The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has written to President Muhammadu Buhari seeking the reversal of his assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA 2020) as part of measures to allay fears of Nigerians that the administration was allegedly bent on trampling citizens human right.

Also sought from the President include sending the legislation back to the National Assembly to address its fundamental flaws by deleting sections 839, 842, 843, 844, and 850 contained in Part F of the Act.

The organization argued that if not readjusted, some certain provisions of the legislation would be used by the authorities to exert extensive scrutiny over the internal affairs of associations through alleged intimidation and harassment.

SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, through the letter also urged Buhari to instruct the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice not to implement or enforce the CAMA 2020 until the legislation is repealed by the National Assembly and brought in line with the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

“We would be grateful if the requested action and measures are taken within 14 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, the Registered Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and your government to take these measures in the public interest. Please note that SERAP has instructed its Legal Counsel Femi Falana, SAN to take all appropriate legal actions on our behalf should your government fail and/or neglect to act as requested.

“Citizens’ decision to join with others in pursuit of a common goal is a fundamental aspect of their liberty. The right to freedom of association also plainly presupposes a freedom not to associate. This freedom is at risk if the government can compel a particular citizen, or a discrete group of citizens, to merge their associations.”

“Constitutional guarantees of freedom of association would be very limited if they are not accompanied by a guarantee of being able to share one’s beliefs of ideas in community with others, particularly through associations of individuals having the same beliefs, ideas, or interests.”

“Similarly, freedom of association creates a forum for citizens in which they may freely seek, without any unlawful interference by the state, to move public opinion and achieve their goals. That “forum” cannot exist if the government is at liberty to treat one association as forming part of another or coercing one association to merge with another association.”

“By seeking to suspend and remove trustees, and appoint interim managers for associations, the government seems to want to place itself in a position to politicise the mandates of such association, and to undermine the ideas that the right to freedom of association and related rights are supposed to protect in a democratic society.”

“SERAP believes that the government granting itself the powers to suspend and remove trustees of legally registered associations and to take control of their bank accounts constitute an effective restraint on human rights. Allowing the government to take control of the bank accounts of association would impact on the rights of the associations, and also seriously undermine civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights as a whole,” the letter said.

Kolawole added that implementing or enforcing some provisions of the legislation would have a significant chilling effect on legitimate activities of associations, and would seriously undermine their independence and operations.

The story is often told, admittedly with as many differing accounts, on the birth of professionally published Law Reports in Nigeria. Or, depending on your fancy, the revival of professional law reporting in Nigeria by sheer happenstance. Pointedly put, it is a tale of machinations to break a monopoly surrounding the ‘hijack’ of the latest Supreme Court judgments from the exclusive preserve of the much revered Rotimi Williams SAN. Possibly apocryphal, the more enduring account goes that the Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi started the Nigerian Constitutional Law Reports, the precursor to the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports (NWLR) in ‘angry protest’ to the ‘notoriety’ of Chief Williams’ (fondly “Timi the Law”) ‘hijack’ of said Supreme Court judgments. Gani, it seems, thought the decisions should be within everyone’s reach, howbeit on commercial terms.

The story goes that Chief Williams liaised with the registries of various courts nationwide to obtain certified true copies of judgments and rulings from the courts. Armed with a formidable war-chest of up-to-date case law citations on even the minutest points, he leveraged the same to win advocacy points, and canvass points of law urging to the court positions of law recently adopted. He was said to have called even the Supreme Court to a few of its decisions in the past which appeared to have escaped the attention of the court in later cases of similar fact pattern. If it helps, a travel through time will confirm that this was at a time when these decisions were not readily available in professionally published law reports. Save for the equally-short-lived Supreme Court -SC Reports (though later revived) which was only just picking up steam, the few attempts at institutionalized law reporting on the scene as at  then – the All Nigeria Law Reports (which started in 1961) and the first private efforts at law reporting- the Nigeria Monthly Law Reports (berthed 1964) were fast disappearing from the scene by the early 70s. It thus, understandably, would take a diligent labourer, not disposed to blaming his work tools, to go the extra mile to source for, and use as applicable, appropriate case law to plead, and represent his client/s cause before the courtrooms. The accounts are agreed anyway that FRA was primus inter pares. Well, I digress.

