Human Rights Activist, Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, has petitioned the office of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, over a case of Illegal extortion.

Mr. Jimoh had in a letter of complaint dated the 12th day of December, 2019, narrated the case of a client who filed a suit and was asked to pay the sum of N50,000, just for recovery of debt. According to him, this is not in line with the rules.

He, thus, called on the chief judge to look into the matter and a call to order for the interest of justice.

His petition read below INFULL

12th December, 2019.

The Honourable, the Chief Judge,
Federal High Court of Nigeria,
Headquarters,
Federal Capital Territory- Abuja.

My Lord,
NOTIFICATION OF LINGERING EXTORTIONS, EXPLOITATIONS, ILLEGALITY AND PERVERSION OF THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE BEING PERPETRATED BY THE REGISTRY OF THE COURT AND CALL FOR NECESSARY CALL TO ORDER IN THE INTEREST OF THE PROMOTION OF THE CAUSE OF JUSTICE

1. The above subject matter refers.

2. My Lord, I hereby humbly notify Your Lordship of the lingering extortions, exploitations, illegality and perversion of the cause of justice being perpetrated by the Registry of this Honourable Court and I therefore humbly recommend that Your Lordship should call the Registry of this Court to proper order in the interest of the promotion of the cause of justice.

3. My Lord, I have observed that the Registry of this Honourable Court has become an avenue for extorting and exploiting the common man who are litigants and counsel who approach the court for justice and settlement of disputes. This kind of situation, in my humble view, is really a great shame, embarrassment, disgrace and disappointment and is contrary of what a Court of law stands for as ‘the last hope of the common man’! My Lord, this Honourable Court is a court of law, court of equity and court of justice! This Honourable Court, with due respect, is not a business enterprise! In fact, it is much more disheartening that the Registry of this Honourable Court would refuse and deny a litigant who has approached the Court for justice in a cause against another person access to justice only because of the money (which is illegal, unjustifiable and amounts to perversion of the cause of justice) which the Registry has (without any legal justification) mandated him to pay!

4. My Lord, on the 10th day of December, 2019, I had approached the Registry of this Honourable Court to file an originating summons via a judicial review after leave of court had been sought and granted by the Court. I was in the company of my client who has approached the court for judicial review of an action of a government’s institution which had made some decisions which prejudiced his interests and would like the court to determine the issues and to secure justice for him. This client had no money but had approached me for help professionally and as a human rights activist! I had taken up the matter for him with good conscience and service to humanity! When we approached the Registry of the Court, my client was billed to pay the sum of fifty thousand Naira (N50,000.00) only as fee chargeable for recovery of the sum of a hundred million naira N100,000,000.00) only which he had claimed as damages against the said Defendants in addition to the normal filing fees! This came to us as a great shock (especially me, as a human and socio-economic rights activist and an anti-corruption crusader) as to why a litigant would be mandated to pay such an amount of money at the initial stage of filing when he had not even recovered any sum of money and when he does not even know the fate of his matter before the Court as to whether the Court would grant him his reliefs or even strike out or dismiss his claims or matter! This brought a great hardship on my client to such extent that he decided to forgo his complaints because he could not get such amount of money as an indigent person! More so, as at that time, we had only that day and the next day to file as a matter of urgency to avoid the suit becoming statute barred in one way or the other or becoming a controversial litigation. I had to approach the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) of the Court for rescue. But disappointingly and shockingly, he also confirmed the assessment of such cost as assessed by the official of the Court in the Registry who is in charge of assessment! He also confirmed that there was nothing that he could do unless that my client must pay the money! I also tried to draw his attention to the fact that this money billed is even without any recovery being ascertainable yet! But he was adamant that my client must go and pay the money else, there was nothing that he could do! I ran and made efforts to see how to rescue my client from the life-threatening injustice that has been meted on him by the Defendants! Unfortunately to us, we could not raise such an amount of money within that very short time and so, we could not file the suit that day (denial of access to justice unreasonably!). So, we were running around and making contacts with almost everyone known to my client, me and another lawyer in my office, just to rescue the client from his suit being statute barred or becoming subject of controversy!

