Our affliction with mob psychology

The recent happenings in the polity coupled with the impending 2011 general elections, has further re-enforced my belief that Nigerians are a set of people that have not been opportune with a leadership that guards, guides and grants them a sense of purpose and direction, thus their reaction to issues and occurrences is always so predictable that their actions could be equated and portrayed as a tragedy of a nationhood, in some instances falling within the realm of tragic-comedy as in the case of "I dey laugh" chronicles, were the former president Chief Olusegun Obasanjo could only offer laughter as a reaction to the nomination of his former vice president and political foe Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the Adamu Chiroma's candidate of the north, as predicted the response for the northern consensus nominee was even more laughter to the distaste of the economically battered yet serious minded Nigerians.

What the two former leaders could not fathom or even comprehend is the fact that issues of governance have always been a peril to our development efforts, as the issues of politics, access to leadership and the means of cornering the national wealth became issues of paramount importance, while simmering tensions continued to be stoked and even profited upon for electoral gains, unfortunately these is the genesis of the current tragedy that is unfolding in the city of Jos, where failure of leadership and more particularly intelligence is so evident that issues of dereliction and even collusion could be argued against our leadership, off-course when a bomb was set-off on a Friday evening and in the Christmas eve, it must have been organized by the other side to the conflict, who are the conglomeration of Muslims and Hausa settlers resident in the city of Jos, after all whenever we watch the CNN international, images of death and destruction are the norm in Iraq and Afghanistan and are always there to confirm the obvious.

The evident reaction was so choreographed that the preceding retaliation and violence became inevitable, since the other side composing of the Biroms and Christians seems to have been the targeted victims of the un-Godly carnage, thus arises a desperate situation needing a sense of reassurance and direction. However the expected succor in the person of the self-acclaimed leader of the north, our amiable vice president Namadi Sambo rather postponed his fact finding mission to the city, the irony of the situation was that the real proclaimed leader of the north, in the mould the Sardauna of Sokoto the late Alhaji Ahmadu Bello would never have forsaken his flock, at the altar of his own personal safety and comfort, perhaps if it were an endorsement visit to promote and garner the necessary votes of the People's Democratic Party delegates, no amount of inconvenience would have delayed the visit.

A typical Nigerian always reason within the prebendal prism of the psychology of the mob, thus when a bomb exploded at the eagles square in Abuja, the president was at pains to comprehend how anybody from the Niger-Delta could even thought of committing such a heinous act, against the person of his own kith and kin as such it must been have the political adversaries of the president from the other groups or more appropriately the other Nigerians that are of different descent from the president. Thus the bombing activity was first seen an attempted embarrassment to the person of the president, rather than a criminal act comparable to every criminal infraction against the state. These is the binding precedent that preceded the Jos bombing incident, were from the leaders to the led everybody is in confused state of reasoning, the statement of the chief of army staff lieutenant general Azubike Ihejirika that Nigeria does not have an inventory of its bombs, confirmed the evident and recurring confusion on the polity.

In the midst of the present and persisting confusion, I nearly missed a posted message on the internet claiming responsibility for the bomb blast in Suldaniyya, apparently the speaker in the message perceives Jos city as the Suldaniyya plateau and according to him the group taking responsibility for the carnage is the Jama'atu ahlus sunna lid da'awati wal jihad but is falsely known as the Boko Haram, indeed there was strenuous effort to tell the world that it is the Boko Haram that struck though in an arabised name, However what the informant could not explain to the world through the release from the internet is how his groups action aids the cause of Islam and Muslims or how a group that operates with crude and basic weaponry has acquired the sophistry and sophistication of an international terrorist organization.

Perhaps we should all be laughing in a tragic-comedy fashion, as Nigerians kill themselves in a new millennium that promised us a chance of joining the twentieth position, in the comity of developed economies of the world. That such status is not ever attained by a population that acts and reacts over mundane issues is not really important, as our model of development strategy option is basically home grown which is premised upon the psychology of the mob.

If I'm President Laurent Gbagbo

These past weeks and month have witnessed an unprecedented focus on the personality, position and status of president Laurent Gbagbo of Cote D'voire, because he rejected the election results that declared him as the looser in an elections to Alassane Quattara, after the conduct of the historic presidential elections supervised by the United Nation's, that was set as an opportunity to unite the country after almost ten years of fractious civil war, that divided the country into two halves with the south been in government hands while the north opting to go at it alone, the genesis of the conflict was the question of the qualification and entitlement of who is an Ivorien and the argument that children of immigrants from up north, could not be granted the right of full citizenship as to entitle them presidency of La Cote D'ivoire, thus citizens like Alassane Dramane Quattara who had once served as a prime minister of the country stood excluded from seeking for the highest office in the land.