Fast forward: 2020. The judgments of the courts are still, for want of a better word, sparsely reported in the several law reports, that are now available both in hard print and online. In what, arguably, is now a consistent pattern,  the editors, guided by differing reporting criteria, select a few of these judgments and rulings to report, with the result that many of the decisions are either not reported at all, or where reported, not promptly so. Take, for instance, the Supreme Court makes a point that relaxes a hitherto strict constructionist view on standing to sue and it is not reported in any of the law reports till 6 months later. Or an oft-repeated scenario where a decision of a division of the Court of Appeal belatedly reported, conflicts with that issued by another division of the selfsame Court of Appeal, within the same time span, and without reference to, or citation of the related decision/s on the point; thus many a-time producing uniformly consistent incoherence on similar issues. An online registry where decisions of the court can be readily sourced helps, in no small measure, in drawing the attention of the court to relevant caselaw and enabling it to come to correct, timely and binding decisions.

Relatedly, it is difficult to obtain a reliable statistic as to the number of judgments an appellate court makes in a year. Thus, when at ceremonial functions an admittedly work-laden Supreme Court is reported to have made 297 judgments in a  single legal year, there is, almost certainly, nowhere, save the physical registry of that Court, that those judgments can be sourced or made available.

Many years ago, Microsoft, the PC manufacturer, posed a fascinating question as an advertising campaign: “Where do you want to go today?” The aptly boastful interrogation foretold the shape of things to come with the turn of the 21st century. It now really is here. In a redefined age of ‘new normal’ where in-person physical activity is being increasingly discouraged ( no thanks to  a ravaging global public health crisis), how can the judgments of court be made accessible to all, without the need to as much as visit the registry of court; rendering the registry inevitable only for the purpose of obtaining certification? To be sure, this is where technology in today’s world, comes in.

The justice delivery system will now move forward around the effective deployment of technology. Virtual hearings are a ready example. Most of the courts already have an online presence, enabled by websites. However, with the possible exception of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, and I offer this without any fear of contradiction, there is today no other court, from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court and High Courts of the various states, where regular updates on, and actual uploads of the judgments of the particular court, can be obtained. This is as opposed to some sparse bits of information relating to the Head of the Court, the Judges, and other judicial personnel, as well as the judicial divisions of the particular court system. No other court of the well-over 40 superior courts of record in Nigeria!

Not to be too sweeping, one must add that one or two websites of court, specifically the Supreme Court (https://supremecourt.gov.ng/judgment/passed?page=1), the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (https://www.fcthighcourt.gov.ng/the-family-court/current-cases-submissions/) and the Edo State Judiciary http://edojudiciary.gov.ng/category/judgements/ , though not regularly updated, contain archival materials of old judgments of those courts, and nothing more! Commendably, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, through two online resources- http://nicn.gov.ng/judgment/ and https://judgement.nicnadr.gov.ng/judge.php ensures a regular upload of its judgments and practitioners appearing before the Court are thus acquainted with the law as judicially defined by the court in real time, and are able to urge before the court up-to-date and relevant decisions on subject matter/s before it. Their clients may also be better advised. These judgments, in any event, are also thus accessible to the public.