5. My Lord, the following morning, which was the 11th day of December, 2019 (and the last day for applying for judicial review by law and the rules of the Court), my client was out very early in the morning to sell his I-Pad gadget worthy of the value of eighty-thousand naira (N80,000.00) only at Zuba (even though my client does not reside in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Court but had arrived to Abuja on the 9th day of December, 2019, for the purpose of this case’s filing so that he could sign his depositions on oath before the Commissioner for Oaths of this Honourable Court!) and same was purchased by the purchaser at the sum of twenty-five thousand naira (N25,000.00) only even with ‘I beg oga!’ due to the urgency of the need! Then, my client had to also sell his phone which he had bought two years a go (when things were still okay for him) at the sum of ninety-one thousand naira (N91,000.00) only (according to my client) and same was purchased by the wicked purchaser at the sum of five thousand naira (N5,000.00) only to make up the sum of thirty thousand naira (N30,000.00) only! I had to beg another client of mine who took pity on this man and dashed him the sum of eight thousand naira (N8000.00) only while a lawyer in my office also spoke to some of her acquaintances and was able to raise the sum of fifteen thousand naira (N15,000.00) only to make the total sum of fifty-three thousand naira (N53,000.00) only. So, we proceeded to the court for filing after the payment of the illegally, unlawfully, unjustifiably and callously assessed fees (which was wrongly assessed and in contravention of the prescribed fee made by the Rules of this Honourable Court!) and so, we were able to file same! Glory be to God Almighty! A photocopy of the receipt of the confirmation of the payment is hereby attached to this letter and is marked as ‘Annexure A’.

6. My Lord, with due respect to the Registry of this Honourable Court and the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation), they were both wrong and had misconstrued the true fee prescribed by the Rules of the Court! The Rule of the Court had never provided that litigants shall pay such fee for recovery of any sum at the time of filing rather, by interpretation, what the Rules provided for was to pay such prescribed fee after judgment must have been given in favour of either the Plaintiff or the Defendant and not that the Plaintiff must pay at the time of filing the suit (i.e. the fees is only chargeable upon judgment’s sum!). This was what in my humble view, and with due respect, the Registry of the Court and the Deputy Chief Registrar had misconstrued by always forcing, compelling and mandating any litigant who has approached the court to the cost of recovery at the initial stage of filing whereas, the fate of the litigant is not even known! The questions that I am asking the Registry and the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) are: what will happen where the suit is stuck out or dismissed?! Has anything been recovered?! What will happen to the said money already paid (which is nonrefundable) where the Court awards less or no fees in my client’s favour if he had paid the sum of fifty-thousand naira (N50,000.00) only on the sum of one hundred million naira (N100,000,000.00) only sought as damages in his reliefs and the court awards him the sum of one hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) only or no damages at all?! Will such fund (which supposes to generate interest over the long period of time) be refunded back to him (even if the suit takes as long as few years as two or more years to get to judgment)?! These and many more questions can come to mind to prove that such interpretation of the Rules of the Court by the Registry of the Court and the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) was wrongly interpreted and applied! This indeed is in my humble view, an official and deliberate extortion, exploitation, illegality and perversion of the cause of justice! The court, in my humble view, is a court of justice and not a business enterprise! I humbly submit!

7. For the purpose of clarification My Lord, Appendix 2 of the Schedule of the Rules of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019-herien after referred to as the Rules of the Court- which the Registry of this Honourable Court and the Deputy Chief Registrar had misconstrued and misinterpreted (with due respect to them) provides thus

‘APPENDIX 2
FEES PAYABLE
N
1. For the recovery of a specified sum-
(a) Not exceeding N20,000 ……………….. 1,000.00
(b) Exceeding N20,000; but not above N100,000 …………………….. 1,500.00
(c) Exceeding N100,000; but not above N1,000,000 ………………………… 2,500.00
(d) Exceeding N1,000,000 per N100,000 or part of it ……………………………….. 1,500.00
(e) Maximum fee …………………………………………………………………. 50,000.00
(f) Claim in foreign currency shall be converted into the local currency as assessed above.’

