C. S. Onyimah, Esq of Omarunma Chambers, Port Harcourt has blamed the continued corruption and impunity in the Nigerian Police Force on the inaction of the Nigerian Bar Association. TheNigeriaLawyer(TNL) reports

In an open letter to the NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN , Onyimah says Police Stations in River State extort citizens in the name of bail.

Onyimah says where a lawyer arrives at the police station, however courteous his approach may be, the IPO treats him with scorn, disdain and utter disrespect, in most cases with abusive utterances. Where the lawyer’s posture appears uncompromising to extorting his client, the IPO will become furious and the next thing will be to abuse the lawyer with impunity and ask him to wait in court until whenever ‘investigation’ is concluded. The hopeless client is then thrown into detention cell in the presence of the helpless lawyer, even if the complaint against the suspect is an allegation of civil nature.

Onyimah Advises the NBA President, AGF and other stakeholders to set a law in motion that will make it difficult and impossible for any police officer to extort money at the police station without severe consequences which must include immediate dismissal and prosecution.

Read the full letter below:

MR. PAUL USORO, SAN, FCIArb.

President, Nigerian Bar Association

NBA House, Plot 1101 Mohammadu Buhari Way,

Central Business District,

Abuja, FCT.

January 6, 2020.

Dear Learned Silk,

PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW IN NIGERIA IN THE FACE OF FANTASTICALLY CORRUPT AND ABUSIVE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE. WHERE REALLY IS THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION?

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NIGERIAN BAR.