Lord Neuberger, a former Chief Justice of the UK Supreme Court, delivering the 1^st Bailii Lecture in 1992, identified judgment-dissemination, both in terms of understanding and ready availability, as an essential ingredient of access to justice. The lecture note, aptly titled ‘No Judgment, No Justice’, made a keen observation that ‘Access to Judgments carries with it access to law and access to justice, for lawyers, judges, academics and litigants, and all others interested in or concerned with any aspect of the law’. Articulating further the crucial role of judgment dissemination for members of the public, Neuberger states: ‘There are two types of law reporting. On the one hand there is what can be described as Judgment-dissemination: providing the public with easy and full access to all Judgments. This is what BAILII does and does so very well. And then there is what can be described as Judgment-enhancement: classic and scholarly law reporting. This is what is done so well by, pre-eminently, the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting through the traditional reports, that is the Official Reports (the LR), the Weekly Law Reports (the WLR), and LexisNexis Butterworths through the All England Law Reports (the All ER).’ For additional context, Bailii– the British and Irish Legal Information Institute’s website, https://www.bailii.org/, is  a rich, free online resource which provides/facilitates access to judgments of the English courts. The maze and effective deployment of technology enables those decisions to be posted within hours of being delivered. Thus, any member of the public, anywhere in the world, can read up latest decisions of the UK’s Supreme Court, Family Court, Court of Protection, Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, Court of Appeal (Civil & Criminal Divisions), High Court- Administrative, Admiralty, Mercantile, Technology & Construction. etc just with a click of the ‘mouse’. Decisions rendered by the UK Supreme Court are equally uploaded on https://www.supremecourt.uk/news/latest-judgments.html within minutes of delivery in court. Examples equally abound from both far and near: https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/nav_date.do (Canada), http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/ (South Africa), https://main.sci.gov.in/judgments (India) https://www.supremecourt.gov.sg/news/supreme-court-judgments (Singapore).

Back home, challenges regarding infrastructure and funding may account for the slow pace, but of a truth, inadequate funding is not a sufficient justification. There are now inexpensive methods of achieving these feats.

In the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst hit by the lockdown measures enforced to flatten the curve, has been the justice delivery sector. With in-person physical appearance in court suspended, and uncertainties hovering around virtual court hearing until quite lately, the justice delivery system has been grounded to a halt, even as sparse activities are now gradually returning. Again, recognizing the place of technology to facilitate administration of justice in the new normal, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), in a fervent step to keep with the times, recently launched a mobile app which avails, with effortless simplicity, access to virtual court sittings, practice directions of the Court, cause lists of the various divisions of the court, judgments and rulings etc. These are commendable, positive directions which if the other courts adopt, will change the face of the justice sector for good. Little wonder that the judgments, and indeed the activities of the NICN, are, more often than not, featured as news items on both the traditional and social media. Afterall, if all the flak before now against virtual hearing was on the constitutional stipulation of court proceedings being made public, pray why should the judgments from the courts not be easily accessible by members of the public, from anywhere/even the comfort of their mobile devices?

As in other climes, administration of justice is moving with the trends and the justice delivery system is simply migrating to new platforms. We can no longer afford to shut our eyes to the gleefully disruptive forces of technology intervening, happily, to render speedy and ready access to judgments of the court. One can only imagine the immortal spirit of the late Gani, beaming with paternal fondness at a justice sector which he might find disturbingly familiar, only in its unfamiliarity.

Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, on Saturday announced her return from medical treatment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while calling for healthcare providers to improve the capacity of the country’s health sector and reduce foreign medical trips.

In a statement signed by her and obtained by our correspondent, the First Lady said healthcare providers should take advantage of the Federal Government’s N100bn credit support for the health sector in order to ramp up capacity.

In her Saturday statement, Mrs Buhari thanked Nigerians for their prayers and well-wishes and also extended gratitude to the men and women of the Nigerian Airforce who facilitated her journey back to Nigeria.

A West African delegation on Saturday met with Mali’s military junta and the president it ousted, in a bid to push for a speedy return to civilian rule after a coup in the troubled nation.

The delegation, headed by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, held talks for half an hour with soldiers who seized power on Tuesday, including new strongman Colonel Assimi Goita, an AFP journalist said.