The genesis of my seeking to assume the option of a devil's advocate and insert myself into the current situational position of president Laurent Gbagbo, was the offer of refuge or more appropriately asylum granted to the Ivorien leader by the Nigerian government through the person of president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, that Mr. Laurent Gbagbo is a welcomed guest in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and would be availed of all the state protect that an honored friend is entitled to, the first thing that come to my mind after hearing of the offer was the current situational circumstance of Mr. Charles Taylor and the journey of his present travails at the Hague, what landed him at the war crimes tribunal was actually also a refuge deal and a gentleman's agreement that Nigeria would grant him a sanctuary in Calabar for an unlimited duration of time. However, what happened later has been so documented in history that it is not a subject of dispute.

The concept of an agreement, indeed a gentleman's agreement pre-supposes an understanding and a Pact agreed between individuals or parties. That all the interest concerned abiding by it as a sacred undertaking that is tied to the honor and integrity of the parties, fortunately for the Liberian people but unfortunately for Mr. Taylor the pact was not honored by Nigeria and in particular president Olusegun Obasanjo, as the former Liberian leader was conveniently handed to the jurisdiction of international criminals court trying the Sierra Leonean war crimes in Hague, thus a similar offer from the leader of the same country in the person of president Goodluck Jonathan, the current chairman of the ECOWAS is bound to elicit the response is history seeking to repeat itself? more so as the issues are contextually similar in nature, an obstinate African leader daring and trying the patience of the international community.

The personality of the individual offering a gentleman's agreement is very important in determining the status of the deal, as it is usually a pact based on the inherent grace of the undertaker of the deal, also the previous antecedents of the personality is very important and a key to the strength of the agreement. Thus the personality in these case need to be thoroughly examined as his previous encounters with signed and unsigned gentleman's agreement, the statement of the president regarding the People's Democratic Party's zoning conundrum, were as a signatory and a party to the deal the president blatantly refused to acknowledge the existence of the Pact, it is worth noting that the concept of zoning principle is actually a constitutional provision in the party, that have not been altered or even undergoing the process of amendment, yet the leader of the PDP still regarded zoning principle as a mere claim from his detractors.

It is an African adage that the you measure the individual's personality by the kind of friends, associates and company he keeps, thus the personality making these offer to you Mr. Laurent Gbagbo is actually a protégé of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo, some people are even claiming and ascribing the tag of a disciple to him, as times without number he has always sees him as a mentor that is worth emulating, thus for a personality like you that is seriously under pressure and in highly in short of trust , regarding his status as the president of La Cote D'ivoire, staking his future upon such a precarious deal would be asking for too much, more so as the international community in the mould of the French and the United States of America are mounting strenuous amount of pressure on the Nigerian president, to solve the Ivorien imbroglio by whatever means, as it is patently unacceptable to tolerate the current subsisting situation.

The history of Nigerian leaders right from time immemorial as affirmed and confirmed by the WikiLeaks cable on Nigeria, is about acting at the wishes its foreign friends and if correlated with the ECOMOG misadventure in Liberia, which was undertaken as a ploy to protect a friend in the person of late president Samuel Doe, then surely Nigeria would do everything to bring your reign to perdition, especially as the Nigerian president after recent disclosures most show the world how tough he is in an election year, mark my words if need be Ivory Coast most be destroyed at the altar of affirming Nigeria's leadership at the west coast of Africa, in the end Mr. president only your conscience can save the Ivorien people, thus please president Laurent Gbagbo follow it and step down.

AVOIDING THE TRAP IN SECOND AMENDMENT TO 1999 CONSTITUTION

The second amendment to the 1999 constitution [2010] process being undertaken by the national and states houses of assembly, seems to be facing a lot of challenges and problems, either from those that question the legality of the whole process or rather those that only question who the proclamation authority should be. The contention of the former view being that as a process that is sub-judice, having proceeded the first amendment to the 1999 constitution, that is subject to ongoing judicial review thus undergoing a judicial procedure, it would be legally unwise to continue with the whole process, the latter contention is however of the view that the only problem with the legislative activity is the question over the authority empowered to acclaim the effect of the amended 1999 constitution.

These confusing scene or situation and the evident need for legal clarification, led the former national president of the Nigerian bar association chief Olisa Agbakogba, to seek in the constitutional courts the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the 1999 constitution, on the responsible party that gives effect to the amendment of the provision of 1999 constitution. However as the process is going through the rigors of judicial process, a grave necessity arisen for the starting of another review of the provision of the 1999 constitution, thus a fundamental threat of rendering an ongoing judicial process a nullity arises, because to have allowed the second amendment to the 1999 constitution to subsist would led to a grave constitutional crisis.

