow apples, and expect to reap berries. The Report submitted in December 2008, is still true today as it was then.
As a follow up to the previous question, what is your opinion about the controversial Court of Appeal judgement in the Kano Gubernatorial Election case? Do you think it was a clerical error correctable by means of the “Slip Rule”, or that it goes beyond that? As Editor-in-Chief of one of Nigeria’s leading Law Reports, how do you report this kind of judgement? What precedent can it set? How can it be cited?
Given that this is a live issue in a pending appeal, I am constrained as a senior member of the Bar to be cautious. However, there are several decisions of the Supreme Court on such matters, that remain binding precedent.
You were once quoted as saying that visits to Chief Judges by some Government agencies is unethical. What informed your position?
I said this at a Lecture delivered at a programme organised by the NBA Ikeja. The context in which I made that statement was that the head of one of the Federal Agencies visited the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, and it was reported that the head of the agency claimed he visited the CJN to seek his support, and by extension, that of the Judiciary towards their debt recovery efforts. I felt that it was wrong, because it was not his business to lobby the Judiciary or tell them how to do their job. That will be the day when Landlord Associations, Tenants Associations, or even Bank debtors will form themselves into associations and seek to lobby the Judiciary to be on their side, no matter the perceived self-righteousness of their cause. His audacity In even talking to the press about his worrisome pursuit, alarmed me. On no account should anyone give the impression, that the Judiciary is at the beck and call of the Executive.
Your recent postulation on what you termed ‘fast-food advocacy’ has raised serious eyebrows. Kindly, shed some light on this
I was referring to the practice of some Lawyers citing cases by reference to headnotes in Law Reports, without recourse to reading the judgements and understanding the court’s reasoning behind such judgements. The Supreme Court of Nigeria has deprecated this practice severally, but, unfortunately, the practice persists. It is not good for our profession and justice delivery.
Thank you, Learned Silk.
- THISDAY