8. With due respect My Lord, I humbly submit that the word ‘RECOVERY’ as used by the Rules of the Court above in law refers to (in respect of the fees) the fees payable when such assessable fees have been decided by the Court in favour of the litigant in the judgment or order delivered in his favour and or when an appeal in such matter has expired and or the right of appeal of the other party has been finally exhausted (i.e. judgment sum) and not for the litigant to pay such an amount at the time that he is filing his suit!

9. My Lord, for more clarification (without any iota of doubt to buttress my legal arguments and submissions in this respect), the Black’s Law Dictionary (4th Edition) which I was able to lay my hands on at the time of writing this letter defines the word ‘RECOVERY’ (which is a legal terminology) thus
‘RECOVERY. In its most extensive sense, the restoration or vindication of a right existing in a person, by the formal judgment or decree of a competent court, at his instance and suit, or the obtaining, by such judgment, of some right or property which has been taken or withheld from him. This is also called a “true” recovery, to distinguish it from a “feigned” or “common” recovery. See Common Recovery.
The obtaining of a thing by the judgment of a court, as the result of an action brought for that purpose. Vaughan v. Humphreys, 153 Ark. 140, 239 S.W. 730, 22 A.L.R. 1201.
The amount finally collected, or the amount of judgment. In re Lahm, 179 App.Div. 757, 167 N.Y.S. 217, 219.

Final Recovery.
The final judgment in an action. Also the final verdict in an action, as distinguished from the judgment entered upon it. Fisk v. Gray, 100 Mass. 193.’.

10. Furthermore My Lord, the said Black’s Law Dictionary defines the word ‘RECOVER’ (a verbal word) to mean thus
‘RECOVER. To get or obtain again, to collect, to get renewed possession of; to win back; to regain, as lost property, territory, appetite, health, courage. In a narrower sense, to be successful in a suit, to collect or obtain amount, to have judgment, to obtain a favorable or final judgment, to obtain in any legal manner in contrast to voluntary payment. Covert v. Randles, 53 Ariz. 225, 87 P.2d 488, 490. Olds v. General Acc. Fire and Life Assur. Corp., 67 Ca1.App.2d 812, 155 P.2d 676, 680.’
11. My Lord, all the above definitions are to the effects as I have submitted above that the said prescribed fee is only assessable and payable only when judgment is delivered in the favour of the litigant and when he is to recover the judgment sum from the other party (since all moneys are only payable to any party through the Registry of the Court according to the Rules of the Court) whether where there was no appeal or the time of appeal has expired or the right has been exhausted by the other party against whom the judgment or decree or order was made and not at the initial time of filing the said suit in court! This would show and prove that the Registry of this Honourable Court is much more interested in the ‘litigant’s money’ without having rendered any service to him rather than for his ‘justice’ in his cause! In my humble view My Lord, it is absolutely wrong and unjustifiable for the Registry of the Court and the Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) to have refused my client to file his process on the 10th day of December, 2019, unless and until he paid the illegal and unlawful fees which was assessed as a result of the misinterpretation and misapplication of the provisions of the Rules of the Court. I humbly submit with due respect My Lord, that my client is entitled to refund of the illegally assessed and collected fees by the Registry of this Honourable Court and same is hereby demanded! My Lord, this kind of fees in my humble view, is refundable by the Registry of this Honourable as the Registry of this Court cannot be allowed to benefit from its illegality! I humbly submit My Noble Lord!

12. Furthermore My Lord, right of litigants to access the Court of Law is in my humble view a constitutional right which this Honourabel Court is to afford the litigant such as my client. My Lord, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)-herein after referred to as the Constitution- has established and guaranteed this socio-economic right of the citizen and has prohibited exploitation of the human resources of the citizens in any form whatsoever (the contrary of what the Registry of this Court has done to my client) in section 17 of the Constitution thus
‘17.—(1) The State social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality and Justice.
(2) In furtherance of the social order—
(a) every citizen shall have equality of rights, obligations and opportunities before the law ;
(b) the sanctity of the human person shall be recognised and human dignity shall be maintained and enhanced ;
(c) government actions shall be humane ;
(d) exploitation of human or natural resources in any form whatsoever for reasons other than the good of the community shall be prevented ; and
(e) the independence, impartiality and integrity of courts of law, and easy accessibility thereto shall be secured and maintained.’.