The procedural law guiding the administration of justice in Nigeria, empowered the courts to issue injunctions that helps to preserve the status quo and ensure that no harm is done to the subsisting legal position of a litigant, that could and would render the final position of the court to be ineffectual, thus in the instant case an interlocutory injunction was issued to preserve latent positions. However such a position have opened and created the possibility of an imminent constitutional crisis, because of the lack of time for the conduct of the 2011 elections, little or no time for judicial review of the results of the elections and the proximity of the elections to the eventual handover date of may 29^th 2011.

The position of the senate of the federal republic of Nigeria, stating that the rules of the chamber bars it from abiding to interlocutory injunctions, in issues pertaining to constitutional amendment, have created a circumstance that could create the 1993 challenging scenery, were the ignoring of an interlocutory injunction by the national electoral commission of professor Humprey Nwosu, sought and obtained by the infamous association for better Nigeria from the chambers of former Justice Bassey Ikpeme, led to the judicial cover that was used by the military administration of general Ibrahim Babangida to annul the June 12th presidential elections.

Thus the danger lurking at the constitutional order of Nigeria's democracy, lie in the fact that indeed all actions pertaining to 2011 elections stand to be rendered a nullity, should the courts seek a judicial of all the processes that led to the elections.

….Factually the judge erred

I have decided to take this legal exploratory journey because of a judgement that have threatened to reduce the status our constitution, from a supreme and collective body of laws otherwise known as a grundnorm, thus requiring a special procedure regarding the mode of its amendment and taking effect, to a mere Act of the parliament that tolerates the normal process of changing our laws. The primal aim of these discovery exercise which is an objective and critical analysis on the judgement as delivered by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, in a case as instituted by Chief Olisa Agbakogba [SAN] seeking clarification judgement as to the powers and function of the president in the process of constitutional amendment, the issue on notice being the fact as to whether an act of constitutional amendment as undertaken and passed by the national assembly, with the full concurrance of the required quorum of consenting house of assembly members, does require the signature assent of the president before it becomes effective as a valid constitutional amendment.

The premises of the declaratory verdict as delivered in the instant case was demarcated within the confines of section 58 of the 1999 constitution, where section 58(3) stated that a Bill that has been passed from the house it originated, should be sent to the other house for concurrance, pending which it shall be presented to the president for assent. Section 58(4) states that where a Bill is presented to the president for assent within thirty days, thereof signify that he assents or that he withholds assent. However section 58(5) of the same constitution is of the opinion that where the president withholds his assent and the Bill is again passed by each house by two-thirds majority, the Bill shall become law and the assent of the president shall not be required. This position when dissected upon the grace of the Interpretation Act Laws of The Federation 1990 confirms the desirability and need for assent by the person of the president, section 2(1)of the Act thus states: "An Act is passed when the president assents to the Bill for the Act whether or not the Act comes into force. "

While I am not disputing the effect of the judgement pending review by an appealate court of superior status, however I duely differ with the verdict in Fact rather than at Law. Because of the presumption of the learned judge that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is merely an ordinary Act of the national assembly, but by virtue of the enacting provisions of its mother document which is The Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria [Promulgation] Decree No. 24 of 1999, the assumption is that since all Decrees are subsumed into becoming Acts after the coming into effect of the 1999 constitution on the 29^th of may 1999, then the constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria can only be an Act of the national assembly thus falling within the extant provisions of amendment and assent by the president.

However, the judge erred in Fact when he did not take judicial notice of the provisions of the enacting Act, which is The Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria [Promulgation] Act No. 24 of 1999, where it states under section 1(3) that: "Whenever it may hereafter be necessary for the constitution to be printed, it shall be lawful for the federal government printer to omit all parts of this decree apart from the schedule and the constitution as so printed shall have the force of law notwithstanding the omission." Adhering to the golden rule of judicial interpretation, the duty of a jurist perfoming the function of determining the intent and intendment of any legislation, is to probe the state of mind of the legal draftsmen at the time they drafted the document, in this instance what could have been the wish of the originators and framers of the Act. The import of the subsumed provisions of section 1(3) of The Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria [Promulgation] Act purely sought to divorce the schedule and the constitution from the mother Act, thus the presumption of the drafter is the separation of the constitution from the enacting Act, afterall the 1999 constitution took effect upon the proclamation of sovereignty of the nigerian people from a usurper military government on the 29^th of may 1999.

Thus the preamble of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, starts with a proclamatory testification that it is we the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that have agreed to be guided it, as such conferred effect to the supreme document, not through the representative activity of an ordinary parliamentary Act but rather through thespecial act of proclamation of the sovereign will of nigerian people, afterall in other legal climes the unveilng of the constitution is given effect through determination by a refrendum. Thus the special and separate provisions for amending the 1999 constitution identifies with the carnal context of the argument, as section 9 of the same such constitution confirmed that the act of altering its provisions is as different from the activity of passing an ordinary Act of the national assembly and indeed the whole composite document is very silent on the powers of assent of the president in matters of constitutional amendment.