Three envoys from the regional ECOWAS bloc then met with ousted president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita at an undisclosed location, Jonathan told AFP, adding that the “negotiations are going well”.

Rebel soldiers seized Keita and other leaders after a mutiny on Tuesday, dealing another deep blow to a country already struggling with a brutal Islamist insurgency and widespread public discontent over its government.

Keita is being held with prime minister Boubou Cisse in the Kati military base outside the capital Bamako where the coup was unleashed.

Mali’s neighbours have called for Keita to be reinstated, saying the purpose of the delegation’s visit was to help “ensure the immediate return of constitutional order”.

“ECOWAS appreciates what is happening in Mali and ECOWAS wants the best for the country,” Jonathan said after his arrival.

“We’re going to discuss with all stakeholders and I think at the end of the day we’ll come out with something that is good for the country, good for ECOWAS and good for the international community.”

A source close to the junta said that the ECOWAS delegation had made a “good impression”.

“We understand that heads of state, like Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara, are working for an easing of tensions, for a peaceful solution, even if they have firmly condemned our seizing power,” the source told AFP.

“We are open to discussion.”

Adding to the international pressure, the United States on Friday suspended military aid to Mali, with no further training or support of the Mali armed forces.

– ‘We won’ –

But thousands of jubilant Malians took to the streets of Bamako on Friday to celebrate the toppling of Keita, who was reelected in 2018 but became the focus of widespread discontent.

The crowds gathered in Bamako’s central square draped in the national flag and blasting on vuvuzela horns.

The rally, originally organised as an anti-Keita protest by a loose coalition that has led months of mass rallies against him, was recast to “celebrate the victory of the Malian people”.

“I am overjoyed! We won,” said Mariam Cisse, 38.

Speaking at the rally Ismael Wague, spokesman for the junta which calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, paid tribute to the public.

“We merely completed the work that you began and we recognise ourselves in your fight,” he said.

The junta has said it welcomes the ECOWAS visit but has not talked of restoring Keita to power.

“A transitional council, with a transitional president who is going to be either military or civilian” would be appointed, Wague told France 24 television Thursday.

– Fractured nation –

Keita won election in a landslide in 2013, presenting himself as a unifying figure in a fractured country, and was re-elected in 2018 for another five-year term.

But he failed to make headway against the jihadist revolt that has left swathes of the country in the hands of armed Islamists and ignited ethnic violence in the country’s volatile centre.

Thousands of UN and French troops, along with soldiers from five Sahel countries, have been deployed to try to stem the bloodshed.

In a sign of the continuing challenge facing the country, four soldiers were killed Saturday by an explosive device in the centre of the country.

The ECOWAS visit to Mali comes after the UN’s peacekeeping mission in the country said a human rights team had gained access to the ousted president and other detainees on Thursday.

A junta member said the coup leaders had released former economy minister Abdoulaye Daffe and Sabane Mahalmoudou, Keita’s private secretary, calling the move “proof that we respect human rights”.

While Keita and Cisse have no television, radio or phone, other detainees are in a training centre, where they are sleeping on mattresses and have a TV, according to witnesses to the visit.

The 75-year-old ousted president “looked tired but relaxed,” they said, describing his conditions as “acceptable”.

Tuesday’s coup was the second in eight years, and has heightened concern over regional stability as its jihadist insurgency now threatens neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso.

(PUNCH)

Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, and Sokoto state governor, Aminu Tambuwal, were said to have met and discussed the country’s insecurity, governance, and other challenges confronting Nigeria.

During the meeting behind closed doors, Tambuwal was said to have consulted the former president for solutions on insecurity spike in northern region and across the country.

Confirming the meeting, the Special Assistant on Media to the former President, Kehinde Akinyemi, through a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday, stated that the governor met with Obasanjo behind-closed-doors and the meeting lasted for an hour.