  1. The best of season’s greetings and happy New Year 2020 to you, your immediate family, the leadership and entire membership of the Nigerian Bar. I hope this open letter gets to you in your best of times and meets you in good spirit. I am also very hopeful that you will in your characteristic sense of humility, be kind enough to personally interrogate the message espoused by this letter, without minding the insignificance of the author.
  2. I write you this open letter not just as a legal practitioner and young lawyer, but as a concerned citizen of Nigeria driven by patriotic zeal and deep love for my dear country Nigeria, and for the ordinary citizens who from my very humble experiences as a lawyer, contend daily with the terrors and horrors of unbridled corruption, incarceration, torture and extortion in the hands of members of the Nigerian Police Force.
  3. Sir, the main reason for the existence of government under the various social contract theories is the protection of lives and property. And I dare say that the main reason for and No.1function of the Nigerian government is to protect lives and properties of every Nigerian citizen and resident within Nigeria. In fact Section 14(2) b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended succinctly puts it thus: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”All over the world, the task of protection of lives and properties by the government connotes maintenance of law and order, especially the administration of criminal justice system through the law enforcement agencies, chief amongst which is the police. I believe this system is the same in principles all over the world, with variations depending on the country’s corpus juris. Maintenance or enforcement of law and order presupposes there are laws already in existence which are to be enforced and in accordance with its provisions and as determined or interpreted by the courts of law.
  4. However, the business of ensuring that the law enforcement agencies and officers (especially the police) abide by the dictates of the laws in the administration of criminal justice system is the function of the rule of law. Interestingly, the business of the Nigerian Bar Association is promoting the rule of law! The business of promoting the rule of law in Nigeria is apt for the NBA because lawyers are (and must be seen as) indispensable stakeholders in the administration of criminal justice system.
  5. At least the role of a lawyer in this regard will be to ensure that the rule of law is observed in respect of his client’s rights whenever such rights are likely to be affected in the course of criminal justice administration by the police or any law enforcement agency. That is why it is a common phenomenon all over the world that whenever a person is confronted by the police or law enforcement officers, the first thing that comes to his mind is to reach out to a lawyer. The impulse to reach out to a lawyer by persons confronted by the police is fueled by the assurance that the lawyer will at least ensure that the police officers involved must comply with the dictates of the law in carrying out their duties, including respect for his human rights etc.
  6. Unfortunately and regrettably so, the reality of criminal justice system in Nigeria today is a far cry from the above stated norms, even as effectively prescribed by the constitution and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015. The Nigerian Police Force which has been officially declared very recently as the headquarters of corruption in Nigeria, has over the years rendered an average Nigerian lawyers incapacitated and least useful in terms of guaranteeing the freedom of his clients from police custody once arrested.
  7. Today in Nigeria in the full glare of the NBA, most citizens are being arrested and detained in police cells not on account of any reasonable suspicion of commission of crime, but only to extort them by subjecting them to pay money in cash for their freedom from custody. It is now widespread and perhaps very official that once arrested or invited to a police station for any reason, it is impossible to regain your freedom without negotiating and paying for your freedom. And lawyers have been reduced to mere bail negotiators and facilitators for corrupt police officers. Otherwise the lawyer will be harassed with impunity by even an ordinary police constable, for daring to insist that bail should be free for his client. This practice is most rampant in almost all police stations in Rivers State Command, where police officers (especially the IPOs) with crass impunity, openly and fearlessly demand outrageous amount of money in cash from not just detained crime suspects, but from lawyers who solicit the release of detained clients.
  8. This ugly trend is now so brazen that even when an innocent citizen voluntarily honours police invitation in respect of petition or complaints with spurious and unsubstantiated allegations of civil nature, such citizen must pay for his freedom no matter how exonerative his responses are to the complaint made against him. To put it bluntly, our police stations are now kidnap dens where mostly innocent citizens are kept hostage until ransom is paid before bail is granted; not minding that everywhere in our police stations is littered with inscriptions “bail is free“. Even shocking is the fact that somewhere at the bottom of a police bail bond, there is a spurious assertion fraudulently inserted by the police authorities, where the surety will be taken to have declared that he has not parted with any cash for the bail of the suspect. Facts of these corrupt practices are difficult to establish in evidence because corrupt police officers demand and accept only cash. Secondly it is a common practice at every police station where corrupt extortions take place that mobile phones and gadgets are not allowed beyond the gate, to guard against the possibilities of recording or audio taping of corrupt activities, conversions and communications by police officers in the police station.
  9. Learned silk, because of the unrestricted and unrestrained powers and impunity with which police officers extort ‘bail money‘ from citizens at the police stations especially in Rivers State police command where I practice, lawyers are exposed to constant harassments, humiliations and embarrassments from these police officers who frown at the presence of lawyers at police stations and see them as sworn enemies. It is worrisome that the presence of a lawyer fully briefed at the police station does not deter police officers (no matter the rank) from extorting moneys from the suspects as ‘bail money’. Instead, these officers exhibit added impetus and impunity in the presence of the lawyer and get away with it because they are protected by the corrupt system in the police force.
  10. For instance, when a citizen is arrested and or detained at the police station, concerned relatives will impulsively brief a lawyer on the illusion that the lawyer will at least ensure justice for the arrested person. Justice here is that the arrested person will be released on bail freely or immediately taken to court for trial without being tortured, physical abused and or extorted. The common practice now is that after arrest is made, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) with full expectation of making moneys from the arrested suspect, detests the presence of a lawyer, at least until he or she makes enough money from the suspect as ‘bail money’ which sum depends on the nature of the alleged offence. Any suspect who cannot afford to pay the demanded bail money will languish in police custody for a weeks and months before eventually bundled to court.
  11. However, where a lawyer arrives the police station, however courteous his approach maybe, the IPO will address him with scorn, disdain and utter disrespect, in most cases with abusive utterances. Where the lawyer’s posture appears uncompromising to extorting his client, the IPO will become furious and the next thing will be to abuse the lawyer with impunity and ask him to wait in court until whenever ‘investigation’ is concluded. The hopeless client is then thrown into detention cell in the presence of the helpless lawyer, even if the complaint against the suspect is an allegation of civil nature. As soon as the lawyer is frustrated out of the station, most clients and their relatives will just negotiate and pay the IPO to secure freedom. To avoid this fight that no single lawyer can win alone, most lawyers will simply plead with police officers to accept a more affordable “bail money” from their clients.
  12. A simple civil disagreement between neighbours will result in both parties parting with their hard earned incomes at the police station to corrupt police officers. Nigerians understand and have accepted that going to any police station whether as complainant or suspect means going to spend their money.
