SANs should also appear at lower courts

Uwemedimo Nwoko is the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State. In this interview, he speaks about barring lay-police men from prosecuting in magistrate courts and other issues   What have you been doing to see that lawyers resident in Akwa Ibom get to the exalted rank of senior advocates of Nigeria? Right now as an […]

Uwemedimo Nwoko is the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State. In this interview, he speaks about barring lay-police men from prosecuting in magistrate courts and other issues

 

What have you been doing to see that lawyers resident in Akwa Ibom get to the exalted rank of senior advocates of Nigeria?

Right now as an attorney general I have used my office to enhance practice of a lot of people who look forward to becoming senior advocates of Nigeria. I have given them cases that can take them up – cases that can bring up their record. That is basically the much I am doing now, even as I am aspiring, because you never can say who gets it first. It does not matter who gets it first. I am encouraging all competent lawyers, even the junior ones, to do the very best they can to boost their record.

What is your take on the prevalent view that SAN should appear only in the appellate and superior courts of record?

It would be very strange. What the appellate courts, which are the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court, as the final appellate court, do is merely review the cases as structured, packaged and presented at the trial court, which is the High Court. So, where a case is done, constructed, engineered, where a foundation of a case is laid, that put the case in proper perspective and help the court of law to do justice to the parties at the High Court. So, any suggestion that the senior advocates of Nigeria or person of that privileged rank should not be part of the foundation of the case, where the justice of the case is done, is preposterous.

Is it desirable or out of tradition?

It does not even align with any common sense. Very few cases should be going to the Supreme Court. A little more can be going to the Court of Appeal. People should be able to look at their cases, the merits and demerits, the value of the case, and possibly end it at the High Court. And it is therefore very concrete, essential foundation of every case in terms of packaging, presentation, raising of evidence, presentation of witnesses and all that are done at the High Court. And that is where there is need for the senior advocates to put in their experience. And again, it is even to the advantage of the profession that the younger lawyers should have the privilege and opportunity of understudying the senior advocates right from the High Court before they get to the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court, to learn. It is a tutelage process, and if they don’t have the senior advocate at this foundational level at the High Court, how and where would the junior ones learn?

Akwa Ibom State is one of the three states (including Taraba and Ekiti) whose human rights record, have been recognized by the United States Embassy in Nigeria. What is your response and how was that achieved?

Definitely it was a deserving award. It is to the credit of the governor of Akwa Ibom, Udom Emmanuel. There is absolute respect for the rule of law in Akwa Ibom State and there is also high premium placed on fundamental rights of citizens and every resident of the state. I make bold to say that if you go round the whole of Akwa Ibom State in all the courts – both federal and state courts – you would not find a single case of somebody filing for fundamental rights on ground of government infringement.

There is a clamour to stop policemen who are not lawyers from prosecution of criminal matters in magistrate courts in accordance to ACJA provisions. Is Akwa Ibom going to remove police prosecutorial powers in the magistrate courts?

I don’t think we would want to adopt that particular position. At least as far as it relates to the magistrate courts. Some of them are doing well. Even then there are police lawyers. The police lawyers should be able to prosecute. They have been called to bar. They are competent.

What is Akwa Ibom’s position on the clamour for restructuring of the country?

Restructuring is very key for every sincere person that wishes Nigeria well. Nigeria currently is like a vehicle which is overloaded with opaque objects that even the driver well seated in front cannot see the load. The present structure of Nigeria would never allow the country to progress.