Are Nigerians been robbed of justice?

It was last week while receiving an American envoy that the chairperson of The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Madam Farida Waziri, confirmed to the generality of Nigerian public that the agency has decided to settle the undertaken prosecution of the former United State vice president Dick Cheney as a former executive official of Halliburton out of court, through the mechanism of a plea bargain that confers on the commission the reception of the total sum two hundred and fifty million dollars, in order to drop the subsisting criminal charges of solicitation, currying of influence and abetting in the offering and reception of bribes to the officials of the Nigerian Liquefied Gas Company, in the Bonny Island contractual undertaking of 1994-1995 period during the past Abatcha administration.

The other component of the plea agreement as obtained by the corruption fighting and prevention agency, was that all the individuals and personnel alleged to have participated in commission of the crime but that are of foreign descent, stand to benefit from the discontinuing of the prosecution process, thus foreign national citizens involved in the act of giving bribes to Nigerian government and company officials would not be prosecuted by the agency. However the local Nigerian accomplices to the commission of the alleged crime would still be prosecuted to the full limit of our laws, as such the grace of the plea bargain agreement did not seem to have been extended to the Nigerian citizens, thus the agreed pact between the Nigerian government officials and the United States of America diplomatic officials, sought and settled for a less embarrassing circumstantial situation to the governments of both countries, this position was later affirmed by the spokesperson of the commission Mr. Femi Babafemi.

The principal officials of this administration which included the president himself and more particularly the chairperson of the commission, had at different fora and occasions stated that there would be no sacred cows in the prosecution and execution of court judgements against persons accused of corruption and corruption related activities, thus it is with a lot of surprise that the latest release from the agency reached Nigerians, where the principal officials of the commission while gloating announced to the world the deal to excuse alleged offenders on the alter of payment of large sum of money, some Nigerians were even congratulating the agency for collecting millions of American dollars from the Halliburton officials, yet the agency was never set up as a funds collection outfit as the previous times it sought to sell seized assets, issues of financial impropriety were repeatedly raised against the leadership and other officials of the commission.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission came into existence during the time of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration, after undue and strenuous pressure from the international community, because the Nigerian nation was seen as a country that tolerated corruption and corruption related activities, thus the agency was expected to prosecute persons accused of partaking in activities relating to corruption and money laundering, however it is also within the purview and powers of the commission to serve as a deterrence organ, by preventing activities that could lead to the commission of the criminal act of corruption, thus settlement agreements that further creates the impression that Nigeria is comfortable with the act of corruption, does nothing to aid the general belief and principal reason for the setting up of the agency, more so as the international community would be left with the belief that our fight against corruption is a mere lip service, indeed an American advisor linked to the case was quoted as saying that it is better to pay the money than be subjected to our corrupt legal system, what an irony!

Countries all over the world pride themselves in granting the best deals to their citizens, in terms of necessary rights and even un-entitled privileges that are bestowed to its nationals, thus the present and subsisting plea agreement that sought to treat Nigerian and foreigners differently, has further established in the eyes of Nigerians and indeed the greater international community, that these nation perceives its citizens as lesser in importance than other foreign nationals, because the accused persons were treated differently by the interdiction agency which does nothing to prevent or even deter corruption acts, indeed this action would further cement the belief that the fighting of corruption in Nigeria is merely halfhearted, as even the case of those Nigerian citizens accused of corruption would simply die in the courts due to non diligent prosecution.

The impetus for the execution of a plea bargain agreement anywhere in the world is the aggregation of the balance of culpability of an alleged offender, thus the degree and weight of involvement is measured to determine the extent of perceived guilt, as to whether the alleged offender is guilty and the body of weight of evidence is against the position of the alleged offender, thus plea bargain agreements when applied rightly always serves the interest of justice, in terms of ensuring quick and efficient prosecution of crimes and the achievement of justice in a cost efficient basis to the tax payer. However when it is applied merely to subvert the cause of justice by introducing and tolerating favoritism, the plea bargain option generally loses credibility in the eyes of the public.

Our profligate national debt plan

"It is important that we take the loan, because I look at it as a dash. We have a grace of 10 years. There is no way you develop a nation with what we have. We should encourage the executive to take the loan."

Senator Nimi Baregha-Amange

Bayelsa East Senatorial District

Some weeks back after what seemed like a heated debate at the plenary session, the senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, committed to its standing committees a request for a loan facility of $3.703 billion dollars, the main purpose of the external funds is basically the provision of necessary and needed developmental projects, that are essential concerned with issues of power generation, social infrastructure such as transportation, hospitals and clean water. The floor was opened with the contribution of the senator representing Delta North from the Accord party, senator Patrick Osakwe were he stated and compared the loan facility as a free loan, thus an opportunity for Nigeria to get easy access to free money from the international financial institutions and should Nigeria not take the the facility other African and developing countries would easily take the opportunity and collect the loans, these viewpoints according to the senator from Accord party, is a belief propounded by the Honorable Minister of Finance, Dr. Olusegun Aganga.

The concept of a loan facility pre supposes the transfer of funds from one party or institution to another, usually upon an agreed terms between the parties involved in the transaction, also it is usually within a stipulated time that the loan facility matures for repayment to the institution that lend the funds, while a gift is the transfer of funds or property from a person or institution to another without consideration, which is free transfer of funds without the expectation of anything in return except may be gratitude, thus my problem is in comprehending and situating where to put the term free loan either as a loan or a gift, as even though it is classified as loan facility yet it has the attributes and characteristics of a gift from the context of the reasoning of the legislators and affirmation of the Nigeria's economic czar.

The problem of the confusing assumption regarding loan facilities to African countries has always been about perception, because a government official that perceives a loan facility as free funds is likely to mismanage it, more so as the granted facility is to be utilized by a number of selected states that makes for control and effective monitoring a very hard if not impossible task, as it is evidently clear that the states are not legally under the control of the Federal Ministry of Finance as ombudsman to the acquired funds, Nigeria's history with foreign loans is a pointer to what happens when such funds are given the impression they are free, the contributions of senator Ahmed Lawal representing Yobe South the Chairman of Public Accounts Committee at the floor of the senate, confirmed that belief when he sought to know how the $915 million dollars previously obtained loan was utilized, affirming the contention that the funds were misused by virtue of his privileged position as a legislative overseer with oversight powers.

Before his appointment on the 6^th of April 2010, the Honorable Minister of Finance Olusegun Aganga was the managing director of Goldman Sachs International based in London, an acclaimed expert and specialist in hedge funds and equities. Thus the conception and coming into existence of the Sovereign Wealth Fund with an initial take up grant of $1 billion dollars to accessed from the Excess Crude Account, did come as a surprise to many Nigerians because in the world of international banking, a hedge fund manager is the ultimate profiteer, thus sitting funds as a foreign reserve or excess crude reserve will not excite much interest and support of the minister, as the idea is to invest such funds in international equities that will be generating profit to the Nigerian government, as an insurance in a world of fluctuating commodities market and uncertainty in global crude oil trading.

However any investment in hedge funds create a moral problem of responsibility to any government embarking upon such a venture, because it is a documented fact that the global economic meltdown was caused solely by activities of hedge fund managers, as their stock in trade is projective speculation that could not be reasoned within the realm of reality, thus their elevation of risk taking to such an astronomical level that investment became a game of chance or mere gambling, these evident scenario was confirmed with the conviction many hedge fund managers in the United States of America and Mainland Europe particularly in France. As such the fear for many Nigerians regarding their common wealth is over exposure to such a risky venture as an investment in a yet to be effectively regulated equities market.

The apparent loss of the Excess Crude Account and the eventual deflation of Nigeria's Foreign Reserve Fund, coupled with excessive spending on comforts and luxuries to politicians, like the presidential aircraft purchase and jumbo salary packages to legislators, political appointees and senior civil servants, does not give an impression of a policy that plans for the rainy days ahead, as since the beginning of the administration its contextual character is that of a reckless spender, as against the governments of Olusegun Obasanjo that strived to pay Nigeria's external loans and that of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua which was very thrifty in its public spending policies. After all the total sum of domestic debt is estimated at around $19 billion dollars and the impression on our principal economic manager is that of an individual enormoured with the United States of America and Western Europe's excessive consumption patterns, However the current economic malaise afflicting countries like Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal should serve as a warning to Nigeria, as the foundation of our economic base does not have the strength and support of the developed economies of Europe and Americas.

Widening the scope of notorious fact

The momentous decision of the federal court of appeal, under the presiding wisdom of the president of the court justice issa ayo salami, setting aside the decision of the electoral tribunal and affirming the minority decision of the inferior court, on the appeal by candidate of the action congress Dr. kayode fayemi, has created a new precedent at law and a new latitude on the understanding of what constitute a notorious fact, the place and position of the concept of public opinion in the context of its acceptance and application in adjucation of cases in our courts of records.

The election to the ekiti state government house, was one of the most watched and monitored exercise in the history of nigerian elections, because it was resulted from an annulment and theordering of fresh polls in some local governments areas in the state, thus exposing it to extreme perusal and inquisition of the media, election monitiors and the generality of nigerians, infact a controversial incident relating to the attack and injury on the election monitors occurred, further highlighting and exposing the elections into media scrutiny and eventual derision. All these incidents and happenings made the ekiti state governatorial elections and its surrounding circumstances to be availed to the judgement and verdict of nigerian public.

The context, syntax and chronology of nigeria's judicial procedural law and indeed its primal evidence law, which is the nigerian law of evidence has placed its determinant basis on the supremacy of the sacred fact, obtained and presented at the competent court of law. The concept and premises is that the courts only takes judicial notice of only the fact presented and availed at its presence and should a circumstance or situation warrant the inability of such fact to be availed to the court, then thecause of thejustice is served by making declaration only on the basis of presented evidence.

However situations and circumstances arises that make certain facts to be so notorious, as for any court to attempt to ignore such fact would a make mockery of justice and indeed reality, the fact that the sun comes out tomorrow or Dr. goodluck ebele jonathan is the president of the federal republic of nigeria falls within the realm of a notorious fact. Unfortunately the nigerian elections and the surrounding activities that preceed and succeed the elections, have gained so much notoriety in the psychy and conscience of nigerians that they have become a notorious fact, because they have developed into a prism of undisputable fact beyond questioning and challenge.

Indeed thejudgement of the presiding judge in the ekiti state elections appeal tribunal, duely considered and accepted evidence that fall within the realm of notorious facts, the purpoted resignation of madam ayoka adebayo and the eventual declaration of her wanted by the inspector general of nigerian police as a form of coersion and intimidation the electoral presiding officer. Became so known and a topic of discussion as situational reality to generality of nigerians, that to seek the proof such an available fact would have diminished the courts as temples of justice.

The basic concept of our judicial system and indeed our laws, is the desired requirement of perception of jusice being availed to citizens, a prospective litigant institute an action perceiving the reception of justice, as it is not enough in fact and at law for their to be justice in adjucating matters, but it must be seen that justice has been done to every injured party seeking redemption in the courts, thus the meeting ground between the precept of the law and the public opinion, where the courts being instrument of the public good, accepts the approval of good public perception as the ultimate definition of what constitutes justice.

The carnal context of our judicial system is premised upon separation of law from public opinion, thus judicial decisions should not be moulded or rather tainted by public opinion, in order for courts and judges not conducting trials at the instance of a mob , thus while the courts are instruments of the public yet they are not subjected to public influence. However some schools of jurispudence are of the view that the law, rather than ostricising itself from the influence of public opinion should allow itself to be effected by the confluence of public approval, because the sense of justice has always theproperty of public good.

The binding precedent of the court of appeal decision on the ekiti states election, has introduced a new interpretation into our law of evidence, where the judiciary and the courts took cognisance and indeed latent recognition of public opinion and available facts at the behest of the public as valid notorious fact, that could be safely assumed as known to any reasonable individual of sound mind and full mental capacity.

The burden of proof as a determinant to plea bargain

The recent decision by the federal high court convicting chief [mrs.] cecelia ibru of the oceanic bank, by the economic and financial crimes commission [EFCC] using the plea bargain option, has elicited so much consternation and odium from the nigerian public, because of the beliefs and feeling of generality of nigerians, that the sentencing did not evidently fit the magnitude of the crime as the term given against chief [mrs.] ibru seems to be light, compared to the amount of money involved in the instant case. My post mortem exercise here is not to question the competence, finality or morality of the court that unveiled the decision, rather it is an attempt to reason on the likely factors the made the court to arrive at the conclusion it achieved.

The concept of a plea bargain which is the negotiation of the willingness of the defendant to accept culpability to an offence is the premises upon which the system is built, thus the defendant who is under interdiction must feel comfortable about the deal to protect an assured interest, in the first instance both the plaintiff and the defendant must weight the balance of available evidence supporting their causes and arguments in the context of the case, thus the parties reach an agreement on the pleadings offered by the defendant on the professional advice of a counsel and the determination by the prosecutor whether it would serve the best interest of justice to accept such a pleading, the primal assumption here is that the best interest of justice converges with the personal interest of the prosecution.

The mode of prosecutorial system practiced in the federal republic of nigeria, is based upon the legal wisdom that the burden of proof always lays at the instance of the prosecution, thus the principal and applicable dictum been that he who asserts must prove, while the defendant litigant has the burden of demanding that the claim against him or her interest must be proven beyond reasonable doubt, thus the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to seek and stribe to establish evidence that state the extant and extent of wrong committed by a prospective defendant, while the defendant makes every available effort to create a condition of doubt on the argument subscribed to by the plaintiff.

The primal cardinal basis for conviction in our courts of law is the availing and unveilng of evidence, validly obtained and presented to the court for assesment and review to determine the weight of presented fact and confirmation of the level of each of the parties entitlement. However themost challenging aspect of prosecuting a white collar crime, indeed any other crime is the way and manner the evidence is gathered and presented to the courts for perusal, corporations and global industrial conglamerations are built upon waves and chains of loyalty that is almost fidicuary in nature, with the staff feeling they are merely agents of a principal who in these instant case happens to be the owners on executive holding positions.

The bond of loyalty ascribed to positions and relationships in global corporation poses a real problem to any deligent prosecutor, how to obtain necessary evidence in an environment that is hostile and unco-operative, with a staff structure that sees itself as breaching the code of loyalty and gratefulness in any association and assistance given to the prosecutor, the resulting effect and circumstance is the evident inability of the prosecutor to gather the necessary evidence needed for prosecution, thus creating a scenerio and situation that could result in non prosecution of a likely offender, these problem and challenge causes the adoption of the option of a plea bargain.

The precept of a law of evidence is easily equated to the concept the law itself, where every prosecution, conviction and indeed adjucation is achieved through the rate of evidence involved, thus for such a vital determinant to the work of conferment of justice its placement at the grace of a disadvantaged prosecutor, creates a desire and necessity to seek the option of a trial that satisfies the needed conviction of an offender eventhough the width and latitude of the sentence obtained is not consummerate with the alleged offence.

The evident reality of the position of a prosecutor in achieving the cause of justice and the factual reference of available evidence as the fulcrum of the determinant position of the courts, makes it necessary for prosecutory authorities from the office of attorney general of the federation, economic and financial crimes commission [EFCC], independent corrupt and other related practices commission [ICPC] and indeed the nigerian police force, should seek to proclaim the mechanism of a judicial review that narrows the confines of the burden of proof in cases involving financial crimes, where rather than the plaintiff needing to prove the allegation of infraction against the defendant, the honour would now lie on the defendant to prove that the offence was not committed.

A peculiar case of delayed justice

It was last tuesday that I was informed that people are on the streets in warri and that it delivered by justice monica dongban-mensem, the first thing that came to my mind was that The Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta [MEND] have struck again, but the carrier of the bad tidings as i was assuming happens to be an eminent judge of the court of appeal, thus could an illegal organisation be so powerful as to attract the collaboration of a senior member of the bench, eventhough their capacity to embarrass nigeria is limitless yet a conservative member judge would still be above their rhythm of influence. These prodded me to investigate the reasons for the wild jubilations in the oil city, what I found out made me highly elated yet with a sour test of disappointment, as the election of the governor of delta state Dr. emmanuel eweta uduaghan was annulled for inflation of votes, however the verdict only confirmed that a re-run election is to be conducted within ninety days by the independent national electoral commission.

The reason for the wild jubilations that later spread to asaba the capital of delta state, was the courageous decision of the appealate judge that made a declaration, that the votes tallied at the governatorial elections held in delta state did not represent the actionable wishes of the citizens of the state, as the prosecution representatives of the candidate of the Democratic People's Party [DPP] chief great ogboru, proved beyond reasonable doubt that the purpoted governatorial elections held in the state was an act that could not be proven in the realm of reality, this is a testiment to the belief by many deltans and greater percentage of nigerian people, and fully affirmed by the local and international election monitors, that indeed no elections was held in delta state in particular and the greater niger-delta in general, rather votes were merely allocated to the highest bidder.

The echos of the jubilant deltans (except may be the people of oghara, the home town of the removed governor) and the shouts proclaiming the end of chief james onanefe ibori's dynasty, jolted my sense of reasoning in the nigerians innate capacity to think within the prism of the psychology of the mob, were pronouncements and issues are reacted upon on the basis of mere impulse, rather than a dissection the content, context and likely implications of the issued pronouncement. A simple probing of the fast annulled elections would have availed anyone that in the context of nigeria's elections, no governor that lost his seat at the election petitons tribunal fails to win the re-ran elections, also not minding the empty threats and shouts by chief edwin clark and his ijaw collective, that governor emmanuel uduagha and his ilk can never be able to rule delta state again, The People's Democratic Party [PDP] has never changed its incumbent yet removed governor from its ticket as its candidate, these position was later affirmed by the national working committee of the party.

The unexpected verdict at the court of appeal complex, benin division. Has placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of madam farida waziri, and her credibility as an honest and diligent fighter of corruption in nigeria, because the contention and argument of her agency, The economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC], regarding the war against corruption is that the nigerian governors are barricaded by the immunity clause, thus making their prosecution in the courts to be highly difficult if not outrightly impossible, more so as the task of gathering verifiable evidence against such powerful individuals with state protection is a herculean task. However the current trial of the former governor of delta state chief james onanefe ibori in a london court has provided a relief to the agency, because through the activities of the london metropolitan police otherwise known as the scotland yard and the actions of the london municipal court, all the criminally collaborative withdrawals of the removed governor then in his capacity as the secretary to the state government in the administration of chief james ibori was exposed and indicted upon, thus the hard task of the interdiction of the removed governor now seems easy and achievable.