  13. I have had series of experiences and borne witness to situations where innocent Nigerians sold their properties and even borrowed just to free themselves from police custody. Stories of these nightmarish incidences abound, most of which go unreported. And it is a very untrue and dangerous narrative to continue to pretend that it is a case of ‘few bad eggs‘ in the Force. No! The level of corruption in the police institution in Nigeria today has long gone beyond the narrative of ‘few bad egg’. We must now begin to situate it in the context of what it truly is: baskets of rotten eggs! The Nigerian Bar Association and its leadership cannot continue to feign ignorance of the monstrous corruption in the Nigerian Police Force. We just can’t.
  14. I was embarrassed when I overheard somebody vehemently advising a suspect’s relative against inviting a lawyer to the police station for the bail of the detained suspect. He urged his friend to rather negotiate the bail money directly with the IPO. His reason was that his friend would still pay the bail money whether he invited a lawyer or not; that would mean still paying the bail money and lawyer’s professional fee. So instead of paying a lawyer only to negotiate bail money, better leave him out and personally do the negotiation to avoid paying double. In spite of my consternation and embarrassment, I could not agree more with the fellow. And it is for the same reason that I have become disenchanted with accepting any brief that requires my physical presence at the police station. More so is the fact that currently, the Nigerian lawyer has little or no respect or value at the police stations. I have my awful personal experiences of police brutality against me and many young lawyers, few of which I have previously shared publicly. It is as if every Nigerian police officer has an orientation that lawyers in Nigeria are worthless professionals that can always be treated anyhow and gotten away with it without any consequences.
  15. Learned silk Sir, the NBA cannot continue to idle by and allow this ugly trend to keep flourishing uncontrollably, as it robs the Nigerian lawyers of their importance, usefulness, values and significance as regards the defence of human rights of citizens at police stations, which is also a very sensitive theatre and crucial stage of the administration of criminal justice system.
  16. I am of the very firm view that the reason for the high rate of impunity and corruption in the Nigerian Police Force is that the NBA as a body has failed woefully in her mandate of ‘promoting the rule of law‘ to the benefits of Nigerians who now view Nigerian lawyers with utter discontent and disappointment in this regard. This abysmal failure to hold the Nigerian Police Force to reckoning as regards the criminal justice administration in Nigeria has further created a growing sense of disillusionment of Nigerians against Nigerian lawyers. To make matters worse, lawyers are even viewed by most Nigerians as part of the problem. Indeed how can we still be parading ourselves as “promoters of the rule of law” with the very ugly way policing has become before our full glares? What really has the NBA done as promoters of the rule of law in challenging or changing the status quo of human rights abuses by officers of the Nigerian Police Force? Where is our moral compass in charting a better course for rule of law for Nigerians, even as political leadership has failed them? Has the NBA previously tried anything in these regards and failed? Is the “promoting the rule of law” mantra of the NBA factual or just self acclaimed? If the NBA has not stood up gallantly for its own members, how can it claim to stand up for every Nigerian?
  17. It is my further view, that the impunity and guts with which police officers harass and most time brutalize lawyers performing their professional duties at the police stations are fuelled by the very fact that they know they will always get away with it. The most the NBA can do, (as it has always done anytime a report has become viral that a lawyer has been abused by the police) is to issue a press statement and thereafter the matter is completely forgotten by the next week. Obviously, every police officer in Nigeria understands that Nigerian lawyers are not truly protected in such a way that any police officer that unjustly assaults a lawyer at the police station will be singled out and severely dealt with as an individual officer.
  18. Dear learned SAN, my humble supplication in this open letter is for an immediate eradication of the criminal extortions currently ongoing in almost all the police stations across the country, with Rivers State Command becoming the most notorious. Police Stations in Nigeria today are now glorified kidnap centers, where relatives of suspects are forced to part with huge amount of cash (bail money) as ransom for the release on bail of suspects most of whom are intentionally detained for reasons unconnected with the administration of criminal justice but merely for corrupt enrichment of police officers, who are otherwise ordinary fellow citizens employed and paid salaries to protect lives and properties, and maintain law and order in our communities.
  19. Second is the protection of members of the noble profession from excesses of overzealous Nigerian police officers and other law enforcement agents. The Nigerian government at all tiers has three arms, one of which is the judiciary. The Nigerian judiciary is comprised of the bench and the bar. Luckily, the NBA is the bar with an inseparable umbilical cord attached to the bench. It means that the NBA has enormous amount of powers and influence to effect any desirable change or reform in any part of the Nigerian system through policy or legislation. It is on that strength that I urge the NBA President, Paul Usoro, SAN and all the leadership bodies of the Nigerian bar to tactically and strategically engage the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, the Police Service Commission, Honourable Minister of Interior and all the relevant agencies and institutions of government with a view to setting in motion, a manual, regulation, legislation or subsidiary legislation that will:
  20. Make it difficult and impossible for any police officer to extort money from citizens at the police station without severe consequences which must include immediate dismissal and criminal prosecution.
  21. Ensure that no police officer can intimidate, bully, harass or physically abuse a lawyer on professional duty at the police station without facing severe sanctions which must include outright dismissal from the force and or individual liability to criminal prosecution and civil trial in court; including independent and external modalities for exposing corruption at police stations and monitoring compliances.
  22. Sir, besides the need to protect our members and strengthen lawyers to practice law and defend clients at police stage of our criminal justice system without the nagging fear of harassment by police officers, we as Nigerian lawyers under the auspices of the NBA need to stand up for the ordinary Nigerians who are already suffering from crunches of bad governance, and save them from the very corrupt hyenas in the Nigerian Police Force. This is because it is the common and low income earning Nigerians that suffer the abuses and corruption in the Nigerian Police. This is not a hate speech against the Nigerian Police Force, but an excruciating reality to which even the National Bureau of Statistics agrees with.
  23. The continued silence, indifference, apathy and inactions of the NBA on the face of this societal anomaly do not only put our mandate of promoting the rule of law to question but also make us very complicit before discerning Nigerians some of who see lawyers these days as bestmen and chief bridesmaid to the unholy marriage between corruption and the Nigerian Police Force.
  24. Should the NBA drive the ‘revolution’ to stamp out this level of brazen corruption from the administration of the criminal justice system in Nigeria, it will be something capable of giving Nigerian lawyers a glorious pride of place among Nigerian citizens, now becoming disenchanted with the noble profession. May all the learned colleagues in Nigeria feel the need to speak up in support of this campaign, to regain the dignity of human rights, and restore the lawyers’ pride of place in the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria. So that someday, when a lawyer appears at any police station etc, the policeman will shiver and quiver, and treat the lawyer with reverence, as a learned gentleman. Once again, I wish the NBA and every member of the Nigerian Bar a prosperous 2020.

Accept please, the humble assurances of my esteemed regards.

Yours Truly,

C. S. ONYIMAH, ESQ.
Agorondu & Agorondu,Omarunma Chambers,No. 8 Airport Road,
Rukpokwu Town, Port Harcourt, 08066678014
[email protected]