Olu Daramola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1993 and admitted into the inner bar in 2008. He worked briefly with the law firm of Tayo Oyetibo and Co. and later joined the law firm of Afe Babalola and Co. as the deputy head of chambers, Lagos office, since November 1994. He specialises in general litigation, company and commercial law. The associate member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (U.K.) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Nigeria, in this interview with Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, speaks on the existence of fake lawyers, causes of delay in hearing cases and enforcement of criminal laws, among other issues.
Recently, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) bemoaned the upsurge in fake lawyers in the system. Do you share in his view?
It is unfortunate, there is no profession in Nigeria, including the medical profession that deals with human life, where you do not have fake practitioners. In England, you cannot hear of fake lawyers because proper records of practitioners are accessible to the public. Until we begin to keep proper records, the issue of fake practitioners will continue to plague the system. I am aware that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is presently addressing the issue by trying to establish a database for all lawyers enrolled to practise in the country. They are also working on stamps and seals. The Supreme Court should create on its portal a section where members of the public can access the name of all lawyers in the country. If this is done, it will be difficult for fake practitioners to have easy ride on the system.
There is a legal dictum that justice delayed is justice denied. Lawyers are being fingered as contributing to delay of cases in court. What is your position on the issue and how can it be addressed?
It is true that some lawyers deliberately delay the hearing of their cases, either to gain time for their clients or frustrate the claimant. Somebody is not ill and you procure documents indicating that the person is. The court may have no option than to adjourn the matter. Some lawyers file frivolous applications and when the prayer is refused, they rush to file an appeal and motion for stay of proceedings. Some judges do not sit on time and will readily grant an application for adjournment, even when no tenable reason is offered for the application. All these contribute to delay in the administration of justice. Some of these issues are already being addressed, but we can do more to sustain the confidence of the people in the administration of justice. Granting stay of proceedings on the ground of interlocutory appeals should be discouraged. Where an objection is raised in a case where affidavit is used, the objection should be heard with the substantive matter. The bench and the bar must cooperate to ensure speedy and effective administration of justice.
What advice do you have for the new administration on improving the judicial sector?
First and foremost, the government must ensure that judicial officers are well paid. This will attract the best legal minds in the country to the Bench. Second, the president must appoint credible lawyers to the federal courts as judges. He has the power to appoint judges on the advice of the National Judicial Council (NJC). He must use this power effectively and ensure that only credible persons are allowed to mount the judicial saddle.
What advice do you have for young wigs?
The advice I will give to up-and-coming lawyers is what I will give to anybody who wants to succeed in life. Nobody can succeed in anything except he is disciplined, focused and committed. You must have passion for what you are doing. The passion sustains you when you are facing daunting challenges. I am sure you are a practising journalist not because you are paid fat salary, but because you have passion for the profession. When you are passionate about something, you will readily do it, even for free. A young lawyer must serve pupillage, so as to acquire useful experience, before establishing his own firm. There is no profession where there are no challenges; it is the passion that will keep you going. Do not put money first; it will come later.
The Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Bill that spent almost 12 years in the National Assembly had been passed. How would you react to this?
All these issues are already in the criminal code, so also are issues relating to corruption. There is nothing in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act that is not covered by the criminal code. It has always been the law that violence is unlawful, so I do not see any new thing the law is bringing on the table. Rather than enforce existing laws, we keep on making new laws in the vain hope that the new laws, without more, will prevent the problems we are seeking to address. It does not work that way. No matter how good a law is, unless it is properly enforced, nothing will change in the society. The point is that we like multiplying things and all these will not change anything. All that needs to be done is to amend the criminal code to bring it up-to-date and not creating new laws to address issues already covered by the law.
Eight drug offenders were executed in Indonesia not too long ago. What is your position on death sentence for drug offences?
Personally, as a pacifist, I do not subscribe to death sentence for any crime. But in saying that, we must not lose sight of the damage being done to the society by drugs. Drug-pushing constitutes a serious risk to the health of any society and any responsible government cannot fold its arms and allow the illicit business to continue unchecked. When (Muhammadu) Buhari executed three drug-pushers in 1984, most drug-pushers avoided Nigeria because they knew that the implication of being caught was death sentence. If you are issued visa to some of the countries that retain death sentence for drug-pushing, it would be clearly spelt out in a booklet given to you that the offence attracts capital punishment.
A person who knows the implication of taking drugs to some countries, but decides to take the risk can only blame himself. It is tragic that most people become wiser after the event. It is no use claiming that you have become a born-again Christian after you had been sentenced to death. Many countries will not grant pardon on that basis. The proper thing is to avoid any conduct for which you may go to prison or be made to face capital punishment. The multiplying effect of crime is so much that one may not blame countries who still execute criminals for certain offences, after all, you are aware of what the law says.