13. My Lord, it is my humble submission that this Honourable Court is a Court of justice and not a Court of disgraceful injustice and exploitation of the common man or litigants! This Honourable Court is, in my view, supposed to be the last hope of the Common man! My Lord, it is very shocking to me that the interest of justice and the accessibility of my client to access the Court OF Justice was refused, rejected and denied by the Registry of this Honourable Court unless he went to pay the huge sum of fifty thousand naira (N50,000.00) only else, he should just forget his cause of which he had approached the Court for justice to such extent that my Client had to sell his properties at the most annoying price just to meet up with the urgency illegally created by the Registry of this Honourable Court! In fact, My Lord, I humbly call for an immediate investigation into this matter and whosoever that is found wanting must be brought to justice! Much more so, it is unacceptable to say that the Registry of this Court would not understand the Rules made by this Honourable Court (for the public) at the detriment of the common man in the society who are litigants! I humbly submit that injustice to one, is injustice to all!

14. I therefore humbly recommend the following immediate actions to be taken on this subject matter by Your Lordship with immediate effect:
i. The illegality and unlawful assessment and charge of such ‘recovery’ fees at the time of filing of court’s processes must be put to a halt;
ii. This matter must be investigated with adequate transparency;
iii. Necessary disciplinary measures must be taken against any officer/official of the Registry of the Court who has been officially exploiting litigants of their sweats by compelling the illegal fees to be assessed and payable at the time of filing and not at the time of recovery of the judgment sum and denying litigant (and in this case, denying my client his right to justice in this Court) unless and until he pays the illegal fees (error of interpretation of the Rules of this Honourable Court by the Registry of this Court is unacceptable and untenable!);
iv. Refund of the illegally assessed and paid sum of money by my client to the registry of this Court as contained in the ‘Annexure A’ attached to this letter (I shall supply my official account details for refund payment upon request for same by the Registry of this Honourable Court);
v. Review of the operations and applications of all the provisions of the Rules of this Honourable Court by the officers/officials in charge in the Registry of this Court which tend to deny litigants and members of the public access to justice, the court being the last hope of the common man;
vi. Finally, I request a formal report of the Court on the investigation and findings on these complaints.

15. I however which to respectfully observe and submit that the prescribed fees for recovery of fees under the Rules of this Honourable Court is never applicable to the matters or claims made an applicant under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 (which is sui generis) unless the Rules are amended pursuant to the powers of the Honourable, the Chief Justice of Nigeria conferred on His Lordship by section 46 of the Constitution!

16. Finally, I believe that all these illegality, extortion and exploitation being perpetrated by the Registry of this Honourable Court is not to the knowledge of My Lord and that My Lord, would not have allowed such unlawful acts to be continuously perpetrated by the Registry of the Court leading to a disgraceful injustice to the common man (and in this case, my client) and denying the common man access to the Court and access to justice within the precincts of the Court of law and Court of justice (my client being the victim in this case)! I therefore humbly pray Your Lordship to call the Registry of this Honourable Court to order and to carry out all the above recommendations not later than three (3) days from the receipts of this letter, else, I may have no other option than to forward my complaints to the necessary appropriate government’s agency(ies) for necessary intervention towards ensuring the reversal to the lawful status quo as provided by the Rules of this Honourable Court!

Yours faithfully,

Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.
Sole Practitioner/Principal Counsel/Human and Socio-economic Rights Activist.
Cc:
1. The Chief Registrar, Federal High Court of Nigeria, Headquarters, FCT-Abuja.
2. The Registrar-General, Federal Consumer Protection Council, Headquarters, FCT- Abuja.
3. The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Justice, FCT- Abuja.
4. The President, Nigerian Bar Association, National Headquarters, FCT- Abuja.
5. The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar), FCT- Abuja.