After the meeting held at Obasanjo’s Presidential Library Pent House, Tambuwal was said to have described the former president as a statesman and that he was still relevant for consultations on issues of governance and challenges affecting the country.

The Governor, who paid an unscheduled visit to the ex-president, stressed that Nigerians shall continue to learn from the elder statesman.

Tambuwal said: “you know Baba is our leader, statesman. And it is always good for us to come around to see how he is doing, pay homage and to consult him on very many issues of governance, that is why we have come this afternoon. And, we brought him the greetings and felicitations of the good people of Sokoto state.

“We shall continue to learn from him, drink from his wealth of experience and fountain of his knowledge and wisdom on issues of governance and challenges of today.

“We prayed that God Almighty shall continue to give him good health as I have met him today, and may he and all of us survive this Covid-19 pandemic”.

The Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District, Sen. Tolu Odebiyi commiserates with the Ogun APC State Vice Chairman, Engr. Yomi Ademefun over the painful loss of his wife, Mrs. Ibironke Olajumoke Ademefun.

In a press statement released by the office of the Ogun West Senator, Sen. Tolu Odebiyi describes the death of Mrs Ibironke Olajumoke Ademefun, the wife of the State APC Vice Chairman, as an irreparable loss to the family, Ogun APC, the Christian community and Ogun State as a whole.

“The death of Mrs Ademefun is a big loss and a painful one. Mrs Ademefun was a worthy, kind and virtuous woman who was highly respected in the Christian community”.

“A selfless woman who always puts the needs of others before hers. Her contributions to the Christian community will echo eternally. She will indeed be remembered for what she stood for during her life time”

Senator Odebiyi prays that God should give our dear Party Vice Chairman, her children, family members and friends the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss and grant her eternal rest.

The Presidency has released the second-term achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari.

It listed 35 policies, programmes and projects including the controversial Companies and Allied Matters Act, CAMA.

Also listed as an achievement by the President is the 774,000 nationwide menial job creation and increment of National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, allowance.

The Presidency shared the President’s accomplishments in a statement via its Twitter handle, @NGRPresident, on Friday.

Buhari had on August 7 signed into law, the Companies and Allied Matters Bill, 2020. The bill which has been passed by the National Assembly replaced the 1990 CAMA.

Read full lists below:

Today August 21, 2020 marks one year since President Buhari inaugurated his second-term cabinet. A lot has happened since then, in terms of policy development and implementation.

Here’s a list of highlights:

· President Buhari established new Ministries, including Police Affairs and Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, exactly a year ago, August 21, 2020.

· The Budget Implementation Cycle was successfully restored to a January-to-December Calendar, with the signing of the 2020 Appropriation Bill in December 2019.

· President Buhari signed into law a Finance Bill, to reform domestic tax laws, introduce tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets, and improve the business environment. It was the first time since the return of democracy in 1999 that a Federal Budget was accompanied by a passage of an enabling Finance Bill.

· President Buhari approved a 10 billion Naira Intervention Fund for the upgrade of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu. That project is now very close to completion.

· President Buhari ordered a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC)

· Nigeria rose 15 places on the World Bank Doing Business Index, to 131st position, from 146th, earning a place as one of ten top performing countries in the word

· President Buhari assented to the Deep Offshore (and Inland Basin Production Sharing Contract) Act, a landmark legislative reform which will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in extra government revenues annually

· President Buhari performed the ground-breaking for the University of Transportation in Daura, an investment by CCECC in Nigeria. On a similar note, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo performed the ground-breaking for a new Wagon Assembly Plant in Kajola, Ogun State, which will produce rolling stock for Nigeria’s new Rail Lines, and create jobs for thousands of Nigerians.

· President Buhari approved the Financial Transparency Policy, mandating publication of Public Financial Information through an Open Treasury Portal.

· Nigerian has a new Visa Policy, that will improve the business environment, attract innovation and FDI, boost tourism and improve African integration.