The presumption and ascribtion of electoral fraud as a right and an infringement upon only the parties involved in the political exercise, thus it is only within their realm of interest that justice is obtained is quite erroneous. Because, although it is only the person and individual denied the right and privilege of accessing political position or office, that could seek the affirmation and confirmation of such legal status, however issues pertaining to the evidences presented at such trials are uniquely criminal in nature, thus falling within the realm of infractions impacting upon and affecting the latent rights of the generality of nigerian people, as such should a competent court of law make a declaration of fraud against a party, yet at the same time ignore the statement made by merely denying such party the privilege of a political office, that by all sense of proportion and reasoning could not serve as an effective deterrance against electoral fraud and rigging in the federal republic of nigeria.

Our Souped WikiLeaks Portion

Imagine the principal officials and officionado of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on a big dining table, at the head of the table is the president himself, on these occasion however there was no shouting and cursing in the hallowed chambers as the administrative position of the commander in chief is firmly secured, though the issues of competencies merely fall under the realm of souped up allegations, while the chief usherer and the quintessential voice of the president is hanging around for an opportunity to issue a flotilla of proclamations from the villa, however rather than them waiting for a hot bowl of soup, it was actually a meeting to tackle and strategize on how to interdict our former foreign friends, off-course the massive and gargantuan corruption allegation against former vice president Dick Cheney of the United States of America and Halliburton should elicit a bench warrant of arrest, though later the holder of diplomatic passport could enjoy a settlement out of court in mutual terms upon a paltry sum as it happened in the Siemense saga. This subsisting situation is an embarrassment to the position of Nigeria and a threat to the anti-corruption efforts of The Economic And Financial Crimes Commission, it could also be construed as a sabotage to the empirial reign of madam Farida Waziri as a corruption czar.

The seditious proclamation by Julian Assange and his activist collective on the person and position of the Nigerian president is nothing short of high treason and subversion of the highest order, a country that cannot pass the Freedom of Information Act should not be unnecessarily maligned and harassed, after the nation has been independent for the past fifty years, more so as we are marking a decade of democracy. Indeed Nigeria and its expensive legislators have gained enough experience in defending the institutions of democracy, thus when the unelected governor of the central bank sought to question their privileges, he was declared an imminent threat to democracy, his assertions about democracy going hand in hand good with governance was regarded as a mere plot to convince and confuse our temples of wisdom, after all who needs good governance when democracy grants freedom to fix your own salary and allowance, indeed is it not the same Julian Assange facing extradition charges on infractions of moral behavior as comparable to senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, yet the pious senator did marry the egyptian minor thus surely acted responsibly.

This is the premises upon which my unsolicited counsel arises as a pro bono service to the government of the child of necessity, were every little actions, infractions, innuendos, mistakes and misrepresentations are subjected to undue scrutiny, when the president on a visit to the national secretariat of the people's democratic party asserted that the zoning principle only existed at mind of his detractors, the party had to be forced to affirm a provision unknown to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, off-course the president had the last laugh as even the courts while admitting its existence yet declared their impotence to give it effect, thus an ineffectual provision could be equated with a nonexistent stipulation. Then came the bombing at the colloquium of presidential swearing-in ceremonies called the Eagle Square, where a nebulous organization sought to hijack the just struggles of the Niger Delta-people, and the president saw through it by declaring that a true son of Niger-Delta would never dare embarrass the president, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta that was later implicated was actually a south African outfit under the influence of northern politicians.

However my free solicitor service is actually concerned with the latest revelation of the WikiLeaks para-legal materials, were the departed United States Ambassador Mrs. Robin Sanders made claims on the president's capacity and administrative competence, perhaps our president did not deem it fit to extend the kind of transport money extended to pastor Tunde Bakare of the Save Nigeria Group, yet even that gracious act was rewarded with an ungodly allegation of corruption leveled against the office of the president, however it is of note that it is part of African tradition to give transport money to a visitor as a sign of appreciation, thus whether it is fifty thousand dollars [$50,000] or fifty naira [N50] it is the thought that mattered, after all the money was indeed collected though later returned and in the context Nigerian laws the receiver and giver of graft are equally guilty.

The most distasteful portion was the incomprehensible claims that the president related in a conversation that there were more qualified persons that should have became vice president to president Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, as the only criteria that clinched the position to Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was his heritage and lineage as an Ijaw man from Niger-Delta, the peddlers of the discredited document forgot that the president is a doctor of philosophy with critical bias in animals of the wild kingdom and a perennial stepper on the big shoes of his principals that have perished due to natural and sometimes man-made tragedies, however the carefully crafted spin from Mr. Ima Niboro duely seem to have cleared the impressionable diplomatic posting, thus were lies my unsolicited solicitations.