· Nigeria commenced issuance of Visas on Arrival to all persons holding passports of African countries

· President Buhari approved the commencement of the Community Policing initiative, and has approved a 13.3 billion Naira take-off grant.

· Nigeria commenced Operation ‘Ex-Swift Response’, a multi-agency security operation to secure the nation’s land borders.

· President Buhari flagged-off construction of the Ajaokuta–Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline.

· President Buhari launched the the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Scheme. (Factsheet below)

· President Buhari established the Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), under the leadership of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The ESC has since developed the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), a 2.3 Trillion Naira stimulus package to help cushion the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. (Update below)

· The Federal Executive Council approved the kick-off of pre-engineering phase (and payment of part counterpart funding) of the Presidential Power Initiative, a government-to-government deal involving the Nigeria, Germany and Siemens AG.

· Final Investment Decision was reached on the US$10 billion Train 7 expansion of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited (in which the NNPC holds a 49 percent stake). This was followed by the signing of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project. The Train 7 will expand NLNG’s capacity by 35 percent, and further position Nigeria as one of the leading producers and exporters of LNG in the world.

· Commencement of payment of increased Allowance (33,000 Naira monthly) to NYSC members.

· President Buhari established the National Humanitarian Coordination Committee (NHCC), and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 (PTFCOVID19).

· President Buhari approved the release of a 10 billion Naira Grant to the Lagos State Government and a 5 billion Naira Grant to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC), to support the Coronavirus Response.

· President Buhari signed an Amendment to Executive Order 8, the Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS).

· The Department of Petroleum Resources has commenced the bidding round for 57 Marginal Fields, the first such process in almost 20 years. Details here

· A National Special Public Works (SPW) programme kicked off in the first quarter of 2020, with a successful pilot programme in eight States. It is now being expanded nationwide, and will provide employment and stipends for 774,000 young Nigerians – 1,000 beneficiaries per Local Government) for three months, starting October 2020. Details here

· The Itakpe-Warri Railway Line is now ready for operations. Construction commenced more than three decades ago, and then the project was abandoned for many years, until President Buhari took office. It has now been completed and is ready to commence commercial operations, as Nigeria’s “Central Line.”

· Track-laying for the main section of the new Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway Line was completed in March 2020, almost exactly three years after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the project, on behalf of President Buhari.

· The Nigeria Police Trust Fund, established by the President in 2019, has now been operationalised, with the appointment and inauguration of a Board of Trustees, and an Executive Secretary.

· Nigeria defeated Polio – attaining, in Q3 2020, the status of being officially free from the Wild Polio Virus, for the first time in the country’s history.

· No fewer than three private Modular Refinery projects have been completed in 2020, a clear manifestation of the success of the New Vision for the Niger Delta, President Buhari’s Peace, Security and Development Agenda for the oil-producing region of Nigeria. The Modular Refining element of the New Vision involves extending policy and financing support to private investors seeking to establish Modular Refineries.

· The first of the dozen A-29 Super Tucano light attack, combat and reconnaissance aircraft ordered by Nigeria in a government-to-government deal with the United States successfully completed its inaugural flight at the production facility. The full fleet is scheduled for delivery in 2021.

· President Buhari approved the establishment of a 75 billion Naira Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), to provide 5%-interest business loans to Nigerians aged between 18 and 35. Details here

· The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched a 50 billion Naira Household and SME support facility, to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic. As at July 2020, N49.195 billion has been disbursed, to over 92,000 beneficiaries.

· Applications opened (and have now closed) for a new Batch of beneficiaries for the N-Power Jobs Scheme, a component of the National Social Investment Programme, overseen by the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. More than 5 million young Nigerians applied for the 400,000 places to be filled.

· The Federal Government approved a new Policy for the promotion of local production of Bitumen and other construction materials In Nigeria.

· President Buhari gives presidential assent to a landmark Bill amending the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). Here’s what